Q.
I am not sure about what I want to do in life. I want to ask you but I don’t even know what to ask
and what exactly I want. I get bored doing anything in very little time. I find myself being very
moody. I am not satisfied or happy doing anything. How can I live my life with this kind of mental
state?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want comfort too much. Get out of your comfort zone. You are only thinking of your comfort and
pleasure; that is when you get into this stage or state. You are here to be useful to somebody
else. You are here to do something useful to someone. How can you be bored? Even if you are bored,
you have to do that, because what you do is useful to someone else. If you are self-centred, and
you think, ‘If I like it only then I will do it’, then that is not seva. That won’t bring you
satisfaction. Do you see what I’m saying? ‘I don’t like meeting people’, but you are meeting
people for your sake or for their sake? If you are meeting people for their sake, then your life
is fulfilling.
You may say, ‘Guruji, you can do this, but what about me? I cannot do this.’ At least do
something! You don’t have to do what I am doing; at least do a portion of it, maybe ten percent or
five percent of it. See, I am very free, but yet I am not free. Every day of mine is bound. Do you
see what I am saying?
You have all come here to be in satsang with me, I will say, ‘Oh, I don’t feel like being
here. I feel moody. I want to go somewhere, to Shawinigan, Trois-Riveres’, and I take a car and
just walk away and you are sitting here, waiting for Guruji, where is Guruji? I don’t want to do
this but I am doing it all the 365 days. I am answering the same questions; people are saying,
‘Will you find a husband for me?’, ‘Will you find a wife for me?’ or ‘Get me a job’, or do this,
or do that, or take a picture with me, ‘You don’t care for me’, ‘You care for me’; all these
stories. Do I feel bored? I have been doing this for 30 years now; more than 30 years, even before
The Art of Living too, for 40 years! I can’t say I want to go somewhere for a ride.
So, do something that is good for others. I need so much of your time, your work. Don’t worry
about whether you like it or not, just do it and see. Sometimes you don’t like doing things in the
beginning, but later on, you will reap the fruit of that action. Any seva you do will always take
you up; it will always bring you benefits, beyond your imagination. So don’t underestimate that.
Do you see what I am saying?
Otherwise, if you are doing everything to satisfy your own self, you will be bored, because
nothing in the world can satisfy you. And you are lucky in a way that you are getting so bored so
quickly. You are so lucky; you are the right person as a seeker, you have the right ingredients to
grow because you get bored with all these material things. That is good. One very good thing with
the kids these days is that they get bored with everything very soon, but instead of getting
frustrated, they should move that whole energy in another direction of evolution, to go higher.
Q.
In this world of stress, violence and corruption, what is your message for youth 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.
What is the ultimate and greatest truth of life? Is it to be happy, or to make one’s family happy,
or to serve humankind, or to reach the Divine?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The ultimate journey starts with one step. Just do not sit and dream about the Ultimate. Instead,
begin your journey towards the Ultimate. Take small steps towards the Truth; towards this inquiry
into life – “What is the goal of life?” This very inquiry can take you far. Everything has some
significance in life. Just eating alone is not the goal of life. Yet eating is essential for
sustaining life. Isn’t it? Similarly, sleeping is not the goal of life. But can you discard sleep
altogether? No, you cannot. In the same way, you have to be happy and you also have to make others
happy. This is the journey towards the Ultimate.
What is the ultimate Truth, or the ultimate purpose of life? I tell you, one who really knows will
not tell you, and anyone who does tell you, simply does not know. That is the secret.
Q.
Children don’t care about their parents when they grow up. Where do we fail as parents and what is
your advice to parents so that this situation could be controlled?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is why I say that it is important to instil the three types of trust in your children – trust
in oneself, trust in the goodness of others, and trust in the Divine. A little bit of moral and
spiritual values, and the way you treat your parents and ask them to treat their grandparents can
make an impact on them. From a young age, tell your children to take care of their grandparents.
They will start being sensitive this way.
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