Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you think your problem is big you are not looking at others’ problems. When you compare your problems with others, your problem starts looking small.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are five kinds of dreams:Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
People used to say this in 1999 - that world will be destroyed before the Millennium. In fact, in Canada people stocked up six months worth of groceries (laughs).There will be a positive spiritual shift that will happen. You know, people are meditating in Terra Del Fiago (near South Pole) and in Norway (near North Pole) and chanting Om Nama Shivaya, becoming vegetarians and taking up Indian traditions.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you have that inclination, you go ahead. I will give you support.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Look, there are no criteria. See from the past if you are more calm, or drop all spiritual practices for a month and see how do you feel, whether it makes a difference, or ask people around you if you are behaving better than before. Now none of these are benchmarks. And after listening to all these opinions, throw them all into the basket. If you learn to relax well, if you are able to see everything as a dream – nature of the universe, you are progressing. There is no other way. You are on a conveyor belt, you can’t be stuck, you have to move, or you will be pushed. When you are on conveyor belt, you will be moving.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are at the right place.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t have to doubt it. As I said, these experiences are a mixture. One is from your consciousness and your deep experiences. Sometimes it could also be through your fantasy. So, sometimes fantasy gets into it. Then the experience comes up. You know, it’s usually mixture of it. Even if 20 percent of fantasy is mixed with 80 percent of reality, you don’t need to think or do anything. It’s an experience. Take it as it has come and move on.You are much more than all the experiences. You are much more than all the identities and the roles that you play. That is the Self-knowledge. That is the real spiritual knowledge. This is the Upanishadik knowledge.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Not at all! I am easily available. I am most easily available. You know you enjoy putting effort and whatever you get after putting effort, you enjoy more. You don’t enjoy what you get easily. This is normal human psychology.Heart yearns for the old. Mind yearns for the new. Ego yearns for the difficult and unique.
Ego takes pride in doing difficult things. ‘Look I did such a tough job! I achieved such a tough thing! No one has achieved what I have achieved. I did something unique.’ Just be aware of these laws of nature, how the mind and heart works. I am not saying that is good, or that is bad. That is how it is.
Heart yearns for old. Heart takes pride in old friendship. Like wine is sold when it is old. New wine has no value. You don’t say, ‘This is my latest love, my fresh love.’ We go for the latest model - latest computer, latest car. We don’t say, ‘Oh this is a two decade-old car which I bought now’ - unless it’s an antique. We take pride in having the latest model or something which is unique. Like climbing the Mount Everest.
‘Oh, I climbed the Mount Everest.’ A very tough job. What do you get after climbing the Mount Everest? You don’t know! People go in hot air balloons across the world. Very tough job. Why you want to go in hot balloon when planes are available (laughter) and create so much heart ache, anxiety? Because the media is after you for you are doing something tough. Why do you want to do the impossible because the ego wants to do something. The memory clings to the negative. If ten positive things happen and one negative thing happens, the memory just goes and holds on to it. The Self is just a witness of all this phenomenon.
Untouched, unruffled, unconcerned with what happens to the mind, intellect, ego. It is just there, just enjoying. That is why if you have got just a glimpse of the Self, it doesn’t matter. The Upanishad has also declared that once you get glimpse of that unchanging aspect in you, the very central aspect of you, then everything else is futile. Knowing this, everythingbecomes glorified.When you are centered,ego becomes all encompassing,body glows,intellect becomes sharp,memory becomes sharp.All layers of existence simply glow when the Self is realized. I don’t like to use word self realized. It has been used so many times and distorted too much. I would say when you have a glimpse of Being.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ok, tell me have you been stressed before- were you stressed last year? You have lived through it, you didn’t die! Look back at your life- so many times you have gone through stress. Remember all that you have gone through and this will seem small in comparison. Have a look at yourself, you will understand that you have experienced this before. Don’t fear.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have imagined a situation in mind, Faith is that which is not shaken by doubts. Doubts are like clouds in the sky, they come and go. Even if you undergo 1000 such situations, somewhere your heart tells you what the truth is.If anybody tells you anything, would you believe it? If you have ache in your foot, would you believe that your foot is not aching even if I say that? There are some experiences in life which your heart refuses to doubt even if the whole world tells you to doubt that.
In a way it is good if you have doubts. You get an opportunity to grow strong in the fire of doubts. Withstanding doubt makes you strong.