Posted: April 29, 2020

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder—Art of Living gets different burning questions asked around this time of lockdown from people of all walks of life from around the globe. Everyday at 7 am PDT (or 8 am CDT or 10 am EDT), his office in India does live streaming of some of the most beautiful meditations on Sri Sri’s Youtube channel, where he guides millions across the world into peace, calm and balance that is most needed in the current times. A perfect state of the mind to begin your day with.  

Following is the gist of a recent conversation that Sri Sri had with the youths around the world on how to overcome challenges during this unprecedented time. If you would like to listen to it, you will find it here.

Sri Sri: “In these crucial times that the world is going through, we need to meditate and tell all your friends and family to join meditation. As a group when we all meditate, we can bring so much positive vibration in the atmosphere. The world runs with vibrations. Everything is vibrations here. And we can either emit negative vibration or positive vibration. I think it is the need of the hour when there is lockdown around the world and people are getting anxious about the future and current state of affairs, it is necessary to meditate and spread positive vibes.”

Q: During this lockdown, there are many theories and videos on social media saying that the world and mankind is going through a massive evolution, consciousness is rising through a new frequency. Are these true?

Sri Sri: Evolution is unstoppable. It is happening throughout. And these incidences can hasten them. That's all. Evolution happens faster. People start looking in and thinking about life from a different context. We take many things in life for granted. Even small things are very meaningful and valuable. And in this time we pay attention to those things that we have not been paying attention to.

Q: When this Lockdown ends, will we overcome the constant fear of contracting the virus and go back to living normally again. Is social distancing the new normal?

Sri Sri: Definitely there will be a shift post coronavirus. World will change and life will also change. But we don’t have to worry that social distance will be permanent. No. I am sure this anxiety, fear in the world to travel, go to places and stay in hotels will be there a little bit, that cannot be totally corrected immediately after the lock down. It will take a little time. But you know, the human mind is such that it bounces back. We have had many calamities on this planet. We have had world wars. But human life is so resilient, we will just bounce back and we will come back with greater force and more sense. Yeah. For sure. For sure humans will start taking things differently, for the good of human society.

Q: I am smoking Marijuana while being locked down at home. I have started noticing that I am having very vivid experiences during meditation. Am I actually going deeper or my mind is playing tricks on me?

Sri Sri: You know why you smoke Marijuana or any of the recreation drugs? Because you want access to a different plane. You want to experience something deeper. Meditation will give that, without having to spend money on the recreational drug. Meditation itself will open up further dimensions. Next week we will do chakra meditation. Different sounds, different music correspond to different chakras. That will make a lot of sense. Different people like different kinds of music or herbs, recreational drugs are interesting to some people. We can do away with recreational drugs and can get that high and depth through breathing and meditation.

Q: It has been reported that China has reopened the wet markets which were the cause of this pandemic to begin with. When world leaders make such terrifying decisions that affect my life, I feel totally helpless. What can I do?

Sri Sri: You can appeal to people to support you. A signature campaign, requesting concerned authority to be careful. Second is you pray that sense prevail in the world. Let there be cooperation in conflict between countries. And let the leaders of every country think in a more humane mode.

Q: Why does fear take so many takers, and faith needs so much convincing?

Sri Sri: Fear is an emotion that comes up when one's existence is challenged. Survival is challenged. It's a normal emotion. Faith is something that is earned through logic, through science or through experience. Of course, faith needs some work. It is like crying is natural, but singing needs a little bit of training. Shouting is natural. Anyone can shout. But if they want to sing, they want to perform, they need to train themselves. In fact you know, for those whose faiths are very deep rooted, it is not easy to shake them. And for those whose logic is strong, faith has to pass the test of logic. So one need not convince others to have faith so much. Your conviction, your faith itself catches on to others. So it is futile exercise to try to convince. If you have strong conviction, you will see that it gets translated. You know why? Because we convey more through our vibes than our words. Our words are far more superficial than our vibrations. We convey through our whole body, our whole being--that brings the transformation. That communicates so much more stronger, deeper and better way.

Q: Formal education in schools and colleges has come to a complete standstill because of this pandemic. What is your message to thousands of students out there?

Sri Sri: Well there is no end to learning. You don’t have to go to schools physically. Virtual education is possible. You can learn online. We here in Art of Living Institutions, have started in our 100 plus schools, with e-learning. So classes are happening through the web, through the internet. So you can start learning like that. And world over there are universities that are open for e-learning. So just the mode of learning has shifted. But you don’t have to stop learning and stop studying now. 

Q: I always had a hard time dealing with lust and desires. Now that with this lockdown and free time, it has become even harder. How do I get out of this?

Sri Sri: Watch your food and engage yourself in meaningful activity. If you are busy with some goal, some solid activity, you will see that desires and lust will take a back seat. Of course, when you have nothing to do, then those tendencies overpower you. It is like when the auditorium is empty then the audience will come to the front seat (smiles). That is quite natural. Meditation and pranayama will definitely help you. 

Q: What is your view on living-in relationships? In two meetings I cannot decide my life partner. Do we need to upgrade our system of marriage? What is your take on it? 

Sri Sri: Well, one thing in marriage you have to bear in mind is, you are a giver not a taker. Marriage is a compromise. You have to learn to give. If you come from the space of giving comfort, giving happiness to the other and both of you come from the same standpoint, then you will have a heaven at home. But if you are just wanting something from the other partner, and you are self-centered, you have a lot of difficulties. So marriage is the act of understanding others, it’s an institution where you come from understanding others, cooperate with others and learn to give yourself 100%.

Q: Once this lock down is over, we face a collapsing economy and unemployment. I am living in constant fear whether I will have a job or not when this will be all over. How do I deal with this?

Sri Sri: Well….you know death kills you once but fear kills you every moment. Remember this: one day we all are going to die. Everybody will be dead and gone. This is for sure. So what is to be afraid of? You will get what you need. Have that confidence. Have that faith in you. Have faith in yourself and the goodness of the society. Society will definitely change. After World War 2, many countries were turned to the ground. And how they have come back up. See the Sindhi community, when India and Pakistan became two different countries, Sindhis had no homeland. They all had to leave. They came with just a bag, a suitcase, with little bit valuables. And now you don’t find one poor man in the Sindhi community. They are businessmen all over the world. Same with Jews. The Jewish community is one of the wealthiest communities on the planet today. So even after the biggest disaster, people have really come up. And now this is not that big of a disaster. This is a passing time. After this, life will be back on track. Have that faith. You will find a job, you will have food, you will have shelter. Again here I would say do pranayama, do meditation. Keep yourself busy with knowledge. Spiritual knowledge, lessons and talks. You know it will help you get over the anxiety and fear.

Join millions to meditate and find peace and balance everyday at 7 am PDT (or 8 am CDT or 10 am EDT) on Sri Sri’s Youtube channel!

Experiencing too much quarantine stress? Join this FREE webinar NOW to learn some practical and powerful tools to transform your stress into ease. 

Compiled by: Sejal Shah, Art of Living Teacher.