Monday, August 8, 2011

Divine Loves Diversity

July 30, 2011

Q: Guruji you give a lot of knowledge, a lot of sessions of knowledge. Sometimes I understand, sometimes it goes above my head. What should I do so that my receptivity to knowledge is increased.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, keep listening and some one day you will say,' ahh that is what Guruji was saying'. Three levels are there, one is Shravana – Listening, Manana – Dwelling on it again and again and then Nidhidhyasa – when it becomes your own, that knowledge become part of you.
Q: Inspite of knowing that I am hollow and empty and knowing the causes of misery, mind still gets stuck in objects and people. You know it just comes like a storm and just goes. At this age especially with girls it happens for me so what do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Gets stuck with objects and persons but how was the meditation now, tell me? (Ans - Awesome Guruji). Awesome! The mind got free from those things? (Ans – Yes). So, like that, keep doing. From time to time these sorts of things come and they go. You don’t try to chase them out. If they come, okay, let it be. Our law is what? Principle is let it be.
Q: When my wrong deeds hurt somebody, how do I handle this situation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Okay, if your wrong deed has hurt someone, resolve you will not repeat it. Say,' okay, I did something that has hurt someone; from now on I will not do it'. This resolution may help, you may fail once, twice, thrice but continue with the resolution.
Q: For this shloka from the Upanishads, ‘Thailya Dharavat Anu Sandhaanam Nairantarya Dyaanam’ You have given the explanation like a flow of oil when a faint idea persists in the consciousness. What is this faint idea? Is it about the knowledge of the principle in life or is it the flow of energy within us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Flow of energy, there is a faint flow of energy. When you are doing Sahaj, the mantra is there, the faint idea, that’s what it is.
Q: What is the difference between Avtaar and Guru?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You tell me the definition, what is Avtaar, what is a Guru? You define both, then I will give you the difference. You know names and names, we give meaning to it. Whatever meaning we give a thing,that is what they become.
Q: Guruji, in deep meditation can we sleep?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes it is okay. In deep meditation sometimes tandra comes and you fall asleep, never mind. Wake up and do a little more pranayam. Today, did you feel every cell waking up? (Many answer YES). How many of you felt your body became so light?
Q: Guruji … (a member of the audience asked this question. It was inaudible.)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why should we not? Listen, now why should we have so many types of vegetables? You should have had only one egg plant. You should have asked why there are so many types of fruits. There are grapes, oranges, so many types of oranges, so many types of bananas. You should have had only bananas. Nature should have created only bananas. You eat the banana and go bananas. You would have really gone nuts. Nature loves diversity. So nature made so many types of rice. You know, in rice there are 152 types in India alone. World over if you count there are thousands of types of rice. There are types of rice, types of cows; different types of vegetables, fruits. The Divine loves diversity. So the Divine can manifest itself in so many diverse forms. That is what the ancient people said. You should give the freedom for Divine to wear whatever clothes it wants to wear. Don’t say that the should come in the same dress all the time.
Q: (A member of the audience asked this question. It was inaudible.)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Divide is created by the minds of people; it is not religion that is responsible. Even within one religion how much people fight. Forget about religion, in the family don’t brothers fight, right or not? Same family, children of the same mother and father. If there are four brothers or six brothers, that’s it, there are court cases against each other. People fight because they lack spirituality and they have not learnt meditation.
Q: You say from movement to stillness is meditation, but to attain stillness through karma would be a bondage, isn’t it Guruji. So how do you attain stillness in spite of karma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is what the whole skill of meditation is. In meditation, you somehow skillfully make the mind settle down and then, those few moments it settles, it is really still. It can’t be still forever, then again it starts, and some karma gets released. You know, not all karmas are active all the time, some are dormant, and some are active. So the dormant karma starts becoming active. When it is active, then you open up and you come to the surface. And then again after sometime, karma cannot be active all the time, so in-between, again and again you go and become quiet again.
Q: Guruji, in conferences in and out, usually a lot of people have stage fear, you know a lot of people have their minds really swaying here and there but you are always still wherever you go. You are always relaxed, so in such a state of awareness you answer everything. So how do you attain that state of being relaxed always?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Practice and dispassion.
Q: Guruji, what is the significance of wearing saffron color?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Now we have given different symbolism to different colors. Saffron is like red hot, means you have become like fire. You have renounced everything; you are looking for yourself, that is saffron. But if it becomes too hot then it becomes white hot. Do you know about iron? It is red hot, then it becomes white hot.
Q: Guruji, is it okay to believe in God and not pray?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it is okay. You be part of spirituality. That is what is important. See, you are born with some religion. Your name indicates the religion. You will be either cremated or buried. These things, your birth and your death, is determined by your religion. So denying a religion or going with it is all matter of choice. But what I would say is, you be spiritual and when you are here, this knowledge raises you to such a platform that gives you the essence of all religions.
Q: Guruji, the Dalai Lama says that dreams are the deepest form of meditation. Guruji what are dreams? Are they thoughts or are they actually events?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, there are different types of dreams and there are different levels of meditation. Sleep is not meditation. Right now you meditated, was it sleep? Or was it waking? Was it dreaming? No! it was different right, that is meditation. Was it good? Ha!
Q: I am scared to talk to people.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are talking now to everybody. Yes, for today it has gone, okay.
Q: Guruji, corruption has escalated so much in the country. We protested, Anna Hazare protested. Yet the government is doing its own thing. What should we do next?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. I am also thinking about it. One thing you can do is expand awareness of our stance – ask ten people to speak to ten thousand. This way we can make people conscious, create awareness about it: a new battle for independence.
Q: Guruji, how to increase patience?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I will answer this question two years from now. You will wait for two years, won’t you? That is patience.
Q: (A member of the audience asked this question. It was inaudible.)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are trying to please them in your own way. If they are not happy, it is their fate, their luck. That is why there is a saying in Sanskrit, ‘No one can cause suffering or bring comfort to anyone. Everyone experiences pleasure or pain according to his/her own karma.’
Q: Guruji, you had said last time that one’s focus should be on oneself or on the master. But the mind tends to be drawn to others frequently making comparisons.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: At least you are aware that the mind is comparing with others. That means you are already becoming free from it, somewhat. Gradually it will move away completely.
Q: What is politics and what is the significance of politics for a true saadhak?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Politics is awareness of the needs of the public, working for the welfare of society, doing seva (service) to society – this is politics. Politics is necessary and it is very important for good, honest individuals to enter politics. If you wish to go you should, my blessings are with you.
Q: Jai Gurudev! Some of my co-workers do certain things that cause frustration to some of us. Should we tolerate it or oppose it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We should oppose it. Using our intelligence, wherever we think it is appropriate, we should oppose, without anger or angst, but peacefully, patiently, with equanimity.

No comments: