Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in satsang on 19 May 2016 at The Art of Living International Center
Q: After a desire is fulfilled, we feel content. How to be in a state of contentment even before the desire is fulfilled?
#SriSri: When you have the confidence that the desire will be fulfilled, then you are content. But it is not easy. It is difficult. When the desire is there, either you have the faith that it will anyway get fulfilled or (have a feeling) 'I don't mind if it happens now or later or if it never happens.' This sense of ease or witness for one's own desire is most preferable. This is called Stitha Pragya, where your consciousness is established. Then you are not feverish about the desire. Then it is no longer a desire, but just an intention.
Q: How come good people remain silent and bad people make a lot of noise? Is this a quality of the time we are living in?
#SriSri: No. The voice of good people should be heard loud and clear. Good people should also make noise.
You should raise your voice. Raise voice against injustice, adharma, aniti, anyaya. You must raise your voice.
Q: In the state elections, the local parties have won with the exception of Assam. What do you have to say about the trend of local parties winning the elections?
#SriSri: They know the local situations and perhaps they have good connectivity with people. It is the connectivity which matters. And it is the leader who matters. Whether it is local party or national party, that doesn't matter. What really matters is how the candidate connects with the people. That seems to be happening with some people and not so much with some others.
Q: In the Rig Veda, there is reference to Som. What is this Som?
#SriSri: There is fire element in the base chakra. Do you know whenever you are eating food, the brain sends some signals and enzymes get created in the body? Do you know about it? Soma is that cooling fluid, which is generated from top chakra. Life is a combination of Soma and Fire, the cool and the hot. There is the fire element in the Mooladhar Chakra, Swadisthan Chakra, Manipur Chakra and sometimes in the Hridya chakra also. Sometimes we say that I have fire burning in my heart, isn’t it? So, in these 4 lower chakra’s the fire element is dominant. And the upper three chakras have cooling element dominant. If you see, it is said that the third eye which is related to anger, has fire element dominating. We never say that we have feeling of fire in our throats. When we feel sad or very grateful the throat gets choked ‘ Kanthavrodh’. So, Somras is the fluid which is released from the brain and flows downward in the body and the fire, which rises upwards from the lower chakras. They meet at the Hridaya (Heart) chakra and that is what is called ‘Agnistoma’. This is what is the essence of the Vedas, The technique of meditation that creates an equilibrium between the hot and the cold, which creates a positive balance.
Q. Gurudev we had Rig Veda chants in the ashram a few days back. What is the essence of Rig Veda and why does chanting go on for so many days.
#SriSri: It is a tradition. Pandits from Maharashtra recited the whole Rig Veda with the fire ceremony here in ashram. It is for the welfare of the planet.
Q: What do I do in this lifetime, so that I am not forced to take birth in the next lifetime and I can come with my own wish?
#SriSri : Just be content!
Q: How to work with those people who are negative and have a criticizing nature? Even after doing regular Kriya I am not able to deal with such people?
#SriSri: First of all don't think that negativity is the permanent feature of some people. Nobody can be permanently negative, it is just a tendency. So be hopeful, anyone can be positive anytime. When you label people that they are ‘negative’, your behaviour towards them will be very different. You will overreact. So, people with negative tendencies will bring more skills form within you. With a positive person, you don’t need to develop any skills, but to deal with negative people you need to have more skill. It’wrong to say negative people, when the negative ‘situation’ arises- it calls for more skill, more talents from you. So, actually you should thank them, because they will make you more skillful.
Q: When we are not in control of anything, how can we make decisions from a place of control?
#SriSri: Indecisiveness is also a decision. You see what I’m saying. If You think – ‘I want to be indecisive’, you have made a decision to be indecisive. Remember – Intention, attention is followed by manifestation.
Q: How do I handle infidelity in my husband? In Russian society, it’s not considered to be a big deal, but after I coming to India and experiencing the culture here, I feel this is wrong. What should I do to change this situation?
#SriSri: I have no idea how can you change someone. Unless the person turns spiritual and sees beyond the gross and the material, he will continue to behave that way. The mind continues to seek some greater pleasure, greater happiness in one thing or another. So they keep on jumping from one thing or one person to another. But sometimes, somewhere, they should get tired of it I suppose. Just Pray. Just by talking to people, giving them advise – people don’t change. Even after knowing something is bad or wrong, people continue to do it because their emotions are much stronger than the thought patterns. In trying to convince someone that something is bad or not right – even though they get convinced, they will not walk on that path – because their emotions are stronger than their thoughts. That’s where one needs to believe in a higher power which taking care and will take care. And it is not only the fools who make mistakes. The wise also make mistakes. Why does this happen? Because they feel some pleasure or enjoyment even in the mistakes. Till the time they stop enjoying committing the mistake, the mistakes will keep happening. There is only one way to move away from it - When you experience a higher pleasure than you get from committing the mistakes. This is possible only through Spirituality.
Q: The intellect looks at the world in a certain logic and sometimes things happen which cannot be explained by logic. Does one seek logic or go beyond logic?
#SriSri : Logic definitely has some place in life, but you should give some room in life to see something beyond logic.
Q: Gurudev, We are going to have whole of Africa to meditate. Could you tell us the three most important reasons to meditate?
#SriSri: To keep your health robust, to keep your mind alert, to keep your intellect sharp and keep your soul connected and healthy.
