Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How do we know who is a true master and who is pretending to be so?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, I never spent time looking for one! You know, your heart tells you. There is something called as the gut feeling. Your heart tells you that you are in the right place. Second is, any teacher, any master, anybody, even you as a friend, what do you want from your friend? Do you want something from your friend, other than their own happiness?If you expect something from your friend or your student other than their own progress and happiness then you are not a good teacher or a friend. In friendship you expect your friend to be grateful to you but a teacher does not even expect that. So want nothing from anyone other than their own happiness. In the Upanishads, it is said there are five signs of a Master. The Upanishads have said that there are five signs of being with a Master:
1. Knowledge flows
2. Sorrow diminishes
3. Joy wells up for no reason
4. Talents come up
5. Lack start disappearing, abundance dawns
Q:
Whenever I have problems, I have called upon God for help. But God never comes to support me. Why doesn’t God love me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is impossible that you have a problem and you haven’t found a solution. You should only remember that when you have a problem, God is with you. Not only in the times when you have problems. Even when you don’t have problems, God is with you.Q:
Dear Guruji, the rains have still not come! What can we do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Meditate and chant Om Namah Shivaya. Rains will come.Q:
How do we ensure that a good soul is born? Do we need to follow some rules?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just be happy and keep your heart clean and soft. When you doubt, when you are angry or frustrated, your heart and feelings get hardened. With the knowledge and wisdom, your heart remains soft and supple. Otherwise you say everybody else is wrong and only you are right. You don’t see how wrong you are. You do so many mistakes you don’t look at that but when somebody else does mistakes, your heart gets hard. Isn’t it so? There is a saying in India of saint Kabir which says‘Bura dekhan main chala, bura na milya koi’ which means ‘I wanted to search a bad man but I couldn’t find one but when I looked at myself I couldn’t find anybody worse than me.’This is coming from a saint. So seeing mistakes in others hardens your feelings. I don’t agree so much with the other line. If you keep on looking at your own mistakes, that will also not make your feelings soft and brings guilt. So I only use the first line of this.Q:
What is the significance of success in life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Success means strength, an unshakable smile that nobody can take away, and courage that does not diminish.Success does not mean having a big bank balance. There are some very rich people, who don’t have strength of character. They don’t have any sense of belongingness, of love
They are unable to appreciate the subtleness of life.
Consciousness blossoms without form and with relaxation.
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:
Can you say something about how to make a relationship last?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are various ways but the best is intuitive, your intuition. If in the relationship, both come from the point of giving then there will be no problem, but if both want to take, there will be fights. I am here to contribute, what I can do for you? Then your relationship will last longer.Q:
Guruji, I have anger and arrogance in me. In anger, I lose awareness. Please tell me some remedy.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you are angry at yourself, you get angry with others also.When you are angry at others you get angry at yourself for getting angry.
This is like a pendulum. We have to stop this.
It’s ok if you get angry. Don’t get angry because you got angry. Sometimes you feel good, sometimes you feel bad. Life is like a jungle. Thorns are also there, flowers are also there, fruits, peacocks, deer, lions, tigers everything is there. Have a holistic approach.
Just be natural, easy and relax. Take things as they come and move forward. Don’t get stuck in a place. The mind plays so many tricks to keep you miserable. Sing, meditate, serve. Be part of service. We have to save our mind.
Q:
The food in the Ashram is great. We can feel the love of the Divine in each bite. Now how can I go home?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I thought you already came home! This is your home. Wherever you go, that is your office. You get rest at home, work at office. If you are tired from work, then you come here to rest.In society and work, be a partner,
at home be a helper.
Q:
Guruji, why are people moving away from religion and culture?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, the enthusiastic crowd here. I am not feeling the same after looking at this crowd. If we walk on the path of religion, others will also do the same. The youth is moving away from religion because of the way religion is presented to them. The people who present religion have no smile on their faces, no joy flows out of them.At the same time any religion should be practical which can be integrated into our lives.
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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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