Q: Guruji, science with all its logic destroys beauty, and whenever we are content with just beauty, we don’t tend to go deep in logic. How can science and beauty coexist with each other? Please explain.
Sri Sri: This world is of opposites, like night exists and day exists, dawn and dusk too exist and they exist in different places at different times. Why do they have to be at the same place? So there is science when your left brain is active then you enjoy that, and then when your right brain becomes active then you enjoy the music, you enjoy art. You don’t need to choose and you don’t need to have the same things together. You don’t need to have soup and pudding together; mix them together and drink. You have soup and little later have pudding too. So they have different flavours and they both are essential in life, otherwise life is incomplete.
Q: Guruji we have come to this planet so many times in the human form. What should we aim for in this lifetime now that we are here with you in this life?
Sri Sri: Well this is wonder more than a question and I leave it to you to wonder about it.
Q: Guruji, you say that a reformer cannot be a ruler and a ruler can never be a reformer. Then how can the administration be reformed?
Sri Sri: If both work together, reform will happen.
Q: Guruji, what is the science of yagya and how can we understand this?
Sri Sri: See, while the yagya was happening I did not say a word, I kept silence. So you don’t need to understand everything. If something is happening, they are putting something in fire and people are going round and doing something, you may wonder, ‘Oh what’s happening?’ But you know somewhere, deep inside you could feel those vibrations. How many of you felt the vibrations? (Several in the audience raised their hands) See, all of you have felt the vibrations and that was important. You just feel the vibrations; that’s why I did not go to explain why they do what they do. It was not necessary at that moment. Yes, later some other time like now we can sit and see why they put so many things in fire and what was the impact of it?’ All this we can sit and discuss. We can go on doing research into that. Right? So sometimes we need to just enjoy and be with what is, and sometimes we need to analyze and understand. They both have different flavours and life is complete with both of them. Another thing I would say is you know when yagya was happening, to have what is called shraddhaa or faith. Shraddhaa is to love something which we do not know. Something, some activity is happening, it is for good. This much we believe and we simply love it and that is what is called shraddhaa. Love something which you have not fully comprehended but you know there is something good coming out of it. And what happened, with that you get a lot of benefit and gradually you start understanding what it is all about as well.
Q: Guruji, scriptures say that the divine is the only security. Insurance companies say that retirement plans are the only security. My wife says that our children will be our only security. I am a little confused. Where should I invest? (Myself laughing the reader hahahhahhahahahahhah)
When discussing Vibheeshana look at what qualities he has. People have the tendency to denounce others. Jains have condemned Lord Krishna to hell. According to them, Krishna will have to come back in the next period as the first Tirthankara. These are just concepts, don’t get into them. What you need to observe, understand and learn, and what is useful to your life, is what you need to extract. There is a beautiful story in Bhagavatam. From the dirt in Lord Vishnu’s ear appeared two demons Madhu and Kaitabha. Lord Vishnu kept battling with them for a thousand years and he could not defeat them. He became exhausted and finally took refuge in Devi (mother Divine). The Devi has to protect, took the demons into the water and conquered them. Now you see, this story is so pregnant with meaning. Madhu means craving and Kaitabha means aversion; now where do these arise? In our ears when we do not listen attentively. Just as there is flaw in our sight, there is a fault in our listening. Someone may be paying you compliments but you will think that they are irritating you, playing with your emotions. Someone incurred losses in the share market, and an acquaintance remarks, ‘oh you look good!’, and this person thinks, ‘what a hypocrite, he is telling me I look good when I am miserable.’ And anger and enmity begins because there we did not hear properly. Cravings and aversions happen through listening and this cannot be eliminated by us. So inner-strength (Devi shakti) is awakened, and these negative emotions are destroyed through love (water signifies love). This is the secret of this story. In all these stories there is a spiritual aspect that we need to recognize. It is not written anywhere but meditate on it, ponder over it, and you will realize, ‘oh so this is it!’
Q: Guruji, it is said that Ravana had ten heads. I am so troubled by just one! How did Ravana manage ten? What do ten heads signify?
