The Divine can only be found in deep rest (meditation).

Do you know what the obstacles to deep rest are? It is the cravings and aversions in the mind.
If the mind is filled with cravings and aversions, rest is not possible. And if there is no rest, the goal of Sadhana (spiritual practices) cannot be achieved.
That is why we need to be free from the cravings and aversions in our mind.
So, how do we do that?
'I don’t need anything from anyone', this is what we need to keep in our mind.

 

 

Don’t think of anyone as a
bad person. There is no
bad person in the world.
If people do something
bad, it is because of their
ignorance or lack of
awareness, or because
their mind has been hurt.
So, don’t have negative
opinions about anybody.

 

 

When we don’t need anything from anyone, we will not have cravings towards anybody. When there is no craving, there will be no aversion.

Don’t think of anyone as a bad person. There is no bad person in the world. If people do something bad, it is because of their ignorance or lack of awareness, or because their mind has been hurt. So, don’t have negative opinions about anybody.

Q: Gurudev, you just said that we should not consider anyone as bad. If others treat us badly, how do we react to that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If others have a negative opinion about you, it is their problem, not yours. From your side, do not consider anyone as bad.
By doing this, your mind will be clear and pleasant and your intellect will be sharp. Otherwise, the people whom you consider as bad will begin to haunt your mind like a ghost.
When such thoughts get into your mind, you will not be able to do something creative.

Q: If somebody has really done something wrong towards us, what should we do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When someone does something bad to you, think, why would they do it? One reason could be that they are not healthy.

Do you see a fool or a mentally ill person as a culprit? No!
If a mentally ill person says something bad to you, do you take their words seriously? No. You just move on knowing that he is mentally ill.
So, when someone says something bad to you, think of it in the same way. When a disturbed person says something bad, why should you feel disturbed?

Q: In order to be peaceful, we have to learn not to expect from others. But in day-to-day life, at the office or at home, different people are supposed to do different things. If they don’t do it, then problems arise. Everyone has to do his or her job.
Please guide us on this.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If someone does not do the job that he or she is supposed to do, then we need to tell them to do it. We need to exercise our authority there.
If there are lazy people who don’t do their work, we cannot sit quiet. We need to make them aware of their duty.
If we have craving or aversion towards them then we cannot bring awareness in them. It will only make us angry.

Q: What is the meaning of Cause and Effect?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Cause and Effect are called ‘Karana’ and ‘Karya’.
Cow is the cause, milk is the effect. If there is milk, it is because of the cow.
The cause for the cow is grass. The cause for the grass is the Earth. The cause for the Earth is the Sun.
Behind every happening, there is a cause.
Paramakarana, the cause of all causes is the Divine. That is why, it is said, ‘Tasmai Namah Paramakarana Karanaya.’
The cause of all causes is Shiva.

 

 

Assume that you have
unshakable devotion.
Devotion is not an object
that can be obtained.
If you drop all the doubts,
devotion is already there.

 

 

Q: Gurudev, we say ‘Achamanyam Samarpayami’. Water is known as ‘Apa’, so why do we call it as ‘Achamanyam’?
What is the significance of offering water?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, water is also known as Achamanyam. This is a practice that has been going on since ages. Before starting and ending anything, Achamanyam is offered.
It is the process where we do Abhimantra (mantra chanting on the water. You take a pot of water, place your hand on top and then chant mantras. The mantras are supposed to be absorbed into the water) and then offer it. It is not just plain drinking water. The water is charged through the mantra vibrations.

Whenever a guest comes home, water is used to wash their feet (padya). Then, water is given into their hands (arghya). After this, they are given water to drink to quench their thirst (achamanyam). These three practices were practiced in olden times.

When someone comes to your house, don’t you ask, ‘What would you like to drink? Would you like some lemonade, milk, tea or coffee?’
Don’t you give them some water to drink?
In the same way, in olden times, they used to have the practice of Padya, Arghya and Achamanyam.
Padya means washing the feet of the guest at the entrance of the house, so that the dirt on the feet does not enter the house. Arghya is to wash their hands. Achamanyam is giving them water to drink, indicating that the discussion can begin.

