Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
How to materialize one’s dreams?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When the mind is still, it gets the power to fulfill any thought. So, not only can you fulfill your thoughts, but also you get the power to bless others to fulfill their thoughts. It should be a thought that you believe in. It can’t be something like you go to the moon. Any practical, possible thought you put the intention on, it starts manifesting. The basis is no mindness, empty mind.Q:
What is the truth behind this Universe? Is everything an illusion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This universe has come from one unchanging principle. Vedanta also says the same. Everything you see in creation is Maya- like dolls in a laser show, what you see is not the truth. The wave is not the truth, the water is the truth. The form and name are not the truth, the Tattva (the principle) is the truth. The pot is not true but the mud is the truth.The same brahma tattva (Infinite, Supreme, eternal principle) is the tree, grass, stone and everything else in creation. Brahmatatvamasi bhavayatmane - All has come from that Brahman. This is the ultimate truth. Knowledge of the truth, that this creation has come from Brahman, comes through meditation - Sarvam kalvidam Brahma.
Q:
Dearest Guruji, can you please speak about guru and tatva?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is only one air, one sun, one earth and one moon. and similarly one consciousness. In the inside of us, the consciousness which is wisdom, which is light is gurutatva. Tatva means principle. To begin with, the five tatvas are earth, water, air, ether and fire. These are five tatvas and then there is the mind, intellect ego. Then there is the maha tatva which is beyond the ego. The one who has gone beyond the ego is called Mahatma. Finer than the maha tatva is the guru tatva. The guru tatva is that principle of discrimination, of knowledge and when it dawns inside you, that is guru tatva. In knowledge then you have no dearth for anything. Life’s mission is complete. Guru tatva always brings joy, freedom from misery and upliftment of the consciousness.Q:
What is the significance of the jyotirlinga? (There are 12 celebrated pilgrimage spots in India called the jyotirlingas)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Linga is a symbol. Jyothi is light. A jyotirlinga is a symbol of light. Ancient Rishis and sages have meditated and done their tapas (penance) in such places and those vibrations were created in that space. Here (in Vishalakshi Mantap) you have a jyotirlinga, you can’t see the linga but the light is there. Swayamhi tirtani punamhi Santah. Teertha (holy spot) is where a saint sits. Every pilgrimage spot is a place where a saint has meditated has done tapas (penance) and then transmitted that energy to the stone, water, etc and the place becomes vibrant with that consciousness. When the spiritual energy in a place decreases, then conflict increases. Dhyana (meditation), puja (prayer), seva, and a spiritual life should be there. Then the Chaitanaya Shakti (spiritual energy) increases.Q:
What is inspiration?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Inspiration is that which comes from within.Q:
It is said in the Gita, do your duty and don’t expect for the result. How to live this knowledge in normal life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Live naturally. All Art of Living points are from life’s experience. There is no effort in it. Do some meditation, yoga you will see how life has transformed effortlessly and automatically.Q:
What is the difference between God (Parmatma) and Devta?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Parmatma is the sun, devta is its ray. Without the sun, there is no ray and without the ray, there is no sun. A ray has all seven colors, these all different devtas. God is the combination of all the seven colors. God is certainly not made of one color. When all colors combine, white is obtained and that is Parmatma. You can understand this like different organs - eyes, ears, nose, all combine to form you. Your eyes are different from ears, your nose is different from tongue but all is part of you. The totality of the whole creation, with all the energies is given a name and it is called Parmatma, Parampita (supreme father). In ancient terminology, God is called Parmatma, Parampita.Why only Parampit , He is also Parammata (Supreme mother).Why should God be called father only? God is also the mother. God is father, mother and God is also the Self. All Gods, goddesses are like rays of the sun, one sunlight and all the rays together is God but these are all different aspects of God. All are different aspects of the one Divine like in one human being, one cell somewhere becomes the eyes, somewhere the ears, somewhere the nose, and all this has happened from one fertilized cell, embryo. So, God is the sum total of all Divine elements and in the Vedic times, ancient rishis identified all these elements and called then devtas. They designated 33 types of Divine energy and called them devta and they tell how these are connected with the cosmos, like the eyes are connected with the sun. They established connection between the micro cosmos and macro cosmos. …It is very amazing analysis, amazing science of unity of the universe. It is not too many Gods, it is aspects of God. Though you are one, you have different functions. When you sleep you are different, when you smile you are different, when you eat, you are different. Crore means category, 33 crores means 33 categories of devas. Crore is also a number, 10 million but here it is not referred to as a number. 33 crore means 330 million and so people started taking that way.
