Q & A's with Guruji

Q: How to deal with arguments?

Sri Sri: By using praise and humor. You can meet accusations skillfully with praise and humor.

Q: What do you say to someone who is suicidal?

Sri
Sri: Committing suicide is like a person who is cold, and tries to
remedy the situation by taking off his coat. Committing suicide will
make you even more miserable... Get them to do Kriya.

Q: How do you stop from getting anxious in social circles?

Sri Sri: 1. Think of everyone as fools
2. Think of yourself as a fool. or
3. Think of yourself as a student

Q: About being important

Sri Sri: The unimportant people make the important people important. So who is more powerful? The king or the king maker?

Scientists
recently discovered that children smile about 400 times a day.
Adolescents only about 15. Adults smile even less than that. Laughter
and smiling has great beneficial effects on your health. My job is to
make you all children again.

Q: Dearest One, I have never been impressed with anyone but You. Are you anyone's fan?

Sri Sri: Your fan ! I am the fan of fans !

Q. Dear Guruji, I love you very much but often I come in a complaining mood.. Please advise.

Sri Sri: You are much more than your mind. It's the usual thing of the mind.. You have understood the mind. Never mind!

Q: What is the fastest way to impress you? I want to become your favourite!

Sri Sri: You can't do anything because you are already my favourite. Fastest way I will tell you that after 25 years!

Q: Dear Guruji, what can we do to turn the negative tendencies in the mind?

Sri Sri: We started a college to educate. Media always wants something negative, to blow it out of proportion.

Q: Dear Guruji, please talk on parenting.

Sri
Sri: You know, your evolution is very fast when you are parent. You are
so keen, your observation, you are immersed. Like the security guard of
a VIP, is all the time on one's toes. You are only worried about
external things. When you are calm, serene, chlidren also catch that.
Sometimes children also talk like 50 year olds - 10 year old children
are like parrots. It's better you don't fight with each other in front
of children. Don't do things which are not nice. Give them the seed of
spirituality. Develop a sense of giving.

Q: Dear Guruji can you please speak about Jesus & his time in India? Did he die at the cross at all?

Sri
Sri: I don't want to get into controversies. Doesn't matter what
happened 2,000 years ago. What he ate, what he wore. On Discovery
Channel they showed that in Philippines they crucify themselves to
please God. They put nails on their palms & for few minutes they
stay. They take a vow to God that I want to crucify myself. A lot of
people stand & watch. It doesn't make much sense. Where he lived?
What he said- that is important.

Be like a child. Unless you
are a child you can't enter the Kingdom of my Father. In Philippines,
they beat themselves with thorns. All their bodies are bleeding. To
please God you are torturing yourself like that! There is lack of
understanding. In Sri Lanka, Hindus pierce their tongues with nails.
In
the Jain tradition, Mahavira was so blissful. It is said that in his
whole life he ate only 360 days. He walked naked because he didn't have
body consciousness.

While those who crucify themselves & do such practices don't look so blissful. It's imitation.

Q: Dear Guruji, when we take responsibility. how can we tackle obstacles ?

Sri Sri: The test of your peace is only when there are obstacles. Be thankful for obstacles.

Q: How much time do you get for Saadhana? You are constantly working for us..

Sri Sri: The whole time !

Q: Please clarify the difference between dispassion & lack of enthusiasm. My husband does not share my enthusiasm.

Sri
Sri: Many times people don't know how to respond to enthusiasm. You
almost feel like the dog who runs & overtakes the car & after
overtaking the car, it has nothing to do. It has a foolish look on his
face. Now what ? Many people don't know how to handle their enthusiasm.
It's the same when someone praises you, loves you, you don't know how
to respond.

Q: How important is it not to
eat meat & fish? When I am invited for dinner at someone else's
place I am afraid to be impolite.

