Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

No one can take away your self esteem from you. Ego cannot be sustained and so it troubles you. When there is satva (pure energy) and wisdom, ego does not trouble you. Ego needs the presence of the other. Self esteem does not.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

A shift from secularism to spiritualism is the solution to crime. This spiritual education must be given to children. Removing greed from the heart is the solution to poverty.
Everyone must take responsibility and think ‘What can I do?’

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

As a sevak (volunteer), you should remember that even if you get stones in return for seva, it’s fine.
If someone scolds you or curses you, you remain unfazed. Don’t make yourself sad or anyone else sad.
Remember this - you need nothing in return for seva - not even a ‘thanks’. Do not say: ‘I have never needed anything else, only a few words of gratitude’ - you shouldn’t expect even that. If you do seva without expecting anything, then that is bliss. If you expect people to praise you or thank you, then the quality of seva goes down.

Seva should walk hand in hand with sadhana (spiritual practices). If one is absent, you will not gain anything from the other. From sadhana you get strength to do seva, and from seva you get depth in sadhana.

But remember that sadhana is your first priority! You should make time to do sadhana, you should be smart in managing time. There is no end to work, there is always work everyday. So make time for sadhana.

Make it a rule - if you don’t do sadhana, you won’t eat the next meal. Promise yourself that you won't eat till you have finished sadhana. Then it becomes a routine. When doing sadhana, say: “Let me do a couple more bhastrika breaths* , a few more minutes of meditation...” If you make your own rules like this, then there is no limit to the strength you will gain.

By working, your energy and strength gets spent. Through sadhana, we can regain the energy and strength.

Another tip for volunteers: you should be emphathetic to people. When we are doing sadhana or seva, we shouldn't be too proud or too angry. If a volunteer is not sweet in his behavior to people and is always angry, then he won't be able to inspire anyone. Our behavior, our actions, our talk, everything should be inspirational.

Another tip: work should be delegated, and delegate work with trust. Many people don't know how to do this. They try to do everything themselves. If you do everything yourself, keep all the keys and try to control everything, then it won't work.
If you want to ride a horse, you can’t hold the bridle too loose or too tight. So also you should shoulder responsibility, but at the same time delegate work. This is an important point for a volunteer.

Remember to do sadhana and meditation while doing seva, and go ahead!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

The religions, which deny idol worship, propagate some sort of idol worship themselves.
When I visited Iraq, I travelled to Najaf, and Karbala and saw an installation of gold and silver, with sacred cloth on the samadhi. People do mannat (pray) to fulfill their wishes. This is like idol worship.

The same with Kaaba. People perform seven circumambulations around it, and kiss it. This is also idol worship.
Of course, it doesn’t have ears, eyes, and a nose, yet it is the same thing.
If some people don’t worship an idol, they worship books, or a picture, and offer flowers, and decorate it.
Irrespective of whether you worship a stone or a picture or an idol, it is a representation, a symbol of God.
What is a symbol? It is something that touches a chord in you.
Puja is an act of honoring. Honoring symbols is puja.

In India, our ancestors believed that one develops a bond with a face. You make a connection. It is because of this connection that they promoted idol worship.

Idol worship is only one of the forms proposed by our ancestors.
They said start with an idol. More important than an idol, is yantra (an energy diagram).
Even more important than yantra is mantra.
They said that mantra is mukti (freedom). Mantra is chetana (consciousness).

There is a shloka (phrase) in Sanskrit, which says:
For a farmer, water is God,
For the intellectual, the brain is God,
For a child, an idol is God,
For the wise man, the Soul is God.

When do people perform Ganesha puja? It is believed that the energy of Ganapati comes into the idol for a few days.
So people do pran prathista (evoking the soul) in the idol.
People pray to Lord Ganesha to say: ‘You always stay in my heart. Come into the idol, so that I can play with you.’
After performing the puja, people again pray to Lord Ganesha to return to their hearts.
The idol is then immersed in water (visarjan).

