Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Dear guruji, This might sound like a silly question, but I don’t understand money at all. Can you explain it to me? How important is it? Thank you for having me here.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is said in the Vedic literature, Dharma is righteousness. Then comes artha, which means- the means, money. And then Kama, desire. And then liberation, moksha. So, Dharmasya moolam artha. That is, righteousness is based on prosperity. If everybody is prosperous, nobody will steal anything. The root of dharma or righteousness is prosperity, is money. So, it is all linked. Money is important, but money is only the means. It is not everything.Never link money with happiness. Even the poorest people are happy, if you see. In fact they are more happy. But money can create a false notion of security to you: You think if you have money, you have everything. The idea of money is for comfort. Isn’t it? Why do you want money? For comfort. But money can give you only one type of comfort.
There are three types of comfort: Physical comfort, emotional and mental comfort, and spiritual comfort - the inner comfort. Whereas money provides only one type of comfort, it doesn’t give emotional and spiritual comfort. It is essential. Like, we all eat to live. But if we live only to eat (laughs), then something is very wrong with us. Basically wrong.
Scriptures and ancient people beautifully describe how to make best use of money. You make five equal portions of the money. You use one portion for yourself, you save twenty percent, you use another twenty percent for your family, and immediate needs, and you make use of one portion for the society .One is called Aapad dhan. It is for emergency, for any need in the future. And there is another school of thought which says you spend 10 percent on charity, you save 30 percent, and you use 60 percent the way you want.
I would say, you don’t need to spend even 10 percent on charity. Keep aside at least 2% or 3% of your income. If you don’t do charity at all, your money will be spent on court cases and on hospitals. You keep aside 2 – 10 percent for the world. Then the greed will not happen in our mind. Greed kills the person and then kills his business also.
But ambition is ok. You should have ambition. You should aspire to create more wealth. Creating more wealth is not a bad thing at all. So, that balanced attitude for money must be there. Money should not be everything in life. It should be to sustain, and to give you physical comfort. And it’s only spirituality that is absolute comfort. When you are connected with the divinity, mental and spiritual comfort is there, you don’t even think about money. Things come automatically.Next year, this ashram will have completed 20 years. Before we had this ashram in North America, we used to hire places here and there. So many people used to come, and we needed our own kitchen for vegetarian food. It was difficult to have advanced courses in hotels here and there.Then I said that the next time I come, we should have a place where we can keep the atmosphere pure, where only meditation happens and where the vibrations of the place become more saatvik, more congenial and more in harmony with nature. Then some of our devotees went around and looked at places, but we didn’t have that much money.
First we put up some tents, and all the tents flew away. It rained. They had a kitchen here and wooden things. Everyone started doing a little bit here and there, and the place became beautiful. So, the whole place come up in some time.This is what is called siddhi. Siddhi means you get what is needed. In India, there is a proverb which says you really wished for nuts and it came to you when you lost all the teeth (laughs). You were praying for nuts, ‘Oh, I need nuts, I need nuts, I need nuts.’ And then when you got nuts, all the teeth were gone! That’s no use. You are praying for husband or wife, and they appeared when you are 75! It makes no sense!
We never ever worry for how things will be done! This is what is siddhi. When the spiritual power is there, spiritual energy is there, everything happens effortlessly. Move with faith and confidence. At the same time, don’t live too much in the air. Be a little practical also. Till you get to that level of spiritual inner dependence, you have to have the reasoning. Reasonably, you should be aware of how you should manage funds.
So, it’s like dance. How dance will happen? When one foot is on the ground, and one is up. If both legs are buried in the mud, can you dance? And if both feet are in the air, then also you cannot dance. You’ll fall. So, dance happens when there is one foot on the ground, and one up in the air. This is what is whole knowledge – practical yet ethereal, spiritual in approach. But I have seen some people who are too ethereal. They don’t do any work but they simply sit, ‘I want 20 million dollars, I want 100 million dollars.’ They don’t even think about small numbers. (laughs) They Pray for it every day. Nothing is going to happen that way also.Know that balance.
Q:
You are the one who tries to form a bridge between the business world and political world. Is it bridgeable at all?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Basically we are all human beings. There is humanness in everybody and I feel the reformers, the rulers and the providers they all have to work together only then can society really come together.Q:
Guruji, you give so much importance to Satsang. Is there any scientific reason behind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Satsang means the company of reality, being in touch with the truth. Satsang is not just singing. Singing some complicated songs which you don’t understand is not Satsang. Music is a part of it. The second part is understanding the logic. The third part is sitting and reposing in yourself, in deep meditation, being with yourself.Q:
My heart and mind are often in conflict. Which should I follow?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Use each at different times. Do not do business with your heart. Do not do service with your mind.Q:
Is dispassion connected to upbringing or past impressions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Vairagya or dispassion is associated with viveka or the power of discrimination. When we were small children, we wanted to have cotton candy or lollipops and toys. As we grew up, these desires dropped by themselves. We became dispassionate about toys but got attached to something else. In course of time, desires drop effortlessly. When we move ahead with awareness then our attachments drop even faster, and with love. It doesn’t mean that you throw everything out of your house! There is no desire to procure anything. Irrespective of the desire being fulfilled, there is no feverishness or attachment.Q:
I am anxious about the results of my interview. What to do?
