Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are some disadvantages of joint family also. But when a family is broken into nuclear families, husband, wife and kids, there is nobody else to fight with! So, they end up fighting with themselves, and then kids and parents also separate. So, this is the advantage of joint family, they live together even after fights. Western culture is adopting the system of joint families. People are going back to the family values, and joint family system. Also it is very important to keep this tradition of celebrating festivals with the whole family coming togetherSri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, Krishna gives a long list of those who are very close to him. It is a long list. The 12th chapter of the gita is full of it. He says, the one who has no dislike for anybody, one who is compassionate and friendly with everyone, one who does not have extreme attachment, one who does not have ego, those who are equanimous in all situations – are all close to me. Don’t you also express whatever you like? Your liking something does not mean you don’t like anything else.Sometimes Krishna also says this to create confusion. His work is to create confusion only. So when Arjuna was completely shaken by confusion in his mind, he asked Krishna to tell him one single thing(to follow). Then Krishna says –“All this is one. Even if I say different things, it is all one”.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are two books you can read to find an answer to this. One is 'Guru of Joy' and the other is 'Walking the Path'. I would say my inspiration is every child. I want to see everyone to be like a child. Of course, I must say my mother was a great force. She was always concerned that I had to do better. Anything I did, she would say that you had to do better. So, she was pushing me all the while.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It consists of four syllables - bh, ga, wa, na. bh comes from bhoomi(earth). One who has patience like Earth, fluidity like water, sharpness and focus like fire, subtlety like air and is all-pervading like space.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Let the mind go wherever it wants to go.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your mind gets focused with love. Greed and fear also focus your mind. I prefer love over other two.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The whole world is made up of the five elements. We honor all the five elements.There is a great tradition of honoring rivers. The river does not want you to offer flowers or fruits. This is not the way to worship. Also by putting sewage or garbage into rivers, how can you say that you are doing worship? Worship means honoring, and you can only fully honor once you stop dumping sewage, garbage, plastic into the rivers. A few years ago you could directly drink from a river. Today, no river is fit for drinking even from a hundred kilometers away from its source. Earlier even thousand kilometers away from its source, the river water was fit for drinking. In this country (India), people used only charcoal ashes, and not soap powder to clean vessels. They would use turmeric and many other herbal elements, which are bio-degradable. We are pouring so much industrial waste into the rivers. This is not honoring the jal tatva (water element).
Honoring the Earth element means we don't pollute the earth with plastic, poisonous fertilizers and chemicals. It means we are environment conscious.
Then there is the air element. We need to have clean energy. We have provided smokeless stoves in the villages of Maharashtra, which have been very successful. We need to honor air, and do whatever we can to have a clean air.
Then there is the space element. This is very abstract. You cannot catch space. When you save your mind from negativity, you are filling the space with joy. Then the air around becomes like that. You can create a space of mistrust, anger, greed, jealousy and selfishness. Or you could create a space of fun, joy, confidence, and coherence. You could create an accommodating space around you. If we always speak negatively about all mistakes, then there is nowhere on earth you can really survive. Everybody is imperfect. When we try to see perfection in others, then we forget to see our own imperfection. Protect the space, save the mind at any cost.
The five elements are part of the creation. You have to honor this beautiful creation and sustain it.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The scientists, who are not employed by these companies, will tell you. The scientists who are not employee of these seed companies can give you the right opinion.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You assume that you have devotion. Don’t strive to have devotion. We should assume that we have love and devotion in us. When you believe in this, the devotion in you enhances. When you think you don’t have devotion at all, it wouldn’t manifest.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is no end to it. These sorts of things go up and down. That is the way of the world. America is coming out of it.