Posted: March 18, 2020

With what seems like the whole world on a standstill to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar offers his wisdom on how to make the most of these times of social distancing and self-quarantine.

The times that we are in, confined to our homes, in our very rooms, should not bog us down. It should be looked at as an opportunity to improve our health and overall well-being. It is the time to upskill oneself and to spend more time with the ones you love.

Make use of this time to meditate; at least twice or thrice every day.
This is the time you can acquire more knowledge.
This is the time you can acquire new skills, learn more languages, practise yoga.

You can do many things which you normally do during your times of recreation. Nobody asks what one should do on their vacation! You will always find something good to do.

Now this time, instead of going out for vacation, sit and read some books -there is so much knowledge in them. Watch television, there are some good informative programs, listen to music, learn music. There are a million things that you can do …

There is no point in feeling depressed, reading the same old news again and again or getting worked up. Instead, you could chat with people. There are so many people who need help, ailing, who are not happy - You can uplift their moods, by talking, giving them a sense of hope, cheer. Connect through social media; there is a lot of positive messaging that can be done through social media. It might help bring respite to all those suffering in isolation and pain.
Also, just slow down, calm down, and cool down for some time. You have that ability, don’t forget that. You have the ability to just let go and relax... do that more often!