Your life is most precious.

Sri Sri says looking towards the sky):

See, clouds are already there. It will rain well by the end of this month. If there is unrighteousness and decreased moral values in the country, nature also shows its anger. When all the corrupt people, whom we have made to sit on the top, do injustice to the country, nature also shows its anger.

The farmers of our country are committing suicide. If there is injustice to the farmers, it will result in nature showing its anger. That is why righteousness must increase in people. If the people who rule the country are not righteous, the country will be ruined, the people of the country will be ruined.

I have the dream of a clean and beautiful society, where there is no crime. Small countries like Bhutan, Switzerland and Ireland have so much peace. At one point of time, India had all these. Ours was such a glorious country. We need to restore our country back to the same state.

This is not something new; this has been going on since ages. In the ancient times, there used to be a Rajguru who used to catch the king’s ears if he did something wrong and cautioned him that it would harm him as well as his subjects. Nowadays, nobody listens. Farmers should not be subjected to injustice.

From today, before you eat your food, say, ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’. Let the farmers who provide us food be happy. Let the merchants who ensure that the food is transported and supplied to us be happy. Thirdly, let the women of the house, who cook and serve food to us, be happy. If these three are happy, the world will be happy.

If the women of the house are happy, there will be happiness at home. If the women of the house cook food with sadness, frustration or anger, the food does not digest properly and it affects the mind too.

If the merchants are happy, they will not cheat or adulterate food. We will get pure and clean food. Also, they will not loot and increase prices exorbitantly.

Since ages, merchants used to do a lot of social service activities, like constructing tanks, temples and Dharmashalas (Righteous schools). If the merchants are not happy and become greedy, it affects the people a lot.

Similarly, farmers must be happy. It is very important.

So, keeping all these three in mind, let us chant the mantra ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ everyday.

Q: Gurudev, recently there has been a lot of issues with regard to power supply. How do we tackle this issue?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There was a person who had come here to explain how he could turn garbage into electricity. I have encouraged him to do this in Karnataka too. He needs a thousand kilograms of garbage of any kind, which he converts into electricity. We will see how it goes.

Q: Many great saints, for example Jesus, have died violent deaths. Why is it so?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Lord Krishna has said this in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘Kleśo 'dhikataras teshām avyaktāsakta-cetasām avyaktā hi gatir dukham dehavadbhir avāpyate’ (Chapter 12 Verse 5)

If one worships only the un-manifest aspect of theBrahman (Absolute or Godhead) that brings a lot of sorrow.

If you observe, the lives of Moses, Jesus and Prophet Mohammed were full of difficulties. The lineage of Guru Nanak also faced similar difficulties. It was because they ignored Saguna Brahman (The Absolute with qualities) and worshipped only Nirguna Brahman (the supreme reality without form, quality, attribute).

It is very interesting.

That is why it has been said, ‘Avidyaya mrityam tirtha vidyaya amritam snute’ . Take both Saguna and Nirguna with you.

Vyakta (manifest) and Avyakta (un-manifest) are both needed. ‘Ishwaro Gururatmeti Murti bheda Vibhagine, Vyomavad vyapta dehaya Dakshinamurataye namah – Guru, Self-realization and God are all needed. If we take all of them along in life, we will be happy both in this world and the next.

Q: It is said that getting a human birth is fortune. However, some people live very comfortable lives while others live miserably. Why this discrimination?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Those who are happy must share with those who are unhappy. Those who are unhappy must have an attitude of sacrifice and work on developing inner strength.

Knowledge gives you inner strength. Inner strength brings forbearance in life and gives one the capacity to have a good conduct with others. That is why Gyan (knowledge), Gaan (music) and Dhyan (meditation) are very important in life.

Q: I have been doing Sudarshan Kriya for the past four years. I also studied hard for my pre university college. In spite of this, I did not get into the college and the course that I wanted. I have lost all hopes. I have gotten a seat in Computer Science and Engineering.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Computer Science is a good branch. Do it.

Don't worry, whichever course you get, got for it. Your life will be good. Got it?

Many students like you get dejected if they don't get good marks or a seat in a good college and are committing suicide. Never do that. Never underestimate your own life. Your life is most precious. You never know what talents are hidden within you. You may become a big minister or a businessman. There are all kinds of possibilities.

From today, before you eat your food, say, ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’. Let the farmers who provide us food be happy. Let the merchants who ensure that the food is supplied to us be happy. Thirdly, let the women of the house, who cook and serve food to us, be happy.

A vegetable pushcart vendor in Mumbai, Ramnath Goenka, opened one of the biggest publications in India. So, you should not be sad. If you have got Computer Science, go for it. Our country has already improved a lot and will improve further in the field of Computer Science.

Q: How is the India that you visualize in your dreams, especially in the field of education, defense, economy and finance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have the dream of a clean and beautiful society, where there is no crime.

Small countries like Bhutan, Switzerland and Ireland have so much peace. At one point of time, India had all these.

Lord Macaulay had said, ‘I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values.’

Ours was such a glorious country. We need to restore our country back to the same state.

Q: A few days ago, you said that we should not give bribe to God to get anything from him. In Hinduism, we do Mannat, wherein we pray to God for something and in return we give him something. Is this justified?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Doing Mannats are for your own sake. God’s grace is unconditional (Ahetu Ki Kripa). God gives things to you unconditionally.

These are just practices. They don’t have any basis in the scriptures. If you do good seva, it gives you good merit, and merit brings you happiness.

Q: Swami Nithyananda spoiled the Hindu culture and ever since people are skeptical to enter Ashrams. Why did the Divine allow him to do such a sin? I am very pained when it comes to this.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is nothing new. This is a tradition that has been going on. In the Ramayan, Sita was also misled by a Sannyasi (Saint). Ravana knew that Sita would believe him if he disguised himself as a Sannyasi.

The Vijayanagar Empire was also destroyed by an enemy disguised as a Saint. He killed the king in a day. An empire that had hundreds and thousands of elephants and soldiers was destroyed in a day. That is because Saints had free access.

There will always be such people in every field.

Today, you are seeing all such happenings on Television. Teachers are misbehaving with the girl children in the classroom. How will parents get the confidence to send their children to school?

In a hospital, a doctor raped a patient. This shows that there is such a dire need of spiritual, ethical and moral awakening in the country.

We have moved too much towards leftism. In the name of secularism, all the values in our country have been thrown away. We need to create a Dharmic (Righteous) society again. Otherwise you are seeing what is happening. Schools, colleges and hospitals have become unsafe.

In our country, teachers and doctors were given a lot of respect. Vaidyo Narayano Harih - A doctor was considered an avatar of Lord Narayana. Nrupo Narayana – the King was considered to be God. God was permeating everywhere. It was a Godly society. But now fear permeates everywhere. People are afraid to send their children to school. People are afraid to go to doctors. They charge you and discharge you.

Many times they say, 'Operation successful', but the patient dies.

Never underestimate your life. Your life is most precious. You never know what talents are hidden within you. You may become a big minister or a businessman. There are all kinds of possibilities.

The root cause of this is the lack of spiritual knowledge. That is why all of you should become teachers and Sadhaks (seeker on the spiritual path), and make more and more people Sadhaks as well, then we will definitely be able to bring transformation.

Two hundred and forty terrorists have dropped their arms and have come here to the Ashram to begin a new life. Each of their lives is a very interesting story. We can write a novel about each of them.

Q: What is the simple path for Self-realization?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation; introspection on ‘Who am I?’, and by knowing what you are not.

Q: People say that committing suicide is a sin, but isn’t Gandhian methods of fast-unto-death a sin?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Any form of suicide is wrong. I am not in favor of it. I don’t agree that one should die fasting.

Corruption begins where a sense of belongingness ends

June 15, 2012

Breukelen, Netherlands

(At an impressive ceremony at the prestigious Nyenrode University, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was conferred with an honorary doctorate today.

Addressing the gathering , the Rector of Nyenrode, Dr. Maurits van Rooijen FRSA, said that it was a great privilege for the university that Sri Sri has accepted this doctorate. In its 65 years since inception, the university has conferred this doctorate on very few individuals, some of whom include Mr Nelson Mandela, Mr A P J Abdul Kalam and Mr Bill Gates.

He added that the work and life of Sri Sri is a true representation of Leadership, Entreprenuership and Stewardship, the three core values of the University.

Sri Sri then address the gathering with the following words)

Honorable Rector, Honorable Dean, Honorable Board of Trustees, and all the dignitaries present here. I am so honored to receive this doctorate degree from Nyenrode University. I really appreciate and feel grateful to you for choosing me to be part of this university. Even without studying in this university I have become an Alumnus of the University today.

I feel there are three important aspects to education;

first is information,

second is observation and

third is intuition.

I am so happy to hear that this university has all these aspects.

Often when we think of education, we think it is only gathering of information; that is not sufficient. You need keenness of mind, a mind which is alert and sharp enough to absorb what is happening around, and what is happening within. Ethics is listening to the consciousness that is deep within, and acting according to it when it comes to social interactions.