Q:
Let’s take one idea - that the Imam will say, “we take care for all believers, not only the Muslims”, and the Rabbi will say not only the Jews, but for everyone. So what actually do we have to do to evolve because at the moment the extremists dictate the course of events?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
First of all, inter-faith dialogues and education for those people is essential.Second is that the people of the same community will have to identify the extremists and isolate them. For this, a neutral person needs to be there. A third party will have to come and facilitate the dialogue, re-orient them and bring them together. As you saw, we worked in Kashmir. There were 1500 Hezbollah Mohadin group terrorists who were transformed. These people came and shared, “We were doing something that was wrong. We were killing people.” They were caught in a prison in India with whom we worked.
So the first step tomorrow, I would say, is to work in the prisons with those terrorists. Through them contact other terrorists who are out there in the world. Bring them this education, this spiritual experience, a transformation in their mindset. I know it is not an immediate work; it gives results in the long term. In 2001 nobody could go into Kashmir. Businesses were shut. There were no electoral processes. The state of Kashmir was in a mess. Then, with our work till 2004, a big shift has happened. Today 69% of the people voted in Kashmir, and businesses have started though it took between 5 to 7 years. Drop by drop we would bring some difference, some transformation.
Similarly, if we can have 100 youth working for this cause in Israel and Palestine and train these people to think from a different perspective, I’m sure we can find greater peace, because I have seen this work in Iraq. I would like to give you an example of Iraq. You know, in Iraq we started the work between the Shias and Sunnis. There was such a big animosity between them. 8000 Sunnis were driven away from the Shia village. When we met one of the Sunni people, we took them to the Shia village and made them understand. Eventually they [the Shias] said that they [the Sunnis] may all come back. This is just one example.
I know there is so much more to be done. I know we have not achieved total peace in Iraq, but we have moved significantly. We invited about 50 youth from Morocco and 50 from Iraq to India. These people were so fanatical. They would not accept us because we are Hindus. Hindu means idol worshippers. But just in a matter of 3 weeks they started shaking hands and started dancing with us. There was such a harmonious atmosphere.
We had 22 people from Israel and about 150 from other Arab countries. When they first arrived in Bangalore, the Iranians, Iraqis, Arabs were so furious. They said, “Why didn’t you tell us that you brought Israelis also!” It was as though we had committed a very big crime. They said, “You have cheated us.” But just in three days there was a difference – they started liking each other and honoring each other. We had 150 Arab youth singing Shalom and Om Shanti. That gave us big hope that we can do something.
Q:
Please speak on love. Also, how is discipline best exercised?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Here again you cannot force yourself to love something or not love something. Just relax and be yourself.Discipline can only be required in three situations. You don’t need discipline when there is love. When you love something you don’t need to discipline yourself to do it, right? The second situation is when there is fear. If you fear you are going to have nervous breakdown that fear will make you do what is required. Third is greed. If someone offers you one million dollars to do something thing for one week, you would not miss one day of doing that thing. So greed, fear and love keep you in discipline.
Q:
How can one conquer the ego?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The tendency of the ego is to say “I am not crazy, I am proper. Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome. It is a one-day job. Just act like a crazy person. Can you do that? For one day. Done! Make people believe you have gone completely crazy. It is the best antidote for ego.” If you cannot do this, can you simply behave as a child for the rest of your life? No third option. Be a baby for the rest of your life or a crazy person. Be one who has attained the essence. Apart from this, keep the ego. Don’t try to get rid of it. Do this slowly. Otherwise it is impossible.When people laugh at you, can you relax? When people point at you, just relax. Smile and accept it. A mother has no ego. Whatever the children say, she accepts. If they kick , does the mother get perturbed? If you are unperturbed, you have conquered the ego. Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are.
Naturalness is the antidote for you. Be spontaneous! Ego cannot stand spontaneity. Ego wants to present everything properly and prepare beforehand. Children are so spontaneous. They make mistakes. Never mind making mistakes. Just be like a child. Anybody can say anything about you.
Another block we often have is to feel something is not practical. No need to practice anything. Our own mind is saying it is not practical. We wanted 2,000 Hindustani classical musicians to perform together. Every teacher said it was impossible. A choir in India! It is not like here with so many people and that many styles. They have their own octaves. We had a program called Antarnaad. You should see it on Youtube. There were 2,750 singers. Only one day of practice! Make the impossible possible. We should remove the block in our own mind. Top musicians were spellbound at the Antarnaad event.
Q:
How can senior management get the most out of their teams for maximum performance?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
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