Q: What is the significance of ‘Panchamrita (mixture of five foods used in Hindu  worship) Abhisheka’? Why were only these materials chosen?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: These five are like nectar: Milk, Curd, Honey, Jaggery and Ghee. Though jaggery needs to be used, sugar is being used instead of jaggery nowadays.

Five Devatas (Deities) reside in them. Savitru resides in Sugar, Vishwedeva in Honey, Surya in Ghee, Vayu in Curd, andSoma in Milk.
So, when you offer them as Abhisheka, the intention is that – may the qualities of the Devas blossom in our life.

We pray for peace in everybody’s mind.
Let there be joy in everybody’s mind.
Let there be strength, courage and longevity in people’s lives.
Let there be contentment and prosperity in people’s lives.
Let there be radiance in life.
Let the winds and rivers flow in sweetly.
Let our days and nights be sweet.
Let every soil particle bring sweetness to us.
Let us get sweetness from the Akasha, Devatas and Pitrus (departed ancestors).
Let our speech and thoughts be sweet.
Let the society bring us sweetness.
Let the Vanaspati (Lord of the forest) bring us sweetness.
Let the Sun bring sweetness to our lives.
Let our whole life bring sweetness to other people’s lives.
Let us bring sweetness to the collective consciousness.

Q: Please tell us the way to attain never-ending and unshakable devotion.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Assume that you have unshakable devotion.
Sage Narada says in the Bhakti Sutras that devotion is not an object that can be obtained. If you drop all the doubts, devotion is already there.

 

 

For one who walks
the spiritual path,
you will only move
higher and higher.

 

 

Q: If we study law, there is a guarantee of becoming a lawyer. If we study engineering, there is a guarantee of becoming an engineer if we put in our efforts. However, there is no guarantee of getting liberation if we keep doing our Sadhana and keep walking this path.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is definitely guaranteed.
Arjuna asks the same question in the Bhagavad Gita. So, Lord Krishna replies, ‘Na hi kalyana-krt kascid durgatim tata gacchati’, (Chapter 6, Verse 40).
For one who walks the spiritual path, you will only move higher and higher.

Q: Many great saints, though they attained enlightenment, did not give it directly to anybody. They just preached about the steps to attain it. Why does God not give enlightenment directly to everyone? Are samskaras (impressions) necessary for this?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Samskaras are necessary. If you are here, it means that somewhere you had the interest and curiosity to come. Without that interest, how could you come here? So, a little bit of samskaras are necessary.
However, only samskaras are not enough. In life, samskaras, opportunities and grace are all needed. Along with these, self-effort is also required.
If you want to come to the satsang but keep lying in your bed, will it help?
So, self-effort, samskaras, opportunities and grace are all needed.

Q: Are there chances of epilepsy attacks even for people who do Sadhana regularly?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It depends on what the person eats, drinks and does the whole day. It is possible if eating, drinking and living habits are not proper.
If there is too much stress in the nervous system then there are chances of such attacks.
If one lives a healthy life, it will not happen.

Money is not everything!!!!

Sri Sri Visit Gyan Vihar University

Honorable Chief Mentor, Vice Chancellor of the University and Members of the faculty, I humbly accept this degree that you have conferred on me.


See, today I received one but I gave away many. This is what education should do. What we receive we should give back to society, and as students you have received so much education here, now see how you can put that into use in life. The trouble in today’s world is not because of lack of education but because education is being misrepresented, misused and misunderstood. We need to clear these three things. Education is meant not to just make us tablets of information but living examples of high standards of ethics. Education is to make us such strong personalities, which would spread harmony, which would bring progress in the society and spread love and compassion. This is what I strongly believe. So we need to educate ourselves and people around us.

Education is to make one a strong personality, a personality which would stand up to criticism and give constructive criticism. A personality which would create friendliness all over, which has humor and a sense of belongingness along with it and this is what the world is looking for today.
Creativity comes up in a person when he has such an opportunity of free thinking and everybody in this planet is supposed to have free thinking. Unfortunately it is not there. We think in boxes, we think in limited spheres; we have to get out of this. We have to think freely and keep our mind free of narrow ideologies.


I am happy that Gyan Vihar University has given you such an opportunity in the midst of Jaipur to come up with brilliance, and I am sure you will make your country and your university proud.


I once again thank the management, the Vice Chancellor, Honorable Chairperson and the Deans and all of you and I give you my best wishes. I am part of you and now I am also an alumni of this University.

