Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Everything is decided for animals. But humans have Viveka, the sense of discretion. God gave choice to human beings, to chose the right or the wrong. Right is something that gives you long term happiness, which may be at the cost of short term sufferings, and the wrong is something that gives you short term joy at the cost of long term sufferings.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Those who are living with HIV and AIDS must remember that we are all going to lose our body one way or another. Everybody is going to die. Now lift your eye above this body consciousness to know your spirit. Spirit has no disease. Spirit is beyond it. Keep your mind alive, energetic, loving and happy. People with disease die and people with no disease also die. Sometimes they die out of nowhere. Sometimes sick people live longer and many times healthy people suddenly die. All possibilities are there. So, know that you are more than the body. You are consciousness. You are light. Honor that light. Please don’t sit and brood over it. Look ahead and engage your life in educating others who are not informed about HIV. And instead of seeking solace, become a giver of solace to others. “When the essence of religion and spirituality are universal human values, it is vital that we drop our miniscule identities, join hands and take bigger responsibilities to make this world free of disease, stress and social evils.”

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You don’t need to do anything. Everything is done here for you. Hiren is giving all the courses, he will lead you at different times to different types of meditations and processes and it’ll happen! That’s why you need to be here, if it’s a first Hollow and Empty - your Advance Course, you may find it a little difficult to begin with but then you know when you continue, you will definitely find it very useful.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You know we go through all different types of emotions. We like somebody and the same person we dislike. We trust somebody and same person we start doubting and so all these mixed emotions keep rising and falling in our mind. Don’t be scared. All these emotions make you strong somewhere deep inside. Somewhere you will come out a very powerful human being. When you are aware that all these moving emotions are just a temporary phase, and that you are much bigger than this, you become strong and centered. Don’t get stuck in any of these emotions or make a concept in the mind.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Because I can’t hide it and I have no habit of hiding anything. I am just as I am, if you like it, thank you, and if you don’t like it, thank you.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Skillfully. See that you don’t react to them but with compassion, see how you can work with them. Yeah? One thing is it can improve your skills. Second is it can improve your patience. You can gain patience. Third is it will make you realize that the person is not constantly jealous or angry. They also change! You will see and wonder on how people change!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Hmm! If you get too many thoughts, there are certain reasons. One of the reasons, for getting too many thoughts, is when your bowel is not clear, when your stomach is upset, constipated. If your bowel movements are not ok then you get too many thoughts. If there is no proper blood circulation in the body, then also you get too many thoughts, yeah? So, yoga and pranayama will help. Proper food and diet will help. Show to Ayurvedic doctor, he will say if there is too much pitta in your system, then he will suggest the food, which will also help.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Intuitive power is like a gut feeling and to get clear intuitive power you must mediate. Without meditation, your intuition will go haywire; it won’t be intuition at all.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Prayers happens when you feel utterly helpless or when you feel totally grateful. The third condition when prayer happens is when you are in wisdom. Then, you see that the quality of the consciousness has expanded beyond its limitations and has risen to another plane, another dimension which is so fulfilling, so intuitive and so full of wisdom and love.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

what’s great is when you can smile at complaints. You have achieved something if you can smile at Complaints. Complaints are opinions. Listen to them carefully and if there is something good in it then you can take or if it’s an outcome of prejudiced or biased mind, smile at them. That’s my policy. You can take something on board. I say you should take criticism with open mind and also give criticism with open mind; you should never be shy about criticism.