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Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Why are there so many catastrophes in Poland, China and Iceland?

Sri Sri: Because we are misusing this planet. We are mining this Earth so much, we are putting so many dynamites, and we are testing so many nuclear bombs. So, the Earth starts shaking. We have to honor mountains, rivers, trees. If we don't exploit this planet, then there will be less and less natural calamities.

Q: What about the dark hidden forces which corrupt politics, military, intelligence agencies etc.?

Sri Sri: You know, I always believe that truth always triumphs. Truth will always win. I would say that you also have this confidence.

Q: Do I need a guru?

Sri Sri: Do you need an answer? If you need an answer that means you need someone who have to give you the answer, and that anyone who gives the answer automatically becomes a Guru.
Guru means the one who gives the answer. The English word guide comes from the original sanskrit word guru.
You need a guide for everything, for learning guitar, music, or any field you take. Similarly, Guru is one who can guide you into meditation, wisdom, and knowledge.

Q: What should I do with the conflict in my mind?

Sri Sri: The moment you realize that there is so much conflict in your mind, your eyes open. Satsang and pranayamas can put an end to it.

Q: Guruji, how do I silence my mind?

Sri Sri: The will to silence itself pays in many ways. Meditation and Sudarshan Kriya helps, too.

Q: Why are there so many religions and communities? Why is the evil so strong?

Sri Sri: Evil is not strong. You are giving it strength. It appears as if evil is strong, but it is not. The greatest power on the Earth is love. Love can melt any evil. It is due to lack of love and wisdom that evil exists. The moment love and wisdom comes into play, evil disappears. Like when the sun comes, the dew disappears. We have seen this. You know, when we give some wisdom and love to the extremists like terrorists, there was total change in those people. Some 300,000 prisoners, so called criminals, have done the ‘Art of living’ part 1 course, and their life has so much changed.

Q: How the transformation of the world will happen?

Sri Sri: If we all work towards it. More and more spirituality, meditation, singing, and world will become a better place.

Q: Is there any maximum limit to how much we can meditate?

Sri Sri: Just do as much is necessary. There is no need to do too much. Meditation is like taking a bath. To wash the mind, you need meditation. And once the mind is clean, you will be well.

Q: How can I free myself from fears that seem to have settled into me years ago? I know they are irrational and just in my head. Yet here they come up over and over again. They are distracting and feel binding to me!

Sri Sri: Meditate! Sit quietly and meditate, or listen to some chanting music. All this will help. Meditation, some pranayama, sudarshan kriya, some excercises, ujjayi breath are very good for fears. Don’t think that fear is somewhere deep inside you. It is an erroneous notion of Psychology that fear and guilt are deep down. I tell you, deep down there is only a lot of joy; a lot of bliss. And in that centre – no fear, no guilt, no anger, no lust can touch you. Deep down you are wonderful. So never think you have all these anxieties. Those who say that there is something wrong deep down are blind. It is all there just on the surface. If they call that deep, then I will suggest to go deeper. In the centre of your being, you are a fountain of joy. Saying, “Oh! My Mind! Deep down there is anxiety!”is ignorance; a wrong idea and concept. The moment you accept these words as truth, it starts becoming more difficult to get over those emotions. They become more permanent there. Do you see that?

Q: Why do I lose concentration when I meditate?

Sri Sri: Concentration is not meditation. Meditation is de-concentration. It is letting go. Meditation calms the mind. It feels good. But in our daily life we have to handle paying bills, parking tickets and other mundane things. How can we do this with the same calm mind without getting irritated or perturbed?
You take shower in the morning to clean your body. After that you do all the daily activities. You don’t have to keep on taking a shower throughout the day. It is like that. You meditate and calm your mind, then go on with other activities. It is not easy to keep yourself undisturbed but it will happen if you keep doing the practices regularly. Then keeping yourself calm will become easy.


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