Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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What is the golden rule of a happy married life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, I am not qualified to say anything, but let me think. Why don’t you sit with those who are happily married? What I have heard is:
Before marriage: a couple is mad for each other!
During marriage: They are made for each other!
And then: They are mad at each other!
After while: They are mad because of each other.
Somebody here has formulated this!
One thing I know, marriage is an institution of patience, sacrifice, caring for each other and sharing. If one is upset, other should keep quiet and wait for his/her turn to get upset. If both together get upset at the same time, then there is a problem! But in front of kids, one should better be civilized.
What shall we do to always be happy, because as I know your concept is to relax and attain happiness by that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What to do to always be happy? First, drop the feverishness to hold onto ALWAYS and you will find yourself happy. And then, if some moments of unpleasantness creep into life, accept that also.
Is there a masculine and feminine side to everything? Then why do we categorize things as male or female?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes! There is a neutral gender also. There are 3 genders. Some things fall under the neutral gender too. In fact, there is a whole scripture on the gender of stones as well as trees. The Shilpa Shastra or Book on Sculptures elaborates on this. Hawaiians also say that different stones have different genders! They can identify those. But it doesn’t matter. The Self, or the Spirit is beyond gender.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The whole world is like that. It’s all spherical: everything moves in cycles. You have to come back, but you have a choice. If you are born out of compulsion then it's the same old story again and again. But if you get liberated, then you have the choice and the will to be born when you want. When you come back liberated, it is joyful.Is it true that some places have negative and positive vibes? I have experienced that our group working in our suburb doesn’t get the success it does outside. What should we do to increase the sattva of a place?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Keep working, keep doing. Everywhere it is possible to make a change. It’s just a matter of time.
How can I maintain happiness?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not make such an effort. In order to save your happiness, you have to spread it. Share your happiness with everyone. Why worry in this short span of life when there is such beautiful knowledge.
What is faith?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What is faith? To understand faith, you must know doubt.
How can I balance peace while fighting for justice?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is the whole essence of The Bhagavat Gita. Be calm from the inside and act whenever required. You should stand up and fight if necessary; but don’t keep the fight inside yourself. Usually we fight inside and keep quiet outside. We should do the opposite. With meditation, it becomes easy to bring about this change. The power of satva and the power of meditation make it easy.
Today is Shri Ramanavami (Lord Rama’s Birthday). Ra means radiance, Ma means myself. Rama means ‘the light inside me’. Rama was born to Dasharath and Kousalya. Dasharath means ‘Ten Chariots’. The ten chariots symbolize the five organs of perception (the five senses) and five organs of knowledge and action (For instance: reproduction, legs, hands and so on). Kousalya means ‘skill’, Ayodhya means ‘a society in which there is no violence’. If you skillfully observe what goes on inside the body, light dawns inside you. That is meditation. You need some skill to relax the tension. Then you start expanding.
You know, you are here now, yet you are not. With this realization, there is a certain lightness that comes spontaneously. Rama is when the inner light shines through. Sita the mind/intellect was robbed by the ego, Ravana. Ravana had ten heads. Ravana (ego) was one who wouldn’t listen to others. He was too much in the head. Hanuman means breath. With the help of Hanuman (the breath), Sita (the mind) was able to go back to Rama (the source).
Ramayana happened around 7,500 years ago. It had an impact on Germany and many other countries in Europe and Far East. Thousands of cities are named after Rama. Cities like Rambaugh in Germany have their roots in the word Ram. Indonesia, Bali and Japan were all influenced by Ramayana. Though Ramayana is history, it is also an eternal phenomenon happening all the time.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
People who are willing to serve will have good times even in the bad times. When there are problems, such as famine or war, Red Cross people are fine as they are serving. The more relief they bring, the happier they feel. And people who are selfish and who just want to enjoy themselves will be miserable even in good times. Often the organizers of a party do not enjoy the party because some little thing is missing, they forgot to invite somebody, somebody did not come or some little thing went wrong.
A wise one is happy even in bad times. And the ignorant one is unhappy even in good times. You make the time good or bad. People usually blame the bad time and just wait for the good time. Even if an astrologer says that you are in a hopeless time, you can still make it good time!
Like Weather, time has its impact on you. Your Satsangs and sadhana are your shields, your protection. So realize that you are more than time and that you cn change the time by your connection to the Divine.
European Ashram, Bad Antagost, Germany
New Years Eve 1997
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Development is imperative, but a short-sighted approach is often the cause of great harm. Sustainable development is that which keeps in mind the long-term effects and benefits of any program.
Short-sighted development is a disaster. Ravaging natural resources without a long-term vision will destroy the ecology, which is the very source of life. The purpose of development should be to support and sustain life. With the bigger picture in mind, all development plans will factor in the ecology, sociology and psychology. Then the very process of development becomes a conscious endeavor to preserve the planet and its resources. The health of our planet is of utmost importance.
Environment consciousness is inbuilt in the human system. Throughout history, Nature (prakriti) has always been adored in India; mountains, rivers, the sun, the moon, the trees have been revered. In fact, ancient cultures all over the world have exhibited a deep reverence for Nature. For them, God was not in temples or churches, but was inherent in Nature. It's only when we start moving away from Nature that we start polluting Nature. Today there is a pressing need to revive the ancient practice of honouring and conserving Nature.