H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are centered, established in the knowledge, when you meditate, this situation does not arise. When your attachment shifts from the work at hand to name and fame, it is time to go within.
Be ready to face any challenges that society throws at you. It is said that gold shines more brilliantly, the more it is beaten. When you squeeze sugarcane, it gives you sweetness. Sandalwood, when ground, gives fragrance. Stay in your nature even while under pressure. Every situation that comes to us is for our upliftment.
Q: How to develop mastery over hunger and sleep?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Rise above them naturally; not by force. Hunger and sleep are the dharma of the body. Don’t enforce limitations upon yourself. Integrate knowledge into your life. Study the Bhagvad Gita.
Q: What is the difference between the Spiritual Master and the Divine?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no difference between the Master, the Self and the Divine. The Master can be seen, that is all. The Master is not the individual, He is the light, the consciousness.
Q: What is the importance of a name?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, you need something by which people can call you! One name is the name our parents gave to us at the time of birth. We are deeply connected to this name. To be completely free, the last attachment that we let go is that of our name. Connect and attach yourself to the name (the mantra that you receive from the Master). The mantra establishes you in the witness consciousness. Of the mantras, the highest is the 'ajapa jap', the mantra which resonates effortlessly and spontaneously in our consciousness. It is not a doing but a happening. That is So Ham. It resonates eternally. When we experience this with awareness, it becomes meditation.
(From the Office of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar)
