Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
I feel happy and peaceful here. My heart is really contented. All negativity comes when I go out. I encounter all problems like corruption and bribery. How to face these problems? How to maintain the same positivity when I go from here?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You forget a strength in you – Prayer and power of your Sankalpa (positive intention). You keep doing practices and your things are taken care of. Don’t ask for small things in your prayers. Ask for big things – Let government be good and stable, Let this knowledge reach out to many more people. It is up to you to make a divine society. You can start a collective moment. There are many good people and a very few people who cause disturbance, but their influence looks like they are many. You come together and you will find what difference you can make.Q:
How to transform negative energies into positive energies?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is what we all have to do, and that is what we are doing. Let us get more and more youth together and change this atmosphere in society.Q:
What is difference between self and mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Self is the ocean and mind is a wave.Q:
Sometimes I feel tired of doing service. I feel like stopping then. I also feel frustrated then. Guruji, Why does this happen, and what should I do when I face this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When your body and mind are tired, you should relax then. Don’t get stuck with the thoughts of doing service at that time. Relax and meditate.Q:
It is said that Lord Krishna was embodied with all sixteen arts, Lord Rama with twelve, and Hanuman with fourteen. If it is like this, then how can we call Lord Rama as incarnation of God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
A devotee is higher than the God. This has been said to sing the glory of devotees. In reality, both Guru and disciple are God. To sing the glory of a devotee and to raise the level of a devotee, God himself bends. It is like a father carrying his son on his shoulder, higher than him.If Hanuman was not stronger than Sri Rama, then how would he have helped Sri Rama. It is like the one who is stronger than me can carry my suitcase.Sri Rama also needed help from Hanuman. Same way, God also wants your help. So, we should do work to uplift society. The one who does work of God, works for the good of society, is also taken care of by the God. Working for the God, for the good of society, is an indication of divinity blossoming in you. So, Hanumanji helped Sri Rama, but he never got into the state of ego or arrogance that he’s helping Sri Rama. He knew that such thoughts are only illusionary and he had got that luck to work for Sri Rama. So, he worked under Sri Rama all his life while doing all Sri Rama’s work.
Q:
Dearest guruji, sometimes I feel that I have not got over a death in my immediate family , and it prevents me from moving forward in my own relationships, and starting my own family. I’d want to move on but sometimes I feel I’m my own worst enemy. Please help me guruji. I am waiting patiently for you to read, and answer my question.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You meditate, you do bhajan. These vibrations reach them also. You be peaceful and peaceful vibrations from you go across to the other side. That is why spirituality is called ’Sadhana’ in Sanskrit, which means the real wealth, the real currency that can go even here and there (laughs). The other dollar currency cannot be used on the other side. That’s why we say when you do satsang, sing and meditate, these positive vibrations reach them. And then, these emotions when they come up just observe them, watch them. They will come, evaporate and disappear. Don’t make a big issue about it. Move on.Q:
Dearest guruji, this is the first time I am seeing so much of your blessed glory. Can you tell me how to learn to love myself and respect myself so that I can become a good mother. I inflict harm on my body because I don’t feel worthy. What should I do? Your answer would be most appreciated. Jai Gurudev.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
First of all, don’t think you don’t love yourself. Who says this? Even a person who commits suicide loves himself too much, that’s why he commits suicide. Such a person doesn’t want pain, can’t tolerate pain. So, when people who can’t bear some little pain or suffering, and want only happiness, they commit suicide. They love themselves too much. They don’t love others. If the person who is committing suicide loves his mother or daughter or wife or husband or his near and dear one, how would he/she commit suicide? If one care for others, he/she would never commit suicide.They should know if they hang themselves, they will bring problem to his/her fellow beings making them miserable and sad. So, one commits suicide because of loving oneself too much.So, never doubt your love for yourself. Who says you don’t love yourself? It’s impossible, because you are love.It’s only misplaced. Somewhere you don’t get it right. And you are in the right place. As of now, not a single mother is born on this planet who is bad. As a mother, don’t think that you are a bad mother. Impossible! So, just relax and move on with your work.Don’t analyze too much about what happened because there is always imperfection in any action we do. This is an important thing to know. No action, whatever, on this planet earth is perfect. Every action has a dot of imperfection in it. But we should keep acting. Even the worst act has got a good dot in it, whereas the best action has got one flaw in it. It’s either 98 percent good and 2 percent bad or 2 percent good and 98 percent bad. This is what happens in all the actions. So don’t focus so much on the flaws in an action. Keep acting, as long as it is 98 percent good. Ya?Q:
Dear guruji, how do I achieve balance and moderation? When I live my life 100 percent, I get passionate and attached to the events. When I live dispassionately, I become somewhat slow. Also, how to feel connected? I still feel the void and longing. Nothing seems to be an answer for these.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That’s very good. You are fortunate. When you feel the longing, you are really getting on the path. Very good. Don’t worry about it.Q:
If God is omniscient, why do we praise Him or pray to Him?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your praise is not for God’s sake. It is for your sake. You praise God, and that praising uplifts your own spirit. You imbibe all those good qualities in you. It’s not that God, when praised, becomes very happy and places those boons on you. You cannot bribe God like that. We pray to God. We do it in every religion. We seem to think that by praying we are appeasing God and by not praying we are annoying God. I don’t think so. Prayer is your innate call. You want something and you pray. Meditation is even better than prayer. The culmination of prayer must be meditation. Meditation is telling God, “I am here to listen to you. What do you want to tell me? Let thy will be done". That is meditation.Q:
How do you let go of someone you love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You must know that love is your nature. Love doesn’t mean possessiveness. Love is not “Oh I love you so much, don’t go anywhere. Sit next to me all the time.” That is not love.