Bangalore, 3 December 2011
Q: Dear Guruji, if God knows everything then how is life interesting and exciting for him?Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: God knows and he doesn’t know as well, both!
Its like, when a hair is pulled from your head you feel it. But do you know how many hairs are on your head? You don’t know! So on one hand you know about every single hair because if you pull it it pains you, but at the same time you don’t know how many hairs are there.
So knowledge and ignorance go together in that sense.Like a librarian knows almost all the books that are there in the library and he can guide you to where the book is. But if you ask him on which page of which book what is said, he will not know. He knows where the book is and he knows the book but yet he does not know all the contents of the book.
Similarly the game can only be interesting if you don’t know the result of the game before hand. If you know who is going to win and who is going to lose then you can’t be sincere in playing the game.
Q: Guruji, I think the biggest attraction is to know the self, which is very abstract and remote for me. What is the quickest way to realize the self so that I do not get caught up with the mundane attractions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are at the right place at the right time.
Q: Dear Guruji, what is spirituality? Is it about religion or is it about the personality?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are made up of matter and spirit.
Our body is made up of amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. Your spirit is made up of love, compassion, peace, generosity, commitment, caring, intelligence, responsibility, happiness. These are all the nature of spirit.
That which enhances the spirit of enquiry, commitment and compassion in you is what spirituality is. Your connection to the universe is spirituality.If you go to the root of every religion, this is what it says. In Christianity Jesus said, Love is God and God is Love.
In Hinduisum it is said ‘Asti, Bhati, Preeti.’ Preeti (love) is the nature of God.
Islam talks about peace, commitment, compassion and giving.
So the forms are different but the substance is the same. Holding to the true substance is what spirituality is. And you can do that by going in deep meditation.What words you use to pray is secondary. What state of being you are in is most important. If you have that soft, inner beautiful feeling, then you are spiritual. Otherwise you may be a priest somewhere, very hard inside but you are not spiritual. You may go to a temple or church and bow down many times, it means nothing! But if you are walking in the street with an uplifted feeling, then you are close to God. The more you smile the closer you are to the Divinity.
Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today
© The Art of Living Foundation
Q: Dear Guruji, if God knows everything then how is life interesting and exciting for him?Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: God knows and he doesn’t know as well, both!
Its like, when a hair is pulled from your head you feel it. But do you know how many hairs are on your head? You don’t know! So on one hand you know about every single hair because if you pull it it pains you, but at the same time you don’t know how many hairs are there.
So knowledge and ignorance go together in that sense.Like a librarian knows almost all the books that are there in the library and he can guide you to where the book is. But if you ask him on which page of which book what is said, he will not know. He knows where the book is and he knows the book but yet he does not know all the contents of the book.
Similarly the game can only be interesting if you don’t know the result of the game before hand. If you know who is going to win and who is going to lose then you can’t be sincere in playing the game.
Q: Guruji, I think the biggest attraction is to know the self, which is very abstract and remote for me. What is the quickest way to realize the self so that I do not get caught up with the mundane attractions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are at the right place at the right time.
Q: Dear Guruji, what is spirituality? Is it about religion or is it about the personality?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are made up of matter and spirit.
Our body is made up of amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. Your spirit is made up of love, compassion, peace, generosity, commitment, caring, intelligence, responsibility, happiness. These are all the nature of spirit.
That which enhances the spirit of enquiry, commitment and compassion in you is what spirituality is. Your connection to the universe is spirituality.If you go to the root of every religion, this is what it says. In Christianity Jesus said, Love is God and God is Love.
In Hinduisum it is said ‘Asti, Bhati, Preeti.’ Preeti (love) is the nature of God.
Islam talks about peace, commitment, compassion and giving.
So the forms are different but the substance is the same. Holding to the true substance is what spirituality is. And you can do that by going in deep meditation.What words you use to pray is secondary. What state of being you are in is most important. If you have that soft, inner beautiful feeling, then you are spiritual. Otherwise you may be a priest somewhere, very hard inside but you are not spiritual. You may go to a temple or church and bow down many times, it means nothing! But if you are walking in the street with an uplifted feeling, then you are close to God. The more you smile the closer you are to the Divinity.
Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today
© The Art of Living Foundation