I wish that you become well educated in both humanities and science. Arts is the subject of the heart and science is the subject of the head, and we need both. Lord Krishna has said, Buddhi (intelligence) and Bhava (emotions), both are essential – this is the essence of Bhagavad Gita.


Development of heart and the mind, both are essential. Only then do you become a complete human being.
So I wish you all success in your endeavors and lead a life of service to society and a life full of fun and happiness.

Q: Guruji, you have said the knowledge about the self  is most important, then why is it kept so secret and difficult to attain?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In fact it is not kept a secret anymore. Unfortunately in the past, people kept all that is very precious and very good and useful for people a secret out of their selfishness. But now it is open to everybody. Pranayama was not taught to everybody, it was taught only to a few. That was the unfortunate story of our country. But now everything is available to you.

Q: Guruji, real education happens through life experiences, then why should one go to college?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: College life is pretty good; it is great! You learn a lot. Don’t think you will have no life in college; in fact college life is life because you learn a lot of things. Many times you fall in love, your heart gets broken and then it gets mended. So many things happen there.

Q: What is the secret of your success?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Walk the talk or talk the walk!

Q: If everything is destined, what is the power of prayer?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Everything is not fixed. There are some things that are fixed and some things that are not fixed, and prayer is the bridge between them.

Q: If money is not everything then why are all successful people so rich?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Rich people are not always happy. For me success is not just money in the bank. It is the smile and confidence in a person.

Which puran is supreme?

A Guru is a mirror
February 15, 2012(Below is the transcript of Satsang with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.You can watch the Live webcast of future satsangs)


Welcome back home everybody! You all have come from long distances, so rest well.
After many years we are having Shivarathri in the ashram. Usually Shivarathri program needs a bigger venue, but we thought somehow we will fit in and we will accommodate. We keep needing bigger places all the time. If there is place in the heart, there is place everywhere. But this means that you all will have to take a little bit of responsibility as well.


Q: Guruji, here in Russia some people say that they have found the Vedas in Russia too. Can you please comment on this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, it is possible.
Once upon a time it was everywhere in the world, it was in South America, Mexico, in Peru. It was in all these places. The Mayan civilization in Peru went from Sri Lanka actually. So the whole world was connected at one point of time in history. That is why the Vedas are not to one particular country or language, it is universal.
If you listen to Russian language, the expert scholars say that the language has a lot of Sanskrit words. So does German.

Q: How to take a sankalpa and how to make one’s sankalpa strong and effective?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Being hollow and empty! When sankalpa arises in your heart then take the sankalpa and expand your consciousness with the context of time and space in the vast universe. In this huge universe, in this huge time, I want this little sankalpa to happen and I am confident it will happen by God’s grace. This is what has to be done.


Take a desire and feel it will be heard. Suppose you are asking a question to somebody and you have a doubt whether the question will be answered or not, you will not fully ask the question, right? You will hesitate to ask the question or somewhere you will make errors even in process of asking. So the right way of asking is first knowing that the person knows and is going to give the answer. 

Suppose in a gas station you go and ask the person, how to go to this particular place. You do it with full confidence that the person knows it at the gas station. Otherwise you will not ask them, isn’t it?
That confidence you should have. I have this request and it will be granted to me.

Q: Guruji would you even consider writing your autobiography? Please share your stories which you have never shared with us. I am sure that you will answer this question.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sometime, yes!

Q: I have read about Goliwale baba in ’Stumbling Into Infinity’ by Michael Fischman. As per Michael, Goliwale baba got enlightened in an accident. He did not have any guru. Is it possible to get enlightened without Guru’s grace?


Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, grace is needed. But life is so vast and so infinite. This is not just the only lifetime we have been here. It is not Goliwale, he is Gouwale Guruji.
There was a gentleman - Gauwale Guruji in Delhi, who used to sit in Kotla Mubarakpur. I was introduced to him. He used to stay in a small place. He also had a guru, not that he never had a guru. In those days I was only seventeen, eighteen or nineteen or something like that.
He used to say, ‘Yogiraj, come!’ He used to give me a lot of respect. First I thought he was making fun of me. I was only a small kid; even now I am only a child!

