Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Can one begin the fight to curb corruption on one’s own effort?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The fight against corruption should begin on one’s own effort. First you stop giving bribes. Do you know when we started this drive against corruption and against terrorism? On 1 March 2009 in Delhi. Then we went to fourteen states and in all the satsangs we asked everyone to take an oath, ‘I will not give bribe’. So it starts with us, by our not giving bribes.Q:
Guruji, can you reveal the secret power by which you grant a fresh lease of life to someone, such as
me, who has been suffering from a terminal illness and is reaching the very end of their life journey?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See there is will power and power behind a blessing. You can also do it. Those who have done the Blessings Course raise your hands. Are your blessings working for others? When we don’t want anything for ourselves, there is a power that can allow us to fulfil others’ desires. The main thing is one should not desire anything for oneself. One should be hollow and empty. The desire for moksha is enough, it will be attained.Q:
Guruji, what is the difference between atma (soul) and param-atma (God)? Can we see God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
God is not an object who will appear in front of you and say, ‘My dear, I am very pleased with you, with your tapasya (penance)’. That will only happen in TV serials. God is that which is beyond the soul. First bring your awareness to your soul, ‘who am I’. Everything is driven by the power of God. Have faith and surrender, meditate. When we are in a state of restful awareness, our channel opens up.Q:
Guruji, if someone criticizes us, how should we deal with them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Give that person a surprise. Tell them, ‘wow, you said such wonderful things! How did you figure out these facts?’ Try this and see what happens. If someone criticizes you, you counter it with four criticisms of your own and the chain continues. Instead thank them for their kind words, and see what happens. The day you drop your defences that person will hang their head out of shame and embarrassment. They will not know how to respond. This is how we should confuse those who criticize. Have some fun in this situation. What is the fun in finding fault? Our life should not become a football of others’ opinions. Repose in the self!Q:
How can we attain self-control?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Self-control can be attained by your will. Once you say, I am not going to do this thing, I am not going to eat too much for the next three days, or I am not going to indulge in this thing for the next seven days, done. First, self-determination; second, fear, ‘Oh may be if I indulge too much I may have a problem’. Or someone tells you, if you don’t indulge in it for one month you are going to get a lottery. Then you will say, ‘no, come what may, I will not indulge.’ So to get rid of bad habits, there are three ways: One is greed; if someone tells you that you will win a lottery if you do not indulge in this bad habit, you will not do it. Second is fear; if someone tells you that your lungs will collapse and you will die within two days if you smoke, then no one will touch a cigarette. Third is Love. I don’t know of a fourth way. Tell me if you know.Q:
Guruji, how can I control anger?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Tell me when do you get angry? (Ans – when something happens which I don’t like) Yes, now tell me in the world only those things that you like should happen? How boring it should be, isn’t it. See when you cannot accommodate imperfections that is when you get angry, right! You want everybody to be like you, so perfect? No! First we don’t recognize our imperfection, and then we get angry. We think we are perfect all the time so we are angry at other’s imperfections, number one. So first see you may also be imperfect. They are imperfect now but you may be imperfect in other places. Then your patience is better, you have more patience. Do you see what I am saying? Awareness of your imperfections. Second is give time to others to be perfect, accept their imperfection. Okay, let them take their time, if not now then the next two, three years they will change. So giving others the time to change. Third, it is okay to have some imperfections, got it! Accepting imperfection in situations and in others. So these are the three ways in which you can overcome anger. The fourth way is just dispassion, knowing everything is going to finish, it’s okay doesn’t matter. Do you see what I am saying? If you want to say the fourth one you can say, everything is going to finish, you are going to die, everybody is going to die, so what! If they keep the pillow this side or that side, doesn’t matter. Got it! If there are wrinkles in the sheet below you, doesn’t matter. If you have broken a dozen glasses, it doesn’t matter, anyways everything is going to finish, correct. So see the futility of things in a broader light, in a bigger picture. Then also you will have a say over your anger, okay!Q:
(A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You see if you listen to your own mind, your consciousness will tell you what it is that you need; your inside tells you. When you are tired what do you need? Rest. When you are thirsty what do you need? Water. When you are hungry you need food. When your body is dull, you need a little more exercise, correct. In the same way when your mind has low energy, dull that’s when you need meditation. Yes, sometimes you may fail to recognize what you really need, you don’t know. Like you know children sometimes they cry; they don’t know what they need. They want to go to sleep and they don’t know how to go to sleep and they cry, isn’t it. They are hungry they want to drink but they don’t know and they cry. Similarly whenever we are unhappy, miserable, know for sure we really need food for the soul. And food for soul is meditation. So you must take time and just meditate. It is effortless, no effort at all. So in life everybody needs three things, one is Yoga. Yoga means to get