Sri Sri: That is why he got into so much trouble and that is why Raama had to come to take care of it. ‘Dashmukh’ (ten-faced) has a meaning to it. ‘Mukh’ means sight or communication; seeing, listening, smelling, speaking; to receive and to project. Ten-faced (dashmukh) does not mean his heads were dangling on both sides, it means projecting/receiving in all ten directions simultaneously. One with incomparable grace and intelligence is called as ‘Dashanan’, same as ‘Dasharatha.’ Or one whose brilliance radiates in all ten directions is called as ‘Dashanan.’ But if one gets caught up in the ego then suffering will come and he will fall.
Q: Guruji, the heart desires and the mind says that desire is the cause of sorrow. Why does the mind lose to the heart? How to strengthen the mind?
Sri Sri: Through experience. After getting beaten up many times, wisdom dawns anyway; or through awareness, that this isn’t right. But through experience, one learns only after one or two beatings. It doesn’t work otherwise.
Q: Guruji, during this season of festivals, when we do not get gifts, it feels very disappointing. ‘Expectations reduce joy’, did you create this knowledge point for this very season?
Sri Sri: Yes, you can use it whenever! The festival season is always on.
Q: Guruji, please tell us about the significance of the nine nights of Navaratri. What can we do to get a better spiritual experience during Navaratri?
Sri Sri: ‘Ratri’ word means that which gives you deep rest. Deep rest or relief from three things or three tapas. ‘Tapas’ means three types of fire, three botheration, the physical, the subtle and the causal. The three type of botheration are aadi bhautik, the worldly botheration. Aadi daivi, the divine one and then botheration of the soul. All these three botherations are relieved by a deep rest. So it is a time of prayer and rejuvenation. You know, a child is born in nine months. It takes nine month for a child to get formed and be born. So these nine days are like coming out of mother’s womb once again, having a new birth. First three days are dedicated to tamo guna, inertia. The second three days to rajo guna and the last three days, sato guna. The three gunas that we all possess, sattva, rajas and tamas and gaining victory over all the gunas and being centred and celebrating life. The final day is called the victory day, Vijayadashmi. So for all nine days, ten days we virtually do meditation which is the best way to celebrate. People usually fast and pray, and then feast in the end.
Sri Sri: This world is of opposites, like night exists and day exists, dawn and dusk too exist and they exist in different places at different times. Why do they have to be at the same place? So there is science when your left brain is active then you enjoy that, and then when your right brain becomes active then you enjoy the music, you enjoy art. You don’t need to choose and you don’t need to have the same things together. You don’t need to have soup and pudding together; mix them together and drink. You have soup and little later have pudding too. So they have different flavours and they both are essential in life, otherwise life is incomplete.
Q: Guruji we have come to this planet so many times in the human form. What should we aim for in this lifetime now that we are here with you in this life?
Sri Sri: Well this is wonder more than a question and I leave it to you to wonder about it.
Q: Guruji, you say that a reformer cannot be a ruler and a ruler can never be a reformer. Then how can the administration be reformed?
Sri Sri: If both work together, reform will happen.
Q: Guruji, what is the science of yagya and how can we understand this?
Sri Sri: See, while the yagya was happening I did not say a word, I kept silence. So you don’t need to understand everything. If something is happening, they are putting something in fire and people are going round and doing something, you may wonder, ‘Oh what’s happening?’ But you know somewhere, deep inside you could feel those vibrations. How many of you felt the vibrations? (Several in the audience raised their hands) See, all of you have felt the vibrations and that was important. You just feel the vibrations; that’s why I did not go to explain why they do what they do. It was not necessary at that moment. Yes, later some other time like now we can sit and see why they put so many things in fire and what was the impact of it?’ All this we can sit and discuss. We can go on doing research into that. Right? So sometimes we need to just enjoy and be with what is, and sometimes we need to analyze and understand. They both have different flavours and life is complete with both of them. Another thing I would say is you know when yagya was happening, to have what is called shraddhaa or faith. Shraddhaa is to love something which we do not know. Something, some activity is happening, it is for good. This much we believe and we simply love it and that is what is called shraddhaa. Love something which you have not fully comprehended but you know there is something good coming out of it. And what happened, with that you get a lot of benefit and gradually you start understanding what it is all about as well.
