Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Never mind. Others have accepted you as you are. You can think you have given a chance to accept as you are. Never mind. The time will come when you will rise above all this, me and I. Right now, don’t feel guilty. Allow your boundary to expand gradually. Don’t force yourself. May be after 10 years or 100 years! Then anybody can use your things. Then you can’t say only my grand children can use my things. (Laughter)Mind is so tricky and so funny when it comes to possessiveness. It’s ok. There is a time for everything.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because you are so special. I pay attention to only ordinary people to make them extraordinary. You are already extraordinary.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I don’t know what to do? (laughter) You know, what is it that you are attracted to? Good qualities. But if qualities are only superficial they will go and if qualities are your very nature they will never go. I tell you, all those qualities are present in you. Enhance those qualities more and more. Then you will find that you are me and I am you.Longing and love are two sides of the same coin. You can’t say, ‘I love you but I don’t long for you’. And it is impossible to long for someone without having love. That is why it is said: ‘RadheShyam’. Radha is longing and Sham is love. RadheSham (longing and love) go together in life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t try to see Divinity. Take it for granted. It is there, like the air. You know that the air is all there. You inhale air and exhale air. You can’t see air but you know it is there. Similarly Divinity is all there. Only the heart can feel. Eyes can’t see it. When you are totally relaxed you feel that the whole universe is filled with Divinity. When your mind is relaxed, your body is relaxed, you find that the chirping of the birds is Divinity,the moving of leaves is Divinity,
the flowing of water is Divinity,
Even people fighting, & mountains - all - exuberate Divinity. You will find that beyond all this phenomenon, there is a field or phenomena that exists – that is Divinity.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Thoughts are energy, have power. When you are confused, your words don’t have an impact. The clearer you are in your mind, the more power your words get. If you are in confusion, the power of words is very feeble. Pranayam, meditation makes the mind clear. So the thoughts that come out of it are straight and clear. One who is content, their words have power. In India we have a custom of going to our elders for blessings. They are supposed to have a serene state of mind. From that space, when you give a blessing, it is more effective. For wedding cards, blessings are taken from the oldest member of the family. The same tradition exists in North America, Australia and New Zealand among the native people. All over the world, native traditions have the custom of respecting the elders. Without this, people above 50 are getting depressed. That has to shift. Parents should also become more happy and vibrant.Happier as you grow older! The older you are, the bigger your smile – satisfied, fulfilled. You have led a good life. Now you only have to bless people of the coming generations. That is maturity. That is satisfaction. This comes when you become detached from day-to-day things. Wash your hands off anything that makes you unhappy. Take on your responsibility. Act for it but don’t worry for it. People who act don’t worry and those who worry don’t act. This shift has to come. Otherwise, you keep complaining, so and so doesn’t listen, daughter-in-law doesn’t listen.
You should not go to your grave with complaints. Do only what you can. Stretch yourself little by little. Like this we need to re-orient ourselves. Either we are complacent or complaining. Either is no good. Then you remain without doing any action. On the other hand, till the last breath, if you find fault with others, that is also no good.The more we violate the laws of nature, the body experiences pain. These things should not bother you. If at all you have to be bothered, be bothered about the world.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Maybe to keep a space for conflict also in society. It finishes in March. March ahead.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, forget all sin and merit, when you come here. Punya brought you here, and sin is all gone. Washed off.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
2012 – nothing is going to happen. We will still do satsang like this. Only there will be more people!If creation was not made, how will you ask this question? It was made so that you can ask and I can tell!Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What you can fulfil, focus on that! Be happy you fulfilled two commitments, next time go on with three, four..., focus on that.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Shiva is called Mahakala – grand time!