Sri Sri:
There is Mad Cow Disease & Bird Flu. The whole world is turning to
Vegetarianism. Everyone is so scared about these. Health conscious
people today all over the world are Veg. Don't feel embarassment. Just
say I have changed my diet. It's up to you. Unless you have temptation
! ( Laughter )

Q: Being in AOL, is like walking around in a garden full of flowers.

Sri Sri: My Garden ? It's your garden !

Q: Would you please comment regarding Ali -the successor to Prophet Muhammed.

Sri
Sri: One who is closest to the Prophet, imbibes most of the Prophet's
qualities. Because his faith is so strong, he sees the transformation,
he sees the words of the Prophet, his life, his wisdom is all blended
into one. A Prophet brings celebration to the world. Every excuse to
celebrate is good. In celebration, you are not just making a party, you
remind yourself of the wisdom.

Graduation party, birthday party
- there is no sacredness attached to it. If sacredness is attached to a
celebration event, that celebration is total, complete. It's not just
body & mind, but the spirit also celebrates.

Sometimes you go to a party only out of
obligation. The mind is elsewhere. Most of the people do such
celebration. The second type is better celebration. It is involving
you, concerning you, like your own daughter's marriage, your own
birthday celebration where you are personally involved. In this case,
body & mind are in celebration but the spirit is not in celebration
.. In the first type you are going just because you are obliged to go
there. The party is not really touching your mind. Only your physical
presence is needed.

When something is Divine in celebration,
then body, mind & spirit are all in celebration. Some festivals
have total celebration.

The celebration that comes out of
silence is real celebration. Because of social obligation, you go to
parties. Because someone has asked. Your body, though present in the
party, your mind is elsewhere. When you are hosting a party, both mind
& body are involved. When it is sacred, the spirit is also
celebrating. The celebration comes out of silence. Dynamic activity
comes out of deep rest.

Q: Beloved Guruji, this course is so wonderful. How can I keep this wonderful state at home?

Sri
Sri: Don't try to hold on to the state of mind. Integrate wisdom in day
to day life. Sometimes up & sometimes down. They'll come &
they'll go.

Q: Don't you get tired of wearing white all the time?

Sri Sri: No. Because I am colourful myself! Isn't it?

Q: Dear Guruji, What to tell people at home who are very suspicious of what I am doing here?

Sri
Sri: When you go back give them gifts, show them all the nice pictures,
give them a big smile.The depth of silence, the depth of meditation no
one can know unless one has experienced himself. What beautiful wealth
we all possess in our Self, that we have not explored. Every human
being can go into that depth of meditation. That little experience,
little skill to do that is missing. We are so fortunate to go into such
stillness within ourselves.

Q: How do I free myself of old & boring patterns in life?

Sri
Sri: The more whiter the cloth is, a small dot stands out. As you move
into unconditional love, small imperfections in you become unbearable.
The small moods of the mind can't touch the Self.

Q: How many people are there in the world right now?

Sri
Sri: Tell me how many hairs you have on your head! There is no count.
There may be few teachers. Knowledge is hidden in evryone like rice is
hidden in paddy. Every child comes into the world with that
innocence.We have to remove these outer veils, curtains that have been
put on our mind.

Q: Missed the question.

Sri
Sri: When a baby tastes sweet, it wants to taste sweet all the time. It
wants it again. You don't need to do anything too much. Only as much as
is necessary.

Q: I want to go deep in Meditation. What can I do?

Sri Sri: This is an old question. You have already gone deeper.

Q: Today my Seva was garbage cleaning & all I found was Paradise! When are you going to give me a proper job?

Sri Sri:
REVERENCE
Reverence
is what takes you toward non- violence. In Sanskrit, Reverence has a
beautiful word, "Pooja" - that which is born out of fullness. 'Poo'
means fullness & 'Ja" means born. Reverence to all things in
creation means you are in revernce to the Creator. If you appreciate
the art, you are appreciating the artist. If you are filled with
reverence for everything, life is so full. If you don't have reverence
for yourself, you can't have reverence for anything else. Before you
start 'Pooja' you have to honour the one who is doing it. This is the
ancient method of reverence to the Self.

