Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Have you seen anyone in The Art of Living get enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, there are many who have this experience -- they feel something and it starts happening. They have the ability to love everyone and be a nobody.
You don’t have to label yourself that 'I am enlightened, I am enlightened', not at all! If you want enlightenment, the first thing you need to remember is total detachment from all that you see, good or bad. Do you still want enlightenment? Are you ready for it? For enlightenment you need to have total detachment because it is your desire which is the only thing that blocks you from enlightenment. The moment you drop all that and say, "I want nothing and I am nothing", that moment you realize that all the forms and names are nothing, they are all like waves in the ocean; the wave is nothing but the ocean. This conviction is enlightenment. The sea is there, the sun is there, the moon is there and like that I too am here, that is it. Going beyond time is enlightenment. Not being constrained by space is enlightenment. Realizing you are love, everything else is love, that is enlightenment. Being so natural and feeling at home with everyone because there is no other, is enlightenment.
The first disciple of Lord Buddha said, "I will wait till the last person gets enlightened, I don’t want to have it now", because he knew he could have it any time. It is his compassion for everyone that he said, "I will see everyone through and only then I will have it". Have you heard about this? That is what Bodhisattva said, "I want to see everyone out of misery and then I will attain enlightenment".
That one desire that 'I want to help everybody' was stopping him from being enlightened. That is why it is said, "Buddha is okay but Bodhisattva is one step higher", because he has compassion to take care of everyone. That is what the teachers do, they don’t go looking whether they get enlightenment or not, they simply bring happiness in peoples' lives!
When all that you see in this world does not interest you, does not provoke you and does not disturb you then a totally different world opens up. It is very subtle! This universe has many layers -- one inside the other, there are multiple layers in this universe. But our mind is stuck on one, that is why I said today that the mind should be free from getting stuck in one direction.
There is so much negativity everywhere in the world -- guns, wars, terror! Shouldn’t there also be a messiah here, keeping the balance? Is there one here now?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you want to look for one? There is a messiah hiding in every one of you and is sleeping, wake him up! Now you don’t wish to be a messiah. If you say, "I want to be a messiah", then you are inviting trouble. Tomorrow don’t go around saying, "I am a messiah sent by God". For your sake, for God’s sake, for the world’s sake, let us not get into this exercise. Just be natural and honest.
How to keep trusting people after many frustrations in life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t need to keep trust in people, you need to keep trust in the one divinity, the one truth, and know that only the best will happen to you. You should trust yourself that you can handle them.
Dear Gurudev, I am attending The Art of Silence course the 14th time and I still have not felt ecstatic. Am I closed? I do my Sadhana daily.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t feel any sensation? Have you done Shakti Kriya? Sometimes we use our senses too much and deprive our body of the rest it needs. All this affects us.
When you do the course, don’t look for anything, just relax. As long as you have a very serene and peaceful state of mind, it is okay. It is not necessary that one has to get some experience. Some people feel some tingling, and some don’t feel any of these but they feel very blissful feeling inside. All that is okay.
In the Indian Jyotish Shastra, they speak of nine planets, i.e., Navagraha. Science has revealed that there are more than nine planets. Also, why are the Sun and the Moon called planets? Is this scientific?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Sun definitely affects the planet Earth, so does the Moon. Though the moon only reflects the light of the sun, its energy affects the water, and the mind. This is scientifically proven, which is why when someone goes crazy, they are called lunatics. (The word lunatic is derived from the word ‘lunar’ because the mind is connected to the moon.)
Similarly, there are various energies at play; it is the connection of the macrocosm and the microcosm. Don't think of it as a connection with the physical planets only, but the cosmic energy is somewhere and somehow related to this planetary position. That is what is discussed in Jyotish Shastra.
