Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I tell you, if someone insults you, criticizes you, let them be! How much harm can they do? Let them go ahead and insult as much as they can. Next time, tell them, “My dear, go ahead and insult me as much as you want. I will not change regardless of how much you want to criticize me”. Face it with courage. Be strong, do not run away from it. Stand tall before them and let them insult you as much as they can.

See, you should respond to an insult with a smile. A person of true patience and courage is one who can respond to any insult or criticism with an unshakeable smile. A real saint is one who responds to a gunfight with bouquets of flowers. The sign of an intelligent person is one who can respond to taunts and criticism with humour and wit. If you also get angry with someone who comments on you or taunts you, then that is not intelligent behaviour on your part. The sign of intelligence is to transform an unpleasant situation into a pleasant one. That is what the intelligent ones do. One who searches for pleasantness even in unpleasant or unfavourable situations is truly an intelligent person.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

See, our ancestors gave a lot of prime importance to the intellect. Our most important mantra is the Gayatri Mantra which is unparalleled. In the Gayatri Mantra it is said  “Dhiyo yonaha prachodayaat”, which means, “May our intellect be illumined and inspired by the Divine”. It does not pray for just one person’s intellect, the mantra prays for everyone’s minds and intellect to be illumined and inspired by the Divine light. So, by the Gayatri Mantra, we pray that all our minds together are nurtured by the Divine, and may all our intellects blossom. This is the prayer we make through the Gayatri Mantra.

Science also gives importance to the intellect, to logic and rationality. Anything that does not agree with the intellect, or is not aligned with intelligence - cannot be called as Science. When you see things from this perspective, then you realize that both Science and Spirituality work along the same lines. Spirituality just goes one step further than Science and asserts that not only must we inquire “What is this?”, but also go deeper and inquire “Who am I?” This inquiry too is within the scope and boundaries of Science. Here it is not only the scenery that is important; rather the observer or the Seer is also equally important. The Seer too has a very prominent role here, and Spirituality, or Vedic tradition makes this aspect (of the Seer) more evident and clear.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I tell you, if someone insults you, criticizes you, let them be! How much harm can they do? Let them go ahead and insult as much as they can. Next time, tell them, “My dear, go ahead and insult me as much as you want. I will not change regardless of how much you want to criticize me”. Face it with courage. Be strong, do not run away from it. Stand tall before them and let them insult you as much as they can.

See, you should respond to an insult with a smile. A person of true patience and courage is one who can respond to any insult or criticism with an unshakeable smile. A real saint is one who responds to a gunfight with bouquets of flowers. The sign of an intelligent person is one who can respond to taunts and criticism with humor and wit. If you also get angry with someone who comments on you or taunts you, then that is not intelligent behavior on your part. The sign of intelligence is to transform an unpleasant situation into a pleasant one. That is what the intelligent ones do. One who searches for pleasantness even in unpleasant or unfavorable situations is truly an intelligent person.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Why do you want to judge them? Let them do what they want to do. It seems that you have too much time on your hands. Do not judge them. If they show off, let them show off. They have something to show off, let them be. If you have something to show off, then you also show off (Laughter). If you do not want to, then simply don’t show off.
Why should someone showing off irritate you? Do you understand what I am saying? See, it is all a game. If someone wants to show off, let them be. If they show off too much, then they themselves will lose their charm. You should think more about yourself and reflect on - how much more natural have you become? Have you become more practical, more wise? Reflect on this instead.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There are three planes – the physical plane, the astral plane and the causal plane. These are all right here with us. Anything that we see in the material plane first takes place in the subtle planes. That is why people also experience Déjà vu. Do you know what Déjà vu is? It is a feeling that you have been somewhere before or had a certain experience before in the past. You feel “I have been here before” or “I have seen this sometime earlier”. Meditation is the first step to deepening your understanding of these planes.

