Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Knowledge – 27 dec 07

Sri Sri) How are you all. Good?
You can ask me questions or if you want to share something..talk something…

Q) something about violence..
Sri Sri) If you have been seeing violence for a long time you become numb to it. you get used to it. i wish you dont get used to it, I wish you dont get numb to the violence. if you become numb to the violence you dont do anything about it. world has to wake upto this reality. there is growing violent tendencies almost in all spheres of life. whether you are violent on someonle else or on yourself, the only remedy to counter violence is meditation. when the anger is calm and when sadness is replaced by peace and joy then violence cannot be. then it disappears totally
i think it is time now the world wakes up. you know when we create paranoia or fear or too much caution, fear turns to violence. and violence brings up fear again .so a cycle of fear and violence continue. only spiritual education will bring a transformation. it will transform the fear into love. violence into compassion.
know that you have enormous strength within you. meditation will make you realise this….the strength that can transform violence into love.
Sameer will share his experience….

Q) what is real love
Sri Sri) that which is in your very nature. in fact you cant say false love. love is love. but there is love which changes colour. and there is another love which does not change, that is underneath, an undercurrent.we will know about in these few days here. an expression of that one energy called love. love is not an emotion. it is not saying O I cant live without you. love is what the whole creation is made up of.
love is not a relationship. dont confuse it to be a relationship. In relationship love needs to be there, but love is not a relationship
love is our very existence. love is the nature of our consciousness. it is our very nature.
like our body is made up of amino acids, carbohydrates. our spirit is made up of love and when you go deep in mediation that state perhaps you can call it pure love. once you experience that within yourself then in your behaviour, in your action, in your relationship, in everything that love transmits. whether it is anger, jealously or greed or negative emotions these are just distorrtions of love.
love when distorted become jealousy anger..ok?

Q) Why can we not meditate in front of animals. blessed people meditate in nature in front of animals.
Sri Sri) No, no you can meditate whether in back of animal or front of animal. only thing is if you are meditating your pet animal jumps on your lap you get a shock. and that is not good for you. that’s why children and animals dont understand whether you are sleeping or meditating or whatever you are doing, they will intrude into your space. so just to give you that freedom not to be taken bysurpirse by anyone intruding into your space.
you know there is a story, not a story a reality. ya lets call it a story an incident. an elderly religious leader, everyday he was praying. he had a cat. he would tie the cat to a pole. all his disciples would see this as a ritual. everyday before prayers they would tie a cat to the pole then meditate. then he died and the news spread to all the centres. everywhere before we meditate we should tie a cat to a pole, and so they went in search for a cat and tied the cat to a pole. and the people forgot to meditate. what remained is tie the cate to a pole. this became a ritual. and thats how rituals are formed most of them.
religiouns were born to bring up spiritual wealth but slowly according to the passage of time spirituality has disappeared. what remained is the pole and the cat.

Q) when i go back to the real world how to retain this sense of forgivness i feel
Sri Sri) you know you should keep talking about your expereice. many of you people feel shy to talk about meditation. i tell you it has become a fashion. once upon a time it was taboo. 20 years ago if you were meditating you were doing something shameful. today daimler chrysler and other companies are showing people sitting in lotus pose and meditating. what has come in the field of advertising means it has become trendy. you should know that. .

Q) i am shy how to solve this probelme
Sri Sri) take of the label that you have put on yourself that i am shy. just bring up all the courage in you and go and talk foolish to someone. come on do something foolish. unconscioulsy you do so many foolish things anyway. do it consciously. the fear of doing somnething foolish will keep you (shy) . better do something foolish. you will get some courage. do you see what i am saying?
that why all cultures in the world have a carninval. understand the puropose of carnival, in india there is a coulour festival holi. there you throw colour on each other. here you dress in all fashions not your proper formal dress, like animals, clowns and walk in the street, that is to break that barrier that fear that society puts on you or that which you take on from society. it is self created. that’s why these festivals are there for you to come out of the wall, from these restrictions

Q) the relationship (conflict) between the worldly llife and the path. how can it go together?
Sri Sri) see, your success is no way an impediement to your spiritual path and your spiritual path is no way an impediment to your success.
in fact they complement each other. you need energy enthusiasm and fulfilment in order to be successful. and if you are successful you ..comfortable on one level. but the feverishbness for success is what is really an impediement. you know there is a proverb in the bible. those who do not have whatever little they have will be taken from them.
that is exactly what Jesus means. you have fulfillement – content brings more. not a contentment which is laziness but contentment with dynamism. often you will find lazy peole are not that contented they are just lazy. and people who are frustrated are not successful. look at the so called successful people in the world. nobody wants to be like them, their own children. because they see my dad, my aunt….you know….. success in life and success in the world are two things. Often there ino corelation between them. Certainly there is no corelation but there is no contradiction either. that is why in this path you get 200 percent success.