Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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.Q:
We hear a lot about corruption these days in governments and other situations around the world. How can we do something to reduce corruption?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Corruption starts when the sense of belongingness ends. When we have a sense of belongingness, we can’t be corrupt. When we expand our sense of belongingness, corruption will disappear. Does this make sense? Corruption begins outside the boundary of belongingness.Q:
I have to struggle all the time for every work, and I don’t get the satisfactory results either. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you have to put these ideas in your mind- ‘I have to struggle for everything, and I don’t get satisfactory results’? You only put this sort of affirmation on yourself –got it? It may be like that at sometime in the past, but it may not be like that in the future.Q:
After my course and Advance courses, my anger has been reduced to 80 percent. How can I completely get rid of anger?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The remaining 20 percent will also reduce. You can keep some anger with you also. It would be a good source of entertainment for others.Q:
In a world full of jealousy and hatred, how do I go on a path of humbleness and serenity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t label the world. Some people are this way, but don’t pay too much attention to them. Just move on. Let them get cooked in their jealousy. It is alright. That which you put attention on, will grow. Manifestation follows intention and attention.In the 55 years of my life I have never said a bad thing about anyone. It is my nature. At the most I would have said stupid. I never said or wished bad. If your intention is clear, I tell you, you will move on. If someone is jealous, what do you do? Just move on. Your attention should be on something higher, on the blossoming.
Q:
Some of my colleagues talk ill of the ‘Art of Living’. I don’t like this but I ignore them. Can you please guide what should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What is it that they can talk bad of us? There is nothing. That is all their imagination. You keep on doing what you can. They will also realize. This had also happened with so many saints in the past. Some people liked them and got benefited after getting the knowledge, and some others didn’t like them. How does it matter?We are teaching. One thing that some people say is why the ‘Art of Living’ courses are paid. ‘Art of living’ is an education. Do you think education should be free? Will people value free education the same way? If education should be free, then all education like medical, engineering, journalism should also be free. If all others are not, why should spiritual education be free? There was concept of Dakshina in the past also. Unless you give dakshina, your education is never complete. And we do so much work in society with the money left after course expenses.
Also this shows how much more work we need to do to improve the society.
Q:
I was wondering what exactly the mind is. Is it a little space in our brain or is it universal? And yes, I want to tell you that you rock.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Mind is energy which is all over the body. See, every cell in your body is emitting some energy and the totality of all that energy around you is what you call the mind. Mind is not present at some point in the brain, but mind is all over the body. There is so much deep knowledge about consciousness; we should sometime go much deeper into it. We will understand more. The more you understand, the more wonder-struck you are. Wow!You know, people have phantom hand, that means they really don’t have a hand, but they feel they have a hand and they feel sensations like itching or paining in that hand. People who have lost their hand or leg in a war or accident, later sometimes, they feel they have a phantom hand or a leg. Though, they don’t have it physically. That explains or gives a clue that the mind is not just in one spot, it is all around the body. The aura of body is mind. We think that mind is inside the body, it is the other way around - Body is inside the mind. Body is like the wick of the candle and mind is like the glow all around.
Q:
Can you talk to us about realizing our purpose in life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This is something everyone has to find for themselves. What is the purpose of our life? You can ask this question but don’t take an answer from anybody. One who knows will not give you an answer and anyone who tries to give you, does not know. That’s the criteria. The very question “What’s the purpose of life?” is very precious. It means a lot to you. If this question has arisen in your mind you can give a big pat to your back because this question can remove the cobwebs from your mind, your confusion. It can remove all those unnecessary things and put you on track again and again and again. There is no single answer. It is a path on which we need to travel. “Who am I, what do I want, what is the purpose of my life?” It will move you forward in life. So give a big pat on your back, “Oh I am so lucky this question came to my mind.” What’s the purpose of life? You know, many don’t even think about this question. They simply exist. They eat, sleep, watch television and then they die.Q:
I have become aware of people who want to take control of our food and water supply, putting a great burden on it. What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The ’Art of Living’ is putting a lot of attention on this. In India some people wanted to produce genetically modified plants. This has been banned in France and other countries. The ’Art of Living’ stood firmly together and opposed it, and the government had to stop it. You cannot do it alone, you have to stand against it as a mass movement, and bring justice to the human planet. The greed of a few people gets into their heads. We are not against scientific experiments, but without proper testing and making sure that it does not have any side effects, and producing it on a mass scale for commercial purpose is not acceptable. For example, genetically modified cotton yielded three times more crops in the first year, andalso good cropin the 2nd year. However, it completely wiped out the crop in the third year and many farmers committed suicide. The ’Art of Living’ worked to give farmers hope and helped them see the value of their lives. The cattle ,which ate the genetically modified cotton, died, and the virus emitted by these crops attacked the trees. The whole area became a desert. The company earned huge profits. This is called economic violence. There are many forms of terrorism. Economic terrorism is that where greed of a few people make other people suffer, they make a mess of the economic system, and devastate so many families.
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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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