We need to take responsibility for the atmosphere that we are in. That attitude of taking responsibility for our own environment makes all the difference. It can make you very happy, and motivate you to take up more work.

Observation is a very important aspect of education, which has not been given much attention by many of the educational institutions.

The third thing is the intuitive ability. If you turn back and look at the past, there have been great scientists who have not gone to college and obtained a degree. They had developed an intuitive ability, whether it is Thomas Alva Edison or even Albert Einstein. They all had that intuitive ability, which they nurtured within themselves. To me, spirituality begins here. Spirituality is that which enables you to get in touch with your observation, your perceptual ability, and enhance your intuitive faculty. When the mind is calm it is able to perceive things better. When the mind is disturbed, our perception is also totally disturbed. So the mind needs to be calm then perception becomes better, observation becomes much clearer, and expression becomes more understandable.

So perception, observation and expression are three ways to communicate with the world around us.

Business depends a lot on communication. When communication breaks down, business breaks down. Communication can be better only when there is an element of spiritual awakening, or spiritual power, or force within each one of us.

Again, when we say spirituality, we simply think it is someone sitting and doing something out there - no, that is not the case. We are all made up of matter and spirit. Our bodies are made up of carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids. Our spirit, our mind is made up of truth, integrity, honesty, beauty, compassion, love, cooperation and creativity. All these qualities are considered as spirituality, they are part of our spirit.

Today in the world this huge menace of depression is arising - mental depression, lack of trust or trust being broken down. Fear and insecurity about financial aspects and relationship aspects of life is also increasing. So, it is all the more vital that we place more emphasis on spirituality, i.e., building inner strength, bringing back confidence in the humanness of our society, turning our mind back to compassion and love which is the very breath of our existence. From being a mechanically driven life, we need to turn into a life full of enthusiasm, cooperation and humanness.

I am glad that Nyenrode University has already taken this step and is working towards this.

I was so happy to hear that there is a whole Department on Business and Ethics; this would give hope to our society. If there is Narayana there should be Lakshmi; means when there is spirituality, there should be wealth as well.

Today the mess that we are facing in Europe and in other parts of the world also, is because of the greed of a few. Isn't it so? We hear about scam after scam after scam because corruption has in some way been accepted, socially and politically. Though there are some voices that come up, but again they subside, and things continue the way they were. That is where a big wave of awakening has to happen against corruption.

According to me, corruption begins where a sense of belongingness ends. When you have a sense of belongingness, you will never be corrupt with those people. You will never take or give bribe from those who you feel belong to you. When that sense of belongingness ends, that is exactly when corruption begins.

In today’s world, technology has shrunk the world into a global village; we cannot afford to have a sectarian mindset where you think, ‘This belongs to me and this does not.’

We need to have a broad vision that the whole world is one human family. The lack of this has created so much strife. Otherwise we will go back to the Middle-Ages when we used to fight in the name of race, religion, language, with war after war. significantly destroying ourselves.

As I was saying, India was at the peak of its economic growth when the spiritual awakening was very high. It contributed to 33% of the world's GDP. When Lord Macaulay traveled the length and breadth of the country, he did not find one poor or sick person. That was the state of affairs when there was so much of heart, so much of service, and so much of a sense of belongingness. When this started declining, greed, anger, jealousy and hatred overtook the society, and economic downturn came very fast.

This is the lesson we need to learn from history. We need to connect people from that inner core of our existence. To say it simply, we have to become like children again.

From acting as grown-up-robots, we need to come back to a position where we maintain our innocence and still be very intelligent. In short, a violence-free society, a stress-free mind, a disease-free body, an inhibition-free intellect, a trauma-free memory and a sorrow-free soul is the birthright of every human being. We should dream of this big dream, and make it possible.

Q: You once said the body is in the mind, not the other way around. Please explain what you mean by this.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I give a very simple example to a layman. When you light a candle and keep it inside a glass, the flame remains only as long as there is oxygen inside the glass. In the same way, if you put a man or a woman in a room and lock them up, they will be alive only as long as there is oxygen in that room. So we are akin to the flame, we live on oxygen. Our consciousness, our life, our mind lives on oxygen, just like a flame. The body is like the wick of a flame, the mind is like the glow all around; though we don't see the mind.

When we take a picture through Kirlian photography, the aura of a person can be measured; the energy field around a man or woman can be measured. This is what I would say is mind. Mind is nothing but a mass of energy and intelligence. It is the wave function, the wave of vibrations around you.

When the body is relaxed, the mind expands. This is our feeling generally. When you are happy, what is the feeling you get? You feel that something in you is expanding, isn’t it? And when you are upset, you find that something in you is shrinking; the energy in you shrinks and that is when you feel uncomfortable. When the energy expands, you feel happy, elevated and comfortable. And this particular phenomenon indicates that our body is inside the mind, and not the other way around.

Again through medical science, there is other evidence. Have you heard about Phantom Limbs? When somebody's arm has been amputated, still they feel itching and pain in that area where there is no arm, and they find it even bigger than the arm. This also indicates that our body is inside the glow called the mind.

You know spirituality is so abstract, and business is such a concrete thing, isn't it? They are very contrasting, yet very complimentary.

Everyone has the right to be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is not the property of a few people. Everyone can be enthusiastic, unique and creative in their own way. And spirituality is that which supports this - the growth of every human being.

Q: You have mentioned that the ABC of life is awareness, belongingness and commitment. What is the ABC for our management students? As a graduate of Vedic Literature and Science, you may be aware of the holistic approach to education. Please tell us something about it.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: ABC, i.e., Awareness, Belongingness and Commitment are universal. I think you can apply this in any field, not just spirituality, business or politics; it cuts across different fields of human relevance. These three aspects can be applied anywhere.

Without commitment nothing works in the world. If it works, then it is just God’s grace. It is just God who is working through you.

Once somebody said, ‘God is in control but He should make it more obvious to us.’ It is not very obvious when we think we are in control. A sense of belongingness makes a big difference in the way we function, and in the way we perceive our atmosphere. We need to take responsibility for the atmosphere that we are in. So, that empowerment, that attitude of taking responsibility for our own environment makes all the difference. It can make you very happy, and motivate you to take up more work. But if you lack the attitude, then you simply slip into a corner and get more depressed.

We have started Sri Sri University in Orrisa with the idea of bringing the East and the West together. The best of the East and the best of the West will be married there. The idea is to give the best form of education in all the different fields - in the traditional field of Ayurveda (herbal medicines) and in the field of business.

We have already started one business school in Goa, and it is running for the last five years. The objective is to give an idea of how the ancient and the modern can be married and brought together, and the best of each world can be provided to our new generation.

Along with this, I have this dream of creating a stress-free and violence free society; a just society where everyone smiles more. Today, you must have already heard about the focus moving away from GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness); it is very important. About 30% of the European population is in depression. There is no point in having a higher GDP and having no smiles on the faces of people. We need to have people appreciate GDH, i.e., become happier.

Happiness has nothing to do with the prosperity of the country, and this is another theory that we have seen in the recent years. Countries like Bhutan and Bangladesh are much happier than countries like India or China, or the USA. What is in these countries that we are missing? We need to explore that now, and bring this wave of happiness in society, to see not just a prosperous but a happier society.

Q: Intuition is important for entrepreneurs as it creates unique resources for gaining competitive advantages. From a management context, we are saying that companies that are investing in resources with unique capabilities are at an advantage. If we spread spirituality everywhere, what will be the uniqueness then, and how will we still gain the competitive advantage?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We all sleep; we all have a good meal and a good nap. If everyone takes very good and deep sleep, will they all become the same? No! If everyone has a good meal, will they all express themselves in the same way? No! But everyone is entitled to have a good sleep, and everyone is entitled to listen to good music, be relaxed and be happy.

Being happy does not bar you from being unique. It is not that if the sun comes through one window, it comes in any way less from another window. Spirituality is like that - everyone is entitled to enjoy the full sunshine without having to worry that if someone else is enjoying the sunshine as well then they will get less of it. Nature is abundant, and spirituality is something basic to our life.

So everyone can learn how to manage their anger. Everyone can learn how to feel uplifted and elevated. Everyone has the right to be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is not the property of just a few people, and others should be unenthusiastic about things, no! Everyone can be enthusiastic, unique and creative in their own way. And spirituality is that which supports this - the growth of every human being.

There is no short cut for making money

April 02, 2012

Wisdom from Sri Sri blog: World Forum for Ethics in Business (Singapore)

What is most essential today are role models. Young entrepreneurs need to see role models; industries which have ethical practices, which are fair and which have corporate social responsibilities. This can happen and in fact this should happen, for there are ample number of businesses who have grown steadily following code of conduct and ethics. They only need to be highlighted and that is the main purpose of this forum, to highlight such businesses, which can be role models for the coming generations to be ethical in their practices.

