Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Guruji, can Demi-gods or Pitra Devtas or you get angry with us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, I cannot comment about Devis and Devatas but I do not get angry with you. Am I so stupid that if you do something wrong I will get angry for that and get upset? No, not at all. But yes, I do feel compassion when you keep on making mistakes again and again and waste such a beautiful life that you have. This does hurt me but I don’t get angry. But if you feel that I should not do this wrong thing because Guruji will become angry then definitely think that I will get angry if you do wrong.Q:
Guruji, it is said that at the time of death the last though or memory in the mind is what influences the future birth that one takes. In this mind of mine, there is a big influence of this material world. What to do for me to remember and have only you on my mind at the last moment of my life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t have to wait for the last moment of your life. Live every moment with happiness and joy and do seva, sadhana and satsang.Q:
Dear Guruji, my mother-in-law does not distribute the prasad to people from other religions. Her logic is that those who don’t understand the importance of prasad won’t benefit. How can I get her to think otherwise?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Does not matter if she does not do it, you give it to everybody. Prasad is mostly nice eatables, people will appreciate. You know, everybody has got their individual opinions. Let them have, you have your own opinions, there is no conflict. You do what you want to do.Q:
If we are to let go of our efforts, why should we make any effort at all?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
During meditation, let go of all your efforts. Before that, you have to make effort otherwise what will there be to let go? (Laughter)Q:
I left my previous job because there was too much of jealousy and back-stabbing. How do I work with such negative people?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Skillfully. Negative people bring out lots of skills in you. You should thank them, they teach you how to deal with them, how to maneuver through all those situations and make you move ahead. And they push all the buttons and make you free from buttonsQ:
Guruji we always keep on asking things from you. What can we do for you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Spread this message to more and more all around, okay.Q:
Guruji, in the past three years I have seen that every year your grace in my life increases. I fear whether this will continue to happen in the future. Does this grace come with a lifetime
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, definitely. With lifetimes guarantees, not lifetime guaranteeQ:
Is marriage important in life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That you have to decide. What is important is that you are peaceful. Unmarried people also have lot of problems. Happiness and pleasantness is important in life: with or without marriage.Got it? (laughter)
(A 10-year old stands up and asks a question)
Q:
Dear Guruji, is Shiva consciousness and Krishna consciousness the same?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, yes, they’re same. Krishna consciousness is a little naughtier, that’s it. When it is silent,it is Shiva consciousness, when it is active,it is Krishna consciousness.Q:
How can god bless us as we are already a part of divinity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you object to everything, then there are no words to express anything. You can go on negating every pleasantry and gesture of the other person. Asking for blessings is to remind God to wake up.In India, we have suprabatams – prayers which are sung to God in the morning. It’s to say: ‘God, morning has come. Come on, wake up, and do your duty – bless everybody!’
A devotee has many ways to express his feelings. You can adore the divine in different forms.
That is the speciality of this country. There are nine types of devotion - Navadha bhakti. You can fight with God, play with him. Poets have written many devotional songs.
In all these human modes of emotions, people have related with God. Not out of fear or guilt but out of playfulness, out of vatsalya (affection). Devotees have even sung songs that address God as a naughty child: ‘Come on, listen to me!’ It is an interesting way of relating to the divine. You don’t keep God somewhere up in heaven. It is in and around you – from a child to an elderly person, from a dog, cat to a crow and a tree. The Divinity is present in the whole of creation.
Devotional songs have also been sung on trees! The roots are attributed to being Shiva: strong, silent and unseen. The trunk is strong and attributed to being Vishnu and shoots are attributed to Brahma. The entire trinity in a tree! A tree is guru tatva.
Even all the devtas (Divine beings) are said to be present in a cow. In crows, birds….The whole of nature is seen as a manifestation, as a dance of Divinity. There is no bifurcation between life and Divinity. Life is an amalgamation of Divinity and material life.
It’s very interesting! A prayer is simply wanting to relate. Everyone has the freedom to relate to Divinity in whatever form they want to.
Remember three things: World, Life, Divinity.
These are Anadhi (beginingless) and Ananta (endless). Creation goes on everywhere, there is dissolution too. Everyday there is creation. Everyday cells are being created in your body and cells die too. Your body is a funeral home and a maternity home too! They are not even in different parts of the body.
It’s mind boggling.