Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
You said that the past is a dream. People have been sexually, financially, spiritually abused. I have had nightmares about it. How do you say it can be dream?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Listen, people have gone through abuse. Practices like the Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama, and yogasanas will help them to erase those impressions and move forward. Along with the kriya, see the whole event as a movie, a dream. This understanding, without giving them the depth of meditation, is incomplete.This understanding and the practices complement each other. It’s like watching television and listening to it. You have to do both.
Q:
My mind is alright but the problem I face is with my heart. My heart keeps troubling. Sometimes I can feel my heart is bleeding.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Read knowledge books. Listen to the knowledge talks. That’s why I have given a commentary on three types of knowledge talks. Patanjali Yogasutras – all about yoga and the mind. Bhakti Sutras which explain the different types of love. The Ashtavakra Gita which explain every aspect of life and awareness.Q:
How did your parents raise you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Very good.. Always understanding and always cooperative. nn
Q:
Guruji, will divine love take care of my worries? Will divine love cure the illness of my loved ones?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Divine love is not a currency that you can use for whatever you want. You cannot even use the same currency everywhere.Definitely, divine love will take care of you but don’t keep thinking about it as though that is the main problem. You know, love means letting go, not trying to grab. If you think god loves you, then god knows what is best for you. He doesn’t need your recommendation. You see what I am saying? Nature knows. It will take care of things. We do our best, leave rest to nature.
nQ:
Please talk about forgiveness and karma? Are they related? When someone forgives you, does that reduce our bad actions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes. Forgiveness is a quality of a matured mind. A cultured, civilised, matured, intelligent person will always forgive.Q:
If problems come, we surrender them to you and relax. If at all, you face problems, what do you do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I take it as a challenge and I enjoy challenges!Q:
Do spirituality and politics go hand in hand?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Spirituality is essential to keep politics away from corruption and war. Politics without spirituality will lead to narrow-mindedness. Mahatma Gandhi was an extremely spiritual man, and that’s why he was able to lead a non-violent revolution in India.On the African continent, there is so much corruption. 200 billion dollars is kept away in English banks. This is the money of various presidents and Prime Ministers in Africa. 200 billion dollars at a time when many people are starving and suffering! With an iota of spirituality, they wouldn’t do this.
Spirituality that doesn’t care about people is no good. So service projects are an essential part of any spiritual path. Charity is a part of spirituality.
Q:
What’s older, Tamil or Sanskrit? Why don’t you sing Thevarams in Tamil?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I only know one language. The language of the heart.How does it matter? Whether Sanskrit is older or Tamil is older?
There is a feeling that oldest is best... is that the thing?
In New Delhi, there is a 99-year-old man. But he is very alert. He has written 220 books on a wide range of topics like Ayurveda and history. He once attended a debate where historians were arguing on the location of the first man. There were three days of debate and discussion. Some people said Africa, some people said Mongolia.
Eventually this elderly man, who was respected by all, walked up to the stage. He claimed that the first man was definitely born in India. Everyone was surprised that he was speaking with so much authority. He went on to say that the man was born in Punjab. People were even more surprised. ‘Not only that, I know which town in Punjab he was born in, and which street, and which house,’ he said. Now the others started to suspect something. He eventually said, “I was born there!” But the historians understood his point. It was all speculation and hypothesis.
The heart seeks the old, and the head seeks the new, the latest and greatest. When in love, we feel that our connection is for ever. Life is a combination of the two – old and new.
Both Tamil and Sanskrit are very old. English, Italian, German are very close to Sanskrit. Russian, even closer. Sanskrit is the mother of all these Indo-European languages.
Q:
There have been lots of questions about choosing Gurus etc.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
My advice is follow one path, but honour everybody.Why should you follow one path? If you go to different teachers, you will get different opinions. One person will say chant ‘So Ham’, another will say chant ‘Ham Sa’. Another will say, ‘No no, chant ‘Dasoham’ (I am a servant). Another will say ‘Sada soham’. So this will create spiritual confusion.
Stick to one path and try it for some time. If it is not getting you anywhere, then reconsider. Spiritual shopping will not help in your growth.
Listen to the Yoga Sutras, Ashtavakra Geeta and Narada Bhakti Sutras.There is no need for confusion even if you were following another path earlier. Take that as a gift, as a stepping stone that brought you here.
Q:
When will all national boundaries dissolve?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When everyone starts to do the Sudarshan Kriya. (audience laughs and claps)