Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Faith in one’s abilities, and faith in the righteousness of the laws of nature. Have faith that you are supported by nature. And you will succeed. If you fail ten times, you will get success the eleventh time. You must have this faith. This comes by conviction, not any practice. You should say, ‘I will succeed, I refuse to accept failure.’Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Shiva, Krishna is in everyone of us. Krishna is a tatva – celebration, joy, love, mischief. Everything that is inside you, inside me.In the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna says:
Yo mām paśyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi paśyati
tasyāham na pranaśyami sa ca me na pranaśyati
Krishna says, “One who sees me in everything and one who sees everyone in me, I will never be out of sight for such a person.”
That what you all are going to do – dive into that inner space.
Shiva and Krishna are different aspects of the One jyoti (flame), one aspect.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
For work, use your head; for seva, use your heart. For business, use your head and lock your heart at home!Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
God sleeps only in India. Here, as we know that God is sleeping, we don’t have any fear. We believe that since God is sleeping, we can get away with anything.This is a very deep topic. God is sleeping, and you are awake. Yet, you wish God a Good Morning, sing Suprabhatams, Balaji Suprabhatam, do Devi jagran. Scholars have established this –Humanity wakes up first and then they awaken God. This is a unique ritual among humans. Yet, there is something very subtle in this. These rituals signify that:
In a stubborn individual, awaken humanness.
In a human being, awaken the Divinity.
Like a seed that sprouts into a bud first, and then a flower, a human being blossoms only when humanness, and Divinity is awakened.
God is present in every cell of your body. We think God is resting because he is tired. But no! Lord Vishnu (a Hindu God) is depicted lying down, and a lotus comes out of his navel, followed by Brahma. Creation came later, first the strength to nurture was born. (In Hindu philosophy, Vishnu is considered to be the Sustainer of the Universe.)
Many people believe that God is tired after working. No, no! For God, creation is effortless. Like for a housewife, making tea is effortless – she can talk, sing and still make the tea.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, by meditating everyday, singing and chanting.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Only simple human beings can understand The Divine. If someone thinks they are special, they cannot.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
First, you accept that something bad is happening, and then realize that you want to stop the wrong from happening. The wrong will stop at the right time.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Good! It’s better that national parties come to power than smaller parties amalgamating. A party with a national agenda should be there, instead of smaller parties trying to bully each other.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are two types of joys – one joy is that from getting, another joy is giving. That’s a more mature joy. When grandfathers and grandmothers come to meet their grandchildren, they are not waiting for some gifts. They just want to be with them.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why are you so bothered about attachment? Because it gives you pain, suffering. Small attachments always bring you pain.