Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Why is it that people who are not on the same path don’t understand us and take it against us? I don’t understand.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Let them talk. So what? Take it. It doesn’t matter. We don’t insist that everyone talk only good. By their talking, you don’t become negative.So, don’t be football of others’ opinion. Let anybody say anything. It doesn’t matter. When you are clear in your heart, and what you do is right, what you want to do is right, you just do it. What do you say? (Clapping from the audience.)
Q:
I want to serve you. Where do I go?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are so many opportunities here. Bad Antogast needs several people who would like to do some service.Come to the German Ashram.There are other places also.Q:
How to increase the belonging-ness and Sattva in energy, to be able to bring more people into this path?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This question, I leave it with you. Keep asking this question. Time to time you get ideas and implement those ideas. And get people to be peaceful, happy, what we call sattvik. Sattvik means harmonious, the harmony within yourself and the harmony with your world.Q:
If God is within us, why does God not guide us all towards good deeds alone? Why is there somuch crime and violence in the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Imagine a movie with no villain. Imagine there is only a hero who is eating, sleeping and generally just hanging around with nothing to do! Would you watch such a movie? Oppositevalues are complementary. Thorns and petals both exist. You have the choice to pick up eitherthe thorns or the petals. God is there within. He is sometimes sleeping and hiding, sometimesawake and dancing. After some sadhana, God is awake. Then He is rocking. Awaken the Godand Goddess in you! A stone does not feel, but a living being does. Waking the godliness in youis essential. This is why there are particular hymns sung in India in the morning, ‘Wake up andbless us, O Lord’! On one level, it sounds ridiculous. It is the parents’ job to wake up children, butin this hymn, human beings are singing to the Gods to wake up and bless the creation. This is aparadox, and in this paradox, is hidden a deep secret of existence.Q:
What to do when a loved one is diagnosed with a potentially terminal condition?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Bless them. Carry on, Sing, dance, meditate. If you think too much about the illness, it pulls down your energy. Medical attention is required, but have faith also. A turnaround can happen at any time. There is divine grace that is present with you. Anytime, anything is possible.Q:
For fifteen years I’ve been with the same job and my boss doesn’t respect me at all. Should Iquit and start my own business? Please give me some direction.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Choice is yours, blessings are mine.Q:
Please say something about spiritual materialism.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I am hearing a new word today. Well, don’t divide life: this is spiritual or this is materialistic. Take a holistic view of life. In a temple there is food. In that sense both material and spiritual aspects are there. Music is both a form of entertainment and spirituality. We even put ornate clothes on our deities. Ancient people never separated the spiritual and material. They enjoyed putting precious jewels in temples.In South India, in Madurai, kings gave away most of their precious jewels to the temples. Everything co-existed. In the same way you can treat work as worship. It is sacred. Spirituality has entered our material life. Action is sacred. Lord Krishna says, “Janma karma samay divya”. All actions are divine.Lord Krishna himself was very much of the material world except for his discourse to Arjuna. All he did was materialistic. He ruled the country, advised as a minister, and so on. Life should not be compartmentalized. Materialism and spirituality are not opposed to each other.
However, money earned through unethical means is never spiritual. It will pinch your heart. The spirit is awake in you. It is your natural instinct. If you have a plate full of food and someone comes to you, you will not be able to eat it alone. It is such a natural part of your life that you cannot renounce one for the other. Every spiritual person has to do charity. You want to be compassionate, but how can you be when you have nothing to give away. Charity cannot happen with an empty bowl.
Narayana is the pinnacle of spiritual life and Laxmi is the symbol of wealth. Both Narayana and Laxmi go together. Saraswati sat on a rock. The knowledge that you have gained will always be with you. Laxmi sits on a lotus which floats on water. You will never believe what happens in the share market. Wealth is unsteady just as a lotus floating on water. These are the eternal symbols that convey truth. Grasp what is needed. This is very important.
Q:
In Celebrating Silence you say that ambition indicates lack of self-confidence. Is this so?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If I say, “I have successfully lifted this bottle of water”, this indicates I was not confident that I could have done it. Being ambitious is when you are not confident of achieving something. ‘I ran ten miles. I did not think I would do it’ - Claiming success indicates your limitation. You are unaware of your huge potential. But the attitude should be ‘ I ran ten miles? I don’t realize that I can also do 100 miles’!Q:
How can one conquer the ego?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The tendency of the ego is to say “I am not crazy, I am proper. Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome. It is a one-day job. Just act like a crazy person. Can you do that? For one day. Done! Make people believe you have gone completely crazy. It is the best antidote for ego.” If you cannot do this, can you simply behave as a child for the rest of your life? No third option. Be a baby for the rest of your life or a crazy person. Be one who has attained the essence. Apart from this, keep the ego. Don’t try to get rid of it. Do this slowly. Otherwise it is impossible.When people laugh at you, can you relax? When people point at you, just relax. Smile and accept it. A mother has no ego. Whatever the children say, she accepts. If they kick , does the mother get perturbed? If you are unperturbed, you have conquered the ego. Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are.
Naturalness is the antidote for you. Be spontaneous! Ego cannot stand spontaneity. Ego wants to present everything properly and prepare beforehand. Children are so spontaneous. They make mistakes. Never mind making mistakes. Just be like a child. Anybody can say anything about you.
Another block we often have is to feel something is not practical. No need to practice anything. Our own mind is saying it is not practical. We wanted 2,000 Hindustani classical musicians to perform together. Every teacher said it was impossible. A choir in India! It is not like here with so many people and that many styles. They have their own octaves. We had a program called Antarnaad. You should see it on Youtube. There were 2,750 singers. Only one day of practice! Make the impossible possible. We should remove the block in our own mind. Top musicians were spellbound at the Antarnaad event.
Q:
How do we stop blaming ourselves for failures?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
First of all, don’t pay any attention at all to the mind. If we pay attention, that's it. Instead, pranayama, meditation and yoga are very good solutions.