Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There is a story of Mullah Nasserudin. His wife was pregnant and the time of delivery had come. But the baby was not coming out. When doctor told this to Mullah Nasserudin, he ran to the market, bought a toy, and kept that toy in front of her wife. He said, “After all this is my child, so he will surely come out with greed”. Whole our life we keep on running behind things with the hope of getting something. We keep on looking for some kind of profit. How would such person experience happiness? Neither does a greedy person get happiness nor does a person who is bombarded with too many desires. The one who relaxes in his consciousness, is happy. One who is centered, experiences the true happiness. I am not saying there is no happiness in the outer world, but the happiness you get when you go within is incomparable. The world is running in search of happiness. The body gets baked, the mind gets baked, the intellect gets deluded but still we keep on getting stuck in the same repetitive cycle. When you meet the Guru, you come to know that you are the source of happiness. Then the mind calms down, and you realize that you are the one in whose search you kept on running here and there.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Happiness is when you want nothing, and you want to give. Where the wanting and desires end, and the sharing begin, happiness is exactly there. Memory is not happiness. When you are happy, you forget everything. It is when happiness is gone that you dwell in its memory. In the world, people are either dreaming of happiness or remembering happiness. That is either being in the past or the future. But happiness is that which is in the present. And it is your very nature.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

How do you balance a bike? When you fall more to the left, you bend right, and when you are falling more to the right, you bend to your left. There is no theory, you just do it. It balances automatically. It pinches one if one doesn't do service at all and is always bothered about oneself. If you are in your senses, it will pinch you, otherwise one is not human. If you are not touched by others' misery then you are not human but stone. Similarly, if one is only into social service, then also it bothers

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

When you say, ‘It’s not ok, it’s not ok’, the seed of ‘not ok’ is not letting your mind to relax. When do you go to bed? When everything is ok, and when there is comfort. When you are hanging on to the discomfort, how can you ever be comfortable? You have to accept things as they are. ‘It’s not ok, it’s not ok’ keeps you all outside. Those imperfections are there for a cause or purpose. It is going to be ok, it will take some time. Things are ok the way they are now, They will be ok in the future Whatever happened in the past was ok. When you understand this, you relax and in that relaxation you can meditate. When you want to retire, its nivriti but when you want to come out (of rest) its pravritti. Then you can act. When you are tired but you are hanging on to what is not ok - then you cannot retire. When you have to chill out, what do you say? ‘Everything is perfect,’ otherwise you can’t chill, you can’t act! It is neither pravritti, nor nivriti. Dhyan yoga is nivriti, Karma yoga is pravritti. Most people are hanging onto the ‘not ok’ and are unable to relax, to enjoy life, to chill, to be creative. They are holding onto the seed of ‘not ok’. That person, this situation, the government, the administration - everything is not ok. Then it comes to you - I am not ok. Subtly, it reflects on you that you are not OK. Then you don't like that feeling, and to cover that up, you make up many justifications and the mind is all confused. If tamogun is too much, you don't know the pravritti or the nivriti. When there is Satva, then we know what to act, when to act, whether to act or not. When Rajogun prevails then its half way through - you regret and act. Many of us act and then we regret. Mother scolds her child, regrets it and then becomes nice. In Satva, you don't regret, you retire and relax, there is clarity. In Rajogun, there is confusion and chaos. In Tamogun, there is total inertia and lethargy. There is no strict border between the three gunas. It is very fluid, one flows into another.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

