17 May 2011 Banglore, India
Dearest Guruji, is it true that every chapter of the Bhagavad Gita has influence on a particular plane? Kindly explain.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Planets are far away, they have an influence on your mind, on your Self. Every chapter has an influence on you.
Dear Guruji, my business keeps me busy but I have this urge of doing some seva. Is there something that I can support financially without giving too much of my time? Will that be counted as seva?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, that is okay. Some can give time, some can provide resources. Seva happens with both time and resource. So if you can’t give time you can put your resources into that.
Guruji, you asked us to be dispassionate and you also say that dispassion is a happening. I really want to be dispassionate but I am confused how can I create a happening in my life? Please guide
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Dispassion is not a happening; I would say dispassion is what you invoke in yourself. When you widen your awareness, when you see everything is going to disappear and death is imminent, we are all going to die and everything is changing; when this knowledge comes - then dispassion is spontaneous. You need to understand and see life from a broader perspective and then automatically dispassion comes within you; but there is some effort. A little effort from you and then it will happen.
Guruji, my wife and me separated two years back, we want to remarry now. You can say in our case our divorce did not work but we both are scared, are we committing the same mistake again? Please guide.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s a good intention that you want to make it work. As time goes your consciousness changes, your mind changes, and you are understanding changes. In this changed scenario if you feel like giving another try to make things work, there is nothing wrong, try it anyway. If it doesn’t work, then don’t choose the same partner in the next lifetime.
How do I enjoy life if it is going to get finished one day? This thought doesn’t let me enjoy.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It should make you appreciate life more. See, a flower is going to wither away but don’t you enjoy looking at the flower? You have a gulab jamun (an Indian sweet), ice creams, once you eat it’s going to finish but don’t you enjoy it? Now see, there is the beautiful full moon there and it is going to disappear one day but still we enjoy it today. Good!
Dear Guruji, generally one of these shaktis are predominant in us: either Brahma shakti, Vishnu shakti or Shiva shakti. How to use them and how to balance them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Simply do it! That’s it. Brahma shakti: you create but don’t just drop it. Vishnu shakti is to see that whatever you start, you continue.
Today is Buddha Purnima, so please tell us something about it.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Buddha stood for meditation all his life, all the time. We will do a short meditation now.
I am from Rajasthan, there are many ashrams in Rajasthan and I was thinking that if a small ashram of The Art of Living is built there, that would be a very nice thing. What are your thoughts?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Alright, build an Ashram, all of you get together and make one. I make people, you make the Ashram. Just yesterday we were discussing that there are so many ashrams but there are no people. In the ashrams, there are no Yogis. So that is why I thought first, let’s make strong people and that is why I called this ‘Vyakti Vikas’ not ‘Ashram Vikas’. So now this work you do, the other work I have already started.
When someone of our own suddenly passes away and we are not prepared when he leaves. There is so much to talk and to say and when he leaves you want to feel him. You said they are always there so how to do that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Those who have left will understand that this world is just a play, there is nothing really; it’s just a wave so there is no need to tell them or explain anything to them, without saying anything they will understand. When in the body, we understand using words but once we are out of the body, then communication happens through feeling. So don’t worry, you be happy, those who have gone have gone and we are here now.
Guruji, if our nearest and dearest ones don’t understand the feelings that we have towards you and they logically try to analyze and this hurts us. How do we handle this situation, this often comes in our life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you want to explain everything to everybody? Feelings are such that people don’t understand. You don’t have to express all your feelings like that. They could be insecure and think that you will leave home and go to the Ashram and be there. So see that people don’t get into that fear. Your love and devotion should be expressed only as much as they can understand. Same with joy, sometimes you don’t know how to express your happiness; if you express too much people don’t understand.
One devotee went to a funeral of somebody, a mourning meeting and there were bhajans and he started dancing and the people didn’t understand. There is satsang and bhajans, of course you dance when you are in joy and he said that anyways everything should be a celebration. But if you dance there people can get annoyed. So you should see what a person can understand; how much they can understand and how to convey what you want to convey. Be skillful in conveying so that your expression doesn’t bring fear and anger in others as much as possible. And then ignore. Beyond a level you should simply ignore.
One devotee went to a funeral of somebody, a mourning meeting and there were bhajans and he started dancing and the people didn’t understand. There is satsang and bhajans, of course you dance when you are in joy and he said that anyways everything should be a celebration. But if you dance there people can get annoyed. So you should see what a person can understand; how much they can understand and how to convey what you want to convey. Be skillful in conveying so that your expression doesn’t bring fear and anger in others as much as possible. And then ignore. Beyond a level you should simply ignore.
I feel that India’s socio-economic problems are a lot based on over population, do you agree?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no. India’s problems are not based on over population, they are based on corruption. The problem is because of corruption. Population was thought to be a curse till a few years ago but today it’s the population that is the basis for improving the economy. Population means big market, why would other countries look at India? Because it’s a huge market.
