Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Could you talk about the role of women? Today, women are portrayed as a commodity. How can we change this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Pity those who see women as a commodity. Praise those who see women as people who can make a difference in society.Q:
I am young and sometimes I like to go out and drink with my friends. I don’t feel guilty. Should I?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sometimes you do so only socially. When you become unhappy, this socialising drink will catch on and you will drink more and more. You could become an alcoholic. Just say no, keep away. Be firm that you won’t have it, then you are in a safe place. From here, you can never turn into an alcoholic. I’ve seen so many people become alcoholic with the same logic. They start with ‘once in a while’. Alcohol does so much damage to your nervous system that can reflect in the pure consciousness, the deeper reality. Drink brings dullness. It is like driving with the brakes on. If you want to progress, you must put some barriers,for instance, tobacco. Smoking was considered part of the culture some 35-40 years ago. Today, it is not. We have been saying this for years and it has taken so long and cost millions of lives. So many lives would have been saved. No smoking, no drugs, no alcohol – put these barriers.Q:
What should be the ultimate desire of our life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If somebody tells you what the ultimate desire should be, that’s futile. This moment what you need is your desire. When you look at life from a broader perspective, then you yourself come to know what you want. Naturally, you will be compassionate, considerate for your environment, work for the country and keep doing such work and then it will not matter what the ultimate desire is. What this life is all about, you will know that naturally.Q:
How do I know if I am progressing on the spiritual path?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, are you calmer? Are you dynamic? Are you free from vices, bad habits and are you having a sense of belongingness with everybody around you? These are some of the measures; they don’t have to be the only measures.Q:
How is it that having experienced dispassion and bliss, the mind still goes towards the mundane?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is the nature of the mind, never mind! The mind is made up of three qualities ie, sattva (purity/clarity), rajas (activity/action) and tamas (inertia). According to the combination of these three qualities, different states of mind prevail at different times. Don’t be bothered by these. Everything comes and goes.Q:
Guruji, it is said in Puranas that a wife wishes for the same husband for the next seven life times. Is it true?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, I am not qualified to answer this question. You can ask people around you and find out. Some will say yes and some will say no, take a census and go by your experience. Once, this lady in America was telling that she has been married for 40 years and she has been living with the same husband. The other people present were wonder-struck at how she was living with the same man for 40 years. Then she said if you don’t know how to row one boat, even if you change the boat, you will not know how to row it. I said, ‘This is the story of every family in India and this tradition is there in the villages.’ If you don’t know how to row a boat, changing the boat is no use. That is why, however the people around us are, we have to maintain a good relationship with them and through whatever means and efforts we should nurture the good qualities in others. Just criticizing anyone is not helpful. Instead you have to become a bridge. If you are just going to sit and criticize then it will only bring distance. You have to understand them, where they are coming from and why are they doing wrong. And then you explain to them lovingly, win them over with love. This takes a lot of time; it is very easy to criticize someone and keep them away from you. That can be done in minutes but to be with them day and night, to explain to them and to bring change in them is very difficult and important. That is what should be done.Q:
How do I change failure into success?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just move on, move forward. Don’t look back. Failure can only be in the past, never in the future. Again, it’s about understanding the event. If you see it from a broader perspective, you will see it better.Q:
I am young and sometimes I like to go out and drink with my friends. I don’t feel guilty. Should I?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sometimes you do so only socially. When you become unhappy, this socialising drink will catch on and you will drink more and more. You could become an alcoholic. Just say no, keep away. Be firm that you won’t have it, then you are in a safe place. From here, you can never turn into an alcoholic. I’ve seen so many people become alcoholic with the same logic. They start with ‘once in a while’. Alcohol does so much damage to your nervous system that can reflect in the pure consciousness, the deeper reality. Drink brings dullness. It is like driving with the brakes on. If you want to progress, you must put some barriers,for instance, tobacco. Smoking was considered part of the culture some 35-40 years ago. Today, it is not. We have been saying this for years and it has taken so long and cost millions of lives. So many lives would have been saved. No smoking, no drugs, no alcohol – put these barriers.Q:
Dear Guruji, you come in dreams a lot of times and solutions have given me spiritual guidance. Is this true, should I believe in this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Only when everything happens right then… if things go wrong then it is your own mind! (laughter) See, you got a thought, an intuition, when it is correct. If it doesn’t match the reality, you don’t call it “I had an intuition” how do you say it? “I had an illusion.” Difference between an illusion and intuition is that an intuition is correct, and illusion is not correct.Q:
Guruji, please explain to us laws of Karma, how can I revert physical illness and perform selfless seva? My physical illness prevents me from being active and happy and loving. I get tired very fast. Please guide. Love you.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know, the best thing is not worry about it too much. Got it? Karma is only in the mind, yet you worry about physical illness “oh this is my karma...” See, the body has its limitations. Everybody’s body has a limitation. And if we have violated the laws of nature, it is going to take its toll some time. Okay? So, keep your spirits high, the rest will be taken care of by itself.