Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Divide is created by the minds of people; it is not religion that is responsible. Even within one religion how much people fight. Forget about religion, in the family don’t brothers fight, right or not? Same family, children of the same mother and father. If there are four brothers or six brothers, that’s it, there are court cases against each other. People fight because they lack spirituality and they have not learnt meditation.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Meditate and even before going to bed meditate and listen to some nice chanting, that will help.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because people have not learned yoga and meditation. It’s that simple.n
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do it, take it. Bless them to behave better. When you want to bless someone because their behavior hurts you, it doesn’t work. When you want to bless them because their behavior hurts them, that would work. That is compassion. Say: May you behave better, so that you can be happier.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
‘Devtaa’ means ‘divya shakti or Divine Energy. Each cell of your body has 33 different aspects of Divine energies. The same cell becomes an eye, the skin, the bone, the sensory perception of the smell in the nose and so on. A Devtaa is not sitting in Himalayas but in your body itself.Ishwar (God) is present in each and every part of your body.
The formless, omnipresent Divinity who is of the nature of existence, knowledge, bliss (Satchidananda) is called the Ishwara.
All forms belong to Him who is formless.
All names belong to Him, who is without name.
Indian tradition recognises the One Divinity in Creation and recognises everything in creation as part of One Divinity. The Indian tradition has welcomed and accepted Buddha, Mahavira and Guru Nanak. Sufi saints, Christians and Parsi saints were also accepted. This is because we see one in all and all are one. Then there is no need to say: ‘Your God is better than my God’. This kind of thinking can become the basis for conflict.
We need to have a broad vision (Vishaal Drishthikon). This is what spirituality gives us.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Patience and perseverence. Keep these two things in your mind – don’t expect someone to accept you immediately. Give a little bit of your ideas to people. Then leave them for a few days so that they have time to digest the ideas. Then again you share some ideas. So, bit by bit you can tell them. Then perhaps, you will change your point of view! This happens many times. Life is very complex, the intellect is very intellect – we should not be stuck with something. Our mind should be flexible, not rigid.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes interesting! I spent my young days with all elderly people.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Many animal species have disappeared. Now you don’t see sparrows, snakes and scorpions. There is no dearth for souls. There are plenty of them.Have you seen advertisements on a billboard? Sometimes only few letters get lit. For example, an advertisement for Lux soap or Colgate toothpaste.
The bulbs are there all the time. Sometimes some bulbs are lit, others are not. In the same way, the souls are there. Some manifest, some don’t.
(Many youth from the ongoing Yes+ programme shared their experiences. Sri Sri told them:
“Save your mind at all costs. We talk about saving the environment, saving the world but not the mind. Tell yourself: I am in charge of my life, my mind. Nobody can make me unhappy.”
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ask everyone around you once they are all out of silence they will say it is happening. How many people feel it is happening, raise your hands? See in everybody’s life it is happening. Where there is love and faith miracles will always happen.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no, no, absolutely not. Don’t worry. If you feel like you are getting affected by somebody’s depression or somebody’s negative energy, just say Om NamahShivaya a few times. It’s gone. It can happen. When people are so depressed and are not in proper shape and you meet them you may feel that. How many of you feel that, when you meet very depressed people something happens to your own body, right? Om NamahShivaya, Jai gurudev - it just disappears.