You know, one can gain money in many ways, but one cannot gain good sleep in many ways. A good sleep and inner comfort will only come when you feel everything is clean; everything is straight forward. When there is transparency, clarity and sincerity.

Usually I recommend meals and meditation for everyone in the afternoon, in companies, in factories, etc. I would recommend people to meditate for 10 minutes to 20 minutes and share a meal together. You will find such coherence in the group. You will feel like working together, team spirit gets built up, creative ideas come up. So it is always good to have food together.

That is all! I believe in talking less and doing more. So, I have said what I need to say. If you have some questions, I shall take them.

Q: Earlier we had a very interesting discussion around ‘redefining the self interest’. Could you once again say something about that.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, self interest is very important. On a long term basis, you need to know that if you go about doing things in unethical ways for short term gains, then you are putting yourself into a risk of long term disaster. Then you are not doing it in self interest. It is actually self disaster. It may appear to be self interest, but in fact it will turn out to be self disaster.

Another angle I would say, in yourself, include more people, include the society also. When you say self, you think about only yourself, or your employees, or your company. Now, your company cannot stay on if there is no sustainable growth in the society. If there is no buying power in people, there is no point in you manufacturing so many things. Nobody has the power to buy them. What do you do? So, you need to in your self interest also keep in mind the buying power of the people. This is equally important as the manufacturing power that you want to possess. So this buying power of people also gets included in your self interest.

I think that is one good way to look at one's self interest in terms of the whole society.

Q: I teach leadership, particularly public leadership and am very interested in helping people when they are faced with pragmatism and corruption, how to make decisions. How do you make decisions on a bigger scale and how do you make sort of personal decisions in terms of contentment.

Could you advise on how to help people with these kinds of decisions, be it for inner contentment or decisions around pragmatism?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You just need to expand their vision. ‘Come on, wake up and see what you want to do. You want to evade taxes only to be caught again next year, and then you will have to pay fine. Or do you want to pay your taxes? Pay and move on.’

You know, this vision, this idea needs to be given to them.

Sustained development and sustained growth is possible when you feel clear from within yourself. This is the first point.

Second is, there is no short cut for making money. This point we need to drive in to the entrepreneurs; especially the young entrepreneurs. They just want short ways to get richer and richer, and then they have the risk of a big fall. This education is very important.

I see a big difference in the society; the attitude of the people today is very different from that which was five to ten years ago because today we see many of these entrepreneurs, in many companies that grew very fast and then simply collapsed. So nobody wants to be counted in that list. These examples have helped people to not walk in that wrong path.

Q: In this world of stress, violence and corruption, what is your message for youths starting out in business?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We must know that not the whole world is corrupt. There are a few people who indulge in corruption.

We must also remember that corruption begins where the sense of belongingness ends. This is what we should note. Nobody can do corrupt practices with those whom they think belong to them. Wherever there is sense of belongingness, corruption becomes simply impossible.

Corruption begins where sense of belongingness ends. So you need to educate people in values where the sense of belongingness is extended. This is what I call spirituality.

Spirituality is that which enhances the sense of belongingness among people, so there is that natural tendency to be honest and to care for each other.

Corruption simply becomes impossible in these cases.

Q: Guruji! We discussed about ethics, morals and personal interests. My feeling is that there should be a certain amount of spiritualism in evey human being, irrelevant of their religion. Some principles in mind that would help one think along the moral or ethical lines. Only then will one be fair and square. What are your feelings?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I want to give you an example. You know when there is a crowd there always are thefts, especially in countries like India. When there is big crowd, there are thefts. But, when the Kumbh Mela (mass Hindu pilgrimage at the river Ganges) happens, where 30 million people assemble in one place, not a single theft is reported. Why? Because there is some sacredness, some religiosity, and there is some feeling, ‘Oh! I have come for a pilgrimage!’ People just keep their things, keep their laptops and just move or walk around, and nobody would steal them, which is unthinkable otherwise.

Otherwise, even if you keep an old spectacle somewhere unattended, that would be stolen; your slippers would be stolen. And in a Kumbh Mela your laptop is also not stolen, it is an amazement!

Sense of giving, contributing to others, reigns more.

I would like to tell you of an incident. It was a very cold winter day in January in Allahabad; it was very cold, nearly zero or minus one degrees. So, at the night I set out with fifty of my volunteers to distribute blankets. There were some very poor people, who had come from far off to take a pilgrimage there and to take a dip in the Ganges there. They didn't have enough amenities. So we were giving out blankets to very poor people.

A boy was standing under the bridge and he was shivering. He was about 20 or 22, something like that. When we offered a blanket to him, he said, ‘No, I don't need it tonight. I will manage tonight. But you know there are those old ladies under the bridge, some elderly people. They would make better use of this blanket. Please give them.’ He pointed towards them, ‘You see, 500 meters away, there are these elderly people, please give there. They deserve it more, I can manage. I am young.’

You know this sense of caring for others, really touched me. This boy is also with the T-shirt, he is shivering there, but, he says, ’No! Care for them first. If anything is left, I shall take it.’ That sense of caring for each other is amazing and especially in poor people this is already there.

So, ethics, or spirituality, brings out the good qualities, the humane qualities that we all have. It just needs to be brought to the surface.

Three months ago the Police Commissioner of North West Delhi invited one of our teachers. He told him that he has about 350 rowdy-sheeters.

Do you know what rowdy-sheeters are? They are the anti-social elements who do robberies and other mischief. You cannot really put them behind the bars, but they are a nuisance to society. You call them goons in the society.

So the Commissioner put them all together, around 350 of them and he called our teacher and asked him if he could do something about them. He wanted to bring about some ethics or spirituality in them. It was very tough to deal with these people, but in 6 days what a big transformation happened in them. We spent two or three hours each day with them, and we took a few minutes of meditation, some breathing exercise, a few talks, and after 6 days they were totally transformed. The same anti-social elements started doing cleaning campaign, health awareness campaigns, and the crime rate in North West Delhi fell by 90%.

Of course the Police Commissioner was extremely thrilled and said, ‘Why don’t we do this all over.’

We said, ‘Yes, we are all the more ready to do it.’

See nobody teaches one how to get rid of stress. It does not go away by talking or advising. You need to teach them some techniques, some tools or mechanisms to get rid of stress and calm the mind. You need make them think from a calm and collected mind, this is essential. So we did the same thing in Panama also.

In Chicago, in many schools where the incidents of violence were very high, we taught them the breathing exercises and meditation. After we taught them, the number of violence incidents in class rooms reduced from 268 to just 60.

The education department was very thrilled. So finally we could do something about violence and something about stress. Bringing people back to themselves.

I think our education system should inculcate ways to release stress. Stress is such a common thing. I usually call it a mental hygiene. We teach dental hygiene, but forget to teach them mental hygiene. We need to teach children right from school and college days on how to keep their mind sane and not go insane due to stress and anxiety.

30% of Europe is reeling under depression today; I don’t know what the percentage of depression in Singapore is. May not be that high, about 20% people are depressed. This was not the case a few years ago, right. The stronger we are growing economically,we shouldn’t be facing these problems. But in fact we are. That is why we need to educate our people in spiritual values, what do you think?

Don’t you think so? Spirituality is something that helps you to be centered in all occasions; spirituality is not just sitting and following a religious practice, but to see life from a broader perspective. Of course religion is part of one’s life but spirituality is a little different. It is to see one’s own life with values and with a broader vision.

Q: Many counties in the world, they respect greed as good culture. We have been fortunate here in Singapore because our government tries to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by intervention. But that is not the case in other counties. Guruji, coming to your teachings and the work of the Art of Living, and as volunteers we can participate in this. But, it is still a huge challenge, because we live in a society which is ruled by a system of laws and government policies, where greed, making profit, becoming a billionaire, are upheld as the values for human existence.

So please explain and give us some divine guidance.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, entrepreneurship and competition is very good. They are needed in society. But not following the rules of the game and trying to win a game without following the rules of the game will be disastrous.

So, one can be greedy to get a desired result, but not at any cost. Do you see what I am saying? You know, you should eat as much as you can. You want to eat, you eat. But, don't succumb to Bulimia, where you can't stop eating and you have to be throwing out in order to eat.

That explains very well, the disease Bulimia.

So, I am not against entrepreneurship, I am not against companies making huge profits. Get as much profit as you can, but ethically. And also the more profit you make, the more you should invest in the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Do social work.

So, if that could be managed, then the business that you have started will go on. Otherwise it is very easy to go up fast and come down fast. And that is what the past years have taught people. Today people have become aware of that.

Give me your troubles, live with a smile and engage yourself in seva, sadhana and satsang

January 22, 2012

The only purpose of my coming here is to tell you that the Divine exists and loves you very dearly. There is a couplet in Hindi: “Jo ichcha kariho manu maahi, prabhu prataap kachhu durlabh naahin”, which means that “With God’s grace, whatever you wish for will not be difficult to obtain”. This is a proven fact. However, you must first have the faith that the Divine exists. The Divine is omnipresent, which means that the Divine is within each one of us. The Divine is eternal, which means that it exists now, right this moment. We just need to have this faith and relax. There is no need to put any effort. Vivek (Discrimination), Vishwas (Faith) and Vishraam (Relaxation) - these three are important.

