Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How to have devotion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You assume that you have devotion. Don’t strive to have devotion. We should assume that we have love and devotion in us. When you believe in this, the devotion in you enhances. When you think you don’t have devotion at all, it wouldn’t manifest.Q:
I read books on knowledge. How do I know that knowledge is only at intellectual level or is actually realized by me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is very simple. You go to a restaurant and you read the menu card. By the time you have eaten it, you know you have eaten it. Experience is so irrefutable. Reading about back pain in a book and actually having back pain are different. So, it is very obvious. Your experience is what is most important.Q:
There are some blind faiths like not doing certain things on Tuesday or Thursday, or not crossing the path when a cat passes by. Do these carry any truth in them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Nothing in all this according to me.Q:
If we are not getting something even after putting in continuous effort, should we accept the reality as it is, or should we keep on praying to get it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If that is very much needed by you, you would not be able to go without praying. And have this faith that God will give you what you need.Q:
Whenever there is choice, is it previously decided what we are going to chose? Or it can change also according to what choice we make?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It can change also. That is why 'Dhiyo yona prachodyat' is a part of the Gayatri mantra.Q:
Sometimes I sleep while sitting for meditation. Is it ok?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You sleep in the middle of the meditation! It is ok. When your sleep is completed, you can meditate.Q:
Sometimes I find myself too much stuck in the intellect. I think so much over small issues also, as trivial as choosing what clothes to wear. What should I do? Please guide.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have lots of time in your hands and that is why you keep on thinking sitting idle. Do little exercises also. Then the mind wouldn’t run so much.Q:
Is there anything beyond space?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Beyond space?me!Q:
You spend so much time for reducing terrorism; do I need to become a terrorist to get your time and attention? It would be nice to be transformed through you.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
A terrorist use gun to shoot, but you shot arrows of your devotion! Your devotion and love are much stronger.I remember an incident when I was in Rishikesh. A devotee fainted and fell down. Everyone's attention was attracted by this. I knew that it was just a drama to attract attention. First I kept on walking, but when the drama continued for a long time, I went to that place. When I asked, she said, 'You don't look at me, so I had to do this.' You don't have to do such a thing to catch my attention! How do you know I don't look at you? When you are looking elsewhere, I look at you for sure. The goal is only one - to center your mind and consciousness in one place. When your mind is centered, calm and you are smiling, I look at those whose mind is still racing here and there and is not centered.
Q:
When children talk silly, parents reason with them to make them see their folly. But when parents start getting aged, they sometimes talk silly and don't respond to reasoning with them, what should a child do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Still keep serving them. Using a detached approach, try to understand why they are saying so. It may be the case that you find them to be right, though they may lack in right expression. Or, you may find their observation to be wrong. It is not necessary to do everything that they say because their understanding and life experiences are different from the child's.