Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
I am not in control of my mind. I am afraid becoming a teacher is taking me away from naturalness, humbleness. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is a prayer more than a question. Prayers will always be answered but not in words.Q:
What is it about praise that even if it is false it makes us elated and happy and criticism even if real, pulls us down? Is it vanity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This much realisation, you are already out of it!Q When I get angry, I feel lot of energy and burnt inside. If I let it out I loose complete balance. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do bhastrika that time.
Q:
I have feelings of absolute isolation and find myself alone among friends. There is no feeling of belongingness.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not sit and worry about feelings. They keep changing. Who cares? Why bother? One minute you feel very good, the other moment you feel bad. Put your life energy into some useful, social work, commitment, some direction. Bring some result in the world. You may suddenly feel good, suddenly very bad. The world doesn't care for your feelings nor does God. The Nature, world will ask you what have you done?Q:
Why are there so many hurdles at every stage on the spiritual path.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, No. No its not hurdles, it is making your path more interesting. Its like flowing water, little pebbles create beautiful sound and sight, making it all the more beautiful. There are no obstacles in this path, just a fun in the path. Move over it, don't get stuck.Q:
Guruji, you said tear is ego. In front of you- uncontrollable tears come up. What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, No, this is different tears. There are many types of tears- like crocodile, then salty, sweet ones are of gratitude, love. Angels long for it. It is very good- the mind is healed and purified.Q There are dilemmas in life and I lack decision making power. What should be done?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Wherever there is duality(Dvet), there will be a dilemma . Whenever you are in daily activities(vyavahar), there will be dilemma. There is no choice, accept it.
Q:
How can I increase my faith in anything? Does faith grow with time? Is it the same for everyone?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You cannot increase your faith. Either you have it or you don’t. The more you try to increase your faith, it will only be a struggle. It doesn’t ‘get increased’. So whenever you feel you have less faith that itself indicates you have faith.And when you realize that, it means it is returned back. The doubt has ended.
In the Samaveda (an ancient Indian scripture), a hymn says. “I am building the bridge from not having faith to having the faith.”
‘I didn’t have the faith’, this idea comes when faith has started coming back, from lack of faith to faith. These two banks can’t come together, they can’t be one and the bridge is what you are.
When the prana (life energy) is high, then faith is more. When the prana is low, the faith is less.
Q:
How to develop a sense of humor?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
By being relaxed. Have an attitude where nothing matters - only then humor arises. When things matter a lot, then your mind is tensed, you are goal-oriented. There is a part of you to which nothing matters. You are a combination of the nothing matters to everything matters. Have both! If everything matter, then there is no humor. If nothing matters then too, there is no humor. Don’t try to impress somebody. You will be fail miserably. When comedians try to make someone laugh - it appears unintelligent and foolish, childish humor. Those who are intelligent and mature, humor is natural to them.Q:
How is God from your eyes?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just like me and you.Q:
Please give us a message.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
All this is a message. One who is awake gets a message from anything. One who is lost in jadta (gross), that person will not receive a message from anything. When you are awake, every leaf, every bird, every person is a messenger of God. This whole creation is a message. And if you are asleep, then even if amrit (Divine nectar) rains, it falls on deaf ears.Q:
Can you speak about prana (vital energy) and apana (down breath)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Where the in-breath ends and where the out-breath begins is apana.Where the out-breath ends and where the in-breath begins is prana.
By putting your attention on that turning point, the mind becomes quiet.