Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
It is said that everyone meets their life partner at the right time. Why are parents so worried about their children’s marriage? What can be done to reduce this worry?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The habit of worry is difficult to shake off. First people are worried about getting married, then about having kids, then about the children’s admission, then they have to perform well academically, then they should get a job... so if worry becomes a habit, then a person will keep worrying.Parents should be told to stop worrying. You must also keep trying to find a soulmate. Don’t sit and wait for God to send you your soulmate!
Q:
Sometimes while doing seva I lose interest. How to avoid this and what could be the reason for this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Live life with moderation and balance. When you try to avoid the situation, it persists. Upanishads say tat vananeeta upasita , worship the Lord as if He is a forest. A forest has everything - tiger, sheep, cow, parrot, crow, flowers and thorns.It is always in balance. We never see imbalance in a forest. It is complete in itself, it is pure and there is place for everybody in it. Worship the Divine like He is a forest, with fullness and equanimity.
Similarly in life, there is happiness sometimes and sometimes, sorrow. When one tries to escape from a situation then it persists. Thus, there is the first principle of the Art of Living, accept people and situations as they are. This is the path of nivriti – when you have to establish within yourself. When we are established within ourselves, then our capabilities, strengths, intellect and enthusiasm to work increases.
When all this is risen, then return to pravritti (action) and work with awareness and enthusiasm. Not only with awareness or enthusiasm.
Life is a combination of pravritti and nivriti.
Q:
When do we get Moksha?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have you travelled by bus on a long journey? Have you then been required to answer nature’s call? Did the bus stop? When you got down and relieved yourself, how did it feel?If you sat down in the same position for a long time, then got up and walked, how did it feel?
When you feel you are free of shackles and barriers, and you feel light and happy, that is Moksha.
Even if someone abuses you, and you say, “You curse so well!” then that is Moksha.
Recognize the cause of the barrier – and be free from it.
Q:
Is eating non-vegetarian food, a sin?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Eating non-vegetarian food is not satvic. So that which is not satvic does not give you happiness or does not give you knowledge and enlightenment. Further progress in the spiritual journey will be at stake by eating non-vegetarian diet.Q:
Can love be selfish and, if it is selfish then is it love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Self is love.Q:
Why is the truth tested every time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because lies cannot withstand a test. One who has not studied will not go for the exam. One who has prepared for IAS will go to take the exam. When you have the confidence that you will pass, you will succeed, then you will be ready to take the test. That which emerges successful after going through the tests and trials is the truth.Q:
Is eating vegetarian food said to have better karma than eating meat? I’ve also heard that all things have consciousness. What should we do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are several angles to it. Karma means the latent impression in a substance and how your body matches.Suppose a lion hunts a deer and eats the deer, the lion does not get the karma. A cat eats a mouse, the cat does not get the karma of the mouse. All these animals are designed to prey and eat. However, if you see the human physiology, it is more akin to herbivores. There is a substance called ptyalin in our saliva which is present only in the cow, elephant, horse, goat – in all the herbivorous animals. This indicates that that the human saliva is made for herbivorous animals.
Secondly, the human intestine is so long – six feet. This is not present in lion, tiger or dog but it is present in all herbivores. Human beings don’t have canine teeth. All herbivorous animals don’t have canine teeth. Only the carnivorous animals do.
If you look at these aspects, physiologically our system is more akin to vegetarianism. So in that sense, we say, when you eat a vegetarian diet, you don’t get the karma of it. If you eat anything that is not aligning with your body – like if an elephant eats an egg or if you feed a cow with meat, then the cow will get the karma.
What is karma? Karma is the impression which is against the nature that can produce some change in the consciousness. It can be harmful to the consciousness.
Similarly, when we are exposed to radiation, which we are not supposed to, we get diseases. That means, we acquire those karma. Karma means the strongest impressions on the nervous system which is not all the time necessarily desirable.
If you have drugs, you have drug karma and the karma of the drug on the nervous system is so huge that after sometime, you can’t stop the drug. Then your body craves for it. Your body distorts. You go through so much of pain and suffering. It needs lot of de-programming to come out of drug addiction. It is the same for alcohol.
Food is not that strong. Yet our system is made for herbivorous, especially, if you want to go to a more subtle level in your mind and in your consciousness.
All top scientists, many achievers are vegetarians. It naturally happens. Your system wants only that. That means they are in tune with nature. That’s all. It’s not that those who are not vegetarian are not good. No, they are as good as you are. But their consciousness is much better if they tune themselves to nature.
Someone from the audience: We’re organizing a peace march in a high school. Will you come?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:i>: I’ll be there in spirit. The spirit is much bigger. Body is small. The body is like a tiny stone, tied to a huge balloon.
Q:
How to make this life blossom?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Life blossoms in rest. Two things are important in life- when we are in Nivriti (meditation), we have to see everything as ok and believe that it is all being done by God and He is watching over. When we do this, strength, wisdom and devotion increase and then Pravritti (action) comes up automatically.When we come to Pravritti and see fault in everything, then we can correct it but if the fault-finding tendency stays forever then we get frustrated. Thus we need a balance of both - ‘It is ok’ and ‘It is not ok’. We should also have the strength to correct what is not ok.
Pravitti is knowing that if it is not correct, we can and will correct it. The belief that everything is ok, will be ok in the future and ‘I am ok the way I am’ is Nivriti.
When Pravitti and Nivriti are balanced, then life blossoms naturally.
Q:
How does one know exactly what one wants? Is it so confusing to know what one wants?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This question is very confusing. If we have some clarity in the question, then the answer will be clear. Answers to unclear questions create more confusion.Q:
Are there any plus points of doing a job other than earning money
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Money and experience. That’s all and some discipline. If you have to do a job you have to discipline your life in a certain fashion.
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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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