Q: How can I free myself from fears that seem to have settled into me years ago? I know they are irrational and just in my head. Yet here they come up over and over again. They are distracting and feel binding to me!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditate! Sit quietly and meditate, or listen to some chanting music. All this will help. Meditation, some pranayama, sudarshan kriya, some excercises, ujjayi breath are very good for fears. Don’t think that fear is somewhere deep inside you. It is an erroneous notion of Psychology that fear and guilt are deep down. I tell you, deep down there is only a lot of joy; a lot of bliss. And in that centre – no fear, no guilt, no anger, no lust can touch you. Deep down you are wonderful. So never think you have all these anxieties. Those who say that there is something wrong deep down are blind. It is all there just on the surface. If they call that deep, then I will suggest to go deeper. In the centre of your being, you are a fountain of joy. Saying, “Oh! My Mind! Deep down there is anxiety!”is ignorance; a wrong idea and concept. The moment you accept these words as truth, it starts becoming more difficult to get over those emotions. They become more permanent there. Do you see that?
Q: Guruji, how do I silence my mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The will to silence itself pays in many ways. Meditation and Sudarshan Kriya helps, too.
Q: Is there any maximum limit to how much we can meditate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just do as much is necessary. There is no need to do too much. Meditation is like taking a bath. To wash the mind, you need meditation. And once the mind is clean, you will be well.
Q: Why do I lose concentration when I meditate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Concentration is not meditation. Meditation is de-concentration. It is letting go. Meditation calms the mind. It feels good. But in our daily life we have to handle paying bills, parking tickets and other mundane things. How can we do this with the same calm mind without getting irritated or perturbed?
You take shower in the morning to clean your body. After that you do all the daily activities. You don’t have to keep on taking a shower throughout the day. It is like that. You meditate and calm your mind, then go on with other activities. It is not easy to keep yourself undisturbed but it will happen if you keep doing the practices regularly. Then keeping yourself calm will become easy.
Q: What should I do with the conflict in my mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The moment you realize that there is so much conflict in your mind, your eyes open. Satsang and pranayamas can put an end to it.
Q: Guruji, how can I focus, have a vision and still be in the present moment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do not think that having a vision is contradictory to living in the present moment. You can have a vision and be in the present moment. Being totally in the present moment can give you a better vision and focus for the future.
Q: How can we overcome fear of death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: By doing meditation.
Q: I have fallen because of such a big ego. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Never mind! If you have recognized that you have fallen, you will rise higher. That is good enough. You have recognized that your ego has been the hindrance. But now don’t fight your ego. Just keep it in your pocket. Let it be there. Don’t try to do anything with it. Say, “I like it” and let it be there. If you don’t like it, give it to me, but then, I would like you to keep it with you. You know our effort in trying to erase our ego becomes another big problem. You have enough other problems to solve anyway.
© The Art of Living Foundation
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditate! Sit quietly and meditate, or listen to some chanting music. All this will help. Meditation, some pranayama, sudarshan kriya, some excercises, ujjayi breath are very good for fears. Don’t think that fear is somewhere deep inside you. It is an erroneous notion of Psychology that fear and guilt are deep down. I tell you, deep down there is only a lot of joy; a lot of bliss. And in that centre – no fear, no guilt, no anger, no lust can touch you. Deep down you are wonderful. So never think you have all these anxieties. Those who say that there is something wrong deep down are blind. It is all there just on the surface. If they call that deep, then I will suggest to go deeper. In the centre of your being, you are a fountain of joy. Saying, “Oh! My Mind! Deep down there is anxiety!”is ignorance; a wrong idea and concept. The moment you accept these words as truth, it starts becoming more difficult to get over those emotions. They become more permanent there. Do you see that?
Q: Guruji, how do I silence my mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The will to silence itself pays in many ways. Meditation and Sudarshan Kriya helps, too.
Q: Is there any maximum limit to how much we can meditate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just do as much is necessary. There is no need to do too much. Meditation is like taking a bath. To wash the mind, you need meditation. And once the mind is clean, you will be well.
Q: Why do I lose concentration when I meditate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Concentration is not meditation. Meditation is de-concentration. It is letting go. Meditation calms the mind. It feels good. But in our daily life we have to handle paying bills, parking tickets and other mundane things. How can we do this with the same calm mind without getting irritated or perturbed?
You take shower in the morning to clean your body. After that you do all the daily activities. You don’t have to keep on taking a shower throughout the day. It is like that. You meditate and calm your mind, then go on with other activities. It is not easy to keep yourself undisturbed but it will happen if you keep doing the practices regularly. Then keeping yourself calm will become easy.
Q: What should I do with the conflict in my mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The moment you realize that there is so much conflict in your mind, your eyes open. Satsang and pranayamas can put an end to it.
Q: Guruji, how can I focus, have a vision and still be in the present moment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do not think that having a vision is contradictory to living in the present moment. You can have a vision and be in the present moment. Being totally in the present moment can give you a better vision and focus for the future.
Q: How can we overcome fear of death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: By doing meditation.
Q: I have fallen because of such a big ego. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Never mind! If you have recognized that you have fallen, you will rise higher. That is good enough. You have recognized that your ego has been the hindrance. But now don’t fight your ego. Just keep it in your pocket. Let it be there. Don’t try to do anything with it. Say, “I like it” and let it be there. If you don’t like it, give it to me, but then, I would like you to keep it with you. You know our effort in trying to erase our ego becomes another big problem. You have enough other problems to solve anyway.
“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
