Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t go and ask others, ‘Do I have a headache?’ If you have a headache, it is very clear to you, you don’t need someone else to tell you; right? Enlightenment is as obvious as the pain in your head or your feet.Now, in spite of that if you get such a doubt, it is good that you ask. If you feel you have gotten enlightened, and you don’t doubt that, then in that case, you must come and ask, so this question makes sense! Don’t worry, you are on the right track. It is inside of you and it will come out.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is one of the five secrets that cannot be shared; these are called The Great Secrets, which cannot be fathomed; death is one, birth is another.One thing I can tell you – your last thought can cause you your next birth. Just before dying, if you are thinking of chicken, you will most probably find yourself in a poultry farm, coming out of an egg. Similarly, if you are too fond of dogs, for sure, in the next lifetime, you will become one. This is because the deepest, strongest impressions in the mind takes you to the next life. This is the reason why a mouse, which is afraid of a cat, becomes a cat in its next life. A worm, which is afraid of a bird, will become a bird. Thus, your fears or cravings will bring you the next birth! I cannot say any more.
Dear Gurudev, does it matter where we sit during the satsang; more in front or at the back?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
(Laughter) It does matter whether you sit by the window or in the middle. If you feel too cold, don’t sit by the window because you want to close the window while others want it open. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter where you sit.
Yes, one thing, if you are too shy, and have a tendency to sit at the back, then just elbow everybody and come and sit in front (laughter). If you are a backbencher, then in satsang you better come to the front. And if you are always sitting in front, holding on to your seat, nailing your backpack to the floor, then get up and sit at the back.
Dear Gurudev, is it okay if I surrender to you as my master but pray to Jesus at the same time? Isn’t it like sitting on two chairs at the same time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, don’t worry. Actually, this word surrender should be removed from the dictionary, it has been so misused and misunderstood. You just relax, that is good enough. Relax with this knowledge and faith that you are being taken care of! It is this most relaxed and happy state that is called surrender. Otherwise we try so hard to surrender; whom to surrender to, where to surrender? And what is it that you need to surrender? You don’t surrender your good qualities, do you? That is what you are, so you don’t need to surrender them. You need to give up or surrender what you don’t need, and what are they? Negative qualities, negative tendencies and negative thoughts, which you don’t want to have! And if that is what you call surrender, then that is good! Do it every day, as much as you can! But then also, wake up and see; neither the positive nor the negative qualities are yours! They just come and go!
You don’t hold on to a car passing by your house and say, “I’m going to push this car, it is mine!” Similarly, thoughts are like cars on the street, they don’t belong to you, they are just moving on their own, and they go away. If you say, “Okay, I am surrendering this car, the next truck” (laughter); if that’s your way of having fun, you can have fun.
Nature knows that these thoughts are not yours. When you are saying that I am surrendering this car, nature is having fun. The Universe has a lot of fun with people who are trying to surrender. Just relax!
You have the most beautiful knowledge here, and there is no conflict either. Everybody is one there; Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, they all have a good pact with each other. Just like the Euro can work in France, Italy, Germany and Greece, so also, there is a good pact between these master; whichever form or whatever name you see, it all goes to the same source.
Despite knowing that I should not miss my daily kriya, the gap is increasing. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Never mind. If you cannot do kriya, do some pranayama. If you cannot do that, just sit and meditate. If you cannot mediate, then just think about the time you have spent here; think about the knowledge and the words I have said to you. If you say that you can’t do anything, that is not acceptable; you can at least do something!
If you have no time to meditate, then at least listen to some knowledge when you are driving the car; there are a number of CDs. When you listen to the knowledge, your consciousness expands. But don’t take this as an excuse not to meditate. You should sit, close your eyes and let go. When you become so deep and peaceful, your brain and perceptions become different. It makes a big difference. When you cannot even meditate, at least remember the knowledge, at least feel connected!
Gurudev, can you explain more about mental illness? Is it unbalanced vata or is it karma? How can we help them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just serve such people. People with any mental diseases like depression and others can be helped through yoga, pranayama, and meditation. There are many which you cannot help, you simply have to accept them.
Gurudev, there are many young children who are aware and awake, and know that they are here for some important work. How do we support these gifted children?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, there are many children who are telling their parents that my real home, my real family is in the ashram. Many children are saying these sort of things around the world; many have become vegetarians, isn’t it? How many of you have seen that? Many children like or love chanting.
Yesterday, I saw on a news channel in India that there was a child born to the royal family of Bhutan. He said, “I have come here after 828 years; I was a teacher and a student in Nalanda University, take me there.” And so they took the child from Bhutan to Bihar in India. The child was all dressed in a robe, looked like a monk; he could recall where he used to sit, what was there and everything around.
There are so many such incidents even in The Art of Living. One child in The Art of Living recently said, “I was a Rishi in the Himalayas, and now I have come.” He is a one and half year-old child; he calls my name so perfectly, “Gurudev”. He takes the rudraksha mala, puts it around and says, “This is the rudraksha mala!”
There are many such children. You will find this occurring more in Russia and Mongolia.
Gurudev, is there a punishing God. If not, who is punishing me? I want to live without punishment.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, there is no God punishing you at all, don’t worry. It is only your karma that comes back to you. If you don’t chuck the karma, the karmas come back to you.
Karma is, you do some action and the reaction to the action comes back to you. But if you realize this, and you do some remedies for your karma, then you can reduce it. E.g., if you hear on radio that there will be a heavy traffic jam tomorrow, you take caution and start a little early; that is the remedy, right? Similarly, if there is going to be snow storm tomorrow, then you put your socks on, and do whatever else you need to do.
Gurudev, I always feel that I have received more than I deserve, and I feel uncomfortable..
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should feel comfortable. When you feel you have received more than you deserve, you become grateful, you feel life is a gift to you. When you feel that you really deserve this, then you become arrogant, dominant, rude, and rough. It is only when you realize that you are not worthy of what you have received and what you are receiving, then you become humble and more grateful! The more grateful you are, the higher you go; humility in you takes you high.
What should we do to read and understand the Vedas?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, you have come to the right place. Keep learning new things here and go on attending the different programs we have.
For example, in Tamil Nadu, they fold their hands into fists and tap their temples and forehead with the knuckles. This is a symbolic way to honour and remember Lord Ganesha. It was supposed to be done 21 times in the earlier days. This custom is called Kopakarnam in Tamil. You would also have to do sit-ups 21 times after this. .
Recently, scientists performed a mapping of the human brain and found that this practice of Thoppukaranam enhances the brain. May be that is why so many brilliant people seem to come from Tamil Nadu (laughter).
You can ask our Chairman of The Art of Living, he too belongs to Tamil Nadu. Even in the Parliament Secretariat in Delhi, there was a time when most of the officials there were from Tamil Nadu. Today the scenario has changed.
In the earlier days all these customs were performed every time one visited a temple.