Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Dearest Guruji, In the past lots of people have done seva but the world has not changed. Why should I waste time doing seva?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Seva is something that is needed by other people. Suppose you are carrying a weight, heavy luggage, and you cannot carry anymore, then you look here and there, you want someone to help you, don’t you? See, we are all interdependent; everybody needs some help from somebody and doing that help without expecting anything in return is seva. Without seva nothing can happen on this planet, isn’t it? By seva don’t think you are changing the world. Seva you do, because you can’t but do it. It’s in your nature. If you are good, if you are loving, if you are happy, you can’t but do seva. And when you are unhappy, if you do seva, you become happy.Q:
Dear Guruji, what are the characteristics or features of longing with dispassion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Where dispassion is not dry and where longing does not turn into anger or hatred. You know if you have only longing, the longing can turn into anger or hatred. And if you have only dispassion, the dispassion will become so dull and boring and can even get into depression. So longing and dispassion together makes it so interesting, so complete, so juicy, so alive.Q:
What is necessary for man – money, skill, luck or faith?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
All are necessary. If you ask, ‘what is necessary for man – teeth, nose, ears, or eyes?’, what will I say? To eat a sweet (adirsam), you need teeth; if you want to smell it you need the nose; if you want to see it, you need eyes. Ears are also necessary. All are necessary in life. To realize which is appropriate at a particular time, is viveka(discrimination).Q:
How to tackle a person who has double standards?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
With compassion. You know, double standards are because they don’t know the wealth that they are carrying in themselves. Each one of us is a treasure house of wealth. Deep inside, you have the Divinity, the light, the peace, the joy, the love that you are seeking. And when you are not in touch with that you are trying to grab this little bit here, grab something from there, for what? Because you don’t realize that there is a great power deep within us. So, with such people you simply have to have compassion. By having double standards they are creating harm for themselves.Q:
What is the significance of Garuda Purana after death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Garuda Purana is all about the life after death. How the soul goes, where, what and all that. There is only certain time when you are supposed to hear that, (the few days after the soul leaves the body) listen to it so you know where the departed soul goes and what happened to them. There are a lot of things in Garuda Purana.Q:
Dear Guruji, what kind of people do you like to keep near you? Can I become one among them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, yes. I like to keep all types of people. All collections are with me. World collection of all specimens, one from every fish. I like variety you know, so you are welcome.Q:
Guruji, Viveka is the realization that everything has impermanent nature. Then why is it so wrong to let go your commitment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, if your commitment is going to create problem and bring sorrow to many, then you should drop the commitment. Like a youth told me once, ' I have promised the commander of Lashkar that I will give my life to this organization, I will bring the word of God to anybody and do anything possible to spread this principle'. But when he became peaceful he realized that this is not the correct commitment he gave or he took. 'I don’t want to be involved in violence anymore. But what to do? I have promised on this holy book. What do you do?' I said,' No, let go of the commitment because you took the commitment in ignorance. So there is no point in honoring that commitment which you took in ignorance to engage in violence. Yes, If there is some other commitment you took being so foolish, which doesn’t create such harm to anybody, then you keep it. You weigh the pros and cons and then you follow. Another person says,' yes, I am committed in a marriage and now I have children, but that is an old commitment, I don’t want to do anything now'. You have two kids and now you say,' I don’t want any commitment, I want to get out of it', then there is no way. Your commitment now is to take care of the children. You can’t run away from that. Many people, after being married, after having kids, then they regret, oh I should have been single. I took a wrong commitment. You have no way now, you have to continue. But if you have taken a commitment I will be single and suddenly you change your mind, you want to get married, it is okay because dropping that commitment of yours, you are not harming anybody. So you have to think on those things. Weigh the pros and cons of a commitment.Q:
What is hollow and empty? If you can record it in Tamil in your voice, it will be very nice.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That can be done. To know what it is, close your eyes and listen, and you will know automatically. It cannot be killed, by expressing it in words.Q:
Dear Guruji, what is Shodasha Samskara?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Shodasha Samskara! Shodasha means 16. There are 16 Samskaras which make human life. In a man or a woman’s life, there are 16 ceremonies or rituals that would impact the life. So what are they? It starts from Garbhadhana, it starts with conception. There is a way to conceive, conception is the first one. There is a whole Samskara about conception - how a man and woman should get together, what time, when, to conceive a baby. This knowledge has been kept a secret. If you want a girl how to conceive, on which day conception should happen, if you want a boy…when etc.That is about conception - Garbhadhana Samskara. It is done with certain mantras and ceremonies. This is almost not in so much use. They usually do it on the wedding day itself - chant some of the mantras and finish as though the whole ritual is over. And the fifth month there is a ceremony called Pumsavana and then eighth month, Seemanta - a ceremony is done on the eighth month. And the lady is given all that she wants, all her desires are fulfilled. Whatever she wants is gifted to her telling her you are bearing a new universe inside of you and making her happy. So these are three Samskaras - Garbhadhana, Pumsavana, Seemanta. The fourth Samskara is the naming ceremony. Before eleven days after the birth, the naming ceremony is done. The father, mother choose a name and they put a little honey into the tongue of the child and in the right ear they pronounce the name of the child. Naming ceremony is the fourth one. And then the first time to remove the hair, it happens between first and third year, Chaula. Chaula means removing the first hair. When they remove the hair then they also pierce the ears. You know ear lobe is where all the nerve endings are there so they pierce the ears. Scientifically the ear lobes seems to bring more awareness, more intelligence; Chaula. Then between eighth and eleventh year they do Upanayana Samskara where the child is taken to the school first. From childhood to adolescence, before they go, they are told you have these responsibilities in your life to perform - this, this, this you have to do. And then The Gaythri Mantra is given to them. Brahma Upadesha means ‘You are that’, ‘Thou are that’, this upadesha is given. This is the next. After Upanayana, a person studies, goes to school and stays in the Gurukul with the teacher, the Guru. After he finishes his education, then there is Samaavartana. Samaavartana means finishing the education and getting into the work life and then wedding, marriage. Like that the samskaras go on till the death ceremony, the last ceremony, Antiyeshti Samskara. All these samskaras are part of life. Ancient people had mantras for all that.Q:
What is the importance of Gayathri Mantra?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Om is the essence of the whole creation. Om is the greatest mantra in which everything is there. And then Om expanded and became Gayathri. Gayathri mantra is the essence of the Vedas. It is said there is no mantra greater than Gayathri. Gayathri Mantra says,' let all my sins be gone and Divinity dawn in my consciousness. Let the Divine inspire, bring the intuition into me'. This is the short explanation, there is a long explanation for it but this is enough for now.
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