Whenever there is chaos, start a kirtan (devotional song) and the chaos will settle down. This is what happened when the country was trapped in turmoil. What did Mahatma Gandhi ji do then? He went to many places and started organising satsangs. Everyone started singing, “Ishwar Allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de Bhagwaan”, and the country was woven into one thread. The chaos and the turmoil were transformed into a revolution. Even today we require this. There is a need for a peaceful revolution in this country. Where there is ignorance, injustice, scarcity and lack of hygiene, that place requires a peaceful revolution so that the ignorance is wiped out, people stand against injustice, scarcity will end and cleanliness would reign over the place. Only kirtan can bring this revolution. Whenever this country was overcome by a problem, the sages, the intellectuals and the mahatmas (great souls) of this country came forward and gave the country a new hope.

Today, we are again standing at that crossroad, where the country essentially requires a wave of spirituality. What does spirituality mean? Sitting somewhere for a while and doing kirtan? No, my dear! Spirituality (Adhyatma) means the feeling of oneness. “Atmavat Sarva Bhuteshu Yah Pashyati Sa Panditah”. One who sees everyone in himself and himself in everyone will be called a spiritual person, a devotee. So, what does spirituality mean? It is a blossoming of this feeling of oneness. “Nobody is a stranger, all are my own”; if this feeling awakens in us, then it is spirituality.

Belongingness should increase. Where belongingness ends, corruption begins. Till this date, not a single person has been corrupt with his own people. He can’t do it. If corruption has increased so much, it means belongingness has ended. Misconduct, malpractice and corruption are not something one does with one’s own people. It is done with people who are not one’s own. Yes, we need a strict law for this, but I don’t think that law alone will remove it. I believe that law should be there, but the citizens should wake up. If we all wake up, we can remove corruption. Violence can be eradicated.

I read this morning that naxalites killed around thirteen to fourteen people. I had called out to them just yesterday. We had gone to the naxal-hit region yesterday, to the Aurangabad district. I was told that around four to five people will be surrendering today, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, they couldn’t. I congratulate those youth who, out of ignorance, had joined the naxalite movement and now understand that violence will not solve the problem. I want to tell you that these are brave boys, who are putting their lives at stake to perform penance in the forests. Their eyes are filled with tears and their hearts are pained only for the reason that they want poverty and caste discrimination to be wiped out from India and all enjoy equality. However, the path they have adopted is not right. That is why I keep telling them and also told them yesterday that they should forsake the path of violence and come forward; for we are with them. Even I want to see India at the top, the number one country. I want to see it as the mightiest and the best nation of this world.

The Art of Living has completed thirty years. Wherever you go, you will witness the spirituality of India. On 20th November, when I went to the last city of the North Pole, Tromso, I asked them when the sun will rise here. They said, ‘20th January’. It is dark for two whole months. The sun doesn’t rise during those two months. The population there is sixty thousand. Even in such a place, one thousand people sit together to chant ’Om Namah Shivaya’, meditate and do pranayama. They have experienced a change in their lives. Similarly, if you go to Tierra del Fuego, a city close to the South Pole, thousands of people are doing pranayama, meditation and sudarshan kriya. They are benefitting from this.

I am saying this for one reason- This spiritual knowledge is India’s gift to mankind. However, we don’t respect this knowledge. We need to do it now. We are not giving it the due respect it deserves. If we start giving it the due respect it deserves, this land where Buddha, Mahavira, Mother Sita, Janaka and Ashtavakra were born will once again regain its glory. There was a time when Magadha, Patliputra (now Patna) was the capital of India. However, it was lost somewhere during the motion of the wheel of time. Once again, the citizens of this place will awaken, reminisce its heritage, the youth will forsake the path of violence and achieve great heights.

I also wish that there will be hundred per cent literacy in Bihar. I congratulate the team of Nitish ji (Chief Minister of Bihar) and Modi ji (Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar), for I can see a remarkable change here as compared to the last time. People in the villages are happier than before. However, we still have a lot to do, and a lot of things to work on. Literacy level should increase and people should be able to walk fearlessly. There isn’t so much fear now but we have to work a lot to start walking on the path of progress. There have been many hardships and we have emerged out of those circumstances with courage. Don’t lose courage; march forward with courage and I am very sure that Bihar will emerge as a strong state in India.

All of us here will have to take a pledge: we will neither give nor take bribe. If somebody is into this habit of taking bribe, then I would like to request them to take a year’s break from it, just for me. Take this pledge for just one year that we will not accept bribe. No problem if you have to bear some losses. However, it will benefit you a lot in the sense that you will be bestowed with blessings. All the givers must take this pledge for a lifetime and all the acceptors, if they are a little hesitant, then they must take the pledge for at least a year. We will create this atmosphere in the society. Law is the cure for this illness. But it is the work of spirituality to prevent the illness from attacking us. We need to remove ignorance and then stand against injustice.

This caste discrimination that we practice is not mentioned anywhere in the scriptures. Lord Shiva was called an untouchable, a member of the Dalit group. Around a thousand rishi-munis (great saints) have been produced by this nation, and only a few were from the forward class. Many of them were from the backward classes, from the Dalit group. It has been said ‘Janmana jayate shudra, karmana jayate dwija’. Your caste is decided by your deeds (karma), not by birth. All the castes are equal and each has been respected in this country. We forgot that. When we need a good doctor, we don’t ask his caste or religion. This also happens in the case of lawyers. Only when politics comes into picture, we talk about caste. Also, when it is the matter of one’s means of livelihood and the marriage of one’s daughter, caste is discussed in villages. We should remove caste from these three fields; livelihood, daughter and politics. Then India will progress at a very fast pace and emerge as the topmost nation. And women should be respected. A country where women are subjected to atrocities will never progress. This is very important. Stand against injustice.

We should all contribute something for the environment, and also for the farmers. There is no proper planning in our country. The price of potatoes skyrocket sometimes and then come down drastically. The farmer is the most affected. They have to put in a lot of effort and yet they don’t have any hope. When I was in Gaya and also when I addressed a rally of farmers in Maharashtra, I was told that if a boy is engaged in farming, nobody wants to wed their daughter to a boy involved in farming. This is the condition as told by them. If the farmer is happy, then the crop that he reaps out of that happiness keeps us in good health. If the farmer is not happy then our health will deteriorate.

All those who haven’t read Gita must read it at least once. It has seven hundred shlokas. Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all times, said, ‘My life is transformed after reading Gita’. Mahatma Gandhi used to read it every day. I’ll share an instance with you, probably nobody knows it. My Guru, Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi had been with Mahatma Gandhi in Rewara Jail. He had been with him for forty years. He is the knower of the four Vedas (and hence conferred the title Chaturvedi). The day when Kasturba Gandhi died, Mahatma Gandhi came out, tears rolling down his eyes and spoke to Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi (who was known as ‘Bengaluri’ back then). Mahatma Gandhi ji said, ‘Bengaluri, read out the second chapter of Gita today. It is the day to test your Bapu (Gandhiji was fondly known as Bapu, which means Father), whether I am Stithapragya (Stable intellect) or not’. So he read out the second chapter; ‘stitha prajna shyaka bhasha samadhisthsya keshava, sthitadhih kim prabhasheta kimasita vrajet kim (chapter II Verse 54)’. With eyes closed, he listened to the verse, and tears started rolling down his eyes. He said, ‘Today is the testing day for me. And with the support of Gita, I am able to bear this grief’. All those who haven’t read it must read it once. It will take a week at the most.

Gita has discussed everything, about mind, about the different types of food: Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic; and about our nature. If you give some work to certain people they will procrastinate it. Others will say that they can’t do it. We can see the different types of mind-sets. One mind-set is that if you assign them some work, they’ll say, ‘Yes, it will be done!’ This is a sattvic attitude (Dhruti). Then there is a rajasic and tamasic attitude. You will be able to recognize as to which type of attitude you have. When you are assigned a work, whether you are excited to do it or you ignore it, is a test of your personality. This is called ‘swadhyaya’ (Introspection).

The Art of Living (Part 1) course is based on five principles. Opposite situations are natural in our lives. We must keep ourselves balanced in those circumstances. We must not get depressed in times of sorrow and too excited in times of happiness. We must make an effort to balance our mind. This is the first point. The second is, accept people as they are. We want everyone to abide by what we say. Does this happen? This is never possible. Every person has a different way of thinking. So this is the second point, accept people as they are and then make an effort to transform them. In the very first place, you dictate, ‘do what I say!’. This happens in every household. This results in tribulations in every household, between husband and wife, between brothers and sisters, between mothers-in-law and their daughters-in law, and between father and son. This struggle of not being able to understand the other person can be solved by spreading knowledge. Millions of households have recognized this fact and have witnessed transformation in their lives.

