You should have desires, but the desires should not have you

Bad Antogast, Germany,

8 August,2010

Countries have caused so much damage. Bombs, tons & tons of bombs which have fallen in Iraq have caused so much damage to the health of the people. Asbestos, world over they have used asbestos that has caused damage. And the cell phones today! They say the cell phone & the wireless towers are causing so much radiation which is much higher than what human beings can tolerate. Birds have disappeared from cities. You know sparrows! Earlier there used to be sparrows. Even in Bangalore, there used to be sparrows in everybody’s homes. They used to come & build their nests in the vicinity. Today you won’t find one sparrow. Of course, in the Ashram so many types of birds come because they are away from the city and all these tall towers.

These radiations and our lifestyle cause so many health problems. We don’t exercise properly, that also adds to it. And the food! Pesticides, chemicals, hormones! Hormones are injected to animals, to food! So, several factors, several issues are there. You have no control over everything. You can control some things, at the same time know that your body has the strength or the immune system has the strength to fight it out & there will be nature’s support, you can get over them & ... & it will be done. And we have to go one day, there is no other way, that’s it. Thinking about it and becoming miserable is not wise. You all have to die one day whether healthy or sick. It’s not that only sick people die. Healthy people also die. That is for sure. So, some sickness comes & we handle it with care. Whatever we need to do, we do. But that’s it. Don’t keep thinking about it & talking about it every day. It makes your spirit go down! And you shouldn’t pity people, ‘oh! You poor thing! You have this problem, you have that problem!’ Come on! Spirit has no disease, no death, no problem & body always has something or the other. It gets some small sickness, sometimes a big sickness. And all that can be overcome. And it will be overcome! Body will fight it out. Yeah?

Q: I want to understand about desires & how we are meant to deal with them. I feel that I shouldn’t be in the desires yet I still want to achieve things or find myself attracted to another person. If we don’t have desires, where do motivations in life come from? Thank you.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Fine, have desires. Who said no? You should have desires, but the desires should not have you. It is like the horse is in control of you, and you are not in control of the horse. If you are, then it’s a difficulty.

There is a story of Mulla Nasruddin. He was on the horse. And the horse was going round the same circles, same streets! So people asked him, “Mulla, where are you going?” He said, “I don’t know, ask the horse!” So, we are in similar situation most of the time in our lives. Our desires have us & they ruin us. Instead you should have desires, but you should be able to drop them any time you want to, and have them any time you want to! You should be able to get onto the horse when you want to & get out of the horse when you don’t want! Rather than you getting stuck in the horse, or horse throwing you down. Correct? That is more misery.

Q. After some ‘Art of Living’ Courses, I have felt so happy! I thought I would explode! After a while I realized that it was not only happiness, but also feverishness. Then I got depressed. It was like an emotional roller-coaster. How can I handle feverishness?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have already become a witness to it. You have observed that you are on a roller-coaster. You observe these emotions are coming & going. Notice, before also it used to come but now it is less & less & less. Before you were not aware, at least now you are aware of it. Just persistence in this path, in this knowledge makes you stronger, hmm!

Q: Dear Guruji, It’s very hard to see my father in negativity. The more we, my brother, sister & I go into spirituality, the harder & worse it becomes for him. He thinks we have not achieved much in life. None of us have married. He craves for grand children which we understand. He suffers a lot & that makes it hard for me to see. God has given me all that I need & want. How can I help my parents?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well! Good Luck, blessings! We should do whatever we can do in our capacity. Sometimes even after doing all that, parents are miserable. We don’t know whether we should give them blessings, or we should help them. Spend quality time with them; don’t teach them all this time.

‘What they should be, what they should do, you should also be spiritual, look I’m spiritual’ - Don’t give such sermons to them. You know elderly people; they just need your company. When you are with them, just sing, play with them, crack jokes & bring or have food with them, talk something which is of interest to them. They are not interested in listening to wisdom from you, or learn any new techniques from you. Don’t behave like a teacher with your elderly parents. Here & there you can say a few words of wisdom, and see they are taking it or grasping it. Otherwise just being with them is good enough.

Q: Dear Guruji, it is easy for me to shut my mouth but it is difficult for me to shut my thoughts. How can I do it? Please help me.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You don’t need to do anything. Everything is done here for you. Hiren is giving all the courses, he will lead you at different times to different types of meditations & processes & it’ll happen! That’s why you need to be here, if it’s a first Hollow & Empty - your Advance Course, you may find it a little difficult to begin with but then you know when you continue, you will definitely find it very useful.

Q: Where is the line between accepting things as they are & action to change them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no line. These are two sides of the same coin.

Q: Dear Guruji, as my Guru, you are the only one for me. I love you so deeply & follow you wherever you go. As a person I often feel so deep distance. I’m afraid sometimes. I don’t understand this. It’s not really a question but could you say something about it.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know we go through all different types of emotions. We like somebody & the same person we dislike. We trust somebody & same person we start doubting & so all these mixed emotions keep rising and falling in our mind. Don’t be scared. All these emotions make you strong somewhere deep inside. Somewhere you will come out as a very powerful human being. When you are aware that all these moving emotions are just a temporary phase, and that you are much bigger than this, you become strong and centered. Don’t get stuck in any of these emotions or make a concept in the mind.

Q: Dear Guruji, what can I do if I see that someone’s working too much & her body & emotions become sick of that. She is much older than me & I love & respect her too much. I become very sad when I see that I can’t do anything.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, whether people work or not work, they can get sick! There are lazy people on this planet who get sick. In fact, they get more sick! ‘Because their minds are idle, so their bodies get even more sicker! So you don’t have to connect these two things. Some people are so health conscious; still they get sick! So, sickness comes not because of one thing. There could be many factors. One is karma, some impressions of the past. Second is violation of laws of nature, and third is genetic or family history. Sometimes you don’t sleep in time, eat in time & make extra use of your body, do extra work; that is also one of the factors, of course!

Then the environment, whole planet’s environment. See, oil spill in the ocean in America, Gulf of Mexico has caused so much damage!

‘Whatever little I need from this world, let me take it, that’s enough for me. And what more I can give to the world that I should keep looking’ - This is the main secret of success! You go with this attitude – what more I can do for the planet & with how little I can sustain myself. I don’t say you should leave everything & live in poverty. No, no, no, you live in comfort with abundance. Whatever you need, you keep it, have it. Live with abundance, but the want of more and more in mind indicates poverty.

Q: Dearest Guruji, is it true that the teachers are more dear to you than others?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Not at all, if they have given any such idea to you, please do not believe it. Everyone is dear to me whether they are teacher or not teacher; whether someone is in the ‘Art of Living’ or not. It doesn’t matter. Everyone is dear to me. But if you are in the ‘Art of Living’; you get more out of me; that’s it.

Q: Dear Guruji, I have no words to explain how grateful I am for your care, protection, endless love, a life full of adventures and abundance, and your presence. I feel as if you are carrying me in your palms through out the life. Thanks, that you are love. I’m always here for you.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Very good. I really need every one of you. Each & every one of you is so precious that you all are holding the lamp, the light for the coming generations. You are like the pillars of wisdom & the world is sinking with stress, sinking with so much of violence and frustration. Each one of you is very precious contribution to keep it going, to sustain dharma, to sustain wisdom. So each one of you should know that you are precious & work towards life, work towards making the planet a better place.