QNA WITH SRI SRI
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2015

Q: It is said that the worship of the formless divine takes the sadhak (seeker) to a different state than the worship of the Divine with form.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have to go from the form to the formless. If you jump only to the formless, that path is full of misery.

Lord Krishna said in the Gita, that there are people who worship the formless, but that path is full of pain and sorrow. You can see this yourself. Take Moses for example, his path has been very miserable and sad. Jesus - his life was so sad. Take the example of Mohammad Paigambar, he had to undergo so much pain and struggle, and the bloodiest part of history is his. It continued after him too, all his family members had a very painful and sorrowful state.This is the reason why Buddha said, "Buddham sharanam gachhami", i.e., I go to Buddha for refuge. Buddha is the formless in the form. Then he said, "Sangam sharanam gachhami", i.e., I surrender myself to the society and take refuge in the service of society. And then he said, "Dhammam sharanam gachhami", i.e., I take refuge in the ultimate truth. To get away from misery, Buddha said four things; recognise there is misery. There is a reason for the misery. It is possible to get out of misery. To get out of misery, take refuge in the enlightened or Buddha. Again, Buddha is the formless in the form.Lord Krishna said the same thing, "Aham tvam sarvapapebhyo, mokshapapebhyo mokshayishyami ma sucah". Lord Krishna very clearly said that those who worship the formless, their path is very tedious and full of misery. That is true. Any worship is only for the formless, but the path through the form makes it joyful, easier and more perceivable for people. You may choose a path with rubble and a lot of potholes, or you may choose a nice road, a highway. This choice makes a difference.

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