Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Every area is already blessed. Every area belongs to God.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Love cannot be known or understood. It can be felt only. The child doesn’t ask his mother – ‘What is your qualification, what do you do? Who are your friends? Tell me, then I'll love you’. Just like our body is made up of carbohydrates and amino acids, we are made up of this substance called love. Anger, greed, jealousy are all just distortions of love.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you are listening but the mind is still somewhere else then there is no receptivity.
When your mind is clogged with too many ambitions, it does not listen properly if the subject is not linked with your ambition. Even if it is related, it goes on a day dreaming trip. It listens to one sentence and it goes on a trip. For e.g. if someone has an ambition to become a Chief Minister and he is told that you have all possibility of becoming a chief minister the mind immediately goes on a day dreaming trip. So simply listen, just listen.
Also if your mind is stuck with so many thoughts then also the perception is low.
Another reason for alertness of the mind to reduce is vata de-arrangement or kapha imbalance.
When the mind is bombarded with sensory stimuli then also it is not receptive. Have you observed after watching a three-hour movie if someone tells you something you say, ‘Tell me later on.’
To enhance receptivity what to do?
Silence, Pranayama, proper food, less ambitions in the mind will all help. If you like a topic/ subjects then you tend to be receptive towards it. Teenagers often face a difficult phase in life when they have to choose a subject - Math, Computer Engineering etc and if someone is good in all of these subjects then it creates even more trouble.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Dharma and sanga. Our innermost nature is what dharma is. Yes, our innermost nature is dharma and sangha is our association, our environment.So events and attitude are influenced by only two things.The first is by your own true nature and another by your environment, the people whom you are with, you know.In a group if someone says, ‘Come lets go and have a drink,’ we will say, ‘Ok, lets all go.’ We will go.In a group if someone starts talking negatively, slowly another person will join a little later, then the third and the fourth. Soon you’ll find that everybody starts talking negatively – this is the influence of the groupA child is influenced upto 25 percent by the environment, by the friends in the environment and the school they grow up in. Another 25 percent is from the parents’ genes and tendencies. The next 25 percent is their own originality, their karmas, their samskaras, the impression that they come into this world with. The remaining 25 percent is through their own self-effort and their understanding. So parents have got only one-forth influence on their children. Only one forth. Similarly, our sangha which means our association has an influence on us. Usually what we call sangha is a group of people who are on the spiritual path. People on the spiritual path can help you with that much-needed energy, biodiversity energy for you to move on that path. That is why when you sit and meditate in a group, it is better than when you are alone.How many of you feel that way? In a group you feel like doing yoga, pranayam, even service activity. When you are alone, you get tired. You don't feel like doing it. But few of you join together and you do a lot of work. If you have to wash the dishes alone, you will feel so bored. But if 7, 8 or 9 of us are washing the dishes, time just flies like that. You don’t feel tired. I have told you don’t feel exhausted isn't it? How many of you have this experience?At home if someone is asked to wash that many dishes, you would crib. And here you do it with the smile, you do it happily joyfully. So sangha can or the group sangha can help you move up in life. It puts you in touch with the dharma; and sangha only happen with the enlightened.That’s why Lord Buddha said Buddham, sangham and dharmam. Three things - the enlightened one, the company of people and your true nature - all these things important and they all are one and the same.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Don’t force love out of yourself. Take it for granted that certain feelings, connections or love is already there. You don’t examine it every day right? Do I love my mother or my father, or that person? - though you may not like their behavior. If your father and mother are old and cynical you may feel very irritated and may not like their company because they put you down or sing the same old song. Likes and dislikes arise from the head. I’m sure deep in your heart there is love, a certain feeling there. It is because it exists that you are asking this question. So it’s just that you don’t want to recognize your love for them although you love them. There is a deep connection of love but you don’t like their behavior, the way they act or their mindset. It’s just an external thing. It’s perfectly okay. Never doubt your love for people. The love is always there and it will be there. Just take it for granted.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There are different forms of Yoga. Raja Yoga is Royal Yoga. In some forms, they spend a lot of time in practice. Some forms are for people like the prince who has so many responsibilities such that they can do the practice in a short span of time. Meditation is useful for people in all walks of life.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you plant a coconut tree three years back then you enjoy the fruit later. You put money in the bank and expect it back with interest isn't it? Will you agree if the bank tells you to forget about it because it was so many years ago that you put the money? You want only the fruits which are favorable!
We need to realize, accept our mistake and move on. Then the intensity of the karma reduces.

Asking forgiveness for all mistakes made knowingly and unknowingly is part of our pujas also.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you keep doing the same thing again and again, knowing that it brings you misery, you really don’t understand it brings you misery or you think it brings you some pleasure. Craving for pleasure and non-awareness that it is going to cause you misery are two things which makes you commit the same mistake again and again. That’s why they’re called habit. Habits don’t give you pleasure but they inflict pain by not following them.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Infinite souls. It’s like asking are there fixed number of stars in the sky? There are infinite stars. Vedic shastra and Agma shastra says there are 224 earths, worlds like ours in this galaxy. There are many but mainly 224. These are the visions of saints who have gone deep in meditation and explored the universe.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Bring them to the course. They are not living in the present. Bring them to the present. They keep on hanging on to the past. You have changed but they forget to change.