October 09, 2011
Q: Guruji tell us about Navratri and why we do all the yagyas and everything?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Navratri is special time where you invoke all the divine impulses. They’re all blessings. It’s an ancient way, in the yagyas all the five elements are used to bring the positive energy.
Q: Guruji do you recommend that we do singing during satsang when we’re in silence or should we be in complete silence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You can sing during satsang, definitely.
Q: Guruji can you talk about space and what is inside the space?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What is in the space? Everything is in the space; there is nothing outside the space.
Q: What is the key to knowledge?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The key to knowledge is asking questions and listening to the answers. See unless you open the computer you don’t get the information right? You have to press the key, put your password and then go into whatever you want to know.
Q: Are there any special things we can do to prepare for the full moon that is coming?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Nothing, it comes on its own (laughter). Everything is happening just relax and enjoy.
Q: Does anything exist outside of the present moment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Look, present moment is very deep that is where all the energy exists. Outside the present moment there is nothing but in the present moment the future and past is also there. So the present moment is not just some small thing, it is multidimensional. You got it? Time now and here, that space is so vast so deep the mind cannot fathom it. Mind simply dissolves in the present moment.
Q: Guruji, what is the seed of the thought ’I’m not good enough.’ Why does it keep coming back?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When the mind says ‘I’m not good enough’, then you know yes there is somebody to make me good. (Laughter)
Q: Do you think they will pass the bill Guruji? The Lokpal Bill?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: They will have to pass it now.
Q: Guruji there is a similar movement in US right now called ‘Occupy Wall Street’ which is fight against corporate greed and corruption and things like that. Do you see importance in that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, anywhere we see injustice we must stand up. If there is ignorance we must stand up against ignorance. We should stand up against injustice, and where there is inefficiency and inadequateness we should stand up, for that. What do you think? Isn’t it? Wherever there is lack we need to stand up to provide. If there is injustice we should stand and fight against injustice. Where there is ignorance we should stand up and educate. Educate where there is ignorance and stand up against injustice and provide where there is lack.
Q: Guruji, how can we get the Divine to serve us like you get it to serve you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Same way, just be hollow and empty. Simplicity, honesty and purity you know; just open your heart. I’ve never abused anybody all these 56 years. I’ve never said any bad words to anybody. Not that I achieved it, it’s my nature. At the most I have said, ’stupid’, this is what has come out ‘you stupid’. I must have said it with such an emotional intensity some seven to eight times, not more, that’s all. I’ve never wished bad for anybody, scolded anybody or anything anytime. Simply such bad words, foul words don’t come out of my mouth. And being an open book and honest, you know!
Q:Guruji, it sounds like you have a runny nose. Take good care of yourself.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:I have a running nose? I thought only legs run, nose also runs? The mind runs faster than the legs. Yes I should take care of myself; I suddenly am working 19 hours every day, now I want to reduce it to 12 hours. But it’s only in the thought process for the past six months and it has not done yet. It’s not really manifesting. We’ll make it manifest.
Q: Guruji, How do I know you are with me all the time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: From my side I’m with you from your side you have to just know it, that’s all.
Q: Guruji, how can one be in tune with the Divine will?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How to tune with the Divine will? Relax! Relax and drop all these little, little cravings and aversions that come to your mind. What is best for you will come to you but if you are hankering for little, little things then it is the mind that is functioning.
Q: Guruji, in Canada we are cutting so much of the forest and the animals are treated so bad and it hurts. What should we do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We should do exactly what we are doing. We need to increase the awareness among people about vegetarianism and about meditation. Anyway it is much better than it was before. In the seventies and eighties you hardly find someone that is vegetarian, but today there are a lot more people, right! So you should continue increasing awareness about it. As such a beautiful hall has come up you all should go and tell everybody, ‘hey, let’s go here and let’s do something, let’s meditate.’ Once people do Sudarshan Kriya and one or two advance courses then they become vegetarians very easily, without having to struggle for it. How many of you agree on that? See, otherwise telling people to be vegetarian, they don’t feel like listening to that. But it happens naturally when you become subtle in your mind and go deep in your heart, you turn vegetarian naturally. The more refinement in the system, the system wants light food which is easily digestible, yes! What do you think? Isn’t it!