Ancient seers gave one method, first ask
youself who I am & come out of all the identifications- I am this, I
am this. If you think you are intelligent, foolish, rich, poor,
Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, male, female- all these
identifications will limit you from knowing who you are. It's not that
your identifications are bad. But beyond these who are you? And the
journey one has to make on one's own. Who am I? What is the purpose of
life? These questions bring depth, profoundity in one's life.

Q: Dear Guruji, How can I choose my partner?

Sri
Sri: I don't know! There are some who have chosen many times! You have
to ask them! You know you can't choose someone by intellect; the heart
is drawn.. First you have to see whether you are the correct person or
not!
A gentleman who was 63 years was lloking for a perfect
woman- a life partner. I told him to look for another 20 yaers. I said
you can definitely find a perfect woman but she wants a perfect man too!

Q:
What happens if 2 people are praying for different things for the same
person? My mother is praying for my marriage while I am praying that I
don't want to get married.

Sri Sri: Wait & see whose prayer is answered!

Q: Why are wise men born in India?

Sri
Sri: Why are Alps only in Switzerland? Sun only in Norway? To see
Northern Lights you have to go to Norway. There is no answer. If you
want to have snow, skiing & lakes it is in Switzerland. Apples are
grown only in cold climate- Kashmir, not in tropical climate. India
also needed something , so we have spirituality. here. Global karma
from time to time.

One upon a time the fame of India was so much
that Christopher Columbus went to find India & found America. There
was no phone. But people knew about silk etc. & then the time came
for England who ruled the whole world for several 100 years. The sun
never sank in the British Kingdom. Then Soviet Union, at one time, just
took the globe & then that disappointed America.

Global
phenomenon. You can just wonder about it. Earth has its own Maths,
Geography, History. So perhaps this part of the world was chosen for
sprituality or India would have been left behind.

Q: Missed the question. It was something about Knowledge.

Sri
Sri: Truth is paradoxical, always contradictory. One is linear
thinking, another is spherical thinking. In spherical thinking,
contradictions have place. A couple of months ago, a close disciple
from Iran came to the Ashram. He was around 70 years old, a very nice
person. He said how can 2 things be correct? To go to a place there can
be only one correct answer.

Truth is multi- dimensional. There
is a particular darshana called Nyaya Darshana which has 16 principles
to know whether your knowledge is correct or erroneous. You see the Sun
rising & setting. What appears & what is, is different. So
there are 3 types of Proof. One is Pratyaksha or direct experience. If
your foot is on burning coal, it hurts you. Even if the whole world
stands on one side & denies that, your experience says it hurts.

The
second is Anumana- you guess because of certain experience, you infer.
You find some smoke somewhere & you say there is a fire, looking at
the smoke. Inference.

Third is Atmavachan- from scriptures or
someone who is very close to you.If someone tells you this fruit is
bitter or this is poison, you take it. You don't say, "Let me try &
see." You take the word of someone very dear. Someone went to the Moon.
It's fascinating to know how your knowledge is correct or not. There
are 2 systems. First you beleive & then you will have experience.
The other system is first experience & then faith will dawn. Yoga,
meditaion come under this category.

Q:
Ever since I was little I was told that God would not come in physical
form as this is KalyugSri Sri: Then how come You are here?

Sri
Sri: Theses things are just said as a way to wake people up. To take
you out of lethargy, laziness, dullness. Come on! Quickly do something.
Yukti, skill in waking one up. Kalyuga is very good, there's nothing
wrong. You are all here. Even in ancient days there have been problems.
Demons would not allow people to meditate.

Q:
Please talk on generosity in real life. Here someone steals my
biscuits, someone takes my chair, someone breaks the line & I feel
angry.

