Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Do our prayers reach the Divine? Many times they don’t get fulfilled. Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
ometimes, aren’t you happy that all your desires don’t get fulfilled? Your wants keep changing. When your mind is not steady, your desires keep changing. You want something today, and tomorrow you desire something else. See how many desires come up in your mind. If all of them are fulfilled, you would be miserable.Q:
If being vegetarian is prescribed in Spirituality, according to the Bible, Jesus was not vegetarian! How do I reconcile the two?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I can’t really comment on that. There is one complete book in Christianity, The Gospel of Thomas, in favor of vegetarianism. The Gospel of Thomas also talks about Pranayama. The bible was written decades after Jesus, so what should be taken as authentic is itself in question. Take good things from the scriptures. There is no mention of TV or aeroplanes in the Bible. One doesn’t ask why I should use these. There are certain things not mentioned in Bible but if it is good for you, you take it. Knowledge is both ancient & modern. Respect ancient knowledge and accept modern knowledge. Modern Science says vegetarianism is the best food practice. So turn vegetarian. In more than one way it is good- both for you & the planet. So accept & acknowledge this wisdom.Q:
I know you are talking about desires in the Part 2 course but still I don’t understand how one can move away from thoughts about something that you really want. If you force yourself to forget it, it comes strongly. If you allow the desire sometimes, it wins you. And what comes instead of the desire, if it flows away? Thank you.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just by thinking a lot, you are not going to achieve what you want. Suppose, you want something - you want to go to Munich and the whole night you are repeating: I want to go to Munich; I want to go to Munich… You will lose your sleep. Or when you are driving to Munich from Frankfurt and saying: Oh, I want to go to Munich…You will end up somewhere else, you will lose the way. Just by repeating, the desire is not going to be fulfilled. You need to let it go. Letting going is the art. And that is very, very important. That is what the meditation is about.Q:
Where is the mind and where is it in the body?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Who or what is asking this question and what is going to listen to the answer. Intellect is that which registers the answer yet it is the mind which is looking for the answer.Q:
What can be done for peace between Israel and Palestine?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
We all have to work for it. When all of us work together to bring people together, to forget the past and make people live in the present, we will have the bond tied very soon. The Art of Living has already started quite a few programs in Palestine. But if only the government spends one percent of the military budget on educating people, in inter-faith and inter-cultural celebrations and attend to building this gap, all these conflicts will be resolved. NGOs can do limited work.Perhaps the narrow vision of politicians is making them thrive on conflicts. Unless our politicians become spiritual like Mahatama Gandhi, our world doesn’t have a bright future.
Q:
Why am I so crazy to be here!!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because I am also like that. Only a rich can make others also rich. Only a liberated one can bring freedom to others. Only a devotee can evoke devotion in others. A person in love with the Divine makes others also like that. Whatever is there within you that is what others receive and that is what you perceive in others.Q:
How to educate those people who have developed a dislike towards Spirituality?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Are you single or married? (Laughter). If you are single then you don’t have that problem (More laughter).If your spouse is against your being on the spiritual path, then you have to apply an indirect solution. Through the close friend of your spouse you can reach out to your spouse and when it comes from them, your spouse will listen.
For others, you keep educating them. Share the knowledge with them. In English there is a saying ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ but in our case it is lack of familiarity which breeds contempt because they don’t know. So educate them.
Also Maoist and leftist indoctrination has turned many people against spirituality. Within Nepal also so many people are against spirituality. Out of 600 districts in India 212 are not touched by the Art of Living. Once we reach out, a total turn around happens. There was an incident when a Maoist guerilla came to attack one of our teachers in a Satsang (song & celebration) in a village in Jharkhand. They came and saw people singing so happily that they also joined in. later on they insisted that the teacher have a Satsang for them as well.
The story of Angulimaala from Buddha’s life is not just history or a mythology. It is happening now, here, today. Where all legislations and money doesn’t work, what works is Love.
Q:
Despite having everything , what does the mind want to procure? Why is it restless?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is a blessing if you are not content with small material things! The longing for the divine is the divine himself! One who is without longing has no juice in his life, no knowledge and no celebration.Q:
When we meditate, why do we take our attention to different parts of the body when we have to go beyond the body level?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When we want to build a tall building, the foundation must be sufficiently deep. The string of the bow is stretched back further when the arrow has to go far. So to transcend the mind we bring our attention to our body, and then we realize we are beyond the body.Q:
If some politician in power is corrupt, and causes a lot of pain to many people, is it correct to pray for his death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Pray for his sadbuddhi (good sense) and if that doesn’t happen then pray that he is removed from the position of power. In many temples, you will find that rakshasas (demons) are carved at the entrance. Yet their place is outside or under God’s feet. If they sit on the main throne then there is trouble.
Displaying 5921 - 5930 of 7916
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.
Read More