In the third and fourth generation the wisdom starts dwindling. This is what you can observe around the world. There are many people from the Sindhi community here. Do you know how much difficulty they faced 60 years back? They had to leave all their belongings behind in Sindh at the time of partition. Yet today they have flourished and are spread all across the world. Do you know how much they had to toil to come up? No one supported them. They had to stand on their own feet and work. They can tell you such fascinating stories of those times. Hong Kong is a major hub of the Sindhi community. We should never forget that it is hardship that brings us such great strength in life.
Be a good follower first. If you have to be a better teacher, you have to be a good student first. If you wish to be a good businessman, you need to learn to be a good customer first. Then you will know what a customer needs, and how a customer should be treated.
Also, a good leader never imposes his leadership. He should always keep in mind that he is just facilitating. A good leader stands behind and lets everyone else go forward. A leader is one who leads from the back.
There are two types of leaders:
1. Those who walk at the front and have others follow behind them.
2. Those who are the first to open the doors and let everyone else walk forward, and they go last.
I would say the second one is better. They are more compassionate. Such a leader would know that everyone has arrived and walked ahead. Otherwise if you as a leader are walking right at the front, how would you know whether people are coming behind you or not. Some people may have dropped out while walking behind you. So as a leader, should stand back and see to it that everyone moves forward.
You know, if you believe something then it will manifest and be like that. That is the first thing you should know. The mind has enormous power. If you have such thoughts or belief system, then it will start happening that way.
The second thing is that there are vibrations – both positive and negative. Negative vibrations also come and there are remedies for them. Do you know what remedies are there? The use of salt and oil is one of them. In India and in China also, people use salt and oil to ward off the negative vibrations and it seems to work.
This is actually also a common practice around the world. In many places when people feel negative or low, they go to the beach and take a walk near the shore. The salty air can help bring a change in the way we feel.
In India, the custom is that people take a handful of salt and rotate it around the person's head and then throw it away in flowing water nearby. It is to take away the negative vibrations. Singing devotional hymns and chanting also will help to dispel the negative vibrations.
There are two things to understand for answering this question. One is, it depends on what age you are when you ask this question. I have different answers for different age groups (laughter). If you are a teenager asking this question, I would say that you should not worry, it is natural.
If this feeling continues to be with you even after you have crossed 40 or 50 years of age, then I would say that you should watch your food and do some pranayama regularly. There is something not quite right if this feeling continues after a ripe age.
If this feeling comes even after you are 70, I would say you really need some treatment. It means there is a big disconnect between the body and mind.
Lust means wanting something, wanting to grab or possess something, and it comes because you have lost the tendency to give, the tendency to love. When love is low then lust becomes higher, but when love is higher, then lust diminishes. Love is to have this sincere feeling 'I am here for you. Lust is the feeling 'What can I get from you?'
Yes, you have stated your problem and its diagnosis also. When there is loneliness in life, when you feel life has no juice or enthusiasm, when you feel there is nobody to love or to express your feelings to, then in times like this you should first of all love yourself, and love the Divine in you. Know it for sure that the entire universe loves you very dearly. This wisdom can elevate you to a different pedestal altogether, at which you no longer come from a space of lack or demand for a relationship. You then come from a space where you sincerely wish to contribute to others. You have to become self-reliant in your emotions. And that is possible through deep meditation alone.
What do you mean by another chance? Are you asking for another chance to not listen and regret yet again? It is alright, never mind. One mistake happened, it is okay. Now move ahead. I have infinite patience. You can fall down ten times, but at least at the eleventh time, stand