This is a festival. It adds celebration and color to your life. Sometimes it is not fully understood, and people become too caught up with rituals. That too is wrong.

That is why it is important to sit for puja in a meditative state.

When you sing bhajans in satsang, you don’t visualize the God. You sing and your mind becomes empty. Thus, chetana (consciousness) grows.

Jains started idol worship, then Buddhism followed. Sanatana Dharma adopted this very quickly. It was also adopted by Christianity. To criticize idol worship is foolishness. It is important to understand it.

Yet people should not be superstitious about idol worship.

This also doesn’t mean you can skip idol worship altogether. You board a bus and get down, but the place you got on and the place you got down are different. You don’t think: “I have to get down from the bus anyway, so why should I get on it?”
This is foolishness, (a kutark mindset).

When you sit to worship, be in a meditative state. In meditation, you unite with the sky.
Then through words and mantras, offer wind, fire, then water. With that kalash of water (a pot of water decorated with mango leaves at its mouth and a coconut), waves in creation are evoked. It is said that there is no life in an idol if it is not evoked through mantras and made strong with devotion.

Our ancestors have given us this great method as a way to unite people, spread love and wisdom.

In Sabari Malai (Mount Sabari) in Kerala, Lord Aiyappa is worshipped. There is a mosque on the way, dedicated to a Sufi saint. Everyone circumambulates the mosque and then proceeds to the Aiyappa temple. People believe that the Sufi saint was a good friend of Lord Aiyappa.

This is how India is united.

Guru Nanak (central figure in Sikhism) made a Guru Granth Sahib (Holy Book of the Sikhs) in simple language. The Guru Granth is the gist of knowledge from all other religions. Many religious texts were written in Sanskrit, which few people could understand. The Guru Granth was written in simple language so that the knowledge could reach the masses.

Now we have even forgotten that and started making subdivisions. Paths can be different, yet the truth is only One. That has to be recognized. Otherwise, there are fights and misunderstandings.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you knew that you would win/lose in a tennis match, then would you play at all? If you knew that you would win in a cricket match, would you put a sincere effort into the match?
When will there be sincerity? Only when some things are hidden.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

The purpose of satsang is laya yoga. When everyone sings with one heart, and sound, then your heart becomes immersed in the sound. It then becomes ‘laya yoga’ - getting absorbed in the sound. If you become a spectator and just watch, it becomes difficult. You should also sing, then only the energy in you, the chaitanya will grow.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you need an answer to the question, then it indicates that you need a Guru.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

What happens when you meditate? The contrast between the ups and downs in life is greater. On a white cloth, even a small dust particle is clearly seen. Similarly, when the mind becomes more pure, even small jealousy or anger is an irritant. It is unbearable and you have to get rid of it quickly. This is but quite natural.
At the same time, you get the inner strength to endure situations.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

First understand what freedom is. Drop whatever burden you feel in the mind. Quieten the mind.
The mind will say: ‘I want this’, ‘I want that’ - drop everything.
Have the sankalpa: I am happy, contented and don’t need anything.
When you are free, bliss follows you.
If you are chasing 20 desires, there is no freedom.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

From your end, don’t think that you are distant from him. Whatever he says, accept it.
Try to understand him.
Put your 100 percent – it will work.
What does a mother do, when a child cries? She pacifies him, the child quietens, and then will cry again after a while.
Like you pacify a child, pacify your husband. Sometimes there are misunderstandings.
In ancient days, Rishis (saints) would bless women by saying - become a mother to 10 children and may the eleventh child be your husband. This is to say – love your husband as a child.

A lady once came to me with her problems about her mother-in-law.
Have you ever thought about this? You have fought so much with your mother. Like you fight with your mother, you fight with your mum-in-law. Yet you get upset. Think of her like a mother.
Change your perspective. Knowledge will help you to live harmoniously.