Q: Guruji, scriptures say that the divine is the only security. Insurance companies say that retirement plans are the only security. My wife says that our children will be our only security. I am a little confused. Where should I invest? (Myself laughing the reader hahahhahhahahahahhah)
Sri Sri: A little bit in all three; and you have enough to invest in all three. I would say first in yourself as you are the source of insecurity if there is any. In spite of having a good family, children, house, money, everything, if your soul is hungry, it will still be insecure. So first fill your spirit with spiritual wisdom, experience and you will see there is no insecurity. Everything will fall in place.
Q: Guruji, good people get spoilt after ascending to the seat of power. Is this the fault of the position or the individual?
( My feeling is they are not good from the very beginning. Good people can not get spoiled. Gold remains gold what ever be the situation.)
Q: Guruji, good people get spoilt after ascending to the seat of power. Is this the fault of the position or the individual?
( My feeling is they are not good from the very beginning. Good people can not get spoiled. Gold remains gold what ever be the situation.)
Sri Sri: Blame neither the position nor the individual. If you identify the fault, try to remove it. And removing those faults is what we are doing here through meditation and practices. If people do these practices before getting into power, it is good. And if they do them after assuming power that also is good, so that they remain balanced. Balance the mind, since all negativity arises in the mind and spreads from there. There is no sense in blaming the seat. Through awareness every position of authority can be managed properly.
Q: Guruji, Vibheeshana was discredited in spite of having supported Lord Rama. He is branded as a traitor. This does not seem appropriate! Why so?
Sri Sri: Vibheeshana is a unique example of someone who was caught in a dilemma whether to support righteousness (dharma) or his people. He chose to renounce his brother in favour of dharma. See, in all these stories take only that which you need. What is the point of arguing for or against? If there is something in the lives of Vibheeshana, Rama or Ravana that inspires you, take it, and if it does not fit in, or appeal to you, then you have learnt something from that as well. Some people have asked me, why did Sri Rama send Sita to the forest based on a washer man’s opinion; isn’t this injustice? I say, ‘absolutely, he did not do the Art of Living course, otherwise I would have told him not to be a football of other people’s opinions!’ (Laughter) (Guruji sings), ‘Kuchh to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna’ (People are bound to say something, that is what they do).
Q: Guruji, Vibheeshana was discredited in spite of having supported Lord Rama. He is branded as a traitor. This does not seem appropriate! Why so?
Sri Sri: Vibheeshana is a unique example of someone who was caught in a dilemma whether to support righteousness (dharma) or his people. He chose to renounce his brother in favour of dharma. See, in all these stories take only that which you need. What is the point of arguing for or against? If there is something in the lives of Vibheeshana, Rama or Ravana that inspires you, take it, and if it does not fit in, or appeal to you, then you have learnt something from that as well. Some people have asked me, why did Sri Rama send Sita to the forest based on a washer man’s opinion; isn’t this injustice? I say, ‘absolutely, he did not do the Art of Living course, otherwise I would have told him not to be a football of other people’s opinions!’ (Laughter) (Guruji sings), ‘Kuchh to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna’ (People are bound to say something, that is what they do).
Some might support Rama’s decision that he did it to uphold honour. You can find some flaw or the other in every incarnation (avatara). At least I see faults in them, particularly in Parashurama. If one considers Parashurama God, then there is no one left you cannot call God. I find every human being better than him. ‘Don’t try to find fault with anyone,’ even Lord Krishna has said. If you start looking for flaws in Krishna, you will find so many that you might think you are better than him. Lord Krishna told Arjun, ‘you are anasuya, (meaning one who does not look for faults in others) and that is why I am giving you knowledge.’ Although knowledge is given to everyone, the deepest mysteries are revealed only to those who are deserving and worthy.
Q: Guruji, it is said that Ravana had ten heads. I am so troubled by just one! How did Ravana manage ten? What do ten heads signify?
