Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Please talk on the origin of life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When we think linearly, we think something should start somewhere and end somewhere. But we should think spherically. Can you tell me where is the beginning point of a tennis ball? No! So when you can’t find the beginning point of a tennis ball, why do you try to find the beginning of this universe? The mathematics is wrong. There are two types of thinking, one is spherical thinking and other is linear thinking. The world has neither a beginning nor an end, this is spherical thinking and this is what the Vedic concept is. The Vedic understand is that three things are eternal: The universe, Divinity and Life. They have no beginning and no end, they just go in cycles. This is the most interesting and most scientific understanding of the universe.Q:
Is it important to meditate? Do all the people who meditate become successful?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Absolutely important to meditate! When you meditate, you have a healthy body and mind, your intellect becomes sharp and memory becomes very strong. India’s meditation has been taken up by so many universities abroad - Stanford, Oxford, Harvard. Do you know that now they call pulling the ears super brain yoga? When you meditate daily for some time, circulation in the head and the brain improves, and even the grey matter increases. A lot of research has been done recently which states that meditation is very important. Not only does stress get eliminated, but the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) also increases.Q:
How can I forgive my mother-in-law who is constantly hurting me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Take a look at how your mother behaves. How many times did you have arguments with your own mother, and how many times was she frustrated with you? Haven’t you gotten scolding from your own mother? I don’t think any girl or boy has grown up without being scolded by their mother. When your mom criticizes you, you just fight with her and then you forget it. It doesn’t really touch you. My dear, remember, your mother and mother-in-law are of the same age, the same kind and the same category. She scolds you only 10% of what your mother used to scold you, then why does it hurt you deeply? Just accept her. People who are tough to handle, whether at office or at home, only help you to develop your skills. You should really thank them. They make you more skilfull, more refined, more compassionate and all your good qualities start manifesting in you. If you have knowledge, in tough situations, wisdom manifests and good things manifest out of it. If you lack skills, the worst things come out of it. This one thing we need to master. Master the skill of expressing and communication, and grab this as an opportunity to do that.Q:
What is the ultimate and greatest truth of life? Is it to be happy, or to make one’s family happy, or to serve humankind, or to reach the Divine?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The ultimate journey starts with one step. Just do not sit and dream about the ultimate. Instead, begin your journey towards the ultimate. Take small steps towards the Truth; towards this inquiry into life – “What is the goal of life?” This very inquiry can take you far. Everything has some significance in life. Just eating alone is not the goal of life. Yet eating is essential for sustaining life. Isn’t it? Similarly, sleeping is not the goal of life. But can you discard sleep altogether? No, you cannot. In the same way, you have to be happy and you also have to make others happy. This is the journey towards the Ultimate. What is the ultimate Truth, or the ultimate purpose of life? I tell you, one who really knows will not tell you, and anyone who does tell you, simply does not know. That is the secret.Q:
Is meditation concentration?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Meditation is not concentration. Meditation is a deep relaxation, and it is happening to us many times but we don't realize it. Little meditations have happened to all of us here and there, now and then when we felt some happiness. Every time you felt a deep sense of happiness, fulfillment or satisfaction, know that you have somewhere touched that level of meditation.Q:
If love is our true nature then why does it feel so good to hurt the one who has hurt me? How do I stop myself from retaliating?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you want the chain to continue? You hurt them, they hurt you, you hurt them and they retaliate again. Do you like to be retaliated against? I am asking you a question. If you have made a mistake unintentionally and the other person starts retaliating because you did something wrong; because whatever you said or did hurt them deeply, and so they want to take revenge, what would be the state of your mind? How would you like it? Why don’t you get into the other person’s shoes and see for a minute? You wouldn’t want that. You would say, "No, I asked forgiveness. I asked to be pardoned". Just imagine if someone refuses to pardon you for things which you did unintentionally, or out of ignorance, would you like it? When you like to be forgiven, how come you don’t want to forgive? And enjoying hurting others is not the right thing. It is simply you wanting attention, that is all. This you need to correct. This is your mind’s sickness. It is the sickness of your own mind to be happy making someone miserable. What do you call it? Sadistic! How can enjoying someone’s suffering make you happy? That type of joy is not for you, no! It appears to be a joy momentarily but it comes back to you a million times more, so don’t go for it. There are better ways of joy. When you forgive, see what big joy, what big comfort it brings to you.When someone comes and apologizes, it is our magnanimity to say, "Okay, never mind". I tell you, our magnanimity is in forgiving, and that is what we do. But if they continue to do wrong, if they don’t respect your forgiveness, then take a stick. Then go, challenge them; go to court or whatever. But you should give ample chances for them to correct themselves.Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, it should not be taken for granted. At the same time, not forgiving, doesn’t show or speak very well of you.Q:
Can you please enlighten us with the concept of karma? Where can we read more about this in depth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The real meaning of is Karma is Action. Action can be classified into three: The past, present and future. The past actions are impressions, the future actions are also impressions and present actions is Karma that is giving you result now. So, Karma means the impression of the past, which will draw similar situations in the future and that is the future Karma. And present action what you are doing is creating an impression in your mind and that is again called Karma. I will give you a simple example. How many of you have the habit of drinking coffee first thing in the morning? How many of you get a headache when you don’t drink coffee? (Many raise their hands) This is coffee Karma. Because you have been drinking coffee, it has made certain impressions in the consciousness, and if one day you don’t drink coffee, you get a headache. That is coffee Karma.Q:
What is Samadhi?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Dhimeans the intellect andSamadhimeans where the mind is in total equanimity. Your whole system is in total balance. Body, mind, spirit, everything is in such coordination and serenity. There are different types of Samadhis, one is called Laya Samadhi, which is when there is some music going on and you are completely dissolved in it. You know you are - but you don’t know where you are. Then there is Pragya Samadhi, Asamprajnata Samadhi, etc. There is a Samadhi where thoughts are there, ideas are there but you are very tranquil. And there is a Samadhi where there are no thoughts, just a feeling is there. So there are many different types of Samadhi. It is said that in one moment of Samadhi there is a million years of rest. In Sanskrit it is called ‘Koti Kalpa Vishram’ – which translates asa million years of rest in a moment. It is also said that the pleasure in one moment of Samadhi is equivalent to one thousand units of sex. This is why celibacy happens to naturally to one who is a Yogi. A Yogi does not need to make an effort to be a celibate, he or she just sits (with the self) and bliss just wells up. That is why celibacy is not a practice that you do, it is a happening wherein every cell of your body is in a sort of bliss. And bliss is what you try to achieve in sex.Q:
I can forgive, but I cannot forget the hurt my partner has caused me. What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It's very difficult, isn't it! When you are in love with somebody, pain happens. They are not responsible for your pain, you simply feel pain. Just look at them, what can they do? They cannot behave in a different way.. But your expectations are more, so naturally all this pain comes. And because pain is not likable to anybody, you start hating the person. If you are wise, you will see that they are just an instrument, that's all. You have to walk your path. Before you met them, you had a life. And afterwards also you will have a life. It is only the divine who will be with you forever.Q:
What is prarabdha karma and sanchita karma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Some karma can be changed and some cannot. When you prepare halwa, if sugar is less or ghee is less, water more or less, it can all be adjusted. But once sooji (a type of flour) is cooked, it cannot be reversed. If the buttermilk is sour, milk can be added, salt can be added to make it drinkable. But it can never be reversed back to milk. Prarabdha karma cannot be changed. Sanchita karma can be changed by spiritual practices.Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
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