Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
We should stop polluting our planet. Say no to plastic, Use as little plastic as possible. Recycle..Use recycled things. Use chemical free shampoos and soaps as far as possible. Go organic, I would recommend everyone to become vegetarian. You know, if we pay attention on the consumption that takes place to produce one non-vegetarian meal, feeding the animal etc.., it is equivalent to 400 vegetarian meals. So, I recommend everyone to turn vegetarian. Environmentalists say that if even 10 percent of the population turns vegetarian, we will not have the problem of this green house effect.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you are intelligent, it happens before. And if you are little less intelligent, then it happens afterward. An intelligent person also learns from others’ experiences. But this realization is only authentic if you can experience someone’s experience as your own. It doesn’t carry any value if a beggar says that he has abandoned everything. How can a beggar abandon anything? He has not earned anything at the first place. Also there are some people who do not understand this even after accumulating a lot of money. But this doesn’t mean that you should not earn money. If you are too feverish for money thinking that only it can bring you happiness, then either earn money and see yourself, or learn from others’ experience.Next part of the conversation with Sri Sri in the next post:
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you are to do business, you do it with your head. When you are to do service, you do it from your heart.More from the same knowledge session will be included in the next post.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
In some villages where there is dirty water, the water filters run on electricity. Some people came to see me two, three years ago about this issue. The water filters were expensive and half the villages don’t have access to electricity(in India). So the villagers couldn’t use them. They invented a water filter. It costs only $10 for one year. You can filter as much water as you want. Very dirty water runs through it, and it comes out clean. It just costs $10 to change every year. This is one breakthrough. 90% of all diseases are waterborne. When one has good drinking water, there is a shift. Just with one filter, you can run dirty water through it and get pure water.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, the world is going to continue the way it is. It will even get better. There will be shift in the consciousness of people. There will be more compassion and human values, and all the consumerism will take a back seat. That’s what I think.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you want to do, you can do anything. It has to come from within. With the determination, ‘I will do this job, and I will see to it that it gets completed’. This commitment from within will help you, and get you through. Got it? Nobody can do the job other than you.So, take up with small things and follow it through, and then you will get the confidence. That prepares you to take up big tasks. You know, why do you drop things? Because you think they are not important. But there is nothing important or unimportant in life, everything has importance. So, even if something looks unimportant, you say, “I want to finish it, and I will finish it”. Then you will be able to enhance your commitment.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Intuitive power is like a gut feeling, and to get clear intuitive power you must mediate. Without meditation your intuition will be vague, it won’t be intuition at all.(The next part will be covered in the coming post)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Meditate, do service, be part of a service project. You will be close to me and retain this state of being that way.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Greed is when nothing matters to you - no people matter to you. Only money matters, only you matter, that is greed. Greed is beyond your capability, beyond what you deserve. Even at the cost of suffering for others or yourself, you want to have it.You aspire and you want it by hook or crook, that is greed. Ambition is you have set a goal, you want to achieve it. That is ok.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Definitely. you know there has been a research recently from England that the children who study Sanskrit excel in mathematics and linguistic function of their brain become so much better that these children can learn any language from Chinese to English to Russia easily. Researchers worked for 15 years and they find out these results. Three schools in England have made Sanskrit compulsory in the school. They also did research why India is Excellent in IT. Indian brain is more suitable on computer. This is because of the background of Sanskrit language. So, it is good to have your children study Sanskrit. Apart from this there are number of researches which show how doing pranayama enhance the performance of children. They feel more calm, attentive, and more alert. They are able to perceive and digest better. There are number of such benefits that have been proved. You can look into the yes+ website for the benefits that a child gets in academic field.