Q: Can you tell us how the time of the day and night affect our body and mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have a mind and the mind passes through time. Why don’t you observe
it! You have different moods in the morning, different moods in the
afternoon, and different moods in the evening and night. Isn’t so?
There
is alertness and wakefulness at sunrise. I don’t think anybody likes to
listen to romantic songs at dawn, dusk or afternoon. Unless you are
newly married or just fallen in love!
In the morning, the mind is in a state of knowledge, alertness and wakefulness.
It is action-oriented in the afternoon and in the evening, the mind is in a state of relaxation.
One
who wants to be unhappy can be unhappy the whole time, and one who
wants to be happy can be happy throughout the day. A fool will be
unhappy all the time and the intelligent one will be happy in spite of
changing moods. In the same way, seasons also affect the mind.
Definitely,
the mind and time have a very unique relationship. If you have
transcended the mind, there is happiness throughout. An eternal
calmness and serenity dawns.
Q: Why should we deepen our roots if in the next life time we are going to be born in a different religion or culture?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This
is for now! Deepening your roots means getting well grounded. That’s
it. It is not about any particular religion or culture. Deepen your
roots means - be grounded and stable.
Q: The only mistake I make is that I keep on making mistakes. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is alright to make a mistake. Making a mistake is a part of life.
Sometimes a mistake happens; it happens. Fine! Accept it and move
ahead. The pain of making the same mistake again and again itself is
good enough to take you out of the same mistake. The pain and pinch of
suffering will make you come out of that. But never justify your
mistake.
Q: Life is so complex. How to stay simple like you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t recognize complexity. Keep your sight on the One. In Sanskrit it is said, “Antarmukhi sada sukhi”.
If your mind is turned inwards, it will always be happy. What is
complex? People’s mind! They are bothered about their complexity, why
should you be bothered about the same? People are complex, and they
will come down. Have patience and compassion.
Q: Why is my mind so restless during lunar eclipse?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is a remedy to all celestial phenomena! You know what? ‘Om Namah Shivaye’. The vibrations of the mantra create an armor around us and protect and energize the whole body – mind complex.
Q: Whenever I see a good looking girl, I find myself in love. Is that love or infatuation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, time will tell you! First, find out whether they are in love with
you or not. If that matches, it is a different story. If it doesn’t
match, that is a different story altogether. Either case, you will
become mature. But don’t keep falling in love. Rise in love! In love,
you don't expect anything in return. If you want something in return,
don’t call it love. Then that’s need. In a relationship there is a
need, but there is no need in love. Love is your very nature. If it
sounds too philosophical for now, just keep it in the background and
relax. One day you will understand, when your heart breaks or when you
realize you expected something too much, something will pop up from the
background of the mind and try to save you.
Q: If God is in all, why do natural calamities like tsunamis or earthquakes exist?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Suppose there is only a hero in a film and there is no villain! When
there are all kinds of thrill, only then the movie works. If it would
have been just a hero or heroin, they get married and live together,
that’s it! How would the film be? This is all a play, a drama. So, all
kinds of things keep happening.
The
soul is eternal. This world is ever changing, different changes keep on
happening. Knowing this, just relax. Be of service. Where ever there
is a need, be ready to jump in that. Service is our very nature and we
cannot live without it. Service should not be like a heavy weight, but
just like a flower petal – easy and natural.
Q: In spite of spiritual inclination, some melodramatic tragedies keep on happening. Why is this so?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Tragedy is tragedy when you are affected. There is no explanation for
some phenomenon. Why accidents happen, why do people die? It is these
moments when you say “Why me?” You know, the ‘Why’ in the mind is
associated with misery and the ‘How’ is associated with wonder and joy.
When
the question, ‘Why this problem only with me?’ arises in mind or it
arises in some other’s mind, better don’t say anything. Just be! No
explanation, no reasoning of that will suffix. You simply have to leave
those questions for those moments. Time will take you across. Time will
make you sail from that situation. Our tendency is to answer them or
console them, but smile or a moment of silence will be better. No
explanation. No reasoning, no theories will ever do anything. That is
what I feel.
Q: Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus. But why is there so much violence where Jesus himself was born?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This is something very interesting. The place had violence before Jesus
and it has violence after Jesus as well. This is something to be
wondered about. This place has continuously seen bloodshed violence.
Why? There is no answer. At least, I don’t know any answer. But if you
see history, even before Moses and after Moses, the
whole region of the middle East and Egypt suffered a lot, and have been
suffering continuously. Knowledge is most needed in that region.
Q:
There have been trend of ear piercing and nose piercing. But nowadays
people have been into piercing all over the body. Is it alright?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ear piercing appears to be scientific, because all the nerves that
create awareness in the brain end in the ear lobe. So, ancient people
used to do so to create more attention. But I don’t know about the
other piercings!
Q: What is the golden rule of a happy married life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well,
I am not qualified to say anything, but let me think. Why don’t you sit
with those who are happily married? What I have heard is:
Before marriage: a couple is mad for each other.
During marriage: They are made for each other.
And then: They are mad at each other.
After while: They are mad because of each other.
Somebody has formulated this!
One
thing I know, marriage is an institution of patience, sacrifice, caring
for each other and sharing. If one is upset, other should keep quiet
and wait for his/her turn to get upset. If both together get upset at
the same time, then there is a problem! But in front of kids, one
should better be civilized.
Q: Human beings will always be imperfect, then how does one see Godliness in a human?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Who says human beings are always imperfect? Inside human beings, there
is Godliness. Wake that Godliness up. Move from one perfection to
another and not from imperfection to imperfection.
Either
you can see fault with everything, like milk gets spoilt and becomes
curd and then butter. You can see first milk gets spoilt and becomes
curd, and then curd gets spoilt and becomes butter. You can talk about
only imperfections, or you can see progress from perfection to
perfection.
© The Art of Living Foundation
© The Art of Living Foundation
