Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How should be one’s relation with the Master? One is an ordinary person and other is a person with so many powers. Should it be like a friend or a beloved?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Let love be love. Don’t give it a name. Love is above all relations. Being in love with the master is like being in Love with the divine. Master, God and spirit are not different. These all are one. Only one exists – one non dual existence. Everything is divine.Q:
What should I do to increase concentration?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do more advance courses.Q:
What is wrong with the current leadership in the world and perhaps our visionary leadership?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I would say that the sense of belongingness is shrinking. There is a more self-centered, self-serving attitude rather than a sense of sacrifice for the cause. The vision and mission is really lacking.Q:
What is the benefit of Mantra japa?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Mantra japa definitely benefits you. Mantra increases mental power and energy. The seed mantra 'Omkar' is common in all Indian religions- whether it is Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism or Sikhism. You may chant Om Namah Shivaye.Q:
What is the importance of lemon in aura cleansing?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have you see lemon juice under the microscope? It looks like the rays of the sun. When you see vitamin C under the microscope, it looks like a sunflower. Some substances like salt, lemon, chilies etc, have the potential to remove negativity. In the west, bathing in the ocean for rejuvenation and improving health is popular. The burdens, the worries in the mind, harmful influences are reduced in this way. Faith also works here. Even when you take regular medicines, if you don’t have faith in the doctor or the medication, it may not help you at all.Q:
What are the energy chakras in our body?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your Advance course is still in continuation? Hold on to the question. Don’t go away. You will soon get to know.Q:
Guruji, if human being knows that if one is born then he has to die, then why does he worry so much about death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, there is lack of spiritual education, broader vision and knowledge of who one is. Ok, let me ask you all a question. You know, all those who have grown old don’t feel that they have grown old. How many of you feel this? (Many raised their hands). You are 50, 60 or 70 years old and you feel that everybody else has grown but you haven’t changed. You see your little 1- 2 year-old child has grown to 16 years but you don’t realize that you have also grown equally. You know, many times father and son, mother and daughter have this conflict because neither father nor mother think that they have grown older. It is the same problem with mother – in – law and daughter – in – law in India, perennial household word because you feel that you haven’t changed, you haven’t grown. This is because there is something deep inside you which never dies, which never grows old. Time doesn’t touch that aspect deep within you.Q:
I have seen people around you grow beyond their capacities. How do you motivate and inspire them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The president of the World Bank asked me the same thing, “How come all your projects find success? We also start many projects, but all do not find success.” It is not just the money, but your intention, attention and clarity that work. If we change the way we look at things, we find everything starts from within. If they are better inside, they get better outside. You become the agent for change.Q:
How do we ensure that the knowledge that you have transferred is transferred in the same pure form when we transfer it to somebody?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is why there is a methodology of teaching. When you undergo teacher’s training, it flows thoroughly in the same way. Teachers are trained very thoroughly.Q:
Between karma and bhagya (good fortune or luck), which is more important?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you are in front of the television, do you listen to the voice first or watch the screen? They happen simultaneously, isn’t it? In the same way, both karma (action) and bhagya(good fortune) are important. When we perform appropriate actions, then we become bhagya or fortunate. When we have good fortune, then our actions are fruitful.