Q: Guruji can I live with full freedom? Many times my freedom becomes a problem for another.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, you should see that your freedom should not create trouble for someone else. You should take a middle path. If you always focus your attention on others, at some point you will feel frustrated, and if you think only of yourself, you will cause frustration to others. So somewhere along the line you need to take a middle path; take some and give some.

Suppose you feel like doing meditation and somebody else wants you do their work, it is okay to do their work if it is an emergency. But if it is not very important, it is just a daily routine thing, then do your meditation, take out time for yourself.

Q: Guruji, whenever we look at you, something happens. When you look at yourself in the mirror, does something happen to you as well?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: (Laughs) Oh really! Something happens?! I myself am a mirror. If you look at me, you see yourself. If you are loving, you will see love in me. A Guru is a mirror.

Q: Guruji, when we have accepted the Guru as everything then what is the purpose of worshiping all the other Gods?




Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, there is no compulsion. It is only a tradition which has been continuing. There is only one Bramha, only one God; but sometimes we worship Him in the form of Ganesh, sometimes as Shiva, sometimes as Kartikeya and sometimes in the form of Divine Mother. So whenever you do pooja, see everything in that One. That is why, any mantra or any pooja begins with Guru pooja first ‘Gurubhyo Namah Harihi Om’ – this is how it starts. Guru is honored first and then God is worshipped.
There should be a feeling of oneness - first oneness with the Guru and God, and then oneness between the Self, Guru and God. There is no difference between God and myself. I, Guru and God are One. This is called Advaita knowledge. Repeating ‘everything is one’, realizing this and reposing in it is samadhi; meditation.

Q: Guruji, in Shiva Purana, Shivaji has been considered supreme, and in Devi Bhagvat, Devi has been considered supreme. So which Purana is supreme?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Whichever you are reading, at that time that is supreme. When you are reading Bhagavad, then Krishna is everything. There is nothing else other than that. When reading Devi Bhagvata, that alone is everything, that is supreme. That is what it is. Whatever is on my plate today is the best food for today.

Q: Guruji, these days, Ayurveda has changed all the definitions. If someone is angry, they say, ‘Today his pitta is very high.’ If work gets messed up, it is a problem of vata, and if someone does something bad towards me, it is a matter of tamas. Ayurveda has created a big problem, Guruji. Now one cannot say anything to anyone!




Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No! Ayurveda has made it very easy for you. It has made it so easy, that it has prevented anger and hatred from entering into you! You can understand the people, who have got what problem, and it has made it much easier for you to understand the situation better. You should be grateful, you should give thanks. Ayurveda has revealed such a perspective to you that you will stop finding fault in people.
Someone has so much hatred and hostility - it is because of ignorance, on account of tamo-guna and rajo-guna. He is immature and that is why he feels hate.
See, whatever one has, only that he can give. One who has only garbage in his mind can give only garbage; one who has anger will give anger; one who has abuse will give abuses.
When you see it from this perspective, you will not have any hatred towards that person. At least your mind will be at peace.


Q: Guruji, many psychologists say that love is just our imagination. I have also read that true love is born out of truth alone. Is there a relationship between love and truth?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Love is something which is present everywhere. Sometimes it can arise from imagination, sometimes it can arise spontaneously without any reason. Sometimes it can arise by just seeing someone or while resting it can arise. Sometimes, while taking a walk in the evening or while the sun is setting something might stir inside your mind, or it can also happen in meditation.Love is your very nature; it is there within you, and around you, eternally. So when, what will become a reason for love to blossom, cannot be said.

Marriage a relationship or bondage?

February 12, 2012
(Below is the transcript of Satsang with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.You can watch the Live webcast of future satsangs)

Isn’t this bhajan so wonderful (referring to a verse by Basavanna, a 12th century philosopher from Karnataka)? It says that the body, mind and possessions belong to the Divine. Where is the need for worry? The sign of a devotee is one who doesn’t worry about anything. There will be good and bad times in life but you must keep yourself balanced.

If there are tears in the eyes due to devotional peaks, the mind gets purified. Knowledge purifies the intellect. Charity purifies wealth. Yoga and Ayurveda purify the body. Seva (service) purifies karma and meditation purifies the soul.

