Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
By Phyllis King
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a humanitarian, spiritual leader, and ambassador of peace and human values. Through his life and work, Gurudev has inspired millions worldwide with a vision of a stress-free, violence-free world.
Hello Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, thank you for the time. You were able to recite the Bhagavad Gita at four. Yet, even at four, you said the world was waiting for you. What does it feel like to be that person? Or do you even think about that?
It felt natural for me then. Whatever I said, I said it out of innocence. I would say what comes to my mind and what I feel. Of course, it was not taken seriously by many. Nobody took it too seriously.
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What did you witness when you were eighteen that changed you?
There is so much insecurity in the world, of not enough, of not going to be okay. Is there a solution to this?
Exactly. This is why I started this campaign, I Stand for Peace. There is so much despondency in society and total helplessness. What can anyone do when there is a war happening so far away? Even big countries do not know what to do. In this situation, people feel even more depressed after two years of lockdown and the pandemic. This is the main idea of I Stand for Peace. It encourages people to rise above helplessness. If each person feels they can spread a message of peace, then you are already on track to recovery.
At the I Stand for Peace tour, I see there are events in various places around the globe. Is it a rally? Is it a workshop? What happens at these events?
We gather and discuss peace and current situations, how we can handle the mental health crisis in society, and how we should help each other. Then, I guide them through a small, guided meditation. Ultimately, we commit to bringing the message of peace and wellness to a diverse society at large.
To learn how to attend, people should visit srisriravishankar.org.
Why do people have such wildly different points of view of right and wrong? Even with our most recent school shooting in the United States, in Texas, people have vastly different viewpoints about what happened. How can that be?
When you are polarized in your ideas and thoughts, you refuse to see the other person’s point of view. There is a lot of disenchantment and dissent in society that comes up, and it is here that we need peacemakers. We need people who bridge the gap and who bring people together of opposite ideologies. It is okay to have different ideologies and different viewpoints, but there are some shared values we all possess. If we focus on that, life will become much, much better. It is what I strongly feel and believe.
What would you tell 10-year-old kids going to school in America?
We’re doing trauma relief with kids in Texas. Our team went into action on the first day after the shooting. They have been talking to families and survivor kids, and I am helping them through trauma relief programs. We are known all over the world for our trauma relief workshops. We have been doing this for nurses in hospitals, as well as in residencies of the people. They have been very grateful. I have received many letters of thanks from the families for the trauma relief programs.
Spiritually speaking, when a mass shooting occurs, is there a group agreement that makes it their time to pass as a collective?
This is not a natural departure of a soul. This is not a natural death. However, in all these unnatural deaths, whether in an accident or a crime, once the soul is out of the body, our prayers help the soul find solace. It is a loss for both the parents and society to see such crimes keep happening again and again.
It is a blot on society. We must do all that we can to prevent such things. Guns should not be available so easily to people, especially young people. There should be some criteria for people to be able to get access to the weapons.
There is not this type of issue in many other countries in the world, not even in South America, not in Canada, or Europe, but here. We need to look at the availability of weapons. They should not be used as toys. Kids play video games. Sometimes they do not even understand that when you are in the virtual world, you shoot, and the person wakes up, but that does not happen in the real world. We need to sensitize our population about nonviolence and the importance of nonviolence. I feel even if we spent 0.101% of our defense and arms budget on promoting peace education, our society would be in a much, much better place.
How do we cultivate inner peace when so much chaos is happening in the world?
That is when it is most important. When everything is peaceful, inner peace is not big– it doesn’t have as much relevance. Its relevance increases only when there is so much chaos to keep your sanity. That’s why I made a number of techniques. I put meditations on YouTube. Guided meditations, and guided breathing exercises, help a lot. Some will say, I cannot meditate because I close my eyes, and my head is racing. You can do breathing techniques any time and whatever your state of mind. You can always fall back on breathing exercises to get back on track.
Why are we so afraid of death, especially those who believe in reincarnation?
That’s a good question. The fear is always about extinction. Any creature does not want to go extinct; they want to exist, and so that threat, that fear continues. Through meditation and the experience of the vastness of consciousness and knowing that it is non-changing, it does not die. Then this fear can be welcomed. And that is why people who do yoga and meditation fear death a lot less.
Also, when people are in deep love – fear, love, and death, there is a triangle. If there is fear, there is no love, or there is no hatred, but when there is hatred, there also is no fear. For example, terrorists are not scared of anything! They have so much hate. The same energy is projected as hatred. On the other hand, when there is deep love in life and unconditional love, once you experience such love and universal love, fear simply disappears in them. Meditation service, social service, and committing yourself to some greater cause will help you to achieve that.
Why do we hold on to prejudice?
Well, this is my question.
Why do you hold onto prejudice? Life is so short. See life from a broader perspective, in a broader lens, so you see the whole globe as one human family. We should recognize that the lack of awareness that humanity is one family causes one to hold up in small, tiny identities. Our basic identity must be that we are part of the universe, and we are part of one light. Then you can say your gender identity, your religious identity, your racial identity; these things remain with you. If these identities, lesser identities, overshadow your original identity, then you are getting into prejudice.