Thirdly, when we commit a mistake, we say, ‘what can be done? It just happened’. We feel helpless. However, when others commit a mistake, we see an intention behind it. This is not correct. We need to throw some light on this fact. The fourth point is that we shouldn’t be a football of others’ opinions. Let others say what they want to about you. There are people who criticise those who do great deeds and then there are also people who support those who do wrong deeds. We shouldn’t base our lives on the opinions of others. The fifth point emphasises on living in the present moment. Forget the past and plan for the future but live in the present moment. These are the five tattvas (principles). And with the help of these tattvas, we delve deeper into meditation and then realise that ‘I am a fountain of love’. In every particle of my being, it is that Om which is resonating. We realize this through experience.

I would request you to do one thing today. You should make two lists, the first list for your needs, and the other for how many responsibilities you undertake in life. If your responsibilities are lesser than your needs then you will lead an unhappy life. But if your needs are lesser than your responsibilities, then you will enjoy a happy life. Another secret that I have is that if you don’t want anything for yourself then a mystical power will arise from within you such that you will be capable of fulfilling others’ wishes as well. When you do not want anything for yourself and then if you bless someone, their work will be done. During Navratri, in our country, we worship little girls (referred to as kanyakas and the worship is called kanya pujan) on Ashtami. Do you know why we do this? This is because there is a glimpse of God in the mind of the child, in their innocence. Shakti (Energy, the feminine aspect of Divinity) resides there. Everyone has this Shakti, but our desires, wishes and tensions have enveloped it. If you ask kids as to what they want, they will effortlessly reply, ‘I don’t want anything’. It is a spontaneous reply from them. That state when you don’t want anything, then the blessings that flow out are bound to materialise. That is why you go to the elders and to the sages to seek blessings from them for they don’t want anything. ‘I don’t want anything for myself. May everyone be happy and well’. When people have this state of mind then their blessings will come true.

I have seen millions of people enjoying a scarcity free life as they take just one step in this direction. Ignorance, injustice and scarcity are washed away. Then comes cleanliness. We should be clean from inside, keeping our hearts clean and also keeping our environment clean. There are many people here who don’t even clean their wash basins regularly. Why doesn’t this thought of keeping our houses clean strike us? And even if people keep their houses clean, they will throw the trash on the roads. They will not keep the roads clean. If each one of us sitting here devotes two hours of our time every month in keeping Patna clean, then Patna will shine even more. Just devote two hours on the first Sunday of every month.

We started our first such campaign in the city of Jalna, Maharashtra. One person from every house came out with a broomstick in his hand, and within three hours, that city turned so beautiful that even the mayor was astonished. He said, ‘even such things can happen in society!’ And then, before the Commonwealth Games, when the government surrendered to not being able to clean Delhi, five thousand volunteers of The Art of Living came forward every day in different localities of Delhi to clean the city. The campaign, ‘Meri Dilli, Meri Jamuna’ (My Delhi, My Jamuna) made a lot of difference. I told them, if we take one step in this direction then nature will take ten steps. I said I want to see fish in the River Yamuna. It had become a river of garbage. In Mathura, as people drew water with their hands from the Yamuna, all they could see was insects. Five hundred trucks full of dirt were taken out from Yamuna. And who did this? It was done by us- satsangis (People who participate in Satsangs), sadhaks (People who do Sadhana). And after that, the flood that followed brought fish to River Yamuna. Nature cleaned it even more through the flood. I would say that if all Patnaites (residents of Patna city), as a seva, spare two hours every month for the society, we will be able to clean the city. This was the fourth point, removing filth. So these were the four points: ignorance, injustice, scarcity and filth which need to be removed. This is called satsang.

What is required for a cell phone to function properly? You need a SIM card, a charged battery, and within the network range. These are the three things; faith, intellect and relaxation. Sitting quietly and meditating for some time is relaxation. There is no delay in experiencing the Divine. If you have these three things, you will develop a link with the Divine.

Today, surrender all your problems to me. I want to see a smile on your face that never withers. Spend your entire life smiling. Give me your troubles and whole-heartedly engage yourself in seva, sadhana and satsang.

I was in America, a month and a half back. I met a scientist there who had researched on the word, ‘Om’. He said that he had recorded the chanting of Om and found that it has the same frequency as the rotation of the Earth around its axis. That is why from ancient times, whether it was Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism, or even Shinto and Taoism, respect is given to this word ‘Om’. It is called ‘Anahat Naad’ (Sound produced without contact). And if you meditate deeper, you will hear this ‘naad’ (Sound) automatically. Islam and Christianity have been using it as ‘Amin’ and ‘Amen’, in a slightly different way. Om has a very crucial role in keeping the mind silent.

I have always been saying, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, one world family! It was India that propounded this idea. When China first welcomed me, they said, ‘Guruji! No matter how our administration is now, India and China has had a very old relationship. Buddhism first spread to our country from India and philosophically we are very close to each other’. This is how they welcomed me. They said that human values were decreasing there and so they wanted me to come and open up our centres there as well.

When the Prime Minister of Iraq invited me, a journalist came along. He asked the prime minister as to what he wants from India. The first thing he said was that we want India’s spiritual force, spiritual knowledge from India. ‘How peacefully you live, people from different religions, different cultures and communities, that is your asset and that is what we want in our country also. We want that energy. Those people from our staff, who have done your pranayama, sudarshan kriya and meditation, always keep smiling. They are always happy and always ready to face challenges of all kinds. There is so much enthusiasm in them. I want to make everyone like this’. Secondly, he said that he wants the industrialists of India to come to Iraq and drill out oil. He wanted to give it to them instead of America. And thirdly he talked about IT (Information Technology). He wanted India to give training to people in IT. The youth of India are renowned for their IT skills and they wanted their youth to be the same. Then, he sent fifty youths from their country to Bengaluru to get them trained so that they become messengers of peace. They were trained for a month and a half. People from Morocco took training for three months. Then they started teaching people all over and now thousands of people are meditating, doing pranayama and yoga and are benefitting from it. Even you people should do yoga and asanas for short intervals.

Q: Guruji, today we have to compromise in our lives. How to protect human values in the storm of ambitions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: With your faith. Our ambitions will be fulfilled, there is no hurry. And human values are, not doing unto others what we don’t want them to do with us. And we should behave with others in exactly the same way as we want them to behave with us. 

Q: Guruji, today everywhere we see people playing the game of Rajneeti (politics). Should spiritual people stay away from politics?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What does ‘Rajneeti’ mean? It means that which is essential for the citizens of a place, for instance, transportation, education, security. This is rajniti. Spirituality is different. It is the field for improvement of the masses. A ruler can never be a reformer and a reformer should never be a ruler. Both the roles should be played by different people, but with the support of each other. It would be better if a state is managed by taking suggestions from a spiritual guide. That is why this country has always seen people who have been providing unbiased suggestions, like a journalist and a spiritual leader. They don’t belong to a particular group. They belong to God and stand for truth. They keep forth that which is true and then suggest accordingly. This should be done. 

Q: Guruji, what should be one’s goal in life: money, fame, position or something else?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Contentment. 

Q: Guruji, there are many students from different colleges of Bihar. One of them has asked, ‘in Indian mythology, the Gods’ vehicles are very tiny animals, like Ganesha and his mouse. What does this signify’?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have made a cassette by the name of ‘Ganesha Rahasya’, you must listen to that. I have given the explanation of all the symbols- the significance of the elephant, the mouse and everything else. Now I cannot take it up, it is too long. It is all very symbolic. We say each God and Goddess go on a particular animal. Every animal brings down to the earth, certain vibrations, certain cosmic energy. So the scientists say that if even one animal is missing from this planet, the whole planet will collapse. 

Q: How to decide whether our decision is correct or not?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Time will tell you. Use your intellect. The gut feeling will tell you whether it is correct or not. If it is wrong it will pinch you and if it is not wrong, it will give you peace, tranquillity, relaxation and happiness.