Sri Sri: That is why he got into so much trouble and that is why Raama had to come to take care of it. ‘Dashmukh’ (ten-faced) has a meaning to it. ‘Mukh’ means sight or communication; seeing, listening, smelling, speaking; to receive and to project. Ten-faced (dashmukh) does not mean his heads were dangling on both sides, it means projecting/receiving in all ten directions simultaneously. One with incomparable grace and intelligence is called as ‘Dashanan’, same as ‘Dasharatha.’ Or one whose brilliance radiates in all ten directions is called as ‘Dashanan.’ But if one gets caught up in the ego then suffering will come and he will fall.
Q: Guruji, the heart desires and the mind says that desire is the cause of sorrow. Why does the mind lose to the heart? How to strengthen the mind?
Sri Sri: Through experience. After getting beaten up many times, wisdom dawns anyway; or through awareness, that this isn’t right. But through experience, one learns only after one or two beatings. It doesn’t work otherwise.
Q: Guruji, during this season of festivals, when we do not get gifts, it feels very disappointing. ‘Expectations reduce joy’, did you create this knowledge point for this very season?
Sri Sri: Yes, you can use it whenever! The festival season is always on.
Q: Guruji, please tell us about the significance of the nine nights of Navaratri. What can we do to get a better spiritual experience during Navaratri?
Sri Sri: ‘Ratri’ word means that which gives you deep rest. Deep rest or relief from three things or three tapas. ‘Tapas’ means three types of fire, three botheration, the physical, the subtle and the causal. The three type of botheration are aadi bhautik, the worldly botheration. Aadi daivi, the divine one and then botheration of the soul. All these three botherations are relieved by a deep rest. So it is a time of prayer and rejuvenation. You know, a child is born in nine months. It takes nine month for a child to get formed and be born. So these nine days are like coming out of mother’s womb once again, having a new birth. First three days are dedicated to tamo guna, inertia. The second three days to rajo guna and the last three days, sato guna. The three gunas that we all possess, sattva, rajas and tamas and gaining victory over all the gunas and being centred and celebrating life. The final day is called the victory day, Vijayadashmi. So for all nine days, ten days we virtually do meditation which is the best way to celebrate. People usually fast and pray, and then feast in the end.
Fasting always goes with the feasting. I won’t recommend all of you to fast without any food at all. You can have limited or eat less. Suppose if you are eating one whole meal you can cut down to half or quarter, like that, and don’t keep munching all day. Usually people have the habit of popping munchies the whole day, now and then, here and there. So don’t do that and don’t indulge in any other sensory activities of any other senses; giving deep rest to all the five senses.
No touching, no watching movies, not going for fragrances and all that. Not listening to music all the time with the, what is that, ipod?! As soon as we wake up we turn the radio on or put on the ipod and put the ear phones. Even when we are jogging we are listening to sound. So the mind is constantly bombarded; bombarded by sound, by music. These are the days when you don’t bombard your system with so much music. There will be chanting here for some time. You know the last couple of days when there will be ‘yagyas’, of course you can just sit and bask in the chanting. Take bath in the, what is called ‘mantra-snaana’; means bathing in the mantras. The mantras are being chanted; you just sit in meditation and bathe in that vibration, that is good. Everyday there will be little bit time, an hour or so of mantra chanting. Other than that it is good to refrain from over-eating, over-listening to music, or watching television or any type of activity which stimulates your system. It’s a time to calm them down. Yes, and on the last day, of course, you end up in celebrations. You get emotionally charged, spiritually charged, intellectually uplifted. It’s time for getting all these things done.
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri: The heartbeat increases before exams? It is nothing. Take deep ujjayi breaths in and release and say ‘Jai Guru Dev’. Everything will be alright. Is that true or not? How many of you get all what you want; things happen? Very good!
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri: The heartbeat increases before exams? It is nothing. Take deep ujjayi breaths in and release and say ‘Jai Guru Dev’. Everything will be alright. Is that true or not? How many of you get all what you want; things happen? Very good!
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri: What, you are stuck in the past? Where did you get stuck? So I will answer it in the future. Wait for the future. If you want to get out of the past, then look at the future. I will say that I will answer in four months, so you keep waiting for four months. Do you get it? Now get stuck in the future for a little while.
