Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
(A member of the audience asked a question which was inaudible).
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are love. Drop this guilt.
I want to tell you one story. This is the story from the life of Lord Buddha. It also includes forgiveness.
One day Buddha was giving a sermon and conducting a meditation. One gentlemen came from the back to the hall. He was very angry because his son did not join the business and instead joined Lord Buddha and wanted to meditate and propagate peace. So angry gentleman came in front of Buddha and spat on the face of Buddha. There were 10,000 people sitting in the hall, but then Buddha did not react and was just smiling. This man then went away. Just being in Lord Buddha’s presence brought a shift in this gentleman because he has always encountered anger with only anger. Here is a person who did not react and was smiling instead. And that one smile of Buddha did something to him. He could not sleep the whole night. His whole life transformed. He came next day and fell at the feet of Buddha and asked for his pardon. Buddha with the same smile lifted him up and said, “I can’t forgive you”.
Everybody else was shocked. This man is sobbing, crying, asking for pardon and Buddha is saying I cannot forgive you. Then Buddha tells him, “That man who was angry is gone and whom you spat is also not here now. They say, you cannot put your feet twice in the same river. Like that, the consciousness is also changing. The person who was there yesterday is no longer here now. So, if at all I met that person who spat and to whom you spat, I will tell him to forgive you”.
See life from a broad perspective. A mistake happens through you when you are not conscious, when you are in ignorance. So, you are not responsible, it is the ignorance that was responsible.
How to stop worrying?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Know one thing – one day you are going to go under the ground. You will be finished. Everybody else will also be finished. What are you worried about? You are worried about money? You are worried about somebody’s opinion? You are worried about prestige? You are worried about your health? There are four things that people worry about –Money, Relationship, Prestige and Health! All of them is going to go away one day. Then why worry.
See life from a bigger context. Ten years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Five years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Three years back you worried. This worrying did not do anything to you. You only created more toxins in your body. Life anyway goes on.
Life is a balance between free will and destiny. How many of you have this question about free will and destiny? (Many in the audience raise their hands). Is life all destined or is it all free will? I tell you, life is a combination of both free will and destiny. Your height is your destiny but your weight is your freewill.
You can’t say this my destiny is to weigh 100 kilos. I will tell you to get on to the treadmill. And don’t eat those burgers. So, your weight is your free will and your height is your destiny. Similarly, it’s raining is destiny, whether to get wet or not is your free will.
How to stop worrying?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Know one thing – one day you are going to go under the ground. You will be finished. Everybody else will also be finished. What are you worried about? You are worried about money? You are worried about somebody’s opinion? You are worried about prestige? You are worried about your health? There are four things that people worry about –Money, Relationship, Prestige and Health! All of them is going to go away one day. Then why worry.
See life from a bigger context. Ten years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Five years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Three years back you worried. This worrying did not do anything to you. You only created more toxins in your body. Life anyway goes on.
Life is a balance between free will and destiny. How many of you have this question about free will and destiny? (Many in the audience raise their hands). Is life all destined or is it all free will? I tell you, life is a combination of both free will and destiny. Your height is your destiny but your weight is your freewill.
You can’t say this my destiny is to weigh 100 kilos. I will tell you to get on to the treadmill. And don’t eat those burgers. So, your weight is your free will and your height is your destiny. Similarly, it’s raining is destiny, whether to get wet or not is your free will.
(A member of the audience asked a question which was inaudible).
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are love. Drop this guilt.
I want to tell you one story. This is the story from the life of Lord Buddha. It also includes forgiveness.
One day Buddha was giving a sermon and conducting a meditation. One gentlemen came from the back to the hall. He was very angry because his son did not join the business and instead joined Lord Buddha and wanted to meditate and propagate peace. So angry gentleman came in front of Buddha and spat on the face of Buddha. There were 10,000 people sitting in the hall, but then Buddha did not react and was just smiling. This man then went away. Just being in Lord Buddha’s presence brought a shift in this gentleman because he has always encountered anger with only anger. Here is a person who did not react and was smiling instead. And that one smile of Buddha did something to him. He could not sleep the whole night. His whole life transformed. He came next day and fell at the feet of Buddha and asked for his pardon. Buddha with the same smile lifted him up and said, “I can’t forgive you”.
Everybody else was shocked. This man is sobbing, crying, asking for pardon and Buddha is saying I cannot forgive you. Then Buddha tells him, “That man who was angry is gone and whom you spat is also not here now. They say, you cannot put your feet twice in the same river. Like that, the consciousness is also changing. The person who was there yesterday is no longer here now. So, if at all I met that person who spat and to whom you spat, I will tell him to forgive you”.
See life from a broad perspective. A mistake happens through you when you are not conscious, when you are in ignorance. So, you are not responsible, it is the ignorance that was responsible.
Why is there suffering when there is God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
So that you can lift your eyes above this material world. Suffering has a purpose, which is to connect you to your self. Suffering indicates that you got too involved and carried away by all the relative and transient things around you. That is what suffering is all about. Once you understand that it is all transient, your eyes get lifted to something that is eternal. That is when real joy dawns in life.
How to get rid of stress, other than practicing meditation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Drive a car behind a bicycle. Slow down.
Gurudev, how do I make my parents understand that my Guru, knowledge and my yearning for the truth is of utmost importance to me? They just don’t seem to want to understand this.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you want them to understand? Keep your secret in your heart and serve them and make them happy. You don’t need to convince everyone about what you believe and what you think is right. If they don’t understand, it is their choice and their freedom. Your trying to impose your ideas on them only causes more tension and their fear gets more exhilarated which is not needed
What happens to our consciousness that just by entering the ashram we feel happy and light?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, the vibrations of the place does affect the mind. That is why, ashrams are there and temples of knowledge are there for you to meditate and soak in the atmosphere.
Whatever is happening, that energy gets absorbed by the trees, stones and everything around in the creation. Why do people go to Bodhgaya 2000 years after Buddha got enlightenment? The Bodhi tree is still there and people feel the vibration there. Why do we go to different temples or Jyotirlingas? All these temples have at one point of time, been places of knowledge and saints and sages have lived there. That’s why these places became Teerthsthaan (places of spiritual significance or pilgrimage spots).
But today, you see that all the energy has disappeared from most of these places. They have become places of rituals and not meditation. We should re-establish meditation in all these places. That is why it is said, ‘Swayamhiteerthanipunanthisantah’ (sages sanctify all the places of pilgrimage by their mere presence). This is needed.
What was Rishikesh some 40 years back? It is not what it is today. 40 years back people were discussing knowledge and wisdom. And today, there is only loud speakers and some activities there.
Is there any connection between DNA and our ancestors? If so, please throw some light.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, absolutely there is. Where do you think your DNA originated from? It didn’t drop from the sky. Obviously,it has come from your ancestors. But I can tell you one thing that you may not know, a banana contains 50% of your DNA. A human being and a banana share 50% of the same DNA which means two bananas equal to the DNA of one human being. or one banana is equal to the DNA of half of a human being. This is what the scientists say.
Gurudev, I am in love with someone. How can I make out whether it is love or infatuation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You fall in love and you want me to tell you whether it is true love or not! You would need to decipher this yourself. Only the person who is eating would know the taste of the food. How can someone else advise on that?