To purify the intellect, listen to knowledge. What is knowledge? It is the awareness that everything is temporary and I am the witness to everything that is happening. Let my mind merge with the Self. Mind is the wave; the Self is the ocean. We need to constantly direct our mind inward. Then you will see that all worries disappear and the mind becomes empty.

Reflect on ‘Who am I?’ The chaos of daily life will always be there but there is something beyond all this, a witness to all that is happening. Reflect on this again and again. Do this for half a minute, as soon as you wake up and before you sleep, not all the time. Ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’ Tell yourself, ‘I do not need anything from this world.’

This is easy and it can be done guru Ji. I will try my best.

As you progress, you will feel that you are not from this world at all. You will feel you have come here to some village but your native is somewhere else. You will experience that your home is somewhere else and you are here just for a tour. Then you will realize who you are.

Isn’t your mind the one that gives you all the problems? With knowledge, the mind gets purified and in a purified mind, Divinity is reflected.

Charity purifies wealth. Spend one to three percent of your income for the society. Those who can afford it can spend more. If not, they can spend whatever is possible.

Q: How do we overcome the six enemies of the mind (Arishadvarga – Desire, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride, and Jealousy)?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you have nothing to do then lust bothers you. If you are busy for the entire day, these thoughts will not come up in your mind. You will come back tired and go to sleep. When you have a big goal in your life, small desires will not trouble you. If thoughts of greed or possessing more and more bother you, be greedy for the highest. And what is the highest? The Divine.

Be angry against injustice. Be angry with big matters and not small ones. Be proud that the Divine belongs to you. Be jealous about seva. If someone is doing seva, do more seva than him. If someone is good-natured and generous, be more good-natured and generous than him. Above all, do pranayama. With pranayama, all these impurities go away. Pranayama is the biggest of all penance.

Q: Guruji, hatred can be removed from the world by love, but how is it practically possible to love a person whom you hate?
My feeling is first become neutral, devote some time with that person and love will come automatically. difficult to follow.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First don’t try to love them. Accept them first. Why do you hate them? You hate them because they do something very bad, right? You hate the action of a person, that’s why you hate the person. You hate somebody because he is a thief or a liar or a cheat. Lying and cheating are all actions of a person. You should know that a person is larger than his action. Action is just a projection of the roof; it is not the entire home. If you compare a person to a home, action is only balcony. The home is much bigger. Don’t think the balcony is the home.

You hate somebody because of his actions. Now, action can be corrected, right? So, why is he acting like that? It is because of some reasons, because every action has a reason. When you go to the reason why a negative action is happening, why somebody is doing a bad action, you will find two causes. One is ignorance, which is the main cause. Second is because they are hurt or they are victims. If they are victims or if they have pain, they only give pain. If you are blissful, you give bliss. If you have love, you give love. Whatever you have, only that you can give. If they hurt you, it means they are filled with hurt. They are either suffering or they are ignorant; nobody to teach them. When you know this, you will feel compassionate.

When a child does something wrong, do you hold him responsible? No. You will say, ‘it is only a child and he did this out of ignorance. He broke the vase or broke the glass.’ You take it with a larger heart and see it with compassion.

So, those people whom you hate, you think they are equal to you or knowledgeable. That’s why you hate them. But if you broaden your vision, you will find that they are either ignorant or they are suffering or sick. How can you hate someone who is sick or ignorant? What do you do normally? You’ll be compassionate. So don’t try to love them. Broaden your vision; you will be compassionate to them, And when compassion reaches its peak, it is nothing but love. You have to go by two steps. Don’t jump into the second step!

Q: Guruji, I am working as a lecturer. A few students take advantage of me as I am a teacher with visual impairment. They talk or eat in the class while I teach. How should I control them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First of all, understand that it is not just because you are visually impaired that they are doing that. Even teachers who can see them are also getting into the same trouble! In fact, students are much softer with you. Other teachers and professors, they have an even bigger problem. They throw tomatoes on them and behave in a way which is not very civilized. As a teacher, you need to have a lot of patience and some humor. With your humor, you can turn around the situation.