Q: Guruji, today is Dashehra. Although we celebrate this festival of victory of good over evil every year, what should we do so that this victory is truly feasible?
Sri Sri: First one has to have confidence that this victory is possible. If we think that this is kaliyuga, and it is not possible for good to gain victory over evil and only the reverse happens, evil wins over good here then this kind of mind-set is most dangerous. That is why first conquer your mind. Observe what your mind-set is. If your mind has pessimistic tendencies, they have to be removed first and enthusiasm has to be awakened. This is the first victory. After nine days of battle, Vijayadashmi is not for only one day. What was there in nine days? Tamo guna, rajo guna, and at the end sato guna also had to be conquered. What was first? Madhu Kaitab, ‘Madhu’ means raag (attachment), ‘Kaitab’ means dvesh (aversion). Victory over attachment and aversion is the first victory of the mind. Next is ‘Dhoomra Lochan’ and then ‘Mahishasura’. Mahishasura is tamo guna, laziness, inertia. In that we say, ‘oh, everything goes, everything happens, everything is okay, corruption is okay, without that life will not go on. Things will not work, one has to be corrupt.’ This kind of attitude, and mind-set is wrong, this is Mahishasura. This Mahishasura has to be conquered.
Sri Sri: First one has to have confidence that this victory is possible. If we think that this is kaliyuga, and it is not possible for good to gain victory over evil and only the reverse happens, evil wins over good here then this kind of mind-set is most dangerous. That is why first conquer your mind. Observe what your mind-set is. If your mind has pessimistic tendencies, they have to be removed first and enthusiasm has to be awakened. This is the first victory. After nine days of battle, Vijayadashmi is not for only one day. What was there in nine days? Tamo guna, rajo guna, and at the end sato guna also had to be conquered. What was first? Madhu Kaitab, ‘Madhu’ means raag (attachment), ‘Kaitab’ means dvesh (aversion). Victory over attachment and aversion is the first victory of the mind. Next is ‘Dhoomra Lochan’ and then ‘Mahishasura’. Mahishasura is tamo guna, laziness, inertia. In that we say, ‘oh, everything goes, everything happens, everything is okay, corruption is okay, without that life will not go on. Things will not work, one has to be corrupt.’ This kind of attitude, and mind-set is wrong, this is Mahishasura. This Mahishasura has to be conquered.
Next is Sumbha Nishumbha and then Raktabeeja. Raktabeeja means in our lives we have certain habits, some sanskaars (impressions). As they say, it is in our blood, meaning it is so deeply ingrained, the impression is so deeply imprinted that is called Raktabeejasura. Wherever a drop of blood falls, it appears. You try to destroy one, and a hundred others are born. So this thing that we have in our genes, in our DNA, we need to get rid of it. How? Through meditation, prayer, devotion and divine grace. The sanskaras that are embedded deep within need to be uprooted and thrown out. All this is victory and it will not work if we say, ‘first I need to gain victory over the self and then I will go out and serve society.’ They both have to be done together. Your sight should be directed inward as well as outwards. Promote cleanliness, hygiene, and resist dirt and filth. Maintain a clean environment inside as well as outside. The leaders of society should also be such. Sometimes people do something wrong and all the good people stand back with their hands tied.
Society has not been ruined on account of bad people, but due to the indifference of those who are good. This earth is being destroyed due to the carelessness and inaction of good individuals. So be dynamic. This is what is implied by the destruction of Mahishasura, getting rid of tamo guna. So victory will happen, believe in it first then work for it. And even if we experience failure a hundred times, we have to keep fighting. It is through devotion that the task gets done easily without any obstruction.
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri: Did you like seeing the Guru in your dream? You liked it very much, right! Good! See I find it easier to hug in a dream, so I hug everyone in dreams! Are you happy? So much change has come about in you since then, so much has been erased. All unwanted things
Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri: Did you like seeing the Guru in your dream? You liked it very much, right! Good! See I find it easier to hug in a dream, so I hug everyone in dreams! Are you happy? So much change has come about in you since then, so much has been erased. All unwanted things
