Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
What is trust?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Trust is like breath.Just like you can’t live without breath, you also cannot live without trust.
There are three types of trust:
Self – confidence
Faith in society
Faith in God
If any one trust is absent, then life is incomplete.
Q:
When to use dispassion and when to use compassion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you are bothered about an attachment, use dispassion. And at all other times, use compassion. In fact, you can’t use compassion. Either you are compassionate or you are not. It is not a screwdriver which you can use at sometimes and keep aside some other times. Compassion is like your nose. To realize it is there you have to be there and if it is not there, you are also not there. (Huge laughter) Got it? To realize you have a nose, you have to be there and to realize it is not there, you won’t be there.Q:
Guruji there are mental hospitals for mentally challenged people, what is the place for people who are in love with the Divine?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
For them, this whole world is their own. Such madness is welcomed everywhere. Everybody will invite them; everybody will welcome them and would love to talk to them. Because they know, we spread such fragrance.Q:
How do you recognize that somebody is your real guru and for you? How do you know if someone is a true disciple?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I don’t test anybody nor do I let anyone test me. If anyone will ask me, I will say, “No!” and move on! Divine really doesn’t test anybody. We think we are very good people and when difficulties arise we assume that the Divine is testing us. We don’t get into trouble because of our goodness: it is because of our foolishness. Some things are your karma. Some difficulties teach you lessons. Look back and see all those problems you have come out of. You will see that you have become stronger. This is what you should recognize.Q:
Everyone comes to you with their problems. Do you have any problems of your own?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I have no troubles. That is why I can take away yours. If the doctor is sick, then can he heal you? Since I have no problems, you have come to me.(Sri Sri points to a large crowd of jawans (soldiers) who came for satsang and applauds their commitment to the nation. He tells the audience:)
When we eat our food everyday, we must remember with gratitude the farmer who has worked for it. Anna Dhata Sukhi Bhava is a traditional blessing that wishes happiness to the giver of food. We should bless the soldiers who guard our borders at the cost of their own lives. They are the wealth of our nation. They should be happy and their families should be happy. Our blessings will surely reach them.
Q:
I worry a lot. How do I cope with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are four ways to combat worrying:1. See your problem as small compared to other people. When a problem appears small, you are able to solve it. When a problem appears big, we don't even try to solve it.
Serving others who have bigger problems than ours makes it easier for us to solve our own problems.
2. Remember how you solved your past problems. It will bring strength and a smile to deal with problems. This invokes valor in you.
3. Have faith that whenever you are in trouble, you will always have a helping hand.
4. Remember that nature loves you, God loves you. You will overcome the problem.
Wherever there is a problem, all you need is prayerfulness, from a sincere heart.Think 'I can overcome’, and invoke the strength, the lion in you. And surrender to the Divine.
Wherever there is a problem, all you need is prayerfulness, from a sincere heart.Think 'I can overcome’, and invoke the strength, the lion in you. And surrender to the Divine.
Q:
What is it about praise that even if it is false it makes us elated and happy and criticism even if real, pulls us down? Is it vanity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This much realisation, you are already out of it!Q When I get angry, I feel lot of energy and burnt inside. If I let it out I loose complete balance. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do bhastrika that time.
Q:
What is jeevan mukta awastha, the state of liberation from life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
A state where the four desires- jeeveshna, lokeshna, vitteshna and putreshna end or dissolve. That is jeevan mukta awastha. Dying while alive, experiencing that I am not there. The enjoyment and happiness in this state cannot be put in words.Q:
Should I quit the membership of Church? (I belong to a Catholic Church).
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know that is your choice. You can continue to be a member or if you do not feel like it you can quit. It is your own choice. Whether you are a member or you are not is not a big issue. What is more important is are you a good human being? Are you full of love and compassion? Are you interested in helping others? Are you interested in connecting with others? Do you think so?Q:
We sing bhajans, kirtans, and hymns to praise the Divine. Why does the Divine like praise, just like our seniors?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You praise God, not for God, but for yourself. Those who do puja, don’t do it for God, but for themselves. If you praise someone, it’s not for their happiness, you do it for your own happiness.Parents usually praise their 2 or 3-year-old children, however the child doesn’t understand a word of their praise. So why do they praise? To uplift themselves! Not because they expect something from the child.
This is the difference between praise and prayer. Stuti (repetition of God’s name) is that which raises our chetana (consciousness). We do stuti to raise our own consciousness, not to make God happy.