Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Guruji, on the spiritual path I feel I am very satisfied. Does my satisfaction mean that I have stopped growing, or is this not satisfaction?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, that is good. Satisfaction is needed but satisfaction should not make you sleepy, dull or take away your motivation. The best combination is having the dynamism and motivation to do, along with the inner satisfaction.Q:
How to deal with religious fanaticism in our families and communities?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This question does not have one answer. You have to ask this question repeatedly, and each time you will get a different answer for it which you must apply at that time. See, the answer to a question can be given correctly only once. This is not such a question, it is a journey. On the way, we can go forward and backward any number of times. How we can get rid of fanaticism, terrorism – we have to keep asking this question with an open mind and with a willingness to embrace every one, a sense of belongingness. Once there is a spiritual experience, no one can remain fanatical. The blind and ignorant are the only ones who can be fanatical. Conscious and wise men and women cannot be fanatical. Their minds are open, hearts melted, hands energized, with an enthusiasm to do seva.Q:
Guruji, so many people from around the world love you very much. What is the secret?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The secret is we are all humans. Won’t humans love humans? And when I go anywhere, I do not feel I am in a foreign land. All countries appear to be my very own and I feel a sense of belongingness with everyone.Q:
People raise children with the hope that in their old age, their children will support them. Is this not a selfish motive to bring children into this self-serving world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, that is not necessarily true. Having children brings a certain joy to the parents. Also some people have children without any intention to have children! You cannot see this situation from such a narrow viewpoint. There is joy in having children. It is unfair to put everyone in the same category, that would be wrong. If anyone raises children in the hope of getting support in old age, that also would be a big mistake. There may be a few people who do like this, I don’t know. But most people want children for the joy and satisfaction of being parents. There are so many different kinds of people in this world, all are not the same.Q:
Jai Gurudev this Rudra puja and Devipuja being done in the Ashram, what is the benefit of this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When the pooja is being done do you feel well and happy? Do you feel it is very nice? (Ans – Yes) That is it; that is the intention to bring out the benevolent energy that is present. What is the use of meditation? When we meditate the energy that is present inside us wakes up. Where is that energy? In the base of the body (Kunda), this Kundalini energy rises up. Where ever puja is being performed this kundalini energy spreads and takes a benevolent form when you perform puja. That is why you do the puja.Q:
Guruji in Ramayana the monkeys in battalion did they have tails?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Whether the monkeys had tails or not we will leave it to the researchers to find out. Now there are many monkeys without tails. The monkeys without tails are plentifulQ:
The saying “The way to heaven is only 3 palm lengths long” what is the meaning of this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Only three palm lengths to heaven means heaven is not far. Let us try a little bit, heaven is not far away, it is near here itself. From the head to the nose and to the heart it is only 3 palm length. Head connected to the heart is heaven but if the heart gets into the head then it is confusionQ:
Jai Gurudev, is wonder only when one has faith or does wonder increase faith? How is it correlated?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See whenever you see anything surprising it causes you to wonder. When so many surprising things are happening every day the wonder disappears. You think okay this is just ordinary. Is it not? When something which rarely happens takes place, then it creates a sense of wonder. In the same way, by observing the various wonderful happenings that are taking place in the world and absorbing the wonderful sights and scenes of the world, if a sense of wonder comes about, that wonder creates Yoga.Q:
(A member of the audience asked and question and it was audible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The horse was not being scarified. Do you know what Ashwa means? Shwa means for yesterday and tomorrow. Ashwa means atma which means self purification. So what were they doing for self purification? They used to let loose a chosen horse free to roam about and whatever ground he walked on was considered purified. Therefore it is nowhere mentioned that the horse used in the Ashwamehda Yagna was sacrificed. All this was imagination of people.Q:
Many countries are engaged in wars. How to stop this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How to stop the wars between countries? As we develop the feeling to stop the wars it will stop. This feeling should come not only to us but also to the neighbors in the countries who are fighting. This has come to a little extent. Formerly this feeling never came. Formerly they promoted torture and killing. Now that itself has come back on them. See what happened, I will tell a story. Two brothers were living in neighboring houses. The younger brother was very angry with his elder brother. So the younger brother consulted someone to find ways to trouble the elder brother. That fellow told him bring a dog to his house. Now the dog would not do anything, he would only bark people passing by here and there. And because the dog realized that the neighbor was his master’s older brother, he would not even bark at him. So the younger brother got even angrier because the dog was not giving any trouble to the elder brother. So he asked his friend what to do. His friend told him to give an injection to the dog to make him crazy and delirious and then he will go and bite his brother. Only when the dog is mad, will he trouble other people. So the younger brother gave him medicine and made him mad. The dog which is mad does not realize who the younger brother is and who the older brother is. So he first bit the older brother and then began to bite the younger one also. This is exactly what is happening to our neighbors. They did it for us, but it is hurting them now.
Displaying 4941 - 4950 of 7928
Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
Read More