Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
How do we keep God and the world together?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How can you keep them together? They are already one. Where is the question of combining them? In the nature of form, it is world, and same is God in its formless nature. You don’t have to do anything to bring them together.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Love is not that mushy mushy stuff. Often we confuse our emotional entanglement or mess and give it a name ‘love’. No. Hurt is a part of love. Whenever you love somebody even if they don’t do anything against you, you may still feel hurt. This is because you want to express love fully but love can’t be fully expressed. You can’t and when you can’t you feel something is lacking. And when you feel there is something lacking to commune, you feel hurt. It needs just a little trigger from other person and then you say ‘you don’t care’, ‘you are insensitive’ and ‘let’s sort it out’, and when you talk it out, you make whole mess of it. In the beginning days of Ashram here, there was a German student who was divorced three times. He came here and fell in love with Italian girl. She didn’t know German and he didn’t know Italian, and both didn’t know English. They came to me to seek blessings, and I said surely but with one condition that the boy shouldn’t learn Italian and the girl shouldn’t learn German. Now they are already happily married for 20 years. It is talking too much that makes a mess of everything. Love is not to be expressed but felt. Dimension of love is different from intellectual talking or expression. In west love is over expressed. While sitting, standing you keep on telling each other how much do you love, and no love remains in the end. In the beginning you say, “I can’t live without you”, and you end up saying, “I can’t live with you” (laughter). It is entirely opposite in the east. They don’t express it at all. They keep everything inside to boil, but never express love. Both are at loss. I often give example of a seed. Love is like a seed. If you sow it too deeply, it won’t get sprouted. Also, if you put it on the top of ground then also nothing is sprouted. When a little soil is dug and seed is sown, it sprouts up. Same is with love. Don’t express it too much and end up with ‘let’s sort it out’. That middle path is the way.What to do with choices when both choices seem to be difficult? In the short run and in the long run you don’t know?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Choice is always between bad and worse. So worse is just a little step more than bad. So never mind (Laughter). Why to struggle so much!!
Guruji I want to know how to have harmonious relation with juniors and at the same time take work from them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Create a sense of belongingness with your juniors. You know that they respect you and you need to be cordial with them. Respect needs some distance, this distance is good but that should be of an arm’s length and not longer than that. A little distance is ok to keep the respect among your juniors but too much distance will bring a breakdown in communication. You need to maintain that balance. A little bit distance needs to be there so that respect is maintained at the same time communication is cordial.
In one of your talks ‘Journey towards Enlightenment’ you said we are born with innocence and we move towards intellect, we are born with heart, feelings and emotions, and we move towards head and thoughts. Enlightenment is reverse journey from head to heart, from intellect to innocence. But the heart is in a mess, so confused. So where is the question of seeking enlightenment when it is so confused and so emotional because the heart is where all problem starts.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Heart without wisdom is a market place of problems. That is why you have to go to your head and bring wisdom into your heart. Everything has a place. Wisdom, knowledge has its own place. Intellectual discussion has its own place. This is an intellectual discussion that we are doing. And your emotions have a place. It is beautifully said in the Bhagwad Geeta ‘Nastibudhi rayutaya, najayuktasya bhavna’ naja bhavyata shanti, ashantasya kutah sukha’ Mahatma Gandhi used to chant this daily and made his followers also do the same in their prayers. When you are not united with your spirit, your intellect can’t be sharp, is not complete and your feelings are ruffled. But when you are united with your spirit, your intellect becomes sharp and alert and your feelings blossom flawlessly like flowers. When you don’t have feelings, you can’t have peace, and how can you be happy if peace is not there. This is what Krishna asked Arjuna in Bhagwad Geeta: Where is happiness if there is no peace, if one is disturbed.
Guruji this question has bothered me for a long time. Billions of people have been born and billions have died. I am born and I will die. Then what is the purpose of life? Why are we here if all are going to die?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why not? So many people were born and died, so many are living and they will die and so many will be born in future and they will also die. You are thinking from a business mind – what am I going to get? - What is the aim? What is the purpose? There should be something coming out of everything. So when you think from a business mind, this whole exercise appears totally uneconomical and futile. Biggest disadvantage is that it seems God hasn’t studied economics (Laughter); else Einstein would be given another 100 years so that he could perform some more experiments, discoveries. So many leaves are coming up every spring and then they fall. Such an economical disaster! People are dying and new babies are born, go to school, college – job – get married – have children – and then die again. It appears to be completely bizarre. But that’s how it is.
Why is Krishna’s navel called Padmanabha (Solar Plexus)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Solar Plexus is second brain or mid brain. For a Yogi, Solar Plexus is larger in size. Scientists have also said this. It is small in a person who doesn’t do yoga and meditation. When solar plexus is larger, one is creative and generous. When it is smaller, one is jealous. Krishna is called Padmanabha, his Solar Plexus is like a fully blossomed flower. Padma not only means lotus, it also means flower. Fully blossomed flower is usually referred to as padma.
There are so many attractions and distractions but still the youth is so bored.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Youth is bored and it’s their fortune. If they were satisfied then growth would have stopped. When they are bored then the quest comes in them. They are not satisfied with the things available around. And this is the stage when they can take a step to look within, a leap in their inner journey, a step towards spirituality. An interest in higher growth gets kindled when you are bored with things around. When you find source of joy within, then obviously everything around is also reflecting the same source of joy, then you find interest in everything. Continuous bombardment of senses by stimuli can cause inertia. Inertia is boredom, is a form of boredom. Again when prana level goes up, you move from inertia to enthusiasm.
Guruji you give so much importance to Satsang. Is there any scientific reason behind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Satsang means 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 part of it. Second part is, understanding the logic. Third part is sitting and reposing in yourself in deep meditation, being with yourself.
Why does the divine answer and reward some while prayers of others go unanswered?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, I don’t know why some prayers get answered and some are not. I have no idea. Perhaps it is good for you. Perhaps you may change your mind about what you want. People go to shopping, this often happens at least in India, and ask shopkeeper, “Can I come later and exchange it if I don’t like it”. They go home and don’t like it and get it exchanged next day. Most unreliable thing you have is your own mind because you don’t know what it likes and when it doesn’t like that. That is why bringing mind to its source is so important. Its centeredness is the most important thing in spiritual evolution. Understanding what is transient and what is permanent, what brings you permanent joy and what causes temporary convenience and long term misery, what causes temporary discomfort and permanent joy, and what causes long term discomfort. That is what is called viveka, sense of discretion, wisdom – knowing this from that.