Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
I am academically good but not successful in my career. I am not able to support my family financially. I feel I am unworthy. Please help.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Breath it out if you feel you are unworthy. Meditate and don’t be hard on yourself.Q:
Dear guruji, This might sound like a silly question, but I don’t understand money at all. Can you explain it to me? How important is it? Thank you for having me here.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is said in the Vedic literature, Dharma is righteousness. Then comes artha, which means- the means, money. And then Kama, desire. And then liberation, moksha. So, Dharmasya moolam artha. That is, righteousness is based on prosperity. If everybody is prosperous, nobody will steal anything. The root of dharma or righteousness is prosperity, is money. So, it is all linked. Money is important, but money is only the means. It is not everything.Never link money with happiness. Even the poorest people are happy, if you see. In fact they are more happy. But money can create a false notion of security to you: You think if you have money, you have everything. The idea of money is for comfort. Isn’t it? Why do you want money? For comfort. But money can give you only one type of comfort.
There are three types of comfort: Physical comfort, emotional and mental comfort, and spiritual comfort - the inner comfort. Whereas money provides only one type of comfort, it doesn’t give emotional and spiritual comfort. It is essential. Like, we all eat to live. But if we live only to eat (laughs), then something is very wrong with us. Basically wrong.
Scriptures and ancient people beautifully describe how to make best use of money. You make five equal portions of the money. You use one portion for yourself, you save twenty percent, you use another twenty percent for your family, and immediate needs, and you make use of one portion for the society .One is called Aapad dhan. It is for emergency, for any need in the future. And there is another school of thought which says you spend 10 percent on charity, you save 30 percent, and you use 60 percent the way you want.
I would say, you don’t need to spend even 10 percent on charity. Keep aside at least 2% or 3% of your income. If you don’t do charity at all, your money will be spent on court cases and on hospitals. You keep aside 2 – 10 percent for the world. Then the greed will not happen in our mind. Greed kills the person and then kills his business also.
But ambition is ok. You should have ambition. You should aspire to create more wealth. Creating more wealth is not a bad thing at all. So, that balanced attitude for money must be there. Money should not be everything in life. It should be to sustain, and to give you physical comfort. And it’s only spirituality that is absolute comfort. When you are connected with the divinity, mental and spiritual comfort is there, you don’t even think about money. Things come automatically.Next year, this ashram will have completed 20 years. Before we had this ashram in North America, we used to hire places here and there. So many people used to come, and we needed our own kitchen for vegetarian food. It was difficult to have advanced courses in hotels here and there.Then I said that the next time I come, we should have a place where we can keep the atmosphere pure, where only meditation happens and where the vibrations of the place become more saatvik, more congenial and more in harmony with nature. Then some of our devotees went around and looked at places, but we didn’t have that much money.
First we put up some tents, and all the tents flew away. It rained. They had a kitchen here and wooden things. Everyone started doing a little bit here and there, and the place became beautiful. So, the whole place come up in some time.This is what is called siddhi. Siddhi means you get what is needed. In India, there is a proverb which says you really wished for nuts and it came to you when you lost all the teeth (laughs). You were praying for nuts, ‘Oh, I need nuts, I need nuts, I need nuts.’ And then when you got nuts, all the teeth were gone! That’s no use. You are praying for husband or wife, and they appeared when you are 75! It makes no sense!
We never ever worry for how things will be done! This is what is siddhi. When the spiritual power is there, spiritual energy is there, everything happens effortlessly. Move with faith and confidence. At the same time, don’t live too much in the air. Be a little practical also. Till you get to that level of spiritual inner dependence, you have to have the reasoning. Reasonably, you should be aware of how you should manage funds.
So, it’s like dance. How dance will happen? When one foot is on the ground, and one is up. If both legs are buried in the mud, can you dance? And if both feet are in the air, then also you cannot dance. You’ll fall. So, dance happens when there is one foot on the ground, and one up in the air. This is what is whole knowledge – practical yet ethereal, spiritual in approach. But I have seen some people who are too ethereal. They don’t do any work but they simply sit, ‘I want 20 million dollars, I want 100 million dollars.’ They don’t even think about small numbers. (laughs) They Pray for it every day. Nothing is going to happen that way also.Know that balance.
Q:
What to do when a loved one is diagnosed with a potentially terminal condition?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Bless them. Carry on, Sing, dance, meditate. If you think too much about the illness, it pulls down your energy. Medical attention is required, but have faith also. A turnaround can happen at any time. There is divine grace that is present with you. Anytime, anything is possible.Q:
Guruji, there is lot of confusion in family because one member follows Art of living and another member follows some other spiritual path, pranic healing.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Both just stick to your own path.Q:
What is the significance of pilgrimage in Hinduism? What is your experience of any Pilgrimage?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Best pilgrimage is Inward Journey! A pilgrimage is an opportunity for people to come together and pray together. As you know, praying together generates more energy, you know, a synergy. But don’t think God is only in pilgrim centres! God is omnipresent and omniscient. Ancient Rishis meditated in some places and put all that energy in some idol there. The scriptures talk about God as having no name and no form. There is freedom to worship God in any form or any name. Wisdom from anywhere was acknowledged.Q:
My heart and mind are often in conflict. Which should I follow?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Use each at different times. Do not do business with your heart. Do not do service with your mind.Q:
I feel very uncomfortable in the presence of some people even if they are total strangers. Why does this happen?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Take it as an exercise. Meditate. Go deep into yourself. You will find this discomfort goes away. You give it too much importance. If you realize you are bigger, the vibrations will change. When you change they will also change.Q:
What is emptiness, empty mind? Can you speak more on this.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sri Sri hand gestures empty space.You got it? That’s emptiness. If no, then the mind is already empty.
Q:
Please speak on love. Also, how is discipline best exercised?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Here again you cannot force yourself to love something or not love something. Just relax and be yourself.Discipline can only be required in three situations. You don’t need discipline when there is love. When you love something you don’t need to discipline yourself to do it, right? The second situation is when there is fear. If you fear you are going to have nervous breakdown that fear will make you do what is required. Third is greed. If someone offers you one million dollars to do something thing for one week, you would not miss one day of doing that thing. So greed, fear and love keep you in discipline.
Q:
How can senior management get the most out of their teams for maximum performance?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Art of Living Foundation teaches the APEX course in corporate environments. It has been appreciated all over including the World Bank.
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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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