SRI SRI AT SATSANG

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in satsang today

Ques
‪#‎SriSri‬: Argentina is a very resilient country, people with great enthusiasm there. I know you are going through a tough time, not just now but for a couple of years. Though your neighbour Brazil is prospering and moving forward, Argentina is taking a back step. I am sure those days will be over and there will be changes coming in the country in the coming years. So hold on to your hope and move.

Ques: How to get rid of the fear of death?
#SriSri: Death can come anytime. But till now we were caught up with other things so we did not fear death. Now that everything else is fading, now you fear death. One is knowing that you anyway have to go. Since you have to go, you might as well smile and go. You should go from here with the satisfaction that you have fulfilled all your responsibilities. You came into this world crying, at least you should leave with from here smiling! You should not have any regret. We should do all we can for others too before we leave this world.
Ques: What is difference between Ego and Self respect?
#SriSri: Self respect is honouring oneself. Ego is to show off to others. For Ego to exist, you need another person and Self respect you just need to be content and peace within yourself.

Ques: How to overcome corruption?
#SriSri: See corruption cannot happen with a sense of belongingness. Suppose you go to an officer and the officer is from your town or a friend of a distant relative. Will he take bribe from you? No. So if there is even a little belongingness, then corruption will end at that moment. That's why say all officers need a glimpse of spirituality. Just a glimpse is enough. Just a little education on meditation, a little knowledge on belongingness, everyone is mine, this sort of a broad perspective will put an end to corruption.

Ques: What do you think about medicine and what do medical doctors need to know?
#SriSri: Medical doctors need to have a new paradigm. They cannot be fanatical about what they knew and studied fifteen or twenty years ago. The field of medicine is changing very fast. What was thought to be the ultimate truth, today is discarded. What was considered to be the right way, today is the wrong way. So medical science is developing and growing and changing. If doctors understand this they will not be fanatical about what is stuck in the mind by their own studies several years ago. Second, holistic approach to health should be taken. Usually in allopathy they only medication but they don't prescribe diet or lifestyle. Like Ayurveda gives a holistic approach, what diet to follow,. So this should be adopted. And when it comes o Ayurveda, then also you should not be fanatic.. you have to adopt a broad outlook there too. Preventive medicine, this education should be given priority.
Ques: How do I know the purpose of my life?
#SriSri: You make a list of what is not the purpose of your life. It is not to just eat, drink and watch television. It is not to fight with others. It is not to make money, keep it in the bank and then die. People work their whole life to earn money, keep it in the bank and die. They don't even make a will. Then the children who would get along so well together, will later fight over it. This is what happened. So first you make a list of what you don't want and then you see what you want.

Ques: Someone has OCD but refuses to come on the path. What to do?
#SriSri: That's like a person who is thirsty but refuses to drink water! You have to convince them somehow. These mental diseases do not go unless you come on to the path of knowledge and Sadhana. They have to do Yoga and Sadhana.

Ques:
You know why there is criminality? Because of stress. And why is there stress? People want to get a lot, not much energy and very little time. So there stress. It is lack of understanding. Nobody ever taught them how to meditate, how to be peaceful, how to find joy within themselves. So in search of joy, people engage in criminal practices. In search of happiness people are becoming corrupt. So education is absolutely essential. Culturing education. You are brought in a certain cultural. At home people have taught you what is decency, how to behave. Just imagine in another house they are never taught all that. Parents are fighting with each other. There are throwing cups and knives at each other. Then what kind of values will children get? They get the same values.. So if you are brought up in an environment where you are taught violence is shameful, then you will not indulge in violence. But if you are taught that violence is a pride, the more violent you are, the more macho you are, they end up doing that.
Ques: My friend passed away due to cancer and her husband is not able to cope with it. What is the point of suffering for Karma when we don't even know what we did in our past lives?
#SriSri: Do we need to understand everything? Whenever we suffer we say 'Why did this happen?'. Why did this question not come when someone else's child passed away? There so many problems in this world, did this not question come then? This question came only when it happened to you friend. So what makes us unhappy is the 'Me'. In this world people of all age groups die.. If you plant a tree twenty years back, you will not even remember planting it but you will enjoy the fruits it bears. So some karmas bear fruit immediately. You put your finger in the fire, it will burn your finger right now, not few years later! But if you plant a mango tree, you are able to enjoy the mangoes only after 5 yrs.. That is why the ways of Karma are such a mystery. That is why Go exits. So put your mind to God. Through meditation you can wash away your past karmas.

I need a very simple answer as to how to attain absolute happiness?
It's Very simple - Serve and Meditate!