Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Is there life on other planets?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is plenty here. Let us care for them first. Not to worry about other planets now.Q:
How do you deal with people who keep hurting you time and again?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Come on, nobody can hurt you, at the most they can blabber. When they blabber, they do it out of their ignorance. If you don’t want to get hurt, nobody can hurt you. You should realize you are strong and nobody can hurt you. It’s good to have some spicy crackers here and there. You should be a director, if you are a player in the play, you get stuck into it. You should just become a witness. Notice your mind when you’re upset. Something is happening inside the body.Q:
Bali culture is connected to India, would you throw a little more light onto this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If go into the aboriginal culture all over the world you will find that they are all similar - in British Columbia, Australia, New Zealand, India etc. They all are similar to one another. They all honor the directions, the moon, the earth, the sun, the water, the mountains. They all honor creation. India and Bali are in Southeast Asia, and are of course connected. It’s good to find similarities, and celebrate differences.Q:
You always look so calm and collected, despite your busy schedule? How do you manage it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you know beauty lies in the beholder’s eyes? How are you able to see that everywhere? Consciousness is truth and beauty together.Real beauty is when you’re centered, when your mind is with the truth. That is how every baby is beautiful – because they are centered.
Q:
How to draw the line between not being a football of other’s opinion and also listening to them? Isn’t it also important to listen to other’s opinion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, it’s like a riding on a bicycle.Q:
I want to progress spiritually really fast. How do I get on the fast track? I have lost so much time already.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you go on a train you should simply relax. If you keep running inside the train you are not going to reach any faster. Got it? Just imagine someone with a suitcase running fast in the train from one compartment to another compartment. My dear, it’s not going to make you reach any faster. To catch the train you have to run fast, once you are in the train, just relax.Q:
This morning, during meditation my head was falling forward innumerable times. Thoughts didn’t bother me during meditation but my head moving bothered me. Does this mean I was not meditating?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no it’s fine. You know, when you are meditating sometimes the head will come down, or your body will rock. This is all normal. Different types of stresses when they get released all these different reactions can come up. That’s ok, nothing to worry about.Q:
Guruji, what can tie society in one thread bringing all together for service?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You keep on doing service; others will automatically join. Don’t make an effort to make others join you. You just do it and keep motivating others. Ask them if they want to come along. They will also come. If you are enjoying doing service, others will also get motivated to do it. Leaders should be like this. But usually they want so much perfection that they end up annoying every one. In this kind of service people come once and then they run away. Nobody wants to work with a person who is full of complaints. So serve along with fun. When happiness comes from within with regular Sadhna and Satsang, everything happens naturally.Q:
Do we get this human life only once? Have we come to this birth after being born as all other creatures?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is more important to be aware that you are born as a human in this birth. You are also here and I am also here. You do whatever is possible and see that you complete your journey in this birth itself.Q:
Which is the energy centre in our body?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is energy centre in every cell of the body. Heart, mind, everything is an energy centre. The whole consciousness is a manifestation of energy.