Q: Guruji, I know two people who went to the temples near Madurai for palm leaf reading. I know them personally and they don’t do any sadhana (spiritual practices) in their lives and they are not even spiritual. They have been told that this is their last birth. Compared to them, I see myself as someone who does sadhana, but still I am struggling with so many impressions and weaknesses. Is it possible that even a person who is having his last birth can be leading a life without any sadhana?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First of all, don’t compare yourself with them, okay? Sometimes, many of these readings are not 100% perfect. They make predictions which are about 60 to 70% true. So you should always leave a margin. Sometimes to enthuse the devotees, they say, ‘This is your last life; you better do sadhana.’

There is a way to say it. The elderly people used this way to say, ‘Come on, this is your last chance. You better do your sadhana.’ In that way also it can be said. But you should not compare, okay?

Another thing is you never know when someone will start their sadhana or how much they have done in their past. So life is huge; it is eternal. The best is to look at yourself and see how much you have grown. Haven’t you grown? You have grown a lot. Watch your own growth and you feel more confident to move forward. Don’t worry you will have a last birth too. And if we have to come, we will come back again, so what? When you go with knowledge, you come back with knowledge. When you go with misery, you will come back with misery. That is the thing.

Q: Guruji, how do we deal with nervousness during exams?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do ujjayi breath. Pranayama and ujjayi will definitely help. Or chant ‘Om Namaha Shivaya’ or ‘Jai Gurudev’, anything.

Q: Why does the whole existence exist?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: So that you could ask this question and I can answer it! (laughter). Why should it not exist? It is very good. Just keep this question, you will find out the answer one day and then come and tell me your answer. I will tell you whether it is correct or not! beautiful guruji.

Q: In terms of speech, what is Satya (truth) and Asatya (untruth) and when we take a vow that we’ll speak only satya, what do we mean by that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Be true to yourself, honest to yourself. That is what it is. If your conscience says I don’t want to do it, don’t do it. If it says you should do it, you should do it, got it? If you tell a lie, your whole body loses its strength. That is why it is said ‘Satyam Bruyat, Priyam Bruyat, Na Bruyat Satyam Apriyam, Priyam Cha Nanrutam Na Bruyat.’ – speak the truth; speak pleasant truth. Don’t speak unpleasant truth and don’t speak sweet lies. This is the ancient Sanatana Dharma. These are couplets but we don’t know who wrote these, but these are called Subhashita, means the golden words, the invaluable couplets. And there are thousands of them which have been existing from ancient times.
when i read all these sanskrit verses i feel my love for my teacher who taught me. I don't know whether he is alive or not but my love is always with him. He is always in my heart.

In school these used to be in our text books but I don’t know what happened. These days they have removed all of this from the text book. We need re-establish these once again.

Q: In temples, there are Nagadevatas (Demigods) with folded hands. How do they give blessings?


Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are various levels in Gods and Demigods too. All of them pray to Shiva. You would have seen Hanuman with folded hands in some temples and in some temples the hand is raised for blessing.

Q: Guruji, why is it that falling in love is so easy, but staying in love is very difficult?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because of attachment, you cling on to it. You fall in love and then you become a policeman. An investigating agent who goes on poking into every little thing and gets bogged down by that. When you have a larger vision, a bigger goal and enough work to do, even when you fall in love, you will carry on in love all the time.

Q: How can being with nature, which is outside, take us to our nature, which is inside? Can you please elaborate on the connection between nature and spirituality?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is called ‘Laya Samadhi’. If you keep observing the sky, keep looking at the sky then at some point the eyes close and all that you feel is sky outside and sky inside. You become black.

Similarly you do sun gazing, watch the sunset. You can’t watch the sun for too long, you watch it for some time. Then you close your eyes and your mind becomes still and quiet.

Q: Dear Guruji, they say Sanskrit is a language evolved out of nature. What makes it so important that all the ancient texts have been written in this language? Is it relevant now?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. I heard last week or so that in New Zealand in one school, they adopted Sanskrit for the children and now the children are all doing very well in computer education after that. They say Sanskrit is very suitable for computer education. It causes some neuro-linguistic changes in the brain, so it is very good.

