Q: These days most Gurus have long hair and long beard. Is it a dress code?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: 'Yes, you can call it as dress code. The long hair is like an antenna to receive messages from God and the long beard is like an earthing to transmit those messages to the people.
Q: Guruji what is Shanti(peace)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We must make you sit in a closed small room and play loudspeaker 24 hrs. And not some good music, some heavy music. Then after 24 hrs, when we switch it off you will come to know what is Shanti. (Laughter!!!)
Q: Dear Guruji, when we take responsibility, how can we tackle obstacles?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The test of your peace is only when there are obstacles. Be thankful for obstacles
Q: Do you get stressed?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The product really works well! Just last week I went to Kerala. They had organized 19 appointments in a day. I cancelled some of them before I went there. Yet, I ended up attending 22 appointments. I thought I would get irritated, but I surprised myself and didn't. Each one of us has tremendous energy within us. One single cell can light up the entire city of Bangalore for 24 hours.
Q: Can you talk a little about the Soul - the self or Atma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is step by step experiential understanding. Before going to atma, the self, you have to know the five elements of creation. What are the tatvas? Prithvi, ap, tej, vayu, and akash - Earth, water, fire, air and ether. Then comes the mind, buddhi (intellect), memory, ego, and maha tattva (self).
Q: How does God see the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: God cannot see two. For God there is no you and I! He can only see himself in everything and everyone!!
Q: Guruji, telling the truth causes problems outside and telling lie creates problems inside? What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Solve the problem. Problems are to be seen as challenges. Someone who is brave like challenges and you are brave, I tell you.
Q: Sometimes it seems all this is untruth, we running after things knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes I feel I am compulsorily driven away with the flow and that distresses me. What is it that doesn’t change? What is the truth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Truth cannot be spoken. Only in Silence, in deep meditation you can experience the truth!
Q: Why aren’t you hitting the world just like that? Why so slow?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You all need a job too!
Q: Is there such a thing life after death? If there is no life after death what is the meaning of our existence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is good to have some suspense!
Q: Are there fixed number of souls? If yes, then how come so many people are getting reborn on the planet? Why is population increasing in the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Hmm! There are so many animals getting extinct also!
Q: What advice would you give to a skeptical non-believer?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A very good beginning point. See that you don’t become cynical and frustrated. Skepticism is perfectly alright, but not cynicism. That drains your energy. One can be skeptical to begin one’s journey and I would very much appreciate and welcome that. Because you would have gone through skepticism, the faith will be strongly built.
Q: Guruji, I appreciate the Sun and the Moon and the Nature, why can’t God appreciate when I do something good?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: He doesn't appreciate you, because he knows you can do better. If he starts appreciating you every moment, then your desire to perform better will not be there.
Knowledge Byte:Truth is that which does not change. Examine your life and identify all that changes as "not truth." With this outlook, you will find that you are surrounded by only untruth.
When you identify untruth, then you will become free from it. When you do not identify the untruth, you cannot become free from it. Your own experiences in life make you identify your own untruth.
As you mature in life, you find everything is untruth - events, situations, people, emotions, thoughts, opinions, concepts, your body - everything is untruth. It is only then that Satsang – the company of truth - happens in the real sense. A mother cannot see the child as untruth until the child becomes an adult. For a baby, sweetness is not untruth, and for a teenager, sex is not untruth.
Knowledge is untruth if it is only words. But as existence, it is truth. Love as an emotion is not truth; as existence, it is truth.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: 'Yes, you can call it as dress code. The long hair is like an antenna to receive messages from God and the long beard is like an earthing to transmit those messages to the people.
Q: Guruji what is Shanti(peace)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We must make you sit in a closed small room and play loudspeaker 24 hrs. And not some good music, some heavy music. Then after 24 hrs, when we switch it off you will come to know what is Shanti. (Laughter!!!)
Q: Dear Guruji, when we take responsibility, how can we tackle obstacles?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The test of your peace is only when there are obstacles. Be thankful for obstacles
Q: Do you get stressed?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The product really works well! Just last week I went to Kerala. They had organized 19 appointments in a day. I cancelled some of them before I went there. Yet, I ended up attending 22 appointments. I thought I would get irritated, but I surprised myself and didn't. Each one of us has tremendous energy within us. One single cell can light up the entire city of Bangalore for 24 hours.
Q: Can you talk a little about the Soul - the self or Atma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is step by step experiential understanding. Before going to atma, the self, you have to know the five elements of creation. What are the tatvas? Prithvi, ap, tej, vayu, and akash - Earth, water, fire, air and ether. Then comes the mind, buddhi (intellect), memory, ego, and maha tattva (self).
Q: How does God see the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: God cannot see two. For God there is no you and I! He can only see himself in everything and everyone!!
Q: Guruji, telling the truth causes problems outside and telling lie creates problems inside? What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Solve the problem. Problems are to be seen as challenges. Someone who is brave like challenges and you are brave, I tell you.
Q: Sometimes it seems all this is untruth, we running after things knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes I feel I am compulsorily driven away with the flow and that distresses me. What is it that doesn’t change? What is the truth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Truth cannot be spoken. Only in Silence, in deep meditation you can experience the truth!
Q: Why aren’t you hitting the world just like that? Why so slow?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You all need a job too!
Q: Is there such a thing life after death? If there is no life after death what is the meaning of our existence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is good to have some suspense!
Q: Are there fixed number of souls? If yes, then how come so many people are getting reborn on the planet? Why is population increasing in the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Hmm! There are so many animals getting extinct also!
Q: What advice would you give to a skeptical non-believer?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A very good beginning point. See that you don’t become cynical and frustrated. Skepticism is perfectly alright, but not cynicism. That drains your energy. One can be skeptical to begin one’s journey and I would very much appreciate and welcome that. Because you would have gone through skepticism, the faith will be strongly built.
Q: Guruji, I appreciate the Sun and the Moon and the Nature, why can’t God appreciate when I do something good?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: He doesn't appreciate you, because he knows you can do better. If he starts appreciating you every moment, then your desire to perform better will not be there.
Knowledge Byte:Truth is that which does not change. Examine your life and identify all that changes as "not truth." With this outlook, you will find that you are surrounded by only untruth.
When you identify untruth, then you will become free from it. When you do not identify the untruth, you cannot become free from it. Your own experiences in life make you identify your own untruth.
As you mature in life, you find everything is untruth - events, situations, people, emotions, thoughts, opinions, concepts, your body - everything is untruth. It is only then that Satsang – the company of truth - happens in the real sense. A mother cannot see the child as untruth until the child becomes an adult. For a baby, sweetness is not untruth, and for a teenager, sex is not untruth.
Knowledge is untruth if it is only words. But as existence, it is truth. Love as an emotion is not truth; as existence, it is truth.