Q: You use the analogy of the wave and the ocean, but is that the same in the soul? Are there soul molecules going in and out and when you die where do they go?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it’s interesting what happens when you die. All your impressions fill up like a balloon and the mind and the soul go out. It’s just like the air gets encapsulated into a balloon. The moment the balloon is burst the air is the same, isn’t it? The space is the same. What you call an individual soul is nothing but collection of impressions. So Nirvana is when all the impressions are gone and then you are free, but still a little bit will be left till the last day. Are you getting what I’m saying? So even though you are enlightened, you are free, a little bit of something will have to be there so that the body remains. It means suppose you are having a butterball in your hand and you throw it. After having thrown it, there are still little marks of that butterball in your hand. You make an ice ball and you throw it but then your hand is still wet with that little ice particles. Isn’t it? Like that a little bit of that avidya or the imperfection is needed to keep the system. Got it?
Q: How to drop judging everything? Like we have to be judgmental to take an action, but continuously judging, how to stop that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See that let it happen through your intuition. Otherwise your judgments are all foolishness. First of all, if you recognize your judgments may have not been correct then that’s good. Got it? Turn back and see before you used to judge and you think that is how things are, but now you understand, ’oh I have thought bad wrongly, it was not correct’. Right!
Q: But still those thoughts continuously happen.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is good at least you are aware of it now. Before you were not aware, it was just happening, right?! That’s good, it reduces. In spite of your judgments or lack of it you are happy now. Did you notice the shift? Good, good.
Q: Guruji, what is the difference between good karma and bad karma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Good karma gives you joy bad karma brings you misery.
Q: Why are some children that are born deformed?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Karma, karma in the past, yes. They have just come to take service from the parents, like mentally retarded children they come. They have just come to the world to get some seva done by the parents, that’s all. They are not even aware that they are enjoying or suffering. For others it may appear they are suffering but for them they are not suffering. Do you see what I’m saying? They have just come to the world to take seva from the parents and to bring them misery, which was due to them somehow.
Q: Guruji, what is the shortest method, mantra, or way to remove the previous bad karmas?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just ‘Om Namah Shivaya.’
Q: Guruji, what do you do when your faith gets shaken?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When your faith gets shaken know that doubts are very weak. Doubts are even weaker. You need to just see a broader perspective and relax and know the best will happen to you.
Q: Jai Guru Dev, ‘Om Namah Shivya’ takes out our bad karmas of previous lives. Can we just say Om Namah Shivya and let it go and it never comes back to us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Some karma can be eliminated by sadhna, mediation, chanting Om Namah Shivaya and by doing good service. Helping out all these things will do that. But there are some karmas which you will have to experience which cannot be avoided.
Q: You said relax and forget about results. If we forget about our desires and aversions then how do we know what to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No aversions and desires come into your mind, then how much you flow with them or how much you hold back is your wisdom. Got it? See a desire comes into you, I want to have more ice cream, and doesn’t matter have ice cream. But a desire comes into your mind let me go strangle this person. Know that if you act on this second desire you will end up in prison. But the first desire if you overdo it you may end up in hospital. Got it? Clarity of mind, wisdom is needed you are doing the right thing. Do meditation, become hollow and empty. Don’t you see an improvement in yourself? ‘Yes’ How much improvement do you see? A lot of improvement right!
Q: Guruji, does the desire to strangle someone which you do not act on affect your karma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t worry about every single thought that comes into your head. They come and they go, don’t worry. If you don’t act on it you are not making a karma out of it. You can have peaceful nights.
Q: (A member of an audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, that’s why even when there is pain and suffering the Divine has not left you, and is always with you. You have been blessed and helped to move along. But that doesn’t mean you invite more suffering and inflict more suffering into yourself. See when we say we need to eliminate suffering, the church of Germany said this is wrong. We just had a meeting; our people had a meeting with the Evangelical church in Germany. They said it was all fine but you talk against suffering. You say you should not suffer but suffering is so important. This is the logic they were giving. They said you are speaking against suffering but suffering is important. Without suffering life is not complete. Can you understand this dilemma? They say you must suffer in order to feel the experience of blessing. You don’t need to encourage suffering. In that case then every criminal has inflicted suffering on others and made them to pray to God, then he must be having a lot of good karma by turning everybody towards God and creating, inflicting suffering on millions of people. No, no this is the wrong understanding. Suffering anyway comes, when it comes you pray but desiring for suffering is masochism.
Q: Guruji, why do bad things happen to good people?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why do bad things happen to good people? Somewhere sometime in the past they may have also done something bad. From some lifetimes, somewhere they have become a victim of it. It is impossible that you get a bitter neem tree when you sow a mango tree. Got it? So somewhere knowingly or unknowingly the person must have done some bad thing so that bad result has come now. This is theory of karma and it is very very deep. Bad things happen either through karma or through ignorance in the present moment. Yes! All bad things happen to good people because some greed must have crept into good peoples’ mind.
Q: Guruji, I have lost someone dearest to me.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have lost someone dearest to you. Just don’t do anything just be with it.
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