Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Why is it so simple to be complicated?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you think it is so simple to be complicated, it is so complicated to be simple then! Then you can easily accept that life is a mixture of both complication and simplicity. And if you don’t want to do only simple things in your life all the time and want to do something complicated as well then, you do something which is so complicated it makes you so simple.Q:
What is the meaning of the symbols on the pillars (in the Vishalakshi Mantap – the Meditation Hall in the Ashram)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
All these symbols are from various faiths in the world. You see Om, the universal primordial sound. Underneath you see the DharmaChakra of Buddhism. Then you see on the second pillar, Cross, this is the sign of Christianity and then the Feather, which is the sigh on Native American religion. Then you see the Hand, which is the sign of Jainism. Underneath is the Turban and the Sword, which is the sign of Sikhism. Then you have the Conch and the Disk, which is a sign of Vaishnavism- a branch of Hinduism. Underneath you have, Shintoism and Taoism. Then you have Islam. Below Islam, Taoism, Ying and Yang. Then you have signs of other native religions. In the end you have Judaism and underneath is Zoroastrian fire symbol. So, almost all the faiths in the world are represented here.Q:
Even after doing the Art of Living course why do some people live in such hatred and ego? How to teach them the language of love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Bring them to satsang again and again. Sometimes, even after having good intentions in the mind, a person tends to fall because of the company (he keeps). This is called sanghdosh. People are good and wish to walk the right path, but due to bad company, are not able to imply their good thoughts. Thus, satsang is very effective and vital. Inspire others and bring them to satsang. Just like people push others to do wrong acts, similarly for good also we sometimes need to pull people.Q:
We crave for the pleasure of the senses, personal gain and power. Do cravings drop one at a time or all together?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sometimes cravings dissolve one at a time, sometimes all together. As soon as anurag(devotion) is born in life, everything else is dropped. When there is love and devotion you will see that all the negativity is removed on its own. When the satva is increased in life, attachments and aversions due to rajoguna, tamguna are themselves removed. For some, it happens slowly and gradually and some undergo misery and then drop it. They drop it because of misery.Q:
Can we aspire for something higher like enlightenment at the age of twenty one?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Definitely. You should aspire for enlightenment and enlightenment is unconditional happiness, unconditional love and a life in which you are in the driver’s seat. You must aspire for enlightenment. Right from when you recognize to aspire anything in life. Go to the highest first and all the good things will come along, you don’t have to make an effort for it.When I say you don’t have to make an effort, I mean you don’t have to sit and worry about it. When you aspire for the highest, your action will be spontaneous and in the spontaneity you will see things have started falling into place.
Q:
We are not supposed to marry in our own gotra (family tree). Scientifically, what does a gotra mean?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Gotra is a family tree, like you know if you marry your own siblings, or cousins, they say the genes will not develop properly, children will not develop. The family trees go back to some rishis in the past. And they say that gotra means we belong to this (a particular) family. Today what the scientists say about blood groups was known to people thousands of years ago. Yet people from the same gotra have spread. If you marry in the same gotra the children will not be too healthy. That is the main thing. It’s better to avoid.But those were the thoughts from some thousands of years ago but now since we have gone so far away and the population has spread so much, it has become so vast. I don’t know how relevant it is. But (marriage within) gotra is better to avoid.
Q:
Every day, in different corners of the world, people ask you the same questions. Don’t you get bored? I am very inspired by your patience.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
My consciousness is nitnutan (new every moment). First we get bored with ourselves and then bore others or get bored from others. When we are joyous with ourself, then nothing from outside can seem boring to us.Q:
I have a habit of recalling the pleasant memories of life again and again, as it gives a glimpse of the same pleasure as I felt in the past. Is it something to be cautious of, can it hinder my growth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s alright, don’t make an effort to sit and go on remembering the past. I think you have too much free time. Get busy and start working. There are so many things to do in the world. Where is the time to live in the past, recollect all the past. Right? The world is new every moment. Go with it. Don’t turn back and keep looking back. Move forward.Q:
Why is that we are unable to understand the mind- which is the most powerful thing in the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have you begun to understand it? (reply: No) then start from somewhere and then we will see whether it is fully understandable or not.Q:
How to strengthen dispassion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Without dispassion, sadhana (spiritual practices) won’t work. When mind is caught up in entanglements then sadhana is not possible. Once dispassion is there, sadhana becomes very simple. Also with sadhana the mind is cleansed and dispassion arises.