November 15, 2011
Q: Jai Gurudev Guruji. What is moun and how to follow it? What are things that we should avoid during moun?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Moun means silence. You are mixing English and Hindi.
How to be in silence? First, by not talking and second is antar moun, quieting the mind.
For that when you sit in an advanced course a number dharanas or pratyahara are given. A number of techniques are given to quite the mind.
In silence it is better to look at the creation. Look at the trees and birds and less at peoples’ faces. You look at peoples’ faces and you feel like talking, expressing or doing something. If you observe the creation it brings quietness to your mind. Nature can evoke thoughts inside you. It can bring out some poems, some poetry, or some new ideas but only human beings evoke more thoughts in you.
This mind constantly is on the run, to quite that down doing pranayama, observing nature, being conscious of every step you take, eating less food and drinking plenty of water, all of this will work. Some good sleep and satsang music too is good.
Q: Beloved Guruji, I pray to you, I want to marry. You have given your blessings to me as well. Please make the person you have asked me to consult agree too. I have come under your care and shelter. I pray daily to you, will you answer my patient prayers?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, whenever we pray it is necessary that we must follow it up with one sentence.
‘May my wish be fulfilled or if there is something better for me may that be fulfilled’.
How do you know what is best for your well being? So always add this line to your prayer, that if there is anything better for me may that happen.
Whatever is needed and is best for you only will happen. Remember these two things always. For a devotee only the best will happen. This does not mean you keep rejecting everyone who comes your way thinking something better is yet to come, this is also wrong. Listen to your inner voice.
Q: Gurudev, often in the name of modernity we give up tradition. At other times in the name of tradition we don’t accept modern technology. What is the correct mix of tradition and modernity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Vivek is the right mix. That is where you use your intellect, where tradition does work and where modernity is essential. We have to bring these two together.
Like in tradition there is the Ayurvedic system. The Ayurvedic system says you do this and it will help your body, which we need to adopt. But if there is an emergency you have to go to an allopathic doctor as well. You should not say, ‘no I am not going to a hospital, I am only going to an Ayurvedic doctor.’ We need to take both.
You don’t need to pop in antibiotics or an aspirin every time you have a headache. There are many things in Ayurveda which are very beneficial, utilize them.
Q: Guruji, when will the corruption which is spread in every street of Delhi end?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you and I stand up against it, then it will remain neither on the streets nor in Delhi.
I am already standing against it, now you too have to raise your voice.
Q: Why has God been give thousands of names to describe the physical aspect when God is in the form of energy and doesn’t have any form?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are two things you must remember.
One is the Quantum Physics: everything is made up of atoms, everything is wave functions.
The other thing is the Classical Chemistry: any particular thing has only a particular effect.
For example, if you have a cold or sore throat you can’t just pick up any leaf. You have to pick only Tulsi (basil) leaf that works on that part of your body.
If you have a stomach problem, only Bilva fruit will work for that. Specific plants are for specific aspect of our body.
Similarly, specific sounds work on specific parts of our body. The ancient masters knew, out of the many forms, some form would evoke a particular type of energy in you.
In fact it is not about the form so much but the name of the form that is important. When you sing ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, it creates a different energy. When you sing ‘Om Namo Narayana’, it is a different energy. Since the sounds are different, each sound has a different impact but in total all are the same. Every sound is going to uplift you, but they are only a little different in quality.
It is like you going to an ice cream parlor and saying, what is the difference between strawberry ice cream and vanilla ice cream. These are just flavors but the substance is the same. In the same way people in the past have just created different flavors to make life more colorful, that is all.
It is not necessary that you have to go through all the forms. Any form, any name is good enough.
Q: Gurudev, is it true that different Devatas are residing in different parts of the body?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Correct! Different parts of the body have got different types of energy.
Q: Guruji, who is a Yogi?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: One who is not a Bhogi. One who is not always harping on things outside.
A Yogi is one who is resting in the being; uniting with the self. One who is equanimous come what may. When pleasant things come a yogi does not get too excited and jump to the sky and when unpleasant things happen he doesn’t drown into the ditch. He just remains equanimous.
A Yogi is also one who is skillful; who has skill in speech and in action. Who knows the skill to retire and be quiet and the skill to be in activity with dynamism.
Q: Should I fear telling the truth especially against a person I respect very much?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you respect someone it is only but natural that you speak the truth to them. Just adulation or sweet talking is not respect. Truth means expressing yourself with simplicity and naturalness, whatever is in your heart. Not with arrogance, anger or aggression. If you have any doubts you can simply ask. No one will say no to you. If you speak what you understand is the truth, first find out whether what you assume is actually true or not.
Q: Guruji, what is Maya? How to understand it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That which changes, which is not constant, which does not appeal, is Maya. That which changes every moment and that which you can measure is Maya.
That which you cannot measure, which does not change is truth.
Q: Guruji, in old movies when people meditated, Indra’s friends or Indra would come and disturb them. Nevertheless many crossed these obstacles and became emperors of heaven. Is Indra the ego and his friends the levels of existence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Indra is collective consciousness, one with a thousand eyes. He has eyes all over his body. The collective consciousness, impressions or ideas of a whole city or town is Indra. Whenever an individual raises high, the collective consciousness gets disturbed and it comes to try to influence the individual. When the individual becomes stronger his influence on the collective consciousness becomes greater.
Q: Guruji, what is the difference between feelings and intuition?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Intuition is a very deep feeling and feelings can just be emotions which are on the surface.
Q: Guruji, do enlightened people also have a time limit for their state of enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no warranty and guarantee time limit. Once you learn how to cycle, you have learnt it for your lifetime. Like that once you are in your being that is it. That is the end of the story.
Q: Guruiji, when we are here, you don’t even turn to look at us. Why is this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No one can escape my sight. If you are looking at me I don’t need to look at you. When you look somewhere else, then I look at you.
Q: Guruji, when you impart knowledge, it appears to me that I have understood it but after that I forget everything. How do I make sure that the knowledge assimilates and gets internalized and comes up whenever I need it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is happening. When needed the knowledge will come up by itself.
Q: When I am in the Ashram I feel so happy, how to continue this when I go out?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have to be well founded in the knowledge. Keep going for your follow-up sessions and get involved in some seva project. All of this will help.
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