(Read Gurudev's Message on India's Independence Day - 15 August 2013)
India has always had power, and it is because the spirituality of India. We need to bring forward the image of our nation as a secure and strong country. And it is everyone’s responsibility to work for the improvement of our society. We cannot say that we love the gardener (God) but we don’t like his garden (society). Nobody can say this. That is why Janseva (serving people) is Janardana seva (serving God). So we should be involved in service.
Whosoever is given a position, they should remember that the chair is meant for serving the people, and not for selfish personal gains. The leaders of the country should live with humility, and serve with dedication, just like a servant would.
God is said to be ‘Dasaanudasa’ , which means the servant of servants. Lord Hari (a name for Lord Narayana) is said to be the servant of servants. God serves his devotees with utmost humility and love. So we should be also be like a das (always ready to serve), like the Divine, but we should not be udaas (sad).
We all have belongingness, humanity and love in us. Now is the time to bring this out strongly. We need to meet people and communicate with them. We need to bring a wave of happiness in our society.
Today, even the United Nations has acknowledged that it is not GDP (Gross Domestic Product) but GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) which is more important. We cannot ignore this; happiness is an important factor.
Are people happy? Are they content? Now these factors are also being measured.
The volunteers of VBI (Volunteer for a Better India) should go from village to village and sit with people. Inspire them, and kindle enthusiasm in them. Do satsangs wherever possible. Bringing a wave of spirituality alone will make this difference.
The transformation has already begun and the much needed change has also started happening everywhere.
Entrepreneurship should grow many fold and so plan for it. Also it is important not to forget to do your CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Definitely you can be a part of the inclusive growth if you participate in CSR activities. Don't do it just because it is a law and you have to do it, but do it willingly with all your heart.
If the law says that you have to contribute 3% and that is mandatory, why don’t you put 4% or 5%. If you add that 1% more it will show your commitment towards the country.
Competition is very good but in competition there should be no bitterness. And how can you have competition yet no bitterness? With spirituality. Spirituality gives you that inner confidence and tranquility that helps you to be competitive yet not cunning or unethical in your attitude and behavior.
You want only five things, I have twenty five things.
1. The youngsters today should be proud of their roots. If they are not proud of their roots then that will show up as a weakness in their personality. So take pride in your roots, then your self esteem will go up.
If you have a good self esteem then you can do anything in the world. In India, many people suffer from a lack of self esteem.
2. Stay away from intoxicants.
The province of Punjab has been destroyed by drugs from across the border. It is a sad thing. The youth don’t want to do anything because they are so addicted to drugs. Not just the province of Punjab but the same is in Kerala as well. I had a delegation of youth who came and met me couple of days ago. He was telling me how drugs have taken root in Kerala, in Mumbai and in Bangalore. It is unbelievable. We must chuck the intoxicants. I request the youth to stay away from all types of intoxicants. Drugs and alcohol de-addiction is a must for a progressive country.
3. Engage yourself in some form of social activity, at least for one hour a day. Give one hour to the nation.
4. Do some random acts of kindness.
5. For the youth, this is the time to improve your talents. This is the time to be creative and multi-dimensional. You have to be multi-talented. Though you may pursue one line of education do not ignore to equip yourself with others skills. You may be studying for engineering, but also learn some cooking. Suppose you don’t get an engineer job at least you can cook somewhere.
When I was a youth like you, I use to think, what else can I do, thought I was anyway going to do spirituality. So I used to put my hand everywhere. Even if you are not a master it is good to be a jack of all trades. That can at least explore your ability to be a multi-faceted personality. So it is very important to improve your personality by engaging yourself in many areas.
Yes, so many people stand and watch only two people playing. In that sense I think soccer is most engaging game, everybody is active on the field. Though cricket increases your alertness, you have to be alert to catch the ball at any time.
We should promote our Indian games like Kho Kho, Kabbadi, etc. Our village games are very good, so we should encourage them.
Yes, women should stand up. Even if you are a house wife, stand up. You have equal rights, and you have great responsibilities. Never feel you are weak, you are empowered, you must do and you can do many things.
Keep aside one hour every day for serving the nation. Women love talking, you should go and talk to the people on the streets, in the slums, and to the under privileged people. Go in groups to these areas where there are underprivileged people and sit with them, talk to them, and give them some solace. Just by talking you can reduce the burden and worries of many people. You can bring down their tension.
Instead of just sitting and talking about movies and fashion, or jewelry, why don’t you go and give some solace to people who are suffering. You can contribute a lot. I see many ladies here who are doing such great work in old age homes.
Yes, skilled training is separate, and The Art of Living is also doing it. Get in touch with our SSRDP (Sri Sri Rural Development Program), we have many teachers who are training the youths on handling electronic equipment, so that if anything goes wrong, they know how to repair it. We need to teach these things them.
There are many conspiracy theories, and if you read some of them they will appear absolutely shocking and may be very true. But I tell you don’t be paranoid. Do not pollute your mind with all these conspiracy theories. Of course the pharmaceutical industry has a big lobby and we know very well that many of the pharmaceutical products are not too good for human consumption yet they are pushed through. So, we need to be cautious about this.