The macrocosm and microcosm are inter-linked. For instance, certain vibrations - like the bio-dynamic energy - are related to birds, planets, grains and parts of our body. For example, Saturn energy is connected with the crow. The vibration of the crow, the planet Saturn, the sesame seed and teeth in the human body are all linked, connected. There must have been tremendous amount of research done on this in the past, and it invites people of the future to find out more.
Similarly, goat, the planet Mars, chick peas and the liver are connected. We know for sure that the liver and chick peas are connected. And we know that for hair, nails and teeth, sesame seeds definitely help. For instance, as per Ayurveda, if you take some gingily (sesame seed) oil and gargle, it helps mouth ulcers, pyorrhoea and other dental issues.
The ancient people have written these things. There seems to be some deep study conducted in the past or it has come from intuitive awareness. This throws a challenge for scientists to conduct studies, and prove or disprove it. If you think it is wrong, you have to disprove it, and if you think it is right, then you need to prove it! Isn’t it interesting how all these are connected - you hair, nail, teeth? Of course, everything is connected to everything else, but some are more direct.
Specific herbs have an effect on specific parts of the body. This Ayurveda Materia Medica was sung in the form of poetry thousands of years ago in the Vedas. It is the only Materia Medica in the world that is in the form of poetry. Hence, practitioners, i.e., Vaidyas, Ayurvedic doctors, found it easy to memorise and learn all about the organs and their impact. It is wonderful listening to these poems, and it is amazing how all of it was in a poetic form. These poems come from deep inside, from an unknown corner of our consciousness, which is why a lot of this knowledge is based on intuition. And something which comes out of intuition is always correct.
If a disciple has expectations from the Guru, what should they be? And if the Guru has any expectations from the disciple, what should they be?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You work out the calculations yourself! Be dedicated, have determination, be in surrender and have thirst for knowledge.
Actually, the Guru doesn't really have any expectations. For instance, the Principal of a school knows there are students in different grades -- nursery, first, second or third grade. If you ask him, "What do you expect from these children?" What will he say? They should all come to class in time, and learn with dedication, isn’t it? He will certainly not expect a primary class child to recite a poem of the fifth grade.
You are here right? And if you are here now,just keep working.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No! Both should go together. You should surrender and take responsibility, or after taking responsibility, you should surrender. How? Like when you watch television, you watch and listen simultaneously.
Having surrendered, take full responsibility! If you have taken responsibility, know that there is something bigger than you, and surrender to that! Pray that you get all the strength you need to fulfil your responsibility.
Responsibility and surrender, and intention and surrender are not contrary to each other. In fact, both can go hand in hand. Surrender cannot happen without sankalpa, and sankalpa (intention) will remain incomplete without surrender.
Gurudev, business today has become so complex, financial decisions taken in one office affects the lives of millions who are not even aware of why their currency is falling. How can I become independent of such a system?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, it is really impossible. Everything is connected to the currency, right? Even if you are a farmer who says that I will grow my own food, even then you need to buy manure, or sell the products you grow; for all that you are dependent on the currency system, and the market.
All I can say is that people who are managing the world economic scenario should be more compassionate, they should have a heart. They should not be cut-throat business people who just worry about their wallet, and not care about people on the planet. The games people play on the world scenario is pathetic. There are sincere people, but I am sure there are many, who are insincere and have vested interests, and that is costing the planet heavily.
Gurudev, today, Science has found that gravitation is also a wave. Could you tell us what the Vedas have to say about gravitation and matter?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Matter and energy are the same. Matter is only appearing, it has no separate existence from energy.
Vedas say that matter is an illusion, and energy is a reality. If there is any reality, it is just the energy. Brahman is the energy and jagat, the world, is the form. Name and form of matter are temporary, and what is eternal is energy!
What is the essence of the Vedas?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Vedas are the essence of creation. All that is in creation -- present, past, future, is present in a seed form in the Vedas. Don't ask me what is the essence of the essence! Vedas are called the essence!
"Saaravat vishwato mukham", i.e., Vedas are multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and the very essence of existence.