Q: Guruji, in the Mahabharata, what was the significance of Lord Hanumana being present on the chariot of Arjuna?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, in those days they used some flag, like how every political party uses some flag today. The Congress party uses a flag with the ‘palm’ symbol, another party uses ‘lotus flower’ symbol. Like that in ancient days they used Hanumana because it is a sign of victory, and Krishna chose it because Krishna is always victorious in whatever he takes.
He said to Arjuna, ‘You better take Hanumana as a flag,’ so he took it. He listened.
Hanumana was a symbol of victory in the previous yuga (age) when Rama fought the war with the most prosperous kingdom of Sri Lanka. Rama fought with just a bunch of monkeys and just a few people with him, it was a very weak party. And on the other side was this strong army which was loaded with so much power and wealth.

It is said, in those days Sri Lanka was so prosperous that every rooftop was made of gold. It was the golden city. The pillars of every home were studded with precious stones. So when from India Rama went to Sri Lanka, he said, ‘The city is so amazing! But even though this is so full of gold and so rich, I prefer to go to my motherland. My motherland is better than heaven.’ So Rama went back after winning the war.

Hanuman was the symbol of victory over apparent weakness. One who appears to be weak physically but who is spiritually powerful. So the Pandavas were only five and the Kauravas were hundred. It was not an equal balance to fight in anyway. You should at least be fifty-fifty to fight. So, to give that moral, ethical and emotional strength to Arjuna, Krishna said, ‘Let’s put Hanuman as our flag. Remember, they did it. You can do it too.’That is what Krishna always said.


Q: Guruji, is marriage a relationship or bondage? If it is a relationship, why does it feel like bondage and if it is bondage, how do we make it a relationship?
My feeling is there is no bondage. try broaden your view.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It depends on how you look at it. If you hold each other’s necks, it will feel like bondage. If you walk together, shoulder-to-shoulder with each other, it will feel like a support.So be a support each other, be a companion and move forward. Be life partners to each other. There are so many people in this world who don’t feel lonely after getting married and share a good companionship. 
If there is no belongingness, it begins to feel like bondage. That is why I say that husband and wife should have a common goal. If there is a big goal, the focus will shift to that and their relationship will be good.



Q: Guruji, sometimes peoples around us, mostly our elders, are too much bound by the castes and the boundaries made by the society and they are not able to think out of it. Even if it is good for them, they are not ready to accept it. What should we do in that situation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Slowly make them understand. Convince them. You should see how strong they are, and how much trouble you want to take. Accordingly, somewhere compromise has to be done. Either you should make them come to a compromise or if it is absolutely impossible, then you have to compromise and do some sacrifice. It has to be on both sides.If both sides are very stiff and adamant, then there is more trouble. But if you are ready to take the trouble and hope something better will come later, then you have to go for it.

Q: Guruji, my grandson asks if Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva have parents and grandparents too. How do I answer the child?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You should answer that Vishnu is the father of Brahma because Brahma was born out of Vishnu’s navel. Vishnu shakti (energy) came from Shiva and Shiva was born out of light.

Small children will understand it only this way. Give them a tennis ball and ask them to tell you where it begins and where it ends.

Q: When we know that we are making a mistake and still we make it, what should we do? Even though we keep on doing mistakes, God is kind to us. Why?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Read these books – Celebrating Silence and Celebrating Love. I have spoken about all these things there.

Q: I am from Uttar Pradesh. There are fights related to elections everywhere. The air in the Cycle (symbol of an Indian political party) is depleted; the Elephant (symbol of an Indian political party) wants to trample us; the Hand (symbol of an Indian political party) is out to strangle us; and the Lotus (symbol of an Indian political party) is not blossoming at all. In such a situation, what should a common man like me do? Whoever I vote for, I would land up in trouble.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Even I am thinking about the same thing! Let’s get together and find out a solution for this. What should we do? We will sit together and think about it but for now, go and cast your vote. Don’t vote for the party but see the person behind the symbol, whether he is good. Go and vote for him if he doesn’t have a criminal record behind him. Don’t stay without voting. This time do it, next time we’ll figure out something (laughter). If some good people who you vote for come forward, the country will progress.

Q: Does everybody have a role to play or some purpose to do in their life? Does the consciousness decide something before it is born in each life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Correct, you got it! Every life has a purpose. Not a blade of grass is here without a purpose.It will open up at its right time naturally. You just keep doing your duty. Keep yourself hollow and empty. Meditate and do service and you will see everything will fall in place.

Q: Since everything changes, nothing stays the same, does our life’s purpose also change sometimes?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. All change is possible.