Q:
Guruji when will we witness something bigger than the Silver Jubilee Celebrations?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Should we do something bigger than Silver Jubilee? (A big yes from the audience) Yes, why not? Next year in 2011, the Art of Living will complete 30 years, 3 decades . Let’s see. We will plan something. You also plan. Let us make a pool of ideas.Q:
What is the way to free myself from attachments, especially emotional hurt of the past as well as trust and mistrust? How can I free myself to be able to trust again after betrayal and not remain suspicious or cynical because of that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
One thing we need to remember is that the whole story will be finished here! All of us will be gone! We will all go under ground. Life will come to an end, right? If we look back and see so many people we once knew are now gone. Those who were with us, they are all finished. More will go. Everybody will go and one day we will also be gone. This is the permanent truth, the definite truth in life.I was just thinking today is my mother’s 10th death anniversary. Already 10 years have passed! Time goes, things change, when we see life from a broader angle what is emotional hurt then? Somebody said something and it hurt us and we cried; somebody said a good thing and we laughed. What’s the big deal about it? Sometimes you’ve said something and it hurt someone, but that was not your intention. Hasn’t this happened to you? How many of you have experienced this? You have scolded your daughter/son many times haven’t you? What if they hold on to that all their life and say I will not forget that you hurt me. What would you say to them? “Come on let it go, I didn’t mean it”. Isn’t it? Or “I was stressed I was upset, I was not in a good mood so I said something”. Don’t you expect people to let go of the hurt that you have caused them?
You want people to let go of the hurt you caused them. In the same way don’t you have to let go of the pain they have caused you? If someone has hurt you earlier, it is due to selfishness and because they don’t know how vast life is, how beautiful life is. They are selfish because they are afraid. They are selfish or self-centered because they don’t have knowledge in their lives. Nobody taught them how to love people, how to be silent, how to be in this beautiful knowledge. It is not their fault. Is it their fault? If you have not learnt how to read and write, is it your fault? Society teaches you. Your teachers, parents take you to school, make you learn and then you learn. In the same way there was no system for them to learn about life from a broader angle. So you can only be compassionate towards them. They have not had a chance to learn, there was no guide, no teacher. They were not exposed to spirituality. They were not exposed to mannerisms. So they were small-minded selfish people. That was their up-bringing. So what will you hold on to? “Oh you hurt me!” Come on let go! Life is moving. When you die, you will be asked two things: How much love have you given and how much knowledge have you acquired in your life? It shouldn’t matter what others have done to you but from your side you should be compassionate. If people are good towards you, be happy. If they do wrong, have compassion. Life can only swing between happiness and compassion. There is no third option. In our life we have lost people who have been very dear to us. What do we do? That is how life has been designed. We move on. We will also die one day. So let’s move on with commitment. When we are sad, we pray for strength and when we are happy we pray for the strength to serve.
Q:
I feel I’m too attached. How to break?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Serve, serve and serve to break from attachment. When you find something beautiful, you get attached. You want to posses it. When we try to posses, then it becomes ugly. Beauty is that which you cannot renounce/reject or capture. That’s why it is called beautiful.Serve, instead of wanting to posses. Whatever is beautiful we want to posses it, and then jealousy comes, pain comes. When you find something beautiful, just serve.