Sat, 29/05/2010
My heartiest gratitude to you. Who are you Gurudev?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First, you know yourself. Why are youputting your effort in knowing me? You don’t know who you are. First, know thathow many times have you come in this world? When you know yourself, it will bevery easy to know me.
Sometimes, I feel that you are with me and watching meall the time. At some other times I feel that I am not connected. I feeldistracted during those times. I am unable to do sadhana also in such times. A lot of thoughts come in the mind.What should I do then?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: you have given answer in the questionitself. Nature of love is such that you feel longing in its absence. Once youget a glimpse of devotion, then its absence causes perturbation in mind. It isnot that devotion is absent there but you feel as if it is not there, and youfeel restless with this feeling.
If we look in the light of knowledge, Shri Narada has said in BhaktiSutras that the very indication of devotion is that you experience bliss inits presence and its absence makes you restless. This shows that you havedevotion, and consider yourself as lucky when you experience such restlessnessin mind.You feel absence of devotiononly for some time. Devotion is anyway always there, it never dies, but you mayfeel that it has decreased. This is natural. This happens only to those whohave a very good luck. Otherwise, inert person doesn’t feel any devotion. Mindof such a person is tormented with worries.
If we look in the light of knowledge, Shri Narada has said in BhaktiSutras that the very indication of devotion is that you experience bliss inits presence and its absence makes you restless. This shows that you havedevotion, and consider yourself as lucky when you experience such restlessnessin mind.You feel absence of devotiononly for some time. Devotion is anyway always there, it never dies, but you mayfeel that it has decreased. This is natural. This happens only to those whohave a very good luck. Otherwise, inert person doesn’t feel any devotion. Mindof such a person is tormented with worries.
How can we strengthen the faith?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Your very thought to strengthen thefaith strengthens it. Move ahead assuming that your faith is very strong. Whenyour intellect is purified, faith automatically gets strong. We should have apure diet in order to purify the intellect. So, pay attention on your food. Ifyou eat food thinking all sort of negative things in the world, that alsoaffects the intellect. Many times people get time to converse only duringmeals, and they discuss about topics like diseases while preparing and eatingthe food. This is very wrong, and we need to get rid of this habit. You becomewhat you eat. The type of food you take governs your mind. And again your mindhas a direct impact on your body. That is why you should eat food with a happystate of mind. If we are very excited, we cannot swallow food with ease. Alsoif we are restless, we end up eating more food. So, it is important to havefood with awareness.
Whenever I see you, tears start to roll down the eyes. Ifeel as if I know you since ages. Is it true?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are doubting your own experience. Thenit is surely true. We doubt the positive, and not the negative. We doubtsomebody’s honesty. Nobody has ever doubted dishonesty of a person. Same way, if somebody asks you if you arehappy, you say, “I don’t know whether I am happy or not”. But we are so sure ofour depression. We doubt in the existence of God. We never doubt in theexistence of this changeable and mortal world. Evolved scientists understand that there is a question mark on the apparently looking reality.
You told that God can be experienced in a state of effortlessness. What does it mean to be effortless?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Being effortless does not mean stop eating, drinking or doing other work. This has a deeper meaning. Keep on doing all your work, and while doing your work, know inside you that you are doing nothing. In the beginning, you sit for some time and experience that you are doing nothing. Then you will start experiencing that even you are doing but there is a field in you which is not doing anything.
Ancient sages had beautifully explained this. There are two birds sitting on the same tree. One is eating and the other is only witnessing this. In the above context, it is the free bird which is being discussed, the bird which is effortlessly witnessing. Pay attention to that also. The two birds are friends. They live together. One is always witnessing and other is involved in all the work.
Effortlessness does not mean sitting idle. Lord Sri Krishna said in Geeta that you cannot be without doing any action even for a second. Keep on doing your karma and at the same time be the witness of your karma. This is very deep knowledge.
After the session a book was released –Understanding Shiva. While launching the book Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told thatthe book also included a scientific perspective of all pervading Shiva tattva.
Ancient sages had beautifully explained this. There are two birds sitting on the same tree. One is eating and the other is only witnessing this. In the above context, it is the free bird which is being discussed, the bird which is effortlessly witnessing. Pay attention to that also. The two birds are friends. They live together. One is always witnessing and other is involved in all the work.
Effortlessness does not mean sitting idle. Lord Sri Krishna said in Geeta that you cannot be without doing any action even for a second. Keep on doing your karma and at the same time be the witness of your karma. This is very deep knowledge.
After the session a book was released –Understanding Shiva. While launching the book Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told thatthe book also included a scientific perspective of all pervading Shiva tattva.