what we don’t have. Yoga is what? Uniting or getting what you don’t have, what you need. Second is Bodh, being aware of what you have. Bodh means what? Awareness of what you have and Prem. Prem means love. Love, awareness and Yoga, these three things are essential, and spiritual path gives all the three. Are you getting what you need? Here everyone is getting what you need? How many of you are getting what you need raise your hands. So see what you need, what you desire that is coming, and that is Yoga. If you want something and you never get it that means you have to go more into meditation; got it? That is Yoga. Then bodh; are you grateful for what you have? (Many in the audience say ‘Yes’) Then definitely love wells up in our heart, right. So all three things come to you and that is our spiritual path. That’s the path, and The Art of Living brings you all the three. And how much you walk the path, how much you are into seva, how much you participate that much you get, right. Okay!Q:
It has been a great experience to be here today. People meet without love, because a situation calls for it. At that time you lose the human factor as you can’t speak about real things as there is no real communication. People who see me meditating feel I am too religious. So my question is how to deal with this prejudice and how to engage people and keep up the spirit of love and communication?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes! You know twenty years ago there was so much more prejudice. And thirty years ago when I started Art of Living there was even more prejudice. People thought meditation, this must be somebody crazy. Someone who is not proper in their mind only will do it; it was not for normal people. Yoga means standing on their nail, it is not for normal people, this was the idea. Today if you see the advertisements of Daimler Chrysler or many of those top business advertisements, you will find relaxation; people sitting in lotus posture, in yoga postures. HSBC banks you will see relaxation, they will show meditation, yoga. So today the language has changed and the prejudice has gone down a great deal. It’s not the same as before. Then you know, there are some people who would resist anything that are different. So we need to keep communicating. I didn’t leave spreading or traveling what I have been doing all these thirty years, otherwise I should have left it long back. I would have said why should I go if there is prejudice and sit back in your own place where there is so much work to do, no! We have to continue doing our work. Now, how do we keep that inner Norwegian spirit of love that we all experienced now? Continue having celebrations and continuing to have multi- cultural events more often. And then keep talking to people; communicate with people. That is why I say you don’t need disaster to unite us. Anyways in disasters we unite but even in pleasant times also we can unite and that is what I call celebration; dialogue. So we should continue having this! I am all for it, okay.Q:
It is very good to be here in your presence. I have two questions for you. Because there are lots of disasters happening around the world every day, what made you feel this urge to come to Norway? Second question is, what do you think Norway can contribute with this experience and what kind of effect does this experience have on the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know I have been saying the world is my family from a very young age. I don’t remember what age, maybe at eight or nine or ten, I have been saying the whole world is my family. So when any disaster happens in some part of my family it is my duty to go and do what I can; visit that place. It is not just my duty it is my consciousness which does not allow me to sit somewhere else when there is problem somewhere else. And I had been there when the Catherine T SAI disaster happened in America or tsunami in South Asia, everywhere I usually go. My coming is not that important but what I would like people to start doing is trauma relief workshops, meditation workshop, healing workshop, that has to happen. And that I keep inspiring our volunteers and teachers to keep doing Your second question, what Norwegians have taught to the world and what can we learn from this? First it is an astonishing thing that such a thing can happen in Norway. Nobody thought about it in their wildest dreams. It happens so often in India, it happens in Pakistan so often; in Palestine, in Middle East all over. But in a peaceful country like Norway if this could happen that means we need to pay more attention to our youths all over the world. We can’t take it for granted that youths are educated in some parts of the world and not educated in other parts of the world. So the ill-educated youths could be anywhere in the world and so the world will not be a safe place unless and until we bring the education of non- violence and compassion right into our education system. This is what Norway can teach the whole world, that doesn’t take it for granted your peace; there could be some crazy elements anywhere in your society. And what you can do, you can have a vaccination for these crazy elements not to spread or not to sprout in your place, by multi- culture, multi- religious education. This is what Norway can give to the whole world and also the way Norwegian press and the society has responded again is a beautiful example, without going into a blame culture. You immediately came into a love culture, spreading love and going to the Square with roses. Not being angry with somebody or the government or the police or anybody. It’s understanding that love and compassion has more power than hatred.Q:
Dear Guruji, is there a karmic purpose of having children? What should be the ideal role of a parent in a child’s life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ideal role for the parent is, you gain knowledge and bring the knowledge to them, make them good citizens, helpful for the society, not being selfish, not being self-centered, but one who would work for the world.
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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.
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