Q n A by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: How can I convince people who take drugs to let go of them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Bring them to a Sudarshan Kriya class. When they do the breathing and when they find the inner joy coming into them, they will give up. Many people have given up; in thousands.

Q: What is the purpose of life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: One who knows will not tell you and someone who tells you does not know.

This very question is useful. The question itself uplifts your spirit and creates a journey for you. So keep the question, it is very precious. One day you will discover it.

Spend a few minutes in meditation and do some good work in society. Help those who are in need. Then everything will open up.

Q: What to do if I cannot let go of a very painful relationship? I just cannot let go.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Okay, what can you do? Hold on to it!

How much can you hold on? Sooner or later you have to let go and the faster you do it, the better it is. And what can help you to do it faster is wisdom. Wake up and see everything is changing. Meditation will definitely help. I usually say that we repair the broken hearts here. It gets back to the very same position it was in the beginning. No scars and no pain.

Q: Dearest Guruji, you said that anything that changes is not true, but the universe is changing every moment. Is this also not true?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you talk to a quantum physicist that is what he will say.

Professor D’Hoore from Germany is one of the greatest scientists of our time and he said something interesting. He said, ‘I studied matter for forty years only to know it doesn’t exist.’

I said, ‘this is what we say in the Vedantic philosophy, the same thing.’

Q: How can I find the true love in me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you relax you find that you are love. You are made up of a substance called love. Love is not just an emotion; it is your very existence. It also gets expressed in emotion but in reality our consciousness, our mind and our spirit is made up of love.

Q: Is it possible as a normal human being to love unconditionally?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, as a child you were doing it. As a child you were expressing such a love.

It is possible.

Q: Is complete freedom possible?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes!

Q: Dear Guruji, please advise me how to cope with a loss of a very dear one? It has been very traumatic. Doing the Sudarshan Kriya and sadhana for the past sixty days has helped me a lot but still I am unable to get over the loss.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just be with it; don’t try to get over it. Time will take care.

Q: Guruji, is worrying about the future something totally wrong?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, worry about the future of the whole planet and worry about the destiny of humanity. Worry about human values, worry about the increasing corruption, worry about all these big things. I also worry about the planet.

But worry should not take away your smile, your enthusiasm and your energy to do things now.

Q: How can we know that we are following and fulfilling our destiny?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Something in your gut feeling will tell you.

How do you know if you have eaten enough? How do you know you slept enough? In the same way when you are doing the right thing your heart will tell you, ‘yes, I am doing the right thing.’

Q: How to overcome sadness, depression and negative thoughts?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sudarshan Kriya, meditation and knowledge will help.

Q: Why do you wear a beard?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am too lazy to shave every day. I thought I can spend that time doing something else.

In India, people who are in the spiritual field, either they shave everything or keep everything. This is the uniform, so I prefer to keep everything.

But it is not a big deal, tomorrow I can take everything off, but I won’t change. I will be the same.

Don’t go by one’s external appearance and dress, this is secondary. What is primary is what is inside. How pure the heart is and how clear the head is; clarity and purity. And remember we are all born with such pure hearts. I have maintained it that is all the difference. Many have not maintained what they were born with, but I maintained it somehow. I refuse to grow up!

Q: Dear Guruji, could you please talk about abortion.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, I have no opinion about it.

Q: What is the difference between sleep and meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sleep is dullness, meditation is awareness. Both give rest but a different quality of rest. After meditation when you come out, you feel very soft and very nice in your whole body and mind. After sleep you could feel a little heavy and a little dull. Could be, not necessary.

Learn to be in Bliss from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Gurudev, Buddhists say they do not believe in God. Even Lord Buddha said that we must not worship idols. Now He too was an enlightened being, so what did he mean by that?

Sri Sri: Lord Buddha never talked about God. He never really entertained any discussion on God. What He said was – the first thing is to realize that there is misery. People keep denying there is misery, many don’t even recognize it. Many a time if you talk to a sick person, he will say “I’m perfectly healthy and fine”. The more egoistic the person, the greater is the denial.

Many times people are very miserable from within, but they wear a mask of cheerfulness or even act confident and dominating on the outside. They will keep pretending as if everything is fine, yet you can see the misery drip from their faces. Every part of their body reflects anger, bitterness, hatred and misery. This is what Lord Buddha has said – that there is misery. Recognize it, and then there are remedies for it. If someone says being miserable is my nature, then nobody can do anything about it, not even God Himself. So misery is not our nature, it comes because of samskaras (past life impressions) or karma. And this can be removed by other samskaras. One remedy for this is Pratyahara (one of the eight limbs of Yoga which means to exercise control or restraint over the senses and withdraw them inwards). Another remedy to this is meditation. So through meditation, pranayama, and Satsang we can be liberated from the miseries. It is then that we come to realize that our nature is happiness, bliss. Just as light dispels darkness, our powerful soul as consciousness within called Atma-shakti removes misery. On the path of Sadhana, all negativity and distortions such as fear, anger etc. fall away. The goal of Sadhana is get immersed in that indescribable bliss which is part of our very nature.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar sharing one line : Lord Buddha said the same things that are said in the Upanishads. There is a verse:

Na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amrta tvamanasuh |
Parena nakam nihitam guhayam vibhrajate yadyatayo visanti ||
(- Sanyasa Sukta, Maha Narayano Upanishad, 4.12)

It means: Neither through one’s actions (Karma), nor by begetting noble progeny (referred to by ‘Praja’ in the verse above), nor through wealth (Dhana) can one attain the Supreme Lord. Only through sacrifice and renunciation (Tyaga) can one attain immortality (Amruta). This is what Lord Buddha has said as well. If you read the Upanishads carefully and then read that Lord Buddha has said, you will find they are the same. There is no difference at all.

