Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How can you stay focused on your goals in these tough times of economic meltdown?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You need the four things curiosity, fear, greed and love.Remember the planet has faced worse crises than these. If you have a crisis you only have to look at a bigger crisis – start to serve the bigger ones and yours seem smaller and you overcome it effortlessly. When a crisis seems too humungous for you and you feel you cannot handle your own, focus on a bigger one. Have you noticed how children come to you with a big problem, and it turns out that their friend doesn’t want to speak to them. It seems so big. Or you argue with your neighbor, your girlfriend or boyfriend. The problem seems so big but this planet has had so many crises. The tsunami, war, famine, economic meltdown and still we overcome them all. Have faith and confidence.
1. Have confidence in you. You have the strength to manage the problem. If the problem is the tail then the body is the solution. So have confidence.
2. If this doesn’t work then know that there are people with greater problems and start serving them. It will make you feel better.
3. Surrender to the bigger power. Feel your helplessness and offer the problem to God. The sincere prayer will make things turn around. You don’t have to think about what denomination to pray. Just from helplessness arises the spontaneous prayer.
4. Know that it is a passing phase. It will always go. See life in the bigger picture. No problem stays forever. It came and it will go.
Read more: https://www.artofliving.org/intl/Portals/0/founder/ontour/09April0SpiritualityIsRelevantToSociety.pdf
Q:
How important is knowledge on the spiritual path? One who does not know how to read/write, can they grow on the spiritual path?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, one can. There are many examples in this country. Kabirdas (a famous saint in India) never went to a university. Guru Nanakdev (the Sikh prophet)…. there are lots of instances of famous people in this country.Q:
Why has God created this illusion of space and time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just for fun!Q:
Guruji, what gift shall I give u? After undergoing the advanced meditation programme, I am going back with such a rich experience.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Bring peace, knowledge and spirituality to more and more people around you. Recently, I was travelling from Canada to America. A security guy at the airport came running upto me and showed my book – ‘Celebrating Silence’. “Are you the author of this book?” he asked. I said, “Yes.” He shared his experience with me: “Someone gave this book to me six months ago. After reading this book, my life has changed. I carry this book all the time.” He has not even done the Sudarshan Kriya!Knowledge should be brought to everyone. You don’t know who needs the knowledge when and where.
Q:
I went to an astrologer and he suggested some remedies to dispel negative forecasts.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Chant Om Namo Shivay. It’s the best remedy. A bit of pujas is alright. Don’t spend too much money on them. Do charity with all your heart. Some chanting and meditation will help.Q:
What is emptiness?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Emptiness is the doorway between the material and spiritual worlds. It is where you come to understand the nature of the spirit, if you do not know emptiness, then you cannot know the joy of the Being. The knack for experiencing the Being causes emptiness. From the emptiness begins the fullness.On one side of emptiness is misery and on the other side of emptiness is joy.
That is what Buddha said: “The whole world is misery and what is to be achieved is emptiness.
Q:
Guruji, when we are doing our practices kriya and meditation together, are we affected by other people’s negativity and bad karmas?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no, no, absolutely not. Don’t worry. If you feel like you are getting affected by somebody’s depression or somebody’s negative energy, just say Om NamahShivaya a few times. It’s gone. It can happen. When people are so depressed and are not in proper shape and you meet them you may feel that. How many of you feel that, when you meet very depressed people something happens to your own body, right? Om NamahShivaya, Jai gurudev - it just disappears.Q:
Guruji, today youth are more interested in drugs, alcohol and pornography. What is your advice for the parents on how should they handle teenagers and how can they have a better relationship with them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, it is a very delicate issue because teenagers don’t like to be dominated by the parents. Usually there is tendency to do that, so here parents should mellow down a little bit and help understand each other. We need to keep teenagers very busy, give them plenty of entertainment and lots of sports. Give them so much work that they do not have any time for anything. They come back home tired and fall asleep. So it is the age between eight to eighteen that they can learn sports. They should go to the gymnasium, do swimming. You know, when someone has done swimming for an hour, and then some exercise they come back home and all their energy is exhausted and they want to sleep. Morning they wake up fresh and they should learn music, they should be given lot of puzzles, and they should be exposed to a lot of information, entertainment, and education. This is how you can keep the teenagers away from sitting and surfing through the internet and viewing all pornography.Q:
Dear Guruji, could you talk about spirits and ghosts, do they exist? How to get rid of them if they start liking you too much?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know, it’s like getting into a muddy pond and trying to jump out of it. The more you try to jump out of it you sink into it. So the best thing is just do your sadhana and worry about people around you. Do some service project and get into some service activity. Do your bhajans, singing, all this will take care of everything. Don’t focus your attention on the spirits at all now.Q:
Guruji, is it okay to believe in God and not pray?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, it is okay. You be part of spirituality. That is what is important. See, you are born with some religion. Your name indicates the religion. You will be either cremated or buried. These things, your birth and your death, is determined by your religion. So denying a religion or going with it is all matter of choice. But what I would say is, you be spiritual and when you are here, this knowledge raises you to such a platform that gives you the essence of all religions.