Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If there is greed, laziness will go away. If there is fear, laziness goes away. When you are in love, there is no sign of laziness.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You must study and keep doing little seva. It doesn’t matter how much seva you do. Do according to your capacity, with your heart in it. That would be equal to doing seva like anyone with great capabilities.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are two things – prakriti and parmatma. Prakriti moves according to rules. Parmatma is free. Human being is a combination of both. With the increase in the parmatma element, man experiences more freedom. An increased level of prakriti means one is no different from animals, birds or trees.In the human being there is a glimpse of the parmatma and there is prakriti also- it’s a precious combination.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is a shloka - Sarve deva namaskara, keshavam pratigachchati.Like all the water ultimately goes to the ocean, whichever God or Goddess you pray to, it goes to the One only. Don’t worry God won’t be angry.
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.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is not true that if you donate eyes in this life, you will be born blind in next life.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you look back you will find that you are not the same as before. That person of the past is not there any longer.See how strong you have become!
Sometimes the thought arises that despite so many years of sadhana, I still get angry. But see now, the intensity is far less. Sometimes the past impressions (samskaras) come up.Still, on this path if you have taken ten steps ahead, you will not slip back completely. You may go back four steps, not completely ever.
There is a permanent transformation that happens within us.
We are just not that same person. Walking on this path even donkeys turn into God, what to say of men? (Is path par gadhe bhi chal chal kar khuda ho jaata hai to aadmi ki kya baat hai.)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Divine is not so sub-standard that you will ‘have’ to remember Him. Remembrance happens. Don’t make an effort to remember. You have to remember something when it has not touched your heart. When the heart is kindled then you don’t have to make an effort to remember that.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is already a harmony. The more spiritual you are, the greater is the harmony in material life.Whom would you like to interact with? Those who are happy and enthusiastic or those who are stiff and serious?
All our bodies create vibrations. From some people you feel like running away, while you want to spend more time with someone. The waves coming from inside a person can send people away. Being on the spiritual path makes the waves beautiful.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you sing daily? (The lady said that she sang at home when alone.) When you sing alone, that is yashti. When you sing with everybody here, participate in the bhajan with everyone that is samasthi. Samashti means the entire creation.