Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
What is more important happiness or performing one’s duty?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Both. You have to perform your duty and you have to be happy. Why do you want to have a choice between these two? Hmm... If there is a choice, go for duty first because if you are unhappy it may be momentary, right? Happiness is there, will come. But if you are choosing happiness before duty then you will be unhappy in the end. So it’s better to be unhappy in the beginning than keep it a long, long program.Q:
Dear Guruji, when and how can I achieve the ultimate bliss?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No chance (laughter). No way. Forget about it. Are you ready to forget it? Then you got it NOW. Your mind is anxious for “ultimate happiness, ultimate bliss, one day I want to achieve...”Q:
How can you bring someone you love onto the spiritual path if they keep resisting? I try and it doesn’t seem to be working.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t give up. Try with all your tricks. The question is how canyou bring someone into spiritual path if they are resisting it. I say keep trying. Try, try again, and keep doing it. If they seem to be adamant you be more adamant.Q:
Dear Guruji, apart from being friendly to everyone, what kind of friends I need to have in my life? And what to do when my friends don’t stand up to me or don’t trust me in times of need?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Listen, don’t analyze anybody. This is another conclusion. Stop analyzing anyone. Where is the time to analyze somebody, and don’t analyze yourself also. Just relax, know there is a power that is taking care of everything and the power loves you. Know this and just relax. Yeah? Best idea? You are at peace, and you will be helped that way. It is not someone who is going to help us; we have to do our thing. And nature is with us, there is a power with us which nobody can understand, nobody can understand, even we cannot understand. So, just trust in that power and relax.Q:
Guruji, please tell me can we do full moon meditation on a night where there is no moon?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The name is full moon meditation where you look at the moon and then close your eyes and meditate. On new moon night you cannot even see the moon. But if you want to imagine and do then fine, you can do, no problem, but somewhere the mind will say today is no moon day. In the meditation we say we are bathing in the light of the moon, if you superficially say this, then it will be false. There are many other meditations to do on the other days so on no moon day do some other meditation.Q:
Dear Guruji, please tell us what significance rivers have on our culture or religion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know rivers are considered very sacred. Rivers are very sacred in our culture. All our civilization grew on the banks of the rivers. All over the world, in England civilization grew on the banks of river Thames, in Germany it grew on the banks of river Rhine, all the castles are near river Rhine. So water is important to life. Without water there is no life. So in ancient times people had cities built on the banks of the rivers. In this country, all sacred penance also happened on the banks of the rivers. Each river is known for its own special events, like Ganga is known for knowledge. All the Rishi Munis did tapasya on the banks of Ganga. All the love stories blossomed on the banks of Yamuna. Sri Krishna played Rasa Leela on the banks of Yamuna. Narmada River is known for bhakti (devotion), knowledge and logic. Saraswati River is known for brilliance or architecture. Sindu is known for its own special culture; the Sindi culture blossomed on the Sind river banks. Brahmaputra River is the only male river, All other rivers are female. Because Brahmaputra was not gentle at all, it was never gentle, it was always a rogue river. It would change its course and cause so much sorrow so Brahmaputra was called a male river, a very arrogant, adamant river. So like that rivers are considered sacred and people never used to pollute rivers. When they go to rivers they would first bow down to the rivers and put their feet there but they would never spit in the river water. Even today villagers don’t spit in the river Ganga, so you don’t pollute the river. People would never urinate in the rivers, they would go away for the urination and when they come to the river they consider the water very sacred. Whenever you consider something sacred you preserve it, you honor it, and you see that you don’t pollute it. Today that is not the case. We have forgotten that and we throw everything in the river. What all people throw into the river, we must not do such things, we need to keep the river pure. All the dirt of the city is thrown into the river. From Gangotri, the Ganga River, by the time it reaches Kanpur, it becomes very dirty, not just Kanpur, even before that. After Haridwar the water is not clean enough to put it in our mouth, to drink it is not possible, that is what has happened. We must not do this, in the Ganga river we must only put things like raw rice or flowers but besides that nothing else. Plastics, cloths, and all these things we must not put in the river.Q:
Guruji, what do I have to do to be your daughter in my next life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
My daughter! Let love be love, don’t give it a name. All relationships are temporary but love is eternal so just be peaceful and believe that I am yours. The day I was born I declared I am yours and saying this I have come along that I am yours so you also know that I am yours. There is nothing else. Just be happy and bring happiness to others. With love you can win over everything. So put all your effort. Every person is living life according to their understanding, not everybody can live life your way. Everyone has their own ways and they all beat their own drums, sometimes in tune and sometimes out of tune. When they are playing out of tune, just be a little patient and pray that they start being in tune and you will see that it will happen. It’s all about time. When time is good then even your enemy becomes your friend but when time is bad then even a friend starts acting like an enemy. This you must keep in mind, and if you remember this then no one can disturb you. So, it is not difficult to change your bad time to good times. That will happen with meditation, prayer, surrender and chanting of mantras. Listen to the mantras ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ or ‘Om Namo Narayana’, keep listening to it for a little while and see how the situations and environment changes, just say Jai Gurudev!Q:
Guruji is moksha possible in this birth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes definitely, it is!Q:
Guruji, sometimes I get overconfident and sometimes I lack confidence. How do I get rid of this and just be confident?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know, you should have some variety. Otherwise it is too boring. You lose confidence only at times, right? That is okay and then you will pray. If you have confidence all the time you will forget to pray also. Nature has a good design.Q:
Guruji, when someone discourages us or disappoints us then how should we handle the situation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Go with more zeal and enthusiasm.