That is why Shri Adi Shankaracharya is often called Prachanna Baudha (a hidden or unproclaimed Buddha, meaning an enlightened one), because whatever he said seemed to be so similar to what is mentioned in Buddhism. So there is no difference between the Sanatana Dharma (another name for Hinduism) and Buddhism. The principles are nearly the same. I won’t say that they are exactly the same, but they are very close indeed. Buddhism advocates Shoonyavaad (the realization that “everything is nothing”; Shunya meaning Zero or nothing in Sanskrit), while Vedanta advocates Poornavaad (the central belief that “Everything is One and whole”). In Buddhism the first important step is the realization of misery, while in Vedanta they say that there is no misery. They say – ‘Wake up and see! You are full of joy (the Self as bliss)’.

So in Buddhism when misery disappears, joy is seen and in Vedanta when joy (of the Self) is realized, misery disappears automatically. So going from bottom to top and top to bottom, these are two different approaches. But the goal is the same. Even in Vedanta, it is not said that one should necessarily worship idols. It is said that worshipping the Atma-deva (referring to the Self as the Divine deity housed within the temple of the physical body) is the highest form of worship. But to begin with, one needs an environment, an atmosphere for reaching that stage of worship. This is why there is Puja. Ultimately at one point you see everything as the expansion of yourself, everything appears as a manifestation of that one Self. When one realizes that there is no difference between the world and the Self (Brahman) - which is present everywhere, in the trees, in the idols, in the earth, in water, in the blue sky; then one can worship anything and anywhere (meaning: to reach a stage where one sees everything as the manifestation of the one divine Self).

Even in the Rudra Puja, there is a rule that ‘Na Rudram Rudram Archayeti’’ which means until you become Lord Shiva yourself (realize your own true divine nature), you cannot worship the Lord. So you should first become God and then worship Him. It means to be firmly established in the Self. So it is said to worship God after becoming God, being established in your Self. Puja is just a play, it is a leela (a game), a way of expressing this deep feeling of worship.

Positive Thinking: Sacrifice Brings Strength

All the scriptures of the world glorify sacrifice. Sacrifice is giving up something that you value. You can only sacrifice that which you would like to keep for yourself, in other words, that which gives you pleasure and joy.

All the scriptures of the world glorify sacrifice. Sacrifice is giving up something that you value. You can only sacrifice that which you would like to keep for yourself, in other words, that which gives you pleasure and joy.

You cannot sacrifice something that you dislike or disown. Sacrifice is always related to a higher cause for a greater good. At the same time, when your love for the greater good is strong, nothing else assumes any value. Sacrifice here becomes irrelevant, because love alone is your strongest driving force. So when there is so much love there cannot be sacrifice. At the same time when there is no love, there is no sacrifice.  For example, if a mother has made plans to see a movie and she realises that her child is sick, she does not say that she has sacrificed the movie to nurse her child, because she simply did not want to go. Nothing else seems to charm the mother besides being with her child.

You do not sacrifice something for someone you are in love with. Sacrifice indicates that your pleasure has more value than the cause for which you are sacrificing. When the love is lukewarm, then sacrifice assumes meaning. Yet sacrifice purifies the human mind and reins in selfish tendencies. It can also bring pride, arrogance, self-pity and sometimes even depression.

For a wise man, nothing is more valuable than truth, values and the divine, and he will never sacrifice those. God is the greatest, and if he values the greatest then how can he sacrifice God? This is the paradox of sacrifice. Sacrifice brings strength in life. Life without sacrifice is stagnant. Sacrifice gives you the quantum leap. It takes you to a higher pedestal. The amount of sacrifice in your life brings out your magnanimity and helps you move out of misery. Zeal, enthusiasm, strength and joy are all connected to sacrifice. Sacrifice never goes unrewarded. There can be no love, no wisdom and no true joy without sacrifice. Sacrifice makes you sacred. Become sacred.

by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Art of Living Projects

Art of Living Projects

Disaster Relief

The Art of Living Foundation,along with its sister organisations, The International Association for Human Values (IAHV) and Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI) work on disaster relief by providing food,shelter. It also tried to relieve victims from traumatic effect through Stress relieving workshops.

Education

Sister concern of Art of Living - Ved Vignan Maha Vidhya Peeth(VVMVP) is running about 175 free schools for poor children. Most of the schools offer free food, conveyance, cloths, books and education.

Rural Development

Art of Living's 5H program reached 40,212 villages. 5H stands for the homeless, Healthcare, Hygiene, Human Values and Harmony in diversity. 5H program offers healthy living in poor rural area by offering free homes, toilets, conducting free courses and Satsang.

Youth leadership Training Program

The Youth leadership training program focused on empowering youths to take more responsibility and making a positive environment around them. 110,000 youths trained under this program.

Prison Program

The Prison SMART Programme aimed to give right direction to prisoners by conducting specially designed courses results into spiritual and moral upliftment.

Women Empowerment

Program for empowering women.

Environment Care

Organization is involved in large scale tree plantations through Mission Green Earth, water conservation, chemical free farming and cleaning rivers.

Peace

Art of Living is establishing peace through its various programs, multicultural events and promoting human values with the believe that we all are humans first.