Bangalore Ashram, India
11 June 2010
Q: You spend so much time for reducing terrorism; do I need to become a terrorist to get your time and attention? It would be nice to be transformed through you.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A terrorist use gun to shoot, but you shot arrows of your devotion! Your devotion and love are much stronger.
I remember an incident when I was in Rishikesh. A devotee fainted and fell down. Everyone's attention was attracted by this. I knew that it was just a drama to attract attention. First I kept on walking, but when the drama continued for a long time, I went to that place. When I asked, she said, 'You don't look at me, so I had to do this.' You don't have to do such a thing to catch my attention! How do you know I don't look at you? When you are looking elsewhere, I look at you for sure. The goal is only one - to center your mind and consciousness in one place. When your mind is centered, calm and you are smiling, I look at those whose mind is still racing here and there and is not centered.
Q: When you are in front of us, you ask us to close our eyes and meditate, but we don't feel like even blinking our eyes (we want to keep seeing you). Don't laugh it off, devotees are perturbed.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Should I get you a mirror? Go within yourself and you find how beautiful you are.
Q: You say that there is no difference between you and me, then why do I feel sorrow?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The sorrow is there because you have not fully realized this. Your heart and mind have not accepted this deep inside. As soon as you accept, the sorrow disappears.
Q: When God is everything then who does wrong actions? Why it is that someone is a saint and someone a thief?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The way you act, God awards the fruit of the action accordingly. If you steal, God will come to you as a policeman. Your actions, good or bad, decide your experience of joy and sorrow. Joy and sorrow are the outcomes of your discretion; it depends on your discretion in performing actions. It is ok if you drink one glass of milk. But what happens if you drink three kilos of milk? Without the use of discretion, nectar can turn to be poison.
Q: My husband practices Sudarshan kriya but does wrong deeds. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How can this be? Then he may be doing Sudarshan kriya just as an excercise. Bring him for a follow up, or meditation camps. Or, may be what you see as a wrong deed is not perceived so by him. Talk to him.
Q: When children talk silly, parents reason with them to make them see their folly. But when parents start getting aged, they sometimes talk silly and don't respond to reasoning with them, what should a child do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Still keep serving them. Using a detached approach, try to understand why they are saying so. It may be the case that you find them to be right, though they may lack in right expression. Or, you may find their observation to be wrong. It is not necessary to do everything that they say because their understanding and life experiences are different from the child's.
Q: Does Bhakti (devotion) make an impression on the Chitta (subconscious mind)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, of course. The impression of Bhakti wipes away all other impressions, all negativity of mind. Also the impression of Bhakti gets dissolved on its own. Like when you put a piece of alum to purify water, the water gets purified as the alum dissolves and disappears. The impression of Bhakti is just like this.
Q: Your naughtiness makes everyone dance. The whole world is going crazy. Tell us something about this naughtiness of yours?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Naughtiness is not to be talked about, it is to be done! Everyone has child-like qualities in them. Not childish but Child-like. When one is a yogi, this happens automatically. There is naturalness in life. Everyone seems to be one’s own. This happens naturally. Ego, any kind of self identity that one has, gets dissolved.
Q: How do we know that our past karmas have been burnt?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just assume it. Just like assuming, 'I am free' makes one free. Believing that past karma has been burnt makes it so.
“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar
© The Art of Living Foundation
