19 May 2011 Afghanistan
How to deal with narrow-minded people around you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
With a broad mind! Just smile at them. No tit for tat. It doesn’t work. Gently educate them. And determine that you are not going to lose your happiness because they are behaving in a narrow-minded way.
Money, mind or meditation – All three are not in my control? Money doesn’t come, mind doesn’t stop and not able to meditate. What will happen to me Guruji?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You can’t do meditation? Okay, so first see why you are not able to meditate. The part of you that is entangled in money and mind, detangling it from there, entangle it in me! Then meditation will also happen, mind will also be happy and money will also come on its own.
Is not committing a direct sin equivalent to a noble deed, and not doing the required noble deed equal to a sin? Am I responsible for my actions and non-actions as well? And if I don’t do anything, what is my status?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Nobody can be without doing anything. And when you do something, either it will benefit somebody or harm somebody. Right? Nobody can be without doing anything even for a second – You will start thinking either good or bad about somebody. So, that is why, keep on doing something good. Do good but don’t get into airs, “Oh I did so good”. ‘Naiki kar, kuen mein Dal’ (A proverb in Hindi saying - ‘Do good, forget it and move on’). So, can’t be doing nothing, and when you do, see that it is uplifting for all
Does Karma get transferred from one person to another?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, definitely. When you make good business and you pass on to your children, you have passed on your Karma to them. Similarly, if you create a big hell, your children will have to bear it, or your parents will have to bear it. Definitely, Karma is not an isolated Island. It spreads on to the people around, into the family, into the nation. There are different levels in karma.
Is homosexuality a sin? Is it possible to change the orientation of a human being by Sadhana and Spiritual Practices?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, these tendencies come in you because you are made up of both mother and father, a combination of two. Everybody has both male genes and female genes. When male chromosomes are dominating or when female chromosomes are dominating, these tendencies come and go. You don’t have to brand yourself about that. It can all change. There is a possibility of those tendencies changing. Know that you are more than just the body. You are a scintillating consciousness, energy. You are sparkling light, and so, identify yourself with that light more.
when a certain species of Plant or Animal gets extinct from the Planet, does it have an adverse effect on us? Also, are these species present parallel on other Planets as well?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ya, nothing gets extinct like that. It appears to be, but the number goes up and down. For some species to become extinct, it takes a long, long, long time. So, don’t worry. And, there are so many other planets. But we have enough to see and enjoy in this planet, and that is good enough
Gurudev, I have this desperate need to be somebody, to have an identity of my own. No matter how much I tell myself that nothing is in my hands and I should accept everything, it only makes me more frustrated. Please guide
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just be busy. Don’t sit and think about yourself. Trying to have a self-image restricts your growth. Be hollow and empty. Do more meditation
My mirror tells me everyday that I am maturing on outside. Which mirror should I use to measure the growth that is happening inside, my spiritual growth
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
See, are you more calm, are you more fulfilled, satisfied? You feel a sense of expansion. Turn back and see how you were and how you are today. A simple reflection about yourself gives you an idea.
Gurudev, whatever is worth remembering, I forget, and whatever is useless, not worth remembering, my memory always remembers that.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
At least, you understood this. Many people don’t even understand this. Give a pat on your back. Say you have taken first step in the right direction. And it will change. Just a little effort and done.
When you analyze the past, you should always come to this conclusion that everything happens for the good, because you learnt a lesson from the wrong things. But you should not apply this for the future. Looking at the past and knowing that everything happens for some good reason, you move on to the future. But if, in the present, you say, ‘ Oh! Everything happens for the good’, that is no good.
When you analyze the past, you should always come to this conclusion that everything happens for the good, because you learnt a lesson from the wrong things. But you should not apply this for the future. Looking at the past and knowing that everything happens for some good reason, you move on to the future. But if, in the present, you say, ‘ Oh! Everything happens for the good’, that is no good.
When someone dear passes away, how do you explain that? How to console them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you need to explain? You know, when you have to console, just be there quietly. Your simple presence will work. By words you cannot console anybody. Everybody has come for some time and they go like that. No logic can console the emotions. Logic doesn’t work at all. And it is a wrong thing to pacify emotions through logical conclusions or understanding.
No doubt, the questions will come – why this happens? Those questions should never be answered. Simply be there in silence, in love, compassion, and the atmosphere changes.
