Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How to control terrorism?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The whole world and all religions are debating on terrorism and how to control it. I tell you - Spirituality and spiritual knowledge have the power to reduce terrorism and fanaticism.Q:
Guruji, we have two requests for you. Why don’t you come more often to Chennai and start an ashram here?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Tomorrow we are going to get a meditation hall started here. You all should come here and meditate.Q:
I don’t know whether I should give importance to family or to my career.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have to look out for your career. Your parents will be happy when you have a career. If you have no job and you sit at home, will they be happy? No! Then they (family and career) have both come together.Q:
Why am I so crazy to be here!!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because I am also like that. Only a rich can make others also rich. Only a liberated one can bring freedom to others. Only a devotee can evoke devotion in others. A person in love with the Divine makes others also like that. Whatever is there within you that is what others receive and that is what you perceive in others.Q:
Guruji, when someone dies why do we say Ram naam satya hai {Ram (the divinity within) is the truth}?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When someone dies you realize that this is the truth. One day everyone is going to die. When you are alive you don’t realize the truth. You are caught up in unwanted things.Truth is something which you cannot avoid.
Beauty is something which cannot be renounced.
Love is something which cannot be expressed.
These three things are more than enough to remember. It enough to digest.
Q:
Guruji, how was the Vishalakshi Mantap (the five-tiered, lotus-shaped meditation hall in the Bangalore ashram) made?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Manuji (a devotee) said, "Guruji, we must have a hall where people can meditate. So I made a drawing and it was made. Earlier, there was no hall. The Ashtavakra talk (Sri Sri’s commentary on the Ashtavakra Geeta) happened under a thatched roof, where rain water would be leaking.Yet when we inaugurated the Vishalakshi Mantap, the hall was already too small! So many people had come. You know when people meditate together then the energy radiates in the world.
Q:
Guruji, why is it that sometimes you answer certain questions and sometimes you don’t?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is a right time and place for every answer. If questions are asked at the wrong time, then silence is the answer.Q:
How do you recognize that somebody is your real guru and for you? How do you know if someone is a true disciple?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I don’t test anybody nor do I let anyone test me. If anyone will ask me, I will say, “No!” and move on! Divine really doesn’t test anybody. We think we are very good people and when difficulties arise we assume that the Divine is testing us. We don’t get into trouble because of our goodness: it is because of our foolishness. Some things are your karma. Some difficulties teach you lessons. Look back and see all those problems you have come out of. You will see that you have become stronger. This is what you should recognize.Q:
How can one attain Siddhis (power)? How does it affect a person to strive for Siddhis?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
A Sadhak or seeker will get many Siddhis on the path. However if you misuse them or start running behind them, you will be lost. Only when you are established, you can receive the true knowledge. One who knows never loses his equanimity.The tradition of the Masters (parampara) is very important. If anyone moves away from the parampara, it may seem good for some time, but then it brings lot of misery. A sadhak should toe the line of the parampara. The sign of a devotee and seeker is to pick up the best and not try to find all the negative things about others. But if someone cheats, misuses the powers, they undergo the consequences. This should not deter from the path. You move on the path of knowledge.
Q:
When we meditate, why do we take our attention to different parts of the body when we have to go beyond the body level?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When we want to build a tall building, the foundation must be sufficiently deep. The string of the bow is stretched back further when the arrow has to go far. So to transcend the mind we bring our attention to our body, and then we realize we are beyond the body.