That is a big job. In the Geeta it is said, even the most brilliant people are confused about what to do and what not to, and how to handle the mind. Protecting the mind is a very great task but to do it we need knowledge. Up to this moment, see all that has happened so far. It all gone! Finished. Wake up. When you are full of energy, prana, you suddenly see it all gone. Now! All that happened is ok. Think about what to do now. Sometimes 100 percent of what you do will be successful, sometimes not. A farmer knows that not every seed that he sows will sprout. He takes the seeds and throws them in the field, and does not worry that this seed will sprout, this won't. From now on, it a new chapter. Every day is a new chapter. Bring up this awareness again and again. The whole world is filled with my atma (soul) it all Me. It one Consciousness. This one consciousness works through one person in one way, through another person in another way. It is one ocean with many waves. If this vision comes to you even for just five seconds then there will be such a major transformation in your body and mind. Then a realization will spring in you Aho! All worries are washed off. Just for a second, recognize that it only Me in my enemy. I myself have started the Game. Understand this, but don't turn it into a mood making. Have this understanding only in the nivriti, not in the pravritti mode. If we bring advaita (non-duality) in vyavahar (behavior), we only create more delusion. In pravritti, see duality. Taking up of the human form is impossible without pravritti. How much pravritti and nivriti one should have is a very sensitive matter. When there is more pravritti, then one becomes too negative and one is asked to be in nivriti.In India, dand (punishment) is called shiksha(education). The word saja(punishment) comes from shiksha (education). Earlier, they would not punish someone out of anger but out of compassion. When there would be too much pravritti in someone, they would put him in a room (jail) providing food, sleep and rest. Like a doctor puts people in hospital when the body is sick, when our kritya (action) is sick, the karta (doer) is put in jail. When you have both pravritti and nivriti, you are successful.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

We definitely need to adopt certain things from Ayurveda. Lots of thoughts disturb us when there is stomach disorder. When vatta or pitta in body gets imbalanced, too many thoughts arise in mind. There is a ayurvedic medicine, Triphla, which balances the three Imbalances in the body. It is good to take Triphla for 1 - 2 months. You can take 1, 2 tablets, or a spoon of Triphla churna before going to bed. It increases energy level in body. Vitamin C also provides you immunity. Sometimes allopathic doctors prescribe medicines for 15-20 days for stomach disorders, and that adversely affects liver and body. There is Devati which you can take. It is very effective in curing fever also. Ayurveda has the specialty of correcting disorders and diseases without any side effect. And hence we should adopt Ayurveda. All these are home remedies and one should keep these with oneself. And if at some time, some disease prolongs then one should definitely consult doctor.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Skillfully. If your boss tells you to do fraud, avoid it skillfully. Finally, say that your consciousness does not allow you to commit fraud. The boss will escape if you do fraud, and you will be put behind bars. However, hundred percent truth is also not workable, it is only an ideal. There is an ancient Indian proverb that says that as much lies are allowed as there is salt in food. For example, if you want to sell your product, it may not be the best; still you can say that your product is the best. That much lies are permissible. Ancient people have said this, thousands of years back. It is fascinating how they handled the human mind.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Very good. Don’t accept them as they are. Take strict action, and handle them skillfully.People don’t change overnight, yet people do change. Nobody will remain the same as far as imperfections are concerned. Perfection remains the same. Truth is always one, lies can be many.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Why do you put a label of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ on yourself? Remove it off and be natural, be at peace. When we assume a negative quality as our own, we feel guilty, and when we assume a positive quality as our own, then we become proud. Both of these are signs of being mentally unhealthy. Surrender both the negative and positive qualities to the Divine. A person who is surrendered will be good. Surrender brings focus and character in life. Without the development of these two, life is directionless. Even a little bit of sacrifice helps an individual to blossom. Without sacrifice, the glow does not come up. Sacrifice does not lead to a long, sorrowful face. Renunciates are joyful, whereas the kami (one filled with desires) feels burdened and sad.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

The mind is full of sankalpa and vikalpa (imagination, fancy). Each work gets done through sankalpa. Even the act of moving our arm is preceded by the sankalpa in the mind. If twenty sankalpas arise in the mind then nothing gets done. When the mind is peaceful and restful then our sankalpa is powerful. The sankalpa of a weak mind is weak and that of strong mind is strong. We can make our mind strong by sadhana (spiritual practices) and knowledge. Then the sankalpa will also be strong. The wise makes one sankalpa in fifty days whereas the ignorant makes fifty in a day.