Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Self-control can be attained by your will. Once you say, I am not going to do this thing, I am not going to eat too much for the next three days, or I am not going to indulge in this thing for the next seven days, done. First, self-determination; second, fear, ‘Oh may be if I indulge too much I may have a problem’. Or someone tells you, if you don’t indulge in it for one month you are going to get a lottery. Then you will say, ‘no, come what may, I will not indulge.’ So to get rid of bad habits, there are three ways: One is greed; if someone tells you that you will win a lottery if you do not indulge in this bad habit, you will not do it. Second is fear; if someone tells you that your lungs will collapse and you will die within two days if you smoke, then no one will touch a cigarette. Third is Love. I don’t know of a fourth way. Tell me if you know.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Tell me when do you get angry? (Ans – when something happens which I don’t like) Yes, now tell me in the world only those things that you like should happen? How boring it should be, isn’t it. See when you cannot accommodate imperfections that is when you get angry, right! You want everybody to be like you, so perfect? No! First we don’t recognize our imperfection, and then we get angry. We think we are perfect all the time so we are angry at other’s imperfections, number one. So first see you may also be imperfect. They are imperfect now but you may be imperfect in other places. Then your patience is better, you have more patience. Do you see what I am saying? Awareness of your imperfections. Second is give time to others to be perfect, accept their imperfection. Okay, let them take their time, if not now then the next two, three years they will change. So giving others the time to change. Third, it is okay to have some imperfections, got it! Accepting imperfection in situations and in others. So these are the three ways in which you can overcome anger. The fourth way is just dispassion, knowing everything is going to finish, it’s okay doesn’t matter. Do you see what I am saying? If you want to say the fourth one you can say, everything is going to finish, you are going to die, everybody is going to die, so what! If they keep the pillow this side or that side, doesn’t matter. Got it! If there are wrinkles in the sheet below you, doesn’t matter. If you have broken a dozen glasses, it doesn’t matter, anyways everything is going to finish, correct. So see the futility of things in a broader light, in a bigger picture. Then also you will have a say over your anger, okay!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You see if you listen to your own mind, your consciousness will tell you what it is that you need; your inside tells you. When you are tired what do you need? Rest. When you are thirsty what do you need? Water. When you are hungry you need food. When your body is dull, you need a little more exercise, correct. In the same way when your mind has low energy, dull that’s when you need meditation. Yes, sometimes you may fail to recognize what you really need, you don’t know. Like you know children sometimes they cry; they don’t know what they need. They want to go to sleep and they don’t know how to go to sleep and they cry, isn’t it. They are hungry they want to drink but they don’t know and they cry. Similarly whenever we are unhappy, miserable, know for sure we really need food for the soul. And food for soul is meditation. So you must take time and just meditate. It is effortless, no effort at all. So in life everybody needs three things, one is Yoga. Yoga means to get what we don’t have. Yoga is what? Uniting or getting what you don’t have, what you need. Second is Bodh, being aware of what you have. Bodh means what? Awareness of what you have and Prem. Prem means love. Love, awareness and Yoga, these three things are essential, and spiritual path gives all the three. Are you getting what you need? Here everyone is getting what you need? How many of you are getting what you need raise your hands. So see what you need, what you desire that is coming, and that is Yoga. If you want something and you never get it that means you have to go more into meditation; got it? That is Yoga. Then bodh; are you grateful for what you have? (Many in the audience say ‘Yes’) Then definitely love wells up in our heart, right. So all three things come to you and that is our spiritual path. That’s the path, and The Art of Living brings you all the three. And how much you walk the path, how much you are into seva, how much you participate that much you get, right. Okay!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, first is confidence that ‘Yes I can do it!’ Second is ethics; you should not move from ethics. Your entrepreneurship should not move away from ethics, otherwise you will find a quick rise but you will fall that fast, as fast as you rise. Got it!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Have you done Sudarshan Kriya? (Ans – 'No yet') That is where Sudarshan Kriya helps. It quickly takes you deep in meditation.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yeah, yeah, sure! There is ABC, Art of Living Bureau of Communication here.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well! Why do you have so much self doubt on that, if you want you have it, if you don’t want you don’t have it, that’s it, finished! Okay, you know sometimes people have this concept, you have to have this. I remember when we were in college they said if you don’t smoke it is not normal. ‘You are not smoking, that is not normal. You are going to college and you don’t smoke?’ ‘You travel in plane then you must smoke.’ That is why every seat had that ash tray. Every seat having ash tray means everyone must be smoking. And they used to bring cigarettes inside the flight as well. Only during take-off and landing you should put-off the cigarettes. But today what has happened? There is no ash tray in any flight around the world; anywhere in the world. I am telling you about thirty, thirty five, forty years ago. It was a norm, if you are to sit in the flight means you have to plug your nose and sit, have a filter. Things change you know, so we never felt that we should smoke and I never touched a cigarette, never! So like that the norms in society change at different times and places. So you are normal whatever you feel like doing, okay! And if that is not anti-social, it doesn’t obstruct that Dharma then it is okay.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Why should there not be,tell me why should there not be?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Okay! You are in the right place okay, it will happen automatically, don’t worry.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You know I have said there are three formulas: One is everyone take pledge, ‘we will not give bribe’, second youths like you go with a sticker, ’I will not take bribe’ stickers and put it in all the government offices and the third thing is a strong Lokpal bill. For that we have already impressed it on all the members of the parliament. See, unless the electoral reforms happen, and the parliamentary democracy has some loopholes, those things are corrected, just a legislation alone will not help. There are many legislations in this country, but they are not being honoured.