Q: Guruji, it is said that we must always think positive but my mind always turns negative. How to handle this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Make your body pure. Take some ‘Triphala churna’ around two to three times a week. If your digestive system is clean, your mind will also work properly. If you have constipation, your mind goes haywire. Purity of the body, by taking triphala, atleast once a week will also do. Ayurvedic medicines purify the body. Pranayama purifies the ‘prana’, the life force. Bhajans and songs purify the mind. Knowledge purifies the intellect and makes it sharp. Charity purifies wealth. Two to three per cent of what we earn should be kept aside for social work. If you earn a thousand rupees and spend the entire income on yourself, that is not right. A minimum of two, three or even four per cent should be kept aside for social work. Islam propounds ‘zakat’, where you have to spend at least ten per cent of your income on the society. This has also been mentioned in our religious scriptures which states that twenty per cent of our income must be spent on social work. Now, twenty per cent becomes too much and too impractical for you. So, you must spare three per cent at least. In today’s world (kali yuga), if you do even this much, it would be good enough. Just like you purify wealth by charity, similarly you purify food by ghee (Clarified butter). The Maithili Brahmins used to say that pouring half/one spoon of ghee on rice will purify it. Some people think that this is a superstition that we are following. However, a cardiologist once said that if we eat rice without ghee, it converts into simple sugar very quickly. And then we face diseases like Diabetes and heart problems. If we add only one spoon of ghee to it, it is converted to complex carbohydrates, the digestion slows down and you will never face Diabetes or heart problems. This is what cardiologists say. So what our forefathers used to say is true. It is a similar case with turmeric or ‘haldi’. You can’t cook without it. People in all places, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, use turmeric. Thirty years ago, people in India used to say that turmeric is just a pigment and it has no value. America researched on it and proved that it is an anti-oxidant and has cancer prevention capabilities. And it is now that we have started using it again. In ancient times, there were no cases of cancer in our country. But now everywhere you find people suffering from cancer. Earlier, turmeric was used a lot. It was called a systematiser or ‘vyavasthapak’ in Ayurveda. So, we will have to revert to Ayurveda again. It has many such remedies that the world respects today. 

Q: Guruji, you say that we should definitely vote. But how should we find out as to who is better? We find all of them the same. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: As per the spiritual knowledge, if you find all of them the same then it is okay. Otherwise you shouldn’t call all of them wrong. Every field has some people who are wrong. Some people dress in the garb of a saint, read a few books, spread knowledge but commit sins as well. There are such people amongst the doctors as well, who steal others’ kidneys. Even among lawyers, there are such people. Every profession has such people. But if you say that all the doctors are wrong, all saints are wrong, all politicians and all officers are wrong, then that is not right. All officers can’t be wrong. All policemen cannot be corrupt. There are some policemen who are very good. So, if we measure everyone from the same yardstick, then our decision will be wrong. So, find out the person whom you find most deserving. There is no criterion for it. You will have to ask your heart. It will tell you whether the concerned person is correct or not. 

Q: Guruji, between my mind and my heart, whom should I listen to? My mind says something and my heart says something else.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you have to do a business, listen to your mind. But if you have to live life, listen to what your heart says. You shouldn’t use your mind while living life and your heart while carrying out a business. You will fail miserably in both cases. 

Q: Guruji, what roles can a common man play in transforming the society?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The person who considers himself as a ‘common man’ only can bring about a change. One who thinks himself to be special can never bring about a change. And don’t think you cannot do anything just because you are a common man. You can do a lot. Whatever I have said till now is what you can do. 

Q: : Guruji, you say that God is in every being. I can see God in you, but how to see God in others?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The sun is visible through the window, but behind the wall, also, is the sun. Accept it. ‘Kuch jaan ke chalo, kuch maan ke chalo, prem se sabko gale lagate chalo. Jeevan chand dinon ki baat hai’. Know some things and accept the rest, and love everyone. Life is a matter of a few days. 

Q: Guruji, how to control anger? Despite taking resolutions many times, I am overcome by anger. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Perfection is very dear to you and that is why you get angry. You should leave some space for imperfection as well. See everything as a dream. All this is just a dream. Look at your own life and observe everything that happened so far. You went to school, then to college and then to work. You were caught in a traffic jam while coming here and were complaining all the time. But when you leave, leave with a smile. While coming, there was the same traffic and while leaving, you will find the same traffic. But while leaving, you must leave happily. It will be the same traffic again. Everything depends upon your state of mind. 

Q: Guruji, does bearing everything mean contentment and acceptance?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No! I will not be able to tell you what contentment is. If you have never experienced contentment all your life, then you will not be able to experience it ever. You must have experienced it. You just need to silence your mind. What is the root cause of your problem? Bring it here. Come here; sit for ten minutes and surrender. When your mind relaxes, you will yourself know what contentment is. Everything will remain here and you will have to go. All those you have known in the past have left this planet. Don’t you remember? So many of us have left and similarly we will also have to go. If you are able to conceive only this much of knowledge, contentment will dawn upon you. 

Q: Guruji, should we protect our relationships at the stake of our self-respect?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Look, I am not going to be caught in this question. You are thinking something else, asking some other question, I will give an answer, you will apply it directly or indirectly and then you will say Guruji it was you who said it. No! Self-respect is one thing and egoism is another. Egoism gives rise to artificiality and self-respect is something that nobody can snatch from you. If you have self-respect, then you will keep smiling even if a million people verbally abuse you. Accept criticism. It is the other person’s choice to say what they want to say. Somebody told me something. I said that they have all the right to project their ignorance. Isn’t it? So why should we spoil our mind? Save it at any cost. 

Q: How to measure success in life? Why don’t we reap benefits even after putting a lot of hard work?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: For anything to be successful, you require five elements. Hard work alone will not pay. There should be hard work, blessings, luck, the instrument to do work, and the right frame of mind. If you have all this with you, only then will you be able to do it. 

Q: I know that what I am doing is wrong, yet I can’t stop myself! Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is because there is an iota of hope that you will find happiness in it. But when you will experience a greater happiness in meditation, then, you will automatically give it up. That is why you should do pranayama and meditation. Millions of people have got rid of their bad habits by doing this. Don’t worry, okay!

Q: Should we have faith in destiny?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We can build our own destiny. If you have faith you can construct your own destiny. 

Q: How should a person consider his life to be successful?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The more you smile, and when you smile even in times of distress then know that you are successful!

Q: Which is of these is more important: Karma (action) or Bhagya (destiny)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do you want to watch the television first or hear it first? Both of these go hand in hand. If there are two shops adjacent to each other, then one gains while the other loses. Why? There is something invisible. But we can build that something which is invisible. Don’t curse your destiny. You can change your destiny. The youth of India is so powerful that they can change their own destiny. There is no reason to lose hope. If any of you feel that there is no way left and that you are very depressed, then do contact our Art of Living teachers. If any of you feel like committing suicide then know that you first have to take my permission before you take any step in this direction. Otherwise, you will neither get an entry here nor an entry there. You will be stuck in between. And you know that I will not grant you the permission. 

Q: Students are committing more suicides. Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is because no one taught them spirituality. No one taught them how to do pranayama and meditation. We are ready to teach that. The YES+ course is held in every college, all of you must definitely do it. Here are the youth from IIT who are teaching YES+ in so many colleges. Your life will transform. Whenever your mind slips into depression, you might think of committing suicide but you should never do that. And if you are facing some other problem then mentally surrender it to me. And you will recover from it, immediately. 

Q: What is that one primary mantra to success?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The one primary mantra to success is to digest failure. 

Q: What should be the goal of our life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The one who knows will not tell and one who tells, does not know!

Q: Should we believe in astrology ?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Astrology is a science, but astrologers aren’t scientists. Often, they say something or the other. If there is something wrong with your Horoscope, it can be corrected by doing meditation, seva and satsang. You can change everything by doing all this. We must understand that past was destiny, and we can change our future.

Q: I don’t feel like studying.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do some pranayama and meditation and you will be able to concentrate.

Q: India is ahead in spirituality yet so backward. Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Who said India is backward? Do you know, today, America is the worst debt-struck country in the world? Their financial condition is very bad and they are heavily indebted. 

Awareness towards cleanliness should be imbibed in our culture

March 16, 2012




Mahasatsang at Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh

(Sri Sri share the sholka 'Annadata Sukhi Bhavah' and encourages all to chant this shloka before we eat food. He says, 'Always eat food with this prayer in mind. It means, may the one who have given me this food be happy.')

Today I have gotten the opportunity to come here to Azamgarh and be with all of you. I am very happy to be here!

It is our responsibility to ensure that our message is heard by everyone, and wherever it is not being heard, it is our duty to reach out to those people.

Society has deteriorated not because of bad people, but because the good people are keeping quiet. If we care for each other from our heart, then we will have to wake up now.

I keep talking about the four A’s – Agyan (ignorance), Anyaay (injustice), Abhav (shortage) and Asuchi (un-cleanliness). These are four areas that we need to focus on:

First, we need to eradicate ignorance. There should be 100% literacy in UP. Every child must go to school and receive good education, this is very important.

Then, we will have to stand against injustice. Wherever there is injustice done on the basis of caste and religion; we have to stand against it. If somebody is being oppressed, we will have to stand up for them. All of us have to stand up against injustice and corruption.

How many of you are fed up of corruption here?

When we feel that we are fed up of corruption, then we say, ‘Okay, let us also give in. What can we do? There is no other way out. If the work is not done without giving bribe, then we have to give bribe.’ This is how people think.

I know and I understand that nobody can fight against corruption alone. If only one person goes to fight against corruption, he will have to face many obstacles and it will be impossible for him. But if we go together as a group of thirty to fifty people, we can definitely bring it under control.

Corruption begins where belongingness ends. It is only when one feels that the other is a stranger that corruption, oppression, injustice, etc., happens.

Just by laws and legislations alone, this problem will not get solved. It can happen when there is spiritual transformation and people have a sense of belongingness. Consider everyone as your own, and then you will see corruption will be wiped out from the society.