See, from time to time people criticize and insult you. At other times they also appreciate you and encourage you. It keeps happening in life. So many people criticized and insulted Lord Krishna. He did not have any lesser share of troubles and difficulties in life. In the same way, all the saints and prophets of the world also had to go through pain and many difficulties in life. But the great thing is that they endured all the pain and suffering with an unshakeable smile. They would remain untouched by it from the inside. In the same way, we should also face pleasant and unpleasant times in life.
Now that you are here, just drop all those problems and botherations right here in the Ashram. Do you all know the one rule of the Ashram? The rule is that you have to drop all your problems right here. You are not allowed to take them back with you. Got it?

See, we all are relaxed and sitting here in peace. But it saddens me to see the unfortunate state of violence in Kashmir (referring to the incidents of violence in Uri province). Kashmir is surrounded by so many problems. Many young people and women there are very troubled. We should all pray that peace is restored in Kashmir and that an atmosphere of harmony returns very soon.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Sometime back, when I spoke about women empowerment initiatives in society, there are some associations for battered and distressed husbands also who approached me. They wrote a letter to me saying, “Gurudev, you seem to only talk about disadvantaged and distressed women in society. Please give some thought about the poor distressed husbands in society also. We have formed an association of such husbands to address issues”.
I think some of these associations are there in Mumbai and Delhi. Usually these associations are present in bigger cities. There are very less chances of them being in villages and rural areas. I think maybe you should join one of those associations and become a member (Laughter).

Nowadays even young men are wary and cautious about marriage. They think, “Who knows what kind of wife I will have. She could either be like Goddess Lakshmi or even turn out to be wicked like Surpanakha! (a demoness in Ramayana and sister of the evil king Ravana)”. Some people met me in the past and said, “Gurudev, it has only been a few months for our marriage, and now my wife has gone and filed a court case citing demands for dowry or torture, etc.”
The lady had dragged the boy’s parents too to court along with the boy and had them all arrested and put behind bars.

If you go to the jails in Delhi, you will be shocked to see so many elderly ladies behind bars. Some of them are 70 or 80 years old. During one of my visits there I met an old lady and asked her, “Mother, what happened? What did you do that brought you to this jail?” She told me, “Gurudev, what do I say? My own daughter-in-law filed a lawsuit and had me arrested here. I did not do anything to her”. There are many cases where a newlywed daughter-in-law has her in-laws sent off to Lord Krishna’s birth place (here meaning the prison). That is why many young men are distraught and worried seeing such incidents.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, of course! There is no need to worry at all. Just relax and be confident at all times. But at the same time, also be wise and practical. You should not think, “Oh! I have abundance of Grace in my life”, and then put your hand in a burning fire. If you do so then naturally your hands will get burnt.
Being confident (of Grace) does not in any way mean losing awareness and being
impractical. Also, feeling secure and confident should not make you passive and lethargic in life such that you end up doing nothing. You should not become irresponsible. Do your job sincerely and attend to all your duties and responsibilities wholeheartedly. Leave the rest to God with faith.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well, that is correct. That is exactly why it is called teamwork. In a team there will be different people with different thoughts, approaches, style of working and varying ideologies. The sign of good teamwork is to integrate them all and take everyone together.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

When there is deep love, you always tend to feel that you have not done enough. If you ask any mother, “Have you done a lot for your child, or all that you had to?” She will say, “Oh, I don’t think so. I feel I have not done much”.
In love one never thinks “I have done enough”. That only happens when you get very tired and exhausted. When you have this feeling, “I have to do more (for someone)” then that is a sign of love.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well, it is when there are obstacles that you understand and appreciate miracles! See, whether you read the Ramayana or the Mahabharata, understand what you can and imbibe that in yourself. Implement the good things you read from these epics in your own life. Think about your own life and how you can improve it. See, there have been many great saints and noble souls in the past ages. It is good to read the epics, and you should learn from these great personalities.

At the same time. we should focus on the present and talk about what is happening now. What is the state of your mind now? Are you happy? Do you wish to take up some Seva projects and serve others? Think along these lines and discuss.