Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Shouldn’t diversity within companies involve more than discussing the percentage of women at the top?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
“In many places, the first discrepancy and discrimination one sees is gender-based. Gender is the most visible; the most obvious today. So, gender and religion, followed by nationality or cultural differences, these all should be sidelined.However, I am not saying that you have to force yourself to find a person who is from a particular category, when they may not be as talented. That is also wrong. Talent must come first, and diversity should be secondary. In the name of diversity, we bring in people who are not capable or qualified to do the job. The business suffers as a result. So the diversity value should not come as a rule imposed on someone but it should come from within oneself. It should come from the transformation of our outlook rather than an imposition of a rule or government regulations”.
Q:
Can love happen twice? Husband and wife are already in a relationship? Can husband or wife start loving someone else?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Tell me are you single or married? Ok, so you are single. If you are married and your wife tells you that she loves someone else, then how will you feel?(I will feel bad.)
If you flirt with someone else, she will feel the same. Once you decide to get married, then just be faithful. Before choosing you can look for suitable match, but once you decide, settle down. Is that a good idea?
Rise in love, don't fall in love. I see that so many youth, they are in love with someone and the person they are in love with someone else, so they make a whole emotional mess in the mind. Please don’t do that.
Love is eternal and life is eternal. If it is not coming to you in one form, wait it will come to you in another form.
Q:
Dear Guruji, I desperately need one good job and visa for some country, please help me!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yeah, you pray, you do meditation. Whatever you ask for, you are getting it, right! How many of you are getting whatever you desire? You wish and you are getting, your work is getting done. How many of your wishes are coming true? (many raise hands)Q:
Dearest Guruji, I’m not strong enough to take a commitment for whole one year. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Not strong enough? Take one day at a time. You are strong enough to take commitment for one day,that is enough. And each day you can continue doing it. Don’t think of one long year, “oh my God! One year I’ve to do something! Today I do, that’s good. Tomorrow I do, that’s good”.Q:
Guruji, What is Bhakti (devotion)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
: Listen to Bhakti Sutras talk, I have spoken in that, yeah!Q:
What happens between the time of death and next birth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What happens between the time when you are awake and asleep? Same thing happens – you are dormant. When the consciousness is back, when the time comes, it will come back.Q:
Can you bring more sun here?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Today there is enough sun. We will take it one day at a time.Q:
Will the business world be organized differently in 20 to 30 years from now?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
“We have already stated. In the past, the business world ran on economic pressure, because people had no other means. But today, the global market is so open and the choices are many and varied. People are more aware than it was a few years ago, so now they want to move around. If not here, they will find job advancement; it has turned the business view completely upside-down. Before, it was regionally oriented because you had to do a job and availability was limited”.Q:
How to improve memory and be more creative and imaginative?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How to improve memory? I will tell you next year, let me see whether you remember the question!You do have good memory; If you think you don’t have, little more pranayama, and there are some ayurvedic things for memory, you can take Brahmi and Shankapushpi, these herbs are good for memory.
Q:
The women in our epics seem to have done so many extraordinary feats, it is difficult to believe they are true!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Let us take gandhari for eg, she produced a 100 children from pots.Test tube babies is exactly what she created. One embryo and 100 pots! We did know what the science behind is! Unless proven otherwise it is a fact. Like nobody believed that dinosaurs existed but you have the proof. Jatayu, a dinosaur bird existed and carried Sita. There are facts that Lord Krishna existed. The way it is presented is usually a little mixture of imagination and facts. Like a poem is facts and imagination mixed. If you read the biography of Abdul Kalam, Jawahar lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, you will find they add things.