We need to create awareness of our true identity and that we are part of one human family. Then you will see all the prejudice just goes out of the window.
We have become a globalized world. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
It’s a very good thing, but there are some disadvantages also. Everything has the flip side of it. Here, though we are in a globalized society, there are a lot of inequalities. In some places, we have so much food that we throw it into the ocean; in other places, there is starvation. Until and unless we address these inequalities in society in the world, our globalization will not be complete.
We are so connected, but we still justify war. Will that ever end?
I say this is the worst act of reason. You need wisdom, which transcends these apparent reasons. They are not reasons. War comes out of the breakdown of trust, breakdown of communication, and perceived insecurity. Three things the world must look into. The perception of insecurity, which causes one to go towards that, and lack of the right type of communication, seeing life from a broader perspective, is essential to establish greater peace.
In the Western world, there is a rise in Atheism. Is it essential for us to believe in God? Can we still progress without that?
It depends on what concept of God you have in your mind. If you think God is someone sitting up there and dictating what you should eat, what you should not eat, and how you should behave, that is a very different thing. People with scientific temperaments cannot digest and cannot accept that. If we see there is an intelligence, a higher self, a higher form of consciousness, of which we are all part, nobody can deny that. Whether you believe in God or not is your individual choice. Knowing that there is a higher power is inevitable.
I make a distinction between believing and knowing. When you know, the belief is very strong. When you know something, you do not need to believe it. When you believe, you do not make an effort to know it.
Yes, I understand. Do our emotions and thoughts create our life, and if so, how do we manage difficult emotions that are hard to face?
We are not being taught how to manage our emotions at home or in school. We are just given sermons, “Go and do or do not do this.” “Do not get angry.” “Do not feel jealous.” “Do not be greedy.” When these feelings come up in you, you are at a loss. You do not know how to handle them. No one taught you. This is where I see that there is a connection between the breath and the emotions. You cannot directly handle your mind. But through breath, you can handle those emotions. You can be master of your emotions, master of your mind. You can harness your negative emotions into something positive. This is all possible through your exercise, working on your breath, and broadening your awareness in working your intuitive abilities. All this would help one to manage their emotions.
Do you see the future?
I see the future is quite bright—nothing to worry about.
What is going to happen in the new millennia? The past is the past. Is the future going to be like the past? Are we going to learn and grow or keep repeating the same mistakes?
A bit of both. There will be a lot of growth, and there will be certain sections of our planet, certain people who will keep repeating the same mistake. They will take a longer time to learn. The younger generation, the millennials, are not as consumeristic as we were before. They are more concerned about our planet. They are concerned about our climate change. They are concerned about the green revolution. They are concerned about proper food. They are concerned about the well-being and social harmony. This is a very, very good thing you can see today. They are not as self-centered as the previous generation was. I can say they are less self-centered in one way and more isolated in another way. Because of the virtual world we are in, they are not as much in the real world, especially after the pandemic; people are trying to spend more time with their social media and their screens than interacting with people. That is one thing. On the other hand, I feel they have a broader outlook and arena of activity in society.
I very much enjoyed watching your video that came out this morning. It gave me a chuckle right away because the man in the audience said to you, “I can’t seem to get away from my phone.” Your reply was very simple. Do you recall what that was?
Yes. I said, “don’t charge it for a couple of mornings.” [Laughs.]
Are there points in your destiny that are remarkable to your life and experience?
I would say I see every moment is so precious. Every individual whom I meet is unique and very special. This entire globe is one organism, and it is scintillating with life. I am very passionate about saving water and rejuvenating rivers. A third war, World War, could happen through a water crisis, so we must see that we save the water sources and plant more trees. All these are very dear to me, these issues. To see a violence-free society is my dream.
What is the essence of the Art of Living Foundation?
Art of Living Foundation disseminates the knowledge. We have 57 different types of workshops, from prison to kindergarten, from kindergarten to business executive, to prisons and all sections of society and trauma relief work, and then teaching people how to manage their emotions and feel good about themselves. All these wellness programs are there, and we teach this program. In many places, we do it freely, and in other places, we keep a minimum charge to cover our expenses. Then we also do a lot of charitable work; schools in third-world countries, pre-schools, and all those other activities.
Yes, it is amazing and beautiful how many lives you have been able to touch on this planet and have a positive influence on it. We are so grateful. Was this your vision?
Sometimes I do wonder how it all happened.
One thing I know is it’s through a very dedicated volunteer force throughout the world. It is just a matter of kindling that spirit in everyone, which is already there to do service. So we have provided a platform. It is one of the largest volunteer-based organizations in the world, where everyone takes their good time and finds their happiness in sharing with everyone else around them.
*To see Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in person and learn what you can do to affect peace on the planet, please visit srisriravishankar.org.
Special Thank you to:
Art of Living Foundation
Editing: Dina Morrone
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