QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Friday, April 24, 2026
Q: Gurudev, could you please speak about the Astral and Causal planes, and your role in these planes.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are three planes – the physical plane, the astral plane and the causal plane. These are all right here with us. Anything that we see in the material plane first takes place in the subtle planes. That is why people also experience Déjà vu. Do you know what Déjà vu is? It is a feeling that you have been somewhere before or had a certain experience before in the past. You feel “I have been here before” or “I have seen this sometime earlier”. Meditation is the first step to deepening your understanding of these planes.
See, from time to time people criticize and insult you. At other times they also appreciate you and encourage you. It keeps happening in life. So many people criticized and insulted Lord Krishna. He did not have any lesser share of troubles and difficulties in life. In the same way, all the saints and prophets of the world also had to go through pain and many difficulties in life. But the great thing is that they endured all the pain and suffering with an unshakeable smile. They would remain untouched by it from the inside. In the same way, we should also face pleasant and unpleasant times in life.
Now that you are here, just drop all those problems and botherations right here in the Ashram. Do you all know the one rule of the Ashram? The rule is that you have to drop all your problems right here. You are not allowed to take them back with you. Got it?
See, we all are relaxed and sitting here in peace. But it saddens me to see the unfortunate state of violence in Kashmir (referring to the incidents of violence in Uri province). Kashmir is surrounded by so many problems. Many young people and women there are very troubled. We should all pray that peace is restored in Kashmir and that an atmosphere of harmony returns very soon.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
