Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Question - Gurudev, when I look around, I see only misery, hate, anger, greed and meaningless violence. How do I know that there is a higher power around me? Gurudev Sri Sri - See, the nature of our mind is when we see misery we magnify it. If ten complements are given to you and one insult is given to you, what you usually do is, you catch hold of that one insult and blow it out of proportion. My dear, I would like to tell you, there are a lot of good things also happening in the society. There is lot of service happening. There are a lot of good intended people around, and if you look into the eyes of these people, you will feel that there is compassion and love in most people's hearts and minds. I agree there is hate, anger and greed. This is because we have not been able to educate them in human values.

Question - Gurudev, how does one cultivate maturity in life? Gurudev Sri Sri - Perception, observation and expression - these three things can bring you maturity. The way you perceive things and observe things all around you. Wisdom doesn't need time at all. You don't need to become old to become mature. You simply need observation, of not just yourself but also of the lives of those around you.

Question - Gurudev, different people have different notions of spirituality. Some think it is escapism, others think it is torturing oneself. What is spirituality according to you? Gurudev Sri Sri - Anything that uplifts the human spirit is spirituality. Anything that brings you peace, joy, love, comfort and motivates you to do service in society is spirituality. We are made up of both matter and spirit. Our body is made up of Amino acids, carbohydrate, protein and all that stuff. Our spirit is made up of love, compassion, generosity, intelligence, all these values. So spirituality is not just sitting and doing something. It is something that invokes, that builds character in you.

Question - Gurudev, how to get close to and help people we love who are closed down, and who have built barriers around themselves? Gurudev Sri Sri - With patience and perseverance. You know, people who have built barriers around them are somewhere insecure inside. They have some prejudice and insecurity. And these are the two important things in society that we need to attend to: prejudice against culture, against gender, and against class. Some people think a particular class of people are all bad. This sort of prejudice and stress and tension in the mindset of people must be attended to. And this we can do only with patience and perseverance.

Question - Gurudev, hearing so many incidences about Godmen, my faith is shaken. How do I know if a saint is authentic? Gurudev Sri Sri - It is a very genuine question that you have. There are people who bring disgrace to their field, and this happens in almost every field. Whether it is a medical doctor, a politician, a spiritual leader or a businessman. There are people who are not genuine. They are not doing what they are supposed to do. But we should not take this to heart and put everyone in the same basket. There are so many good people who are working for the betterment of the society today. So we should not create a prejudice within us. There are people who do not follow the code of conduct of the field they are in, we simply have to pity them, that's all.