Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
There are times when people do something bad to you that hurts and you cannot seem to forgive them and time goes by and you still seem to keep that feeling. But you want to forgive them and you want to have a good relationship with that person.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, I think meditation will help. More understanding will help. If someone has done something wrong to you, see it from this angle that the person was just a post man to do what he did. Yes, this is number one. Second angle is, the person was ignorant he didn’t know what he was doing that is why he was doing it, right. Third is to see that person is a victim himself/herself, so they did the mistake the way they did it. In this way you broaden your vision. Suddenly you will see things are all turning aroundQ:
I left my previous job because there was too much of jealousy and back-stabbing. How do I work with such negative people?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Skillfully. Negative people bring out lots of skills in you. You should thank them, they teach you how to deal with them, how to maneuver through all those situations and make you move ahead. And they push all the buttons and make you free from buttonsQ:
When I am in US I want to come to India and when I am in India I miss US, what do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, do exactly what you are doing, miss here and miss there but don't miss your meditations, don't miss your sadhana, seva and satsang. That will be everywhere.Q:
Guruji, the fact that meditation alters attitude is clear, does meditation alter aptitude as well?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, of course.Q:
Can a devotee’s love for the Divine reduce and if it does what needs to be done to change it.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
In time, it will become alright.Q:
How to forget betrayal? Someone has betrayed me long back and that man keeps coming to my mind. After doing yoga, meditation, pranayam, etc., I am able to get these thought occasionally. Earlier it was coming frequently. How to completely drive away these thought?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s already less, isn't it? How much has it reduced till now?. Once in a while, it comes, right? So what? It doesn’t matter. The more you resist it, it’ll keep coming back. Just take it, it’s an experience in life.Q:
How do know when to keep knocking on the same door and letting go?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, do both – knock and let go and let go and knock.Q:
Guruji, in deep meditation can we sleep?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes it is okay. In deep meditation sometimes tandra comes and you fall asleep, never mind. Wake up and do a little more pranayam. Today, did you feel every cell waking up? (Many answer YES). How many of you felt your body became so light?Q:
Dear Guruji, is Shiva consciousness and Krishna consciousness the same?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, yes, they’re same. Krishna consciousness is a little naughtier, that’s it. When it is silent,it is Shiva consciousness, when it is active,it is Krishna consciousness.Q:
Is there a place in our consciousness where everything is known? If yes, how can we go there?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, our consciousness is like having a library. In a library, there are millions of books, right? The librarian holds all the books but it is not necessary that he knows every book by heart. But he knows where what is and when it is needed, he can pick it up and know it. In the same way, though our consciousness is the abode of all the knowledge, it is not necessary to know everything all the time. Impossible. It is impossible in a physical body to know everything all the time. But when you are still, when your mind is in absolute stillness, and there is no craving and aversions, it is just free. Then you are like the librarian, who possesses all. The owner of the library who has all the knowledge and he can access it when it is needed, if it is needed. A lawyer has all the books but he doesn’t by-heart all the books all the time. But when a particular case comes up he knows which book to pick up and where exactly to put his finger. In the same way our consciousness is an abode of all knowledge, right? When you are so still and free from mental modulations - that is when you are a yogi. Then you can know… that’s why the still consciousness, yogic consciousness is called sarvagna.‘Tatraniratishayamsarvagyabeejam’ is a sutra in yoga sutras. In that consciousness, when you’re in a Samadhi state, the seed of all-knowingness is present in that.