Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
I am new to the concept of joint families? I would love having a joint family. But I am little afraid if there is any disadvantage involved?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are some disadvantages of joint family also. But when a family is broken into nuclear families, husband, wife and kids, there is nobody else to fight with! So, they end up fighting with themselves, and then kids and parents also separate. So, this is the advantage of joint family, they live together even after fights. Western culture is adopting the system of joint families. People are going back to the family values, and joint family system. Also it is very important to keep this tradition of celebrating festivals with the whole family coming togetherQ:
Why are there so many catastrophes in Poland, China and Iceland?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because we are misusing this planet. We are mining this Earth so much, we are putting so many dynamites, and we are testing so many nuclear bombs. So, the Earth starts shaking. We have to honor mountains, rivers, trees. If we don't exploit this planet, then there will be less and less natural calamities.Q:
Whatever decisions we take, are your blessings always there?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
In your profession and relationship, choice is yours and blessings are mine. The rest, I will have to think a little.Q:
How to be consistent?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your mind gets focused with love. Greed and fear also focus your mind. I prefer love over other two.Q:
The other day you talked about the five elements. Can you throw some more light on the same?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The whole world is made up of the five elements. We honor all the five elements.There is a great tradition of honoring rivers. The river does not want you to offer flowers or fruits. This is not the way to worship. Also by putting sewage or garbage into rivers, how can you say that you are doing worship? Worship means honoring, and you can only fully honor once you stop dumping sewage, garbage, plastic into the rivers. A few years ago you could directly drink from a river. Today, no river is fit for drinking even from a hundred kilometers away from its source. Earlier even thousand kilometers away from its source, the river water was fit for drinking. In this country (India), people used only charcoal ashes, and not soap powder to clean vessels. They would use turmeric and many other herbal elements, which are bio-degradable. We are pouring so much industrial waste into the rivers. This is not honoring the jal tatva (water element).
Honoring the Earth element means we don't pollute the earth with plastic, poisonous fertilizers and chemicals. It means we are environment conscious.
Then there is the air element. We need to have clean energy. We have provided smokeless stoves in the villages of Maharashtra, which have been very successful. We need to honor air, and do whatever we can to have a clean air.
Then there is the space element. This is very abstract. You cannot catch space. When you save your mind from negativity, you are filling the space with joy. Then the air around becomes like that. You can create a space of mistrust, anger, greed, jealousy and selfishness. Or you could create a space of fun, joy, confidence, and coherence. You could create an accommodating space around you. If we always speak negatively about all mistakes, then there is nowhere on earth you can really survive. Everybody is imperfect. When we try to see perfection in others, then we forget to see our own imperfection. Protect the space, save the mind at any cost.
The five elements are part of the creation. You have to honor this beautiful creation and sustain it.
Q:
last night you told me that choice is mine blessing isyours. Does that mean whatever I decide, your blessing is there?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are putting me in a toughsituation. If it is related to your profession then choice is yours, blessingis mine. If it is a relationship, then also choice is yours and blessing ismine.Q:
How to have devotion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You assume that you have devotion. Don’t strive to have devotion. We should assume that we have love and devotion in us. When you believe in this, the devotion in you enhances. When you think you don’t have devotion at all, it wouldn’t manifest.Q:
Dearest Guruji, what is ambition and what is greed? What is the line differentiating both? With love and pranams…
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Greed is when nothing matters to you - no people matter to you. Only money matters, only you matter, that is greed. Greed is beyond your capability, beyond what you deserve. Even at the cost of suffering for others or yourself, you want to have it.You aspire and you want it by hook or crook, that is greed. Ambition is you have set a goal, you want to achieve it. That is ok.Q:
How can spiritual practices strengthen academic progress?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Definitely. you know there has been a research recently from England that the children who study Sanskrit excel in mathematics and linguistic function of their brain become so much better that these children can learn any language from Chinese to English to Russia easily. Researchers worked for 15 years and they find out these results. Three schools in England have made Sanskrit compulsory in the school. They also did research why India is Excellent in IT. Indian brain is more suitable on computer. This is because of the background of Sanskrit language. So, it is good to have your children study Sanskrit. Apart from this there are number of researches which show how doing pranayama enhance the performance of children. They feel more calm, attentive, and more alert. They are able to perceive and digest better. There are number of such benefits that have been proved. You can look into the yes+ website for the benefits that a child gets in academic field.Q:
What is the significance of the story of poison getting stuck in Shivji’s throat?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It has a deep meaning. Poison spreads with speech. Mind gets agitated with speech. All riots happen because of harsh words and lack of right knowledge. Shivji is also called neelkanth – which signifies when Mahadev drinks poison, it doesn’t reach his whole body. When there is fight between right and wrong thoughts, a poison is generated. Shiva tattva has power to hold on to that poison. Even if you have to criticize, do it from your lips and not your heart. When you do it from your heart, it harms you. When it is from the level of lips, somebody is benefitted in the society. You cannot have flowery speech all the time. That would be cheating yourself and others also. You have to show mirror to people. But that should not be from the level of the heart. Even if Shiva gets angry, that is not from inside. Same peace is there inside. It is like kids getting angry with their mother. In no time they retain their smile. This is innocence. It is the grownups who hold on to fights for long time.
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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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