Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
There are many things in my life which I think are not ok. I don’t know what to do about these things.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you say, ‘It’s not ok, its not ok’, the seed of ‘not ok’ is un-abling your mind to relax. When do you go to bed? When everything is ok, when there is comfort. When you are hanging on to the discomfort, how can you ever be comfortable? You have to accept things as they are. ‘It’s not ok, it’s not ok’ keeps you all outside. Those imperfections are there for a cause or purpose. It is going to be ok, it will take some time.Things are ok the way they are now,
They will be ok in the future
Whatever happened in the past was ok.
When you understand this, you relax and in that relaxation you can meditate. When you want to retire, its nivriti but when you want to come out (of rest) its pravritti. Then you can act. When you are tired but you are hanging on to what is not ok - then you cannot retire. When you have to chill out, what do you say? ‘Everything is perfect,’ otherwise you can’t chill, you can’t act! It is neither pravritti, nor nivriti.
Dhyan yoga is nivriti, Karma yoga is pravritti. Most people are hanging onto the ‘not ok’ and are unable to relax, to enjoy life, to chill, to be creative. They are holding onto the seed of ‘not ok’. That person, this situation, the government, the administration - everything is not ok. Then it comes to you - I am not ok. Subtly, it reflects on you that you are not OK. Then you don't like that feeling and to cover that up, you make up many justifications and the mind is all confused.
If tamogun is too much, you don't know the pravritti or the nivriti. When there is Satva, then we know what to act, when to act, whether to act or not.
When Rajogun prevails then its half way through - you regret and act. Many of us act because we regret. Mother scolds her child, regrets it and then becomes nice.
In Satva, you don't regret, you retire and relax, there is clarity.
When Rajogun prevails then its half way through - you regret and act. Many of us act because we regret. Mother scolds her child, regrets it and then becomes nice.
In Satva, you don't regret, you retire and relax, there is clarity.
In Rajogun, there is confusion and chaos.
In Tamogun, there is total inertia and lethargy.
There is no strict border between the three gunas. It is very fluid, one flows into another.
Q:
What do you think about the situation in Sri Lanka?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Peace has to come in Sri Lanka. Still it has some way to go. It will happen.A member of the audience stands up and shares an experience. “I did the Art of Living program in 1997 in Abu Dhabi. Since then my life has been full of joy. In 2002, I was detected with brain cancer. My sincere gratitude to Guruji. With his blessings, I have recovered. Doctors say I am a survivor hero. I have taken chemotherapy, radiotherapy and would like to tell all - do the Sudarshan Kriya, regularly and with enthusiasm. Do seva. "
Q:
Then why is religion the reason for so many conflicts?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I would say the differences should be celebrated. If you don't have distance you can't breed conflict out of nothing. Multiple cultures would bring in more tolerance, more learning and you have to relieve yourself from stress. We all need to create a stress-free and violence-free society. Actually violence is an outcome of stress. If someone hasn't slept well or is stressed they become aggressive. With the breath you can calm yourself. When the mind is calm and the person is happy it's impossible to commit crime. It's all in the mind. We don't learn anything about the mind at home or at school. We tell people don't be angry, don't get upset but we don't teach them how not to. This is how the ancient Indian teaching has helped people and should be available for everybody. It's so useful. A violence-free society. Disease-free body. Confusion-free mind. Inhibition-free intellect. Drama-free memory and a sorrow-free soul. This is the birthright of everybody.There is a lot of violence in the media and in video games. Every emotion is connected with the breath. If you change the breath, change the rhythm, you can change the emotion.
Q:
I did the Basic course 4 days ago. Somehow I have gathered courage to ask this question. I haven’t ever heard you before. But this moment I am getting some vibrations. It’s different. I don’t know if I am able to express it or not. I want to ask what is the essence, the power in you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I have no idea.Q:
Can the liver, eyes be donated after death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, you can donate them, there is no sin in this, neither will you face any problem in heaven. Instead it will increase you prospects in heaven. You can definitely donate them.Q:
What is the use of being born? Everyone dies anyways.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are many such questions. Why are there two eyes in the same place? Why not front, and behind? Why does everything have a lid, but not your ears? We can then see who is listening, and who is not. (Laughter)When we ask ‘why’, it is associated with misery. We never ask ‘why’ when we are happy. Understand why we are asking the question ‘why’! Wonder and question – they are opposite in nature, and also in the same realm. Wonder is a question, but not looking for an answer, or asked from inquisitiveness – when you really want to know.
When a question turns into a wonder – life becomes WONDERful.
Q:
Enlightened masters and astrologers often predict the future. Does it mean that the future is fixed already?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If nature were a dead phenomenon, you could predict it, the way a machine is always predictable. But it is alive, so you can’t predict its behavior.If a car is moving, you can predict where it is going (right, left, or straight). But can you predict the movements of a cat? Can we predict which way it will turn, and where it will sit? It is the same with the mind.
Nature is not dead, it is alive. Yet, enlightened people can predict, but only to some extent.
That is called “maya” and the world is called the “maya of the mayavi” – it is the will of God, will of nature. God is also mischievous: if we plan to do something He often plans to do something else.
Nature is a lively, dynamic existence: “sat chit anand”. Because it is pure consciousness, chaitanya, it cannot be predicted 100 percent.
Q:
In whichever field we go, there is always someone who is better than us – this creates an inferiority complex. How do we cope with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t look at others. Always look at yourself and stop comparing. If you compare then there is no end. At every level, this can go on. We should only compare with our own self. What was I two years ago, and what am I now?Q:
How to overcome fear?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Through sadhana, Kriya , meditation.Q:
How to increase the seva bhav(intention to serve)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not intend to increase the seva bhav. We assume that we lack the attitude of service and then try to increase it, so it doesn’t happen!That is why we assume we have seva bhav in abundance . What stops you from doing seva is laziness. You can get rid of laziness by giving importance to the right diet and some exercise. Doing seva by yourself might seem difficult, so do it in a group. That is why it is said,
“Ekastapasvi, dhwiradhyayi” -when you have to do adhyayan( Study), do it in a group. When you do tapas(penance), do it by yourself. Similarly, when you do seva, do it in a group. That leads to a rise in enthusiasm and is less tiring.