Sri Sri: We always live in our
comfort zones. Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zones. You
are so much bigger than what you had thought. Wake up & see. This
is the time when your knowledge points come to test. Look at the mind.
My God! There are 2 things you can do. One is work on your own mind.
Have courage that come what may, nobody will upset me. Secondly,
educate them. Pull their shirt or skirt & say, "Come back!" Don't
be upset over it.

Yoga is maintaining the equanimity & skill
in action on the outside. The purpose of meditation is keeping the
equanimity- a pleasnt, light feeling you have within you. Like a
flower, feather, you are at home, happy. Outside, in every action you
do there is some skill.

Q: Something about Meditation in Motion that which part of the body is related to which position of the hands.

Sri
Sri: Do somehting innovative, creative. Experiment with your own body.
Do it in a group again & see. It hurts for half a day.


Sri Sri:

For humans, Divine is valentine.
For Earth, Sky is Valentine.
For Rivers, Ocean is Valentine.

See
the Divine in the Valentine & the Valentine in the Divine. The
ancient thought has been that Creation & Craetor are not separate.
Like waves & ocean are not separate. You cannot have waves without
the ocean.

What is God? GOD is that principle that is
omniscient, omnipotent & omnipresent. Omniscient means it knows
everything. Omnipotent means it can do everything. Omnipresent means it
is present everywhere. If something is outside God, then He is not
omnipresent. If something is not within his control, then He is not
omnipotent. Then, Who is God? The whole Universe is Space. Inside every
atom, there is Space. If you dissect matter, matter is all Space. The
distance between the subatomic particles is like galaxies. God is the
primary cause of the whole Creation. Like a pot is made out of clay.
Clay is God & the pot is the universe. Like dance & dancer. You
cannot have a dance without a dancer. Dance is Creation & the
Dancer is Divine. There can be dancer without a dance. Divine can be
without Creation but Creation can't exist without the Divine.
Scientists very much agree with this principle.



Q: Something to do with fear in us all

Sri
Sri: Guruji very beautifully narrated a Kannada couplet, those who are
afraid of waves build their homes in the ocean those who are afraid of
animals, build their homes in the jungle those who are afraid of noise
, build theirs in bazaar ..

Q: Why do good people suffer?

Sri Sri: People suffer because of lack of smartness. No suffering last long..

Q: Why is there Pain?

Sri Sri: Pain - in the waking state of consciousness and it implies the body seeking attention in some way.

Q: How to deal with someone who is obviously taking advantage of another.

Sri Sri: Feel happy for being of service to others and not fall prey to their greed either.

Q: What is right action?

Sri Sri: Something that gives long term benefit but short term pain. An action is known from the result ..and vice versa

Q: Something about how to deal with criticism by a stranger?

Sri
Sri: Said with so much beauty,if someone says 'you are a donkey! reply
to such a statement, with - "You are seeing yourself in all"? Welcome
to the club - how clever..!!

Q: How to handle criticisms?

Sri
Sri: Don't be afraid of criticisms.Why are you all afraid of
criticisms?Put up with Criticisms. Constructive criticisms helps you to
grow and if the criticisms is unjustfied deal with it compassionately.

Q: Does Karma have effect on our lives?

Sri
Sri: As one reaps the fruits of the seed one sows, the effect of our
actions may show it's fruit immediately or sometime later.

Q: What is the difference between animals and human beings?

Sri Sri: Animals do not ask questions and they do not laugh. Animals have no idea about caste, creed or religion either.

Q: Why is there misery in the world?

Sri
Sri: 3 reasons - Violating laws of nature, Ignorance, and Overdoing
like the first reason mentioned(like over eating) Having no balance -
causes misery.

Q: Can't remember the question

Sri
Sri: Guruji spoke about illnesses. Unlike human beings, animals lie on
their stomach but humans lie on their backs and do not stretch their
spines which is the cause of illnesses. We have forgotten to lie on my
stomachs.

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"Celebrate Life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you. Broaden your vision, for the whole world belongs to you."

- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, Art of Living Foundation.
 
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