Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
My father recently passed away. How can I know how he is, where he is and what he thinks ofme?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Those who have passed on to the other side shower their blessings on you. They don’t judge you and have no concerns about you. They know you will be taken care of.Q:
Sri Sri, if joy is our nature, why do we lose touch with our nature? Why are we distracted?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Spiritual voyage can give you the joy and keep you in touch with your nature.Q:
Whenever I meet you, I don’t feel satisfied. I feel you give more time to others than me. Today also in darshan line, you never looked at me and moved ahead. And whenever I get a chance to talk to you, I just don’t know what to talk! Then I think, “Oh! I forgot to ask this, forgot to tell this”. The analysis starts in my mind. What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How can I not see you? I leave none unseen, I see each and every one-all who come to visit me in the darshan line. And you forget to ask or tell anything on meeting me, that’s OK. You have told it now, got your chance, yes?Q:
Why are there so many different philosophies?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why not? God loves diversity. What if there was only okra to eat? But you have potatoes, tomatoes, beans, all kinds of fruits, vegetables and flowers. God seems to love diversity. He has created so many of us in different shapes, features and colors. He is definitely not a military person, an army general. A spirit that loves diversity must be diverse in itself too. That is what the rishis (Ancient saints) found in meditation. There is only one Ganesh and one Vishnu, but in so many different forms. See unity in diversity and celebrate diversity. Our rishis in the past had spoken of tolerance, acceptance, diversity and equal opportunity.Why the difference? Find the common thread in different religions. According to different places, there are different customs. Time has created differences. There was one Buddha, now we have thirty-two forms of Buddhism, one Jesus Christ and now seventy-two sects of Christianity, and one Prophet Mohamed and now five different sects of Islam. In Hinduism, the variations cannot even be counted! But everyone believes in the Vedas, the Upanishads. How many different sects? Why should they not be there? Let it be there. See unity in diversity.
Q:
youth is so aggressive. We give them everything they ask for, yet there is no satisfaction. They are so hyperactive. How to mellow down such hyperactive kids especially when they are hurting others?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just bring them to yes and yes+ course. When these kids in Delhi do the course, their parents were wondering what we had done to their kids. They have become so nice. They never thought about the kind of transformation that they saw in their kids after the curse. The same kids who earlier said they hated their parents started caring about their parents, sending them notes expressing their love for them, and asking them what can they do for them. There was total transformation in these kids. In 43 universities of America, yes+ clubs are there. In Cornell University and several other, it is credit now. So if you do yes+ course, do meditation, practices, you get credit. World is recognizing this now and better India start doing it. We will have to teach them meditation and ways to manage their own negative emotions.Q:
Does one need to have a Guru or spiritual leader to seek enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are asking a question and you want an answer. You want medicine and anyone who gives you medicine becomes a doctor. The seeker wants an answer, wants someone to tell him, to guide him. If someone says, “I’m not a patient but I need medicine,” and someone says “I’m not a doctor but I’ll give you medicine,” what do you call both? Anyone can tell you what you want to hear but a little guidance does help. Someone should be there to give you assurance. When you learn swimming and the trainer says “Go ahead”, you get that confidence to go. Someone who has such confidence can become your guide.Q:
How much am I suppose to work?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, it is up to you.Q:
Guruji, I feel like doing a lot of work but that falls outside my boundaries. Do I have to think and dream about it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, you must have a dream for it.Q:
Is mediation concentrating on some point?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Absolutely not!Q:
Guruji, it is said ‘Advaita’ (Non Duality). Why it is not expressed as ‘only one’ but as ‘not two’?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because you need two to count one.
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Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
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