Guru Dialogues: Andrew Cohen talks to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

you're doing so much extraordinary work for peace and you're doing so much extraordinary work to uplift people that one of the one of the wonderful things about the work you're doing is that um is that the spirit is something that you can't see with the eye. So in a kind of a modern world culture that's very materialistic like the the religion of the of the modern world is really scientism scientific materialism. Uh and there is there's a disbelief in in in in the spirit or the existence of the spirit because it's not a material thing. It can't be seen in this way. But but the the fruits of the work of the spiritually realized man or woman is living proof that the spirit is real. So one of the you know profound and extraordinary things about the work you're doing is you are giving so much evidence through the work you're doing that that the spirit is real and the spirit is living that that the work itself is is is would force a material a materialist to have to reconsider his his materialist values. Isn't that true? It seems it seems that way to me. It's very hard to be materialistic because love, beauty, joy, enthusiasm, none of this belongs to material. Mhm. Mhm. Happiness is not a material thing. That's right. So whatever the spirit emod embodies that is what everybody is seeking and everybody's after ultimately. Definitely. Yeah. So whether one realizes it or not is a second question. Everybody is a seeker. It's true. Cuz every single human being is a spirit and it is seeking itself because its own nature is satisfaction fulfillment. So you're saying even so even in material things ultimately one is speaking for spiritual happiness. Absolutely. Even if they don't already even if they're not consciously aware of it. Absolutely. Absolutely. If you see interestingly in the east uh there has never been a conflict between science and spirituality in one of the shastras said even if you understand a particle thoroughly you will be liberated. etc. So knowledge of an atom can liberate you cuz you think that is what everything is that is what this body is that is where the mind is coming that's where the emotions are you will see everything in inside you in terms of just waves or atoms as the manifestation of spirit so materialism and spiritualism was never in a conflict here in the east because the matter is only an expression of spirit but it is in the west for sure. Yes, west it has but slowly east also is embibing a lot from the west. Oh yeah. As well as as as as India becomes wealthy and as the middle class grows and grows that exactly that's what's happening. Yeah. So a lot has to happen in a very short time. We have to evolve and develop and create a new a new context, a new spiritual context that doesn't exist.