What H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said today:
India (Art of Living International Center, Bangalore), July 30
Q. I am not in control of my mind. I am afraid becoming a teacher is taking me away from naturalness, humbleness. What should I do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is a prayer more than a question. Prayers will always be answered but not in words.
Q. Despite awareness I am not being able to do whats right because I lack will power. What must I do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : If you think I have no will power, you will never have it. You have locked your own hands, put a label on your forehead that you are weak.
Invoke the valour in you, take a pledge. You have all the force available for you when you need it. You have all the strength and energy.
If someone were to tell you that if you do pranayama for thirty days you would get one million dollars. You will not miss a single day. You may forego sleep, food but not the pranayama. Greed can bring in that power within. Similarly fear- if someone says you would fall sick if you don't do pranayama, you would not miss it.
Love, fear, greed- any one is good to increase will power.
To know intellectually what is good and should be done, you may take it easily and remain in your comfort zone.
Then will power goes down. So enhance your valour or love something with all your heart. Dedication to the cause, fear or greed- these can increase your will power.
Egoistic people are much better than other people because egoistic people have a sense of valour. It is easy to make them commit, get out of lethargy.
People with no ego have lot of love, surrender, its easy for them. Someone who has neither ego, nor valour, nor love, nor devotion, nor greed has no will power. Either become greedy or fearful. But these are very low category. Other one is enhance the love, surrender, true knowledge and enhance your valour.
Q. What is it about praise that even if it is false it makes us elated and happy and criticism even if real, pulls us down? Is it vanity?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This much realisation, you are already out of it!
Q When I get angry, I feel lot of energy and burnt inside. If I let it out I loose complete balance. What can I do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Do bhastrika that time.
Q. When I am in silence or otherwise, a voice in my head keeps talking. The more I ignore it, the more it stays. Is it a normal phenomena?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Talk to your teacher and ayurveda doctor. If too much words going in the head, there is pitta imbalance, vata derangement. When there is too much impurity in the system then such things happen. You can go for panchkarma
Q. What is character?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Character is that which you expect from others - faithful, loyal, integrated. Do you want others to keep their word? How do you feel if they don't? Character is that, 'do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you'. Character is that which is solid, strong, stable and makes you and other happy.
Q. I have feelings of absolute isolation and find myself alone among friends. There is no feeling of belongingness.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Do not sit and worry about feelings. They keep changing. Who cares? Why bother? One minute you feel very good, the other moment you feel bad. Put your life energy into some useful, social work, commitment, some direction. Bring some result in the world. You may suddenly feel good, suddenly very bad. The world doesn't care for your feelings nor does God. The Nature, world will ask you what have you done?
Q. There are problems in my life, to which I know the solution. How to apply that knowledge with a smile?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Keep immersing in knowledge, you don't have to apply it, it applies itself. Remind yourself of the knowledge. Focus on the knowlede, don't get entangled in the people around you. Satsang is to be in touch with the inner being. Instead you start judging, having different types of interaction with people, this is not satsang.
Q. Why are there so many hurdles at every stage on the spiritual path.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, No. No its not hurdles, it is making your path more interesting. Its like flowing water, little pebbles create beautiful sound and sight, making it all the more beautiful. There are no obstacles in this path, just a fun in the path. Move over it, don't get stuck.
Q. What is the difference between knowledge and love? Should I be a Gyani( Wise) or Premi(Lover)
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What is the difference between head and the heart? Should a person be heady or hearty? Do you watch television or listen to it first. Mind and heart both together make a human being. Mind looks for new, fresh and latest. Heart wants old- Preet Puraani (Ancient love). Life is a combination of the two. Science and knowledge, love and devotion- all are required. And you have all of these. Now you are asking as a jigyasu(curious for knowledge). You have love that is why you are accepting the answer. If there was no love for knowledge you wouldn't ask or won't accept the answer. These are like four legs of a chair- pull one and all three come along. Similary, Yog, Karma, Gyan, Bhakti, Dhyan - all are legs of a table.
When Arjuna was confused, he asked Krishna “sometimes you praise the path of Karma, sometimes gyan, sometimes bhakti- tell me one I am confused.” Krishna says those who are unwise think of the paths as different, the wise know it is One. Just practice one, others come along. If you do seva(service) very well, you get the same merit as from dhyaan(meditation) or gyaan(knowledge)
Q. How can one balance between, household duties, business and seva(service)
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : How do you balance a bike? When you fall more to the left you bend right and when you are falling more to the right, you bend left.There is no theory, you just do it. It automatically balances. It pinches one if he doesn't do seva at all and is always bothered about himself. If you are in your senses it will pinch you otherwise one is not human. If you are not touched by others' misery then you are not human but stone. Similarly, if one is only into social service, then also it bothers.
Q. It is said that everyone's future is already decided. It is planned by the Divine. If this is true, then what is the need of Karma(action)
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Everything is happening, your karma too is happening, what is the need of an answer. Suppose I don't give an answer. When you are hungry, what is the need of Karma, sit, let it happen. Everyday hunger comes up , so whats the point! Sit quietly. Can you? This is useless brooding. Man cannot live without work- either a good deed or misdeed. If God doesit, then God is suffering, where do you come in between?
If God made you steal, then God came as police - what is the complaint? God told you to eat twenty rasgulla(a sweet), then God will have the pain and God will come as doctor.
Where are you different from God. The understanding that everything is God's is a very big thing. Then the mind silences and such nonsense questions don't arise. Till then, they will arise.
Q. Guruji, you said tear is ego. In front of you- uncontrollable tears come up. What to do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : No, No, this is different tears. There are many types of tears- like crocodile, then salty, sweet ones are of gratitude, love. Angels long for it. It is very good- the mind is healed and purified.
Q There are dilemmas in life and I lack decision making power. What should be done?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Wherever there is duality(Dvet), there will be a dilemma . Whenever you are in daily activities(vyavahar), there will be dilemma. There is no choice, accept it.
Q. Can the liver, eyes be donated after death?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Yes, you can donate them, there is no sin in this, neither will you face any problem in heaven. Instead it will increase you prospects in heaven. You can definitely donate them.
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