This we can do only if the people of this country wake up and stand against corruption and say, 'No, I will not give bribe or take bribe.'

A wave of spirituality throughout the country alone can end corruption. And what is spirituality? It is that which brings peace in the society, belongingness amongst the people, and contentment, strength and peace to every individual.

That which increases belongingness is called spirituality.

Now tell me, how long does it take to have belongingness with someone? It does not take much time at all. You get married, and someone you just met becomes a part of your family.

A boy from another family, who you don’t know much about, becomes your son-in-law in one day, with just a wedding card. And after that, we consider his relatives also as our own. We may have never even met them before. Some might be from Mumbai, some from America, and some others from different parts of the world but still we establish a relationship with them. We say, ‘He is my brother-in-law’s nephew.’

We meet them, we find out our relationship with them and we accept them.

Now tell me, why is it that we hesitate to accept the people of our own country and our neighbors? This is ignorance.


When an Indian meets another Indian in a foreign land, they exchange greetings. But it was not like this some thirty years back. In those days, if an Indian came across another Indian in a foreign land, they wouldn’t even look at each other face to face. Why? It is because they were afraid that the person might ask them for some help. Many people have shared this with me. It has been their experience.

But these days, the atmosphere has changed. They feel pride in being an Indian.

I often come across many youths from the IT (Information Technology) field at the airport and many of them tell me, ‘Guruji, you have done wonders!’

I asked them, ‘What I have done?’

They said, ‘Guruji, earlier when we used to wear kurtas to the airport, people would look at us in a peculiar manner. Now, whenever we wear dhoti-kurta or pyjama-kurta, people really respect us’.

India has gained respect because of its Ancient Knowledge, this is what people say and this is true. But today, India has gained respect not only because of its Ancient Knowledge but also because of its IT industry. If our country is being pulled down it is only because of black money and corruption, and it is our duty to rid our country of these two evils. What do you think?

People tell me, ‘Guruji, being in the line of spirituality, your job is only to teach meditation. Why are you talking about corruption? Why are you getting into these matters?’

I said, ‘What is the use of me being spiritual if the pain of others does not pain my heart and does not make me care for people and reach out to them. No, I am not such a person.’

What do you think; should I not talk about it?

I told them, ‘Whatever my conscience says I will follow that, no matter what people say.’

We must stand up against corruption and we must take this sankalpa that we will neither give bribe nor accept bribe. We will take India to great heights; this is my dream!

Every citizen of this country must have a smile on their face and all their tears transformed to smiles. I will keep working towards this till my last breath, no matter what people say.

For this, we all need to work together. How? We all have to stand against injustice.

The third thing is, we have to remove scarcity.

Look at China, it was economically behind us for a long time, but now it has marched ahead of us. The reason behind this is that they work very hard and they give their 100% towards what they do.

Last year, two gentlemen from China came down to our Ashram in Bengaluru and they invited me saying, ‘Guruji, please grace our country with your presence’.

I said, ‘Okay, since you are requesting me so much, I will come.’ So, I gave them the dates I would visit. Three months later when I reached China, I was very surprised when I saw that within those three month they had built an Ashram!

On two hundred acres of land, they built a huge ashram. They had made four hundred rooms and had planted many trees. I was astonished to see that.

In our country, in three months, leave alone a building, a simple registration for a land does not get passed. You will not believe the work they had done in three months. The Ashram is between the Beijing city and the airport, so it is a forty-five minutes drive from the airport as well as from the city.

In the Ashram, they made a small stream and on either sides of the stream, they constructed a small bridge over the stream. They did this in three days and when I arrived, they told me, ‘Guruji, we built this for you.’ If we want to learn diligence, we must learn it from the Chinese. They are very efficient.

All the idols in our country are coming from China. All the idols of Radha-Krishna and Ganesha that you see made of plastic are all coming from there. Can’t we do the same thing here?

In China, every village has taken a specific responsibility. One entire village is involved in making buttons. If you enter any house, you will find a machine in every house and each person is involved in the job of making buttons. And if you go to another village, the people there make only needles. You will get needles of all sizes there.

The same thing used to be here as well – the petha (a sweet dish) of Agra, the peda (a sweet dish) of Mathura, the sarees of Banaras, carpets of Mirzapur and black pottery of Azamgarh, these were all popular earlier. Every place had some specialty of their own. This needs to be revived and spread across the country. The message that the earthen pots of Azamgarh are very famous should spread everywhere.

We have remained backward in this area, but now this must be promoted. In every field, if we take one commodity and increase its trade, scarcity will be wiped out from the country.

All the unemployed youths here, I request all of you not to leave this satsang without getting yourselves registered at the center here. Our HR department will train you, and I want all of you to be employed. This is my goal.

There is no shortage of jobs in our country. So many industrialists are establishing their factories in China. I ask them, ‘Why don’t you establish your factory here. There is so much poverty in our country and you are establishing the factory in China.’

They said, ‘Guruji, we can find people there’.

I said, ‘It is my job to get you people; you just establish your factory here.’

I have always been saying this. I need youth from this country that don’t have jobs and want to work. We can do a lot in India, and bring an economic revolution here.

When spirituality in our country was at its peak, its financial condition was also very strong. When spirituality fell, so did the economic condition of the country. Around two to three hundred years back, one third of the world’s wealth was in India. In those days, spirituality was at its peak. So, don’t think, what is the connection between spirituality and the economic health of the country? Where there is Narayana, Lakshmi (symbolism of wealth) also follows!

Then, we need to remove un-cleanliness, this is also our duty.

It is said that India is one of the dirtiest countries in the world. People say that India is one country where you will always find dirt, and people live in dirt and die also in that dirty environment.

We don’t keep our streets clean; we don’t keep our own house clean. In some houses, the washbasins are not cleaned for months together. This is what the statistics are saying. I want to prove that these statistics are wrong. So we will all give importance to both, inner cleanliness as well as outer cleanliness. We will keep our houses and streets clean.

Today, lakhs of people have gathered here. I want ask for Guru Dakshina (a gift to express gratitude) from all of you here.

When a guru or a saint comes to a city, he is given Guru Dakshina. This is our tradition.

I will ask for two things as Guru Dakshina from all of you present here today. The first Dakshina I want from you is that if you have any hatred or negative feelings towards anyone give it to me as Dakshina. Whosoever you have disliked, mend your relations with them by distributing sweets. This is the first Dakshina.

The second Dakshina I want from you is two hours of your time on the coming Sunday, from eight to ten. I want you to come out with a broom and make groups and clean Azamgarh. If each one of us goes out on the streets to clean Azamgarh, then this place will shine.

This is my second Dakshina, will you give me this?

If in a month, you spare two hours of time for cleaning, it will be enough for me. Every month for two hours, take out some time to clean the streets.

So, on Sunday, all the educated people, with the entire family, go out on the streets with broomsticks, and clean the place. Remove all the plastic bags and garbage. If any of the drains or pipelines are blocked somewhere, then all the engineers put on a mask and clean the blockage with some tools.

Leaving everything on the municipality and the government will not work. We need to participate in this, and then a lot of work can be done.

I will tell you a story about this. Around 1977 or 1978, I was visiting Switzerland. So one day I went out for a stroll. The surrounding was very peaceful, there were snow capped mountains, and the road was empty. Somebody had given me a small chocolate that I was holding in my hand. So I ate the chocolate and threw the wrapper there on the road. After a little while, I heard a voice from far away. A lady with a walking stick was waving at me asking me to stop. She must have been in her 70s or 80s. I thought she must be having some problem, so stopped and I turned back and looked towards her.

As she walked towards me, she picked up the wrapper I threw on the roadside and asked me to drop it in the dustbin nearby.

Nobody was there, not even the police. I had just gone out for a stroll. And the old lady, who didn’t even know my language, gestured me to drop the wrapper in the dustbin and not on the street.

Since that day, I have never thrown anything like that.

I feel that if such awareness comes into the people of our country; India will be a very clean place.

I have dream of a clean India and that is why I am raising the issue of cleanliness wherever I go. Awareness towards cleanliness should be imbibed in our culture.

I am asking you to do the same thing on a Sunday. I am just asking for two hours of your time, nothing else. Just go out with your broomsticks, and all those locked up in their rooms, call them too.

This way, to clean our society, people from all castes, parties, classes and religions can come together. This difference of higher and lower class in our society will end. Service to society is one thing that connects us to God.

Okay, now let us do a small meditation. When we meditate in a group, then any sankalpa or desire you have in your mind gets fulfilled. You will get a blessing, for sure.

(Guruji guides everyone into meditation)

See, for most of you, thirty, forty or fifty years of your life is already over. You will be here for another fifteen, twenty or twenty five years more. After that, what will happen, where will you go?

‘Who am I?’ ‘Where will I go?’ If such questions or anxiousness does not arise in your mind, then consider your life has been wasted. It is of no use.

You should have these questions in mind, ‘Who am I?’ ‘What do I want; what will happen to me after this?’ It does not matter if you don’t get the answer to the questions, but at least these questions should arise in you.

All of us sitting here, we have all been born many times and died many times. I remember and you can also remember; it is not difficult. If you meditate for a little while, you will also understand that you have come here many times. Then such an inner strength awakens in you that nobody can wipe the smile off your face; that inner connection is established with God. Once this happens, then there will be no short fall of anything in life.

God isn’t someone outside or away from you. He did not take birth and die, He is eternal. He is in the present and he is in every one of you, in every particle of this creation.

All that you have to do is sit silently for a short while, withdrawing yourself from everything else. Only those who are contented in life can bring contentment to others. If you feel that you have gotten everything you wanted from life and your mind is contented, then any intention that arises in your mind becomes fruitful, and your blessing become very powerful. All your sankalpas get accomplished. This is a scientific truth.

In our country, we have a custom of taking blessings from the elderly whenever we are about to begin some good work or a new task. Do you know why?

As per tradition, the elderly should be satisfied and contented, and so when such a person says, ‘Bless you!’ Then that positive energy enters our life and puts everything on track.

But you don’t get to see that with the elderly people these days. The more aged they are, the more misery, anger and pain you see in them.

You know, the elderly people abroad are not given any importance. After the age of sixty, it is like they have been thrown out of their homes. The children go and visit them on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day and give them a card, or they post it to them. But this is not the tradition in India. We respect our elders and we have always respected the elderly. The reason behind this is what we cannot do through our body; we can do through our thoughts. Nature has kept such a power within us.

As long as there is strength in your body, do work. But when you cannot do work, then pray and bless everyone. But what do we do, we hold on to the keys of the safe in our hands tight and we are not willing to let go. We keep crying and consider everyone else to be wrong. Such an elderly person can’t do anything. How to age and grow old is also an art.

After a certain age, hand over all the responsibilities to your children, show them the way and you be free. Meditate and focus your attention on God. If you live life this way, then your life will be very fulfilling. So, power to bless another comes to those who are contented.

Now that does not mean that you become contented only after a certain age. Even at a younger age you can be contented and happy.

I tell you, I’ve never abused anybody all these 55 years of my life. I’ve never said any bad words to anybody. Not that I achieved it or made any special effort, it is my nature.

The more refined your speech is, the more will be your power to bless others.

If every morning we abuse someone or use abusive language, then our speech will have no power. With a clean heart and a happy mind, if we speak sweet words, then a unique power arises in us and with that power not only will our work be done, but we will also be able to help others with their tasks.

The basis for this is meditation. When we meditate, our mind becomes pleasant, our intellect becomes sharp, concentration improves and everything starts happening effortlessly.

I am not saying that if you meditate today, tomorrow all your work will be done. No, I am not saying this. It isn’t magic. But meditation definitely helps and your work will definitely get done. This I have noticed. So, I am asking all of you to be contented. If you are not, then go to the one who is contented and seek their blessings. Ask them to bless you.

Today, you people have come here. I would say you must leave all your problems, pain and restlessness with me. I am ready to take it. Just leave all that here and go back home with a smile. This is what I want. We can’t get rid of our sins ourselves. Somebody will have to remove them for us.

This is what Lord Sri Krishna has said to his disciples, ‘Aham Tvam Sarva-papebhyo Mokshayishyami Ma Sucah’; do not be unhappy, I will rid you of all your sins. Stand strong and have patience.

This is what Lord Krishna has said, and this has been our ancient tradition.

Why do we need a Guru? We need a Guru so that whatever problems that we have in our mind which we cannot handle, can be surrendered at the feet of the Guru.

In our country there was this custom - Mata, Pita, Guru and Dev.

When we were children what did we do? When we were sad we called out ‘Amma’ and went to our mother. Yes or no? Whenever a small child has any trouble, it runs to its mother. If the child had some quarrel with the mother, the child will go to the father.

When we were in school for any problem we used to go to the class teacher.

In every family there was a saint, a Guru. We used to go to them and whatever botheration or trouble was there, we would surrender those at their feet and become empty.

If someone did not have a Guru, then there was the family deity. Every family had their own Kuldevta (family deity). So we would go to the family deity, and any problem we had we would surrender it there and become free. We have left all these practices today. That is why all this suicide, infanticide, etc., started. The reason behind this is that we have left all four: mother, father, guru and God.

This is what is happening in the society. We need to change this. And this is what I want. I want you to leave all your problems here and know that my blessings are with you.

Try this once and see you will experience such peace in your life.

One more thing I want to tell you. If the farmers are unhappy, then the people of the country consuming the food grains will also be unhappy. That is why we must say ‘Annadata Sukhi Bhavah’ before eating our food.

Always eat food with this prayer in mind. It means, may the one who has given me this food be happy. When we say this shloka, we are including three people, one is the farmer, the other is the middleman and the third is the lady of the house who prepared the food and served it to you. If there are tears in her eyes, you will not be able to digest that food. People are bound to fall ill.

So we should say this prayer daily, ‘Annadata Sukhi Bhavah’.

Q: Gurudev, you often tell us ‘Antar Mukhi Sada Sukhi’. Is it possible to be like this in today’s world?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, you are living in the world, and still you sleep everyday for some time. Similarly, if for a little while every day you meditate and go inward then you will see such peace arising from within you. This will help you in your day to day life. So it is definitely possible.

Q: Gurudev, I want to become like you. Is it possible?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Definitely! Do seva, sadhana and satsang.

There is no difference between you and me. You are what I am. When we came here we were all the same. When children are born they are all the same. Just that I didn’t lose my childlike nature, but you probably got lost somewhere. But you can come back, there is no problem.

I consider myself as a boy who hasn’t grown up yet.

Q: Guruji, these days, the universities and the colleges have lowered their standards so much. Why don’t you open up a college or university where we can give our children good education?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes! The Government of Orissa said the same thing to me. I said, ‘I am ready.’ So they passed the legislation and allotted us a land for the university.

We have been working on it; it should start from this year onwards, in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.

I did this because there are so many students who go abroad for higher education to Australia, London and America. There, many of them suffer because of racial discrimination and prefer to come back home. So I thought why not give them the best quality education here? So keeping this in mind we have started a university taking the very best from the West and the best from the East, and combining it to make an effective educational system. So a combination of science and wisdom; just one will not do.

All those who are interested in taking admissions at our University are most welcome.

The building is being constructed right now, but it should open in July or August this year.

Q: Guruji, what is the difference between Upanishad and Purana? Which should I read?


Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Upanishad is pure knowledge, and the Purana is coupled with stories. Do you know what the meaning of Purana is? It means ultra modern, or the newest thing is called Purana. The meaning of Purana in Sanskrit is different from its meaning in Hindi, they are opposite. What we call purana (old) in Hindi is absolutely new and fresh (purana) in Sanskrit.

So, the new way of presenting knowledge is called Purana.

Q: Gurudev, the entire country is very proud of Sachin Tendulkar today as he completed his 100th century today. Would you like to say something about him?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I would like to congratulate him. And at the same time would like to request him to become a member of the cricket board, BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India).

At the moment, many elderly people are the members of this board, who are beyond sixty or seventy years of age, and have been members for more than twenty years, and there is so much corruption taking place in this sphere. This needs to be corrected.

Also, it is very important to encourage the youth to participate in sports. When the youth put their minds into sports, they will not get into addictions and violence.

Q: Guruji, I am a Muslim, can I also learn Sudarshan Kriya? Will I have to leave anything for that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, there is no need to leave anything at all.

I just returned from Pakistan and thousands of people have done the course in Pakistan and are practicing Sudarshan Kriya. They have even established a center there. Around one lakh people have received training there and they are all very happy.

When I went there, I didn’t feel that I am in Pakistan. They welcomed me with so much warmth and feelings. I am telling you, Sudarshan Kriya does not take you away from your religion but in fact it brings more depth to your prayers. It brings forth that inner happiness.

Yoga and Sudarshan Kriya keeps you strong and healthy. That is why drop all doubts.

In Iraq, Iran and in many other countries, people are doing Sudarshan Kriya and are enjoying the benefit of it. In many mosques in Africa also they are teaching the Art of Living courses.

Q: Guruji, is it true that we must give more attention to our problems because every problem takes us more towards spirituality.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sukh Mein Seva Aur Dukh Mein Tyaag. When you are happy, do some service activities and when you are miserable, you must have the courage to let go.

Problems give depth to your life, while happiness motivates you to serve others. So happiness and sorrow come and go but when we connect to that Divine power that is within us and when we have this faith that God is my own, he is right here with me, then sorrow does not come at all.

Q: Gurudev, people are talking about bringing Yoga to Olympics. What do you feel? Should Yoga be made into a competition?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, definitely. For whatever reason, if people do yoga, I am satisfied with that. Even if it is a competition at the Olympics, or in school or through the Yogathon event, at least do it. When you do Yoga you will get a lot of benefit. It is good regardless of the reason for which it is done.