8 May 2012 - QA 8

It is great having this silence course and learning about truth and life. When we go back to the real world all the stresses and negativity surround us again, how to tackle that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Actually this is the real world. You have to coin this separately.
This is the real world and when you go there, that is just your visiting place. That is your transit lounge and this is your home.
Do you know what Adi Shankaracharya said in Bhaja Govindam?
He said, ’Suramandiratarumoolanivaasah, Sayyaa bhootalamajinam vaasah, Sarvaparigraha bhogatyaagah, Kasya sukham na karoti viraagah. Bhaja govindam, Bhaja govindam.’
It is so beautiful, it says – my original abode is there, my true home is there, and here, I have come to visit, just to take a little rest.
So know that this is the real stuff and this is reality. You go back to the world and definitely there is some negativity that comes. That is how it is, and you are there to bring some positivity in it! Your job is to bring some positivity in that atmosphere, don’t get lost there; that is why you keep coming back and going back.
Why we are building all these ashrams? We could have just sat in one place. Why am I traveling around the world? You know this is my 18th or 19th stop in one month’s time. This is the 12th country I am visiting. Why do I go around; everywhere? I know we need to have places like this which are lighthouses, where people can come and find their inner peace. So that is why we are making centers everywhere and having satsangs everywhere. If there are none in your area then you start one!
You know, these are gas stations; you need gas stations because everywhere people run out of gas. Then their cars become immobile. So satsang groups are gas stations, go fill up, charge yourself. You can’t cry, ‘Oh I filled up my gas here and now it is all empty, what do I do?’ It is empty because that is nature; fill it again.
At the same time, you can’t live in the gas station. Got it? That is why I say even to people who are ashramites and who are staying at one place for too long, that they have to move around. I tell them to go travel around and share their knowledge. When they start sharing they will be happier. If they are in one place all the time then they sometimes get bored. There is an age when you cannot travel, and you are satisfied and fulfilled, then it is okay.