26 July 2015 - QA 6

If all members of both the teams in a soccer match strongly believe in God and pray for victory before the match starts, why does one team win and the other lose?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

God likes to do everything indirectly, not directly. So, he gives one team the privilege of giving the gift of winning to the other team because the joy in getting is small, but the joy in giving is greater.

We all came to the world with the joy of having things, but when we leave this world, we should have experienced the joy of contributing and giving back to the society. That is a mature joy, the real joy.

Ask grandmothers how much they enjoy when they give to the kids. God knows that there is greater joy in giving, and so he makes one team give the gift of winning to the other team. Either you win or you make others win, that’s all. You know, Jesus has said, “The meek will inherit the world”, and that’s what it is, the loser gets the greater joy.