Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Guruji, you once said desires come and go. Those which need to be fulfilled stay and others simply vanish. But what about those desires which stay and are not fulfilled?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have patience and perseverance.Q:
How to get God answer your prayers?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have faith that he will answer and will do whatever is good for you.Q:
Nowadays, youth marry without their parent's consent. They do this blindly, without thinking. Is this acceptable?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your question already has the answer. Nobody will tell someone to do anything blindly or without thinking.As a parent, look at the matter from the children’s point of view. First, examine your reason for refusal. If the reason is good, then it's fine. But if you refuse because of differences in economic status or differences in caste, then it’s a different thing.
Parents can give guidance to children. Explain to them not to take a hasty step, acting on a whirlpool of emotions.
Q:
Please explain the meaning of seva (service).
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
One is our job, the other is seva. Both are different. You do your job for livelihood. Seva means seva- Doing like Him. God has given you everything, whether you remember him or not. He wants nothing in return. Do work and be in the way that will make the other person happy. The reward of seva comes only when when you want nothing in return.Q:
What does it mean to live completely in the present moment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Drop the wanting of this answer because the question is already in the past.Q:
In India, Nepal, how do all these sages work together for a one world family?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Everybody’s intention is there to unite the world as a family. The goal is the same. The methods are different, areas are different.Q:
Do you believe our world leaders can create peaceful and loving solutions to world problems or are they economically motivated by a select group of individuals?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I think you have given the answer in the question. Both question and answer together. I find there are many good world leaders who want to do something for our society but they feel constrained. They feel helpless. Many times they cannot do what they want to do because they are trapped in a system. The system doesn’t allow them to do what they want to do. And there are others for whom their position or party matters more than the welfare of the people. Their eyes are on the next coming election, the needs of their political party, their political agenda rather than the larger interest of the people in the long term. Even if they think of the bigger issues they are unable to take action as their political agenda stands in front of them.A ruler cannot become a reformer. Rulers do not work with reform. And those who work with reform cannot become rulers. They have different roles. Reformers and rulers should work together.
Q:
Is it really possible to be stress-free in this world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I am stress-free here in this world and so are many others. It is possible. You would have been like that as a child. I tell you, you can have this. You don’t have to wait till old age. I tell you it is possible now.Q:
Sometimes people ask why you believe in Guru, and not just in God. My answer most of the times is Guru is my God. But is there any difference in God and Guru, please tell.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is fine. You don’t have to bother and justify so much to verify your statement. Just smile. There is no need to answer every question. You can say, ‘don’t you know that Soul, God, Guru –all are the same’. The whole universe is made up of one substance only. Like there is same electricity but flowing in different things-the bulb, the fan, the Air Conditioner etc. Likewise there may be different forms and norms, but we are made up of same thing (consciousness).Q:
If I think badly of others, will something bad happen to me? Or will my positive thinking work for me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t get entangled in these thoughts. Just be simple, easy, and relaxed.If you don’t have a complicated mind, you won’t have bad thoughts. Just observe the mind and relax.
