Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Guruji, is it difficult for a woman to organize something for she has to manage the home also. How does a woman do it effectively?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t think of anything as difficult. Even if it is difficult, it becomes more difficult when you perceive it to be difficult in your mind. If you get a difficult task to do, however much difficult it seems to be, know that we have an even greater power within. It is available to us and according to that we get tasks to do.Q:
What does Vishalakshi mean?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Vishala means broad, Akshi means vision. That which gives you broad vision is Vishalakshi.Q:
What is ‘yashti’ and ‘samashti’?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you sing daily? (The lady said that she sang at home when alone.) When you sing alone, that is yashti. When you sing with everybody here, participate in the bhajan with everyone that is samasthi. Samashti means the entire creation.Q:
What is the significance of pilgrimage in Hinduism? What is your experience of any Pilgrimage?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Best pilgrimage is Inward Journey! A pilgrimage is an opportunity for people to come together and pray together. As you know, praying together generates more energy, you know, a synergy. But don’t think God is only in pilgrim centres! God is omnipresent and omniscient. Ancient Rishis meditated in some places and put all that energy in some idol there. The scriptures talk about God as having no name and no form. There is freedom to worship God in any form or any name. Wisdom from anywhere was acknowledged.Q:
What is crisis and how to handle anxiety?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Crisis is the mother of many inventions. A crisis makes us very creative. However the crisis should not go on too long, that is not good.What can help anxiety is breathing techniques like pranayama which channelizes the life force energy in our body. We all float in a sea of prana (life-force energy). There is prana even in a stone.
Q:
There are so many staunch followers of the ‘Art of Living’. Why don’t we enter politics?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you have that inclination, you go ahead. I will give you support.Q:
In the Bhagwad Geeta, Lord Krishna says, ‘Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya ...Sambhavami Yuge Yuge.’ Please elaborate on that.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The atma shakti (power of the Self) that destroys the evil and preserves the satva (purity) appears again and again. When we say that God is compassionate, it is not just words but the truth. The expression of compassion has to happen. Creation showers compassion on society. At different times God comes in different names, forms and qualities.It is there in all religions - Jews are waiting for their messiah. Christ said that He will return again. So, Christians are still waiting. Prophet Mohammed came and left. People are still waiting for Buddha and Krishna to return.
I would say, don’t waste time waiting. Explore the depth of your Being and you will realize that the Supreme Consciousness is not someone coming in the future but is here, now. Faith in this knowledge is the sign of a seeker on the spiritual path.
People fight in the name of God and the messiah. Feeling the presence of the Divine is the art of living.
Q:
Dear Guruji, we have come here to appreciate silence more and more. I love it here but there are times when I would rather be alone and stay in silence. When I go to office or any social place like that, do you think too much silence is a bad thing?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Balance! Balance in life. Anything too much is no good. Too much talking is no good; too much silence is not for you now.Q:
Can you throw some light on Bhakti Yoga?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you sit in the Ganga aarti in the evening, you will find everybody singing so beautifully and a wave of devotion. Bhakti yoga is seeing the Divine as mine and oneself as belonging to the Divine, and all that exists belongs to the Divine.Q:
I have been in love with a girl for the past four years. Recently she broke up with me because of some misunderstanding. I want her back and don’t know what to do.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Basically you broke your heart. Okay so what do you want? You want her back right? What is the guarantee that if she comes back to you she will be happy? Do you know how to achieve what you want? You have to go deep inside. You have to become calm and centered. When you are feverish, your mind is agitated. You lose all your charm. If you are not charming, what is the guarantee that anybody will stay with you? You have to make yourself pleasant, charming, strong and subtle. Who wants to be with someone who is unhappy, sad or depressed? First get rid of your sadness. Shake off the past. accept the lessons from the past and move on. You have to become strong, serene, and calm.Only when you meditate, do pranayama and Sudarshan Kriya, Yoga then you can have all the four. Do yoga and you will see the difference immediately? When the difference comes your wishes will start being fulfilled.
When you are desperate, you can do only two things. Either commit suicide or repose in yoga. Only spirituality and knowledge can bring charm into your life. A yogi is one who not only can fulfill his desires but can also fulfill others desires.