The annual business, technology and leadership conclave, ABP Infocom 2023, concluded on December 2 with a spotlight session on ‘Leading with Purpose’ featuring globally renowned spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Having already inspired millions with the vision of a world free from stress and violence, the spiritual guru shared with the audience his tools and techniques for a simpler, deeper and more meaningful life.
Conducted in his trademark style that blended wit and wisdom, the guru highlighted two fundamental habits to help promote a better quality of life — the ability to concentrate and hold one’s attention for a considerable period of time without being distracted, and secondly, to pause and reflect instead of being constantly in a hurry. These habits would ensure that people stay fresh, focused, alert and happy. The frame of mind thus achieved would enable one to feel and be in harmony with the energy field of the universe. The guru also defined the essence of spirituality as the ability to rise above the identity of the self and be one with the spirit of the universe or the divine power, which exists in all of us.
Sri Sri also took questions from Pulak Chamaria, director of Infinity Group, on the causes of depression and anger in the modern world and the ways to deal with them. He also discussed the importance of leading a balanced life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar delivered a talk on how to gain spiritual awakening and lead a happy, meaningful life
Earlier, he engaged in a fireside chat with Tollywood actress Koel Mallick. Excerpts from the chat:
Koel: We are blessed to be in your divine presence. My heartfelt regards to you for the beautiful journey you have embarked on in this life. As Christmas is around the corner, I have been talking about Santa Claus to my three-year-old son. And today I take the opportunity of saying that you have been the Santa in so many people’s lives, bringing joy, cheer, vibrancy, and positivity in so many ways. It is an absolute honour to be here with you. To begin with, I would like to ask you a question about biological relationships. What is the reason for no bonding or the lack of good relationship between parents and children or among siblings, even without any real conflict or reason?
Sri Sri: It is impossible not to have bonding from childhood though it may appear like that. But bonding is a very natural phenomenon. It may sour, it may go bad. But even these bad feelings are also another kind of bonding. We think that only nice and pleasant words are a sign of good bonding. No. Fights are also a sign of very close bonding. It ties you together. You see, you cannot get rid of people whom you dislike because they occupy your head more than the people you like. So it’s a sort of bonding there also. But the question is how to create harmony and build confidence and trust among family members. The answer is communication. Communication gap increases after a particular time in life, when our individualistic tendencies become stronger than our collective ability to be together.
Koel: But do you think it has got anything to do with past life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Koel share a light moment during the fireside chat
Sri Sri: Yes almost all our tendencies, our relations, our actions have some tinge of the past attached to them. Not only from the past life, but from the past experiences and impressions of this life also. When we fail to see the intention of other people and only see their actions, when we fail to understand the other person’s mind and spirit, but only see their impact, then a situation or a circumstance is created upon us. It is then that a serious lack in communication arises. And that’s because you close down — you are not open (to the other person’s point of view).
Koel: Another thing that I was thinking about is that there are a few spiritual misconceptions or maybe even blind faith that you have to perform expensive rituals to be free from the negative impact of something in your kundli (horoscope). How much of it is true?
Sri Sri: Oh yes. I would say not a few misconceptions, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there about such things. I would say that when you have a personal connection with the divinity, do you think that the divinity will expect you to go through some hardship and do things that you cannot? No! As a mother, would you want your children to do things which they cannot? Absolutely not. As a mother, would you want someone else to fast for so many days in order for you to hear their prayers? Absolutely not. So it’s not to please Goddesses or Gods you have to go through the ritual of bakra ka bali (animal sacrifice), or some other ritual. Not at all. It’s only your intense prayer, your love and your trust in the divinity, that is what matters. That can change everything. Chanting mantras, singing bhajans do have a big impact on that as they create vibrations.
Koel: Thank you Guruji. And since we are here at Infocom, there is a last trick question which I have been told to ask you. It’s a fun question and I am tempted to know the answer. And that is, do you think artificial intelligence can replace spiritual gurus?
Pulak Chamaria, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Koel Mallick at the end of the session
Sri Sri: You don’t need artificial intelligence to have fake gurus. There are already some, and many actually (laughs). What you need today is only absolute intelligence. Recognising the absolute intelligence is where we are lacking. Artificial intelligence is something that mankind has developed using absolute intelligence, which is part and parcel of our life and the whole universe.