Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Is the sun, during daytime, not visible to you? Don’t you see the moon in the evening?It’s only in the absence of the sun and the moon that the stars are visible. Then you run behind the stars. Only those who haven’t seen the sun and moon of their own Self run behind the stars.
Opposite values are complementary. If there is a question, there is an answer.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not think that all people survive doing illegal or wrong actions. There are many good people who survive doing righteous actions. One who survives on wrong means has only a very short period of survival.In our scriptures it is said that a teacher, guru or saint is not to speak lie at all. A king is allowed to speak a little lie. A business man can go a little further. A businessman can say one’s product is the best even if it is not. Only that much lying is allowed. It is like salt in the food.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you want to keep problem to yourself? Drop it here before going. You can come here with problem but you can’t go back with your problems.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Shift in our vision. This universe is already a heaven. What blocks us from perceiving it as heaven is our own mind. The mind clings on to the past or it wants perfection. It has its own ideas of perfection. This is about the universe. But if you ask me about improving the society, I think this is a question every human being should ask himself. I think we need to have a violence-free and stress-free society. The way to such a society is Yoga, Meditation and Service.The gentleman continues - But I find 99.9 percent of people in the world are already good. But still that 0.1 percent dominates. Even if 10 percent people come together and say they don’t want violence and terrorism in society we can achieve this. How can this happen?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The voice of truth needs to be heard louder. You’re right. It is time for the revolution. It has to be loud. People should come together. People should stand up for human values. It will happen.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have you seen movies? There is a hero and a villain in the movie. Now what is the role of a villain? He creates some kind of entertainment. When do you feel your body is a burden to you? When you feel that your body is a suffering to the spirit. But you can’t call it a burden when it is a means to elevate the spirit. When you know the body is given to you as an instrument to elevate the spirit, would you still call it a burden? Shareer maadhyam paro dharma sadhna- This body is an instrument for dharma, all that uplifts the spirit. Don’t consider it a burden. Honor your own body. The soul comes to your body after great effort. There is a great rush. Many souls compete to get one body and one succeeds. So our body is a gift and not a burden.Gentleman asks: Is liberation from the body true liberation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:What is burden? Desires, cravings and aversions in the mind are the burden. Your craving for something or your aversion for something makes you feel it is a burden. Losing your body doesn’t make you lose your cravings and aversions.
Question continues: Why is the material world considered to be a world of misery?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:It is the mind which makes you feel it is a misery. This world is a part of the divinity. So instead of blaming the world, look inside.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you feel you haven't changed at all? (The person replied: I do find some changes in me). As much as you have changed, don’t you think others will also change? Nobody knows everything in the world. We all know something. In fact when you see the magnitude of knowledge, you find it can’t be completely known. But aren’t you obliged to give others whatever little you know? (Yes was the reply). That is what you have to do. The world doesn’t expect you to do service which you are not capable of. The world expects you to do what you can. If you are a doctor then people will run to you in case of an emergency. At that time, your saying no doesn’t make sense. And if you are not a doctor and are approached to do something that you can’t, you simply say – ‘I am sorry. I can’t do it.’ We do what we can and we ask pardon for what we can’t.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you wait till you get perfect knowledge, it’s not going to happen. When you do service, you gain merit and that merit helps you to go deep into yourself. So service helps you gain merit, merit takes you deep into sadhna(self-effort and practices) and sadhna makes you come up and do more service. It is all cyclically connected. So it is not going to be complete if any one aspect is missing.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Evolved scientists surely believe in spirituality. Those who are not yet fully evolved may not believe in spirituality. Scientists like Einstein had said that he had never seen or heard a book like Bhagwad Geeta. If you hear a quantum physicist talking, you will feel as if the text is being quoted from the scriptures only. ‘What is this?’ is science.’ Who am I?’ is spirituality. We need both science and spirituality to bring contentment to our soul.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your body is the car of which the heart is the motor. It’s enough for you to have a seat for me there. What’s the fun of sitting in the other car! Make me reside in your heart.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
In some parts of the world, there is over population and in some parts of the world this is dwindling. It is good to have family planning, definitely.