Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I am for preserving the natives around the world, and I always encourage them to preserve it. I have seen similarities between aborigine in Australia, Maori in NZ, Arunachal Pradesh in India and British Columbia in Canada. The way they welcome a guest is so loving. They all have similar traditions and cultures. In the past, there was some connection or similar culture all over the world. You know, we need to celebrate the diversity and not think that everybody should be like us. We should take good things from every culture and I feel that is the way we can overcome the terrorism in the world.

If every child knows a little bit about all the wisdom in the world then they grow up much wiser. They don’t become fanatics or fundamentalist or terrorist. You know, terrorists think that only they know the truth, only they will go to heaven and everybody else will go to hell but they create hell for everybody else. No sense of global wisdom and we have to take responsibility because we haven’t globalised wisdom. We have globalised everything else on the planet from eatables to equipments to cold drinks but we haven’t given a comprehensive wisdom for youth of the world, don’t you think so?

Once a child asked me a question, Guruji dogs can communicate with any other dog in the world, but why not human beings? I still remember, this is some 25 years ago, in Manchester, UK. A small girl came to me and asked me, “Guruji, Why not human beings connect with everyone else in the world”. This is because we are so stuck in our identities, we have to grow beyond that, it’s good to have identity but we have to grow beyond that. Don’t you think so?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Negative thoughts are due to three reasons. If your blood circulation is not good, if the lymphatic system is not ok or if bowel movement is irregular. In all these cases negative thoughts are likely to come. You can check the reason, and then take appropriate measures.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Don’t label the world. Some people are this way, but don’t pay too much attention to them. Just move on. Let them get cooked in their jealousy. It is alright. That which you put attention on, will grow. Manifestation follows intention and attention. If your intention is clear, I tell you, you will move on. If someone is jealous, what do you do? Just move on. Your attention should be on something higher, on the blossoming of the self.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

What is destroying this world? It’s the greed, jealousy, hatred, narrow mindedness, selfishness, and all these negative emotions and qualities which are destroying the world, right? Because of greed of few people, anger and hatred of few people, lack of awareness, lack of understanding or misunderstanding and narrow mindedness of a few people, the world is getting destroyed. How can these negative emotions be overcome? Is there a way? Yes, SPIRITUALITY. It is only spirituality which can turn hatred into love, anger into awareness and selfishness into compassion. It is only spirituality that can save the mind of the people, isn’t it so?!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Identifying your energy type is the most important. There are 3 energy types, predominance in creativity, sustenance or challenge facing ability. What kind of person are you? First identify that. Then it will become easy for you to choose a carrier. – Contributed By Yes Plus Teachers

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you had a million dollars in your bank and would still do what you are doing, then that means you are in the right place. - Contributed By Yes Plus Teachers

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Ok! About jealousy! Just join hands with them or praise them. Another thing that you can do is not to take any notice of their jealousy at all. - Contributed By Yes Plus Teachers

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Pick up good things like cleanliness and following the rules from the Western society. Western Civilization has such cleanliness and the sense of following rules. Learn the Human values from the East. Every country or tradition has something good to offer. We need to learn hospitality from the Japanese, precision from Germans, etiquette from the English and marketing from America and from India, human values.

We can also learn, what not to learn or what to unlearn? Too much formality! At some places, the mother has to take permission to go to her daughter, or the daughter has to take appointment from the mother. This has started to happen somewhere in urban society here also. The naturalness, sense of belongingness is disappearing from the society. That has given rise to depression and other disorders in so many countries in the west. There is such a sense of belongingness and human values even in a village in the east, and that is to be maintained.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Definitely. It is possible to stay in such a state of love without any of these negative connotations with that – if there is wisdom. Love with wisdom is bliss. Love minus wisdom is what you have mentioned; all this jealousy, greed, all this paraphernalia.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well! You are in deep love with somebody, so that person must be right for now. But whether he continues to be right in future, nobody can say. It depends on you! How you handle. You are in love with some body, but is he in love with you or not? First you find that out! If that man is also in love with you, then see how you both preserve your love with a dose of wisdom and how you carry on, how you conduct yourself – all these factors are there. Correct? It’s very easy to fall in love, but many of us don’t know how to maintain that. Someone falls in love with us and we don’t know how to receive and nurture that love. We lose other’s love for us too. So these skills, I have spoken about these skills in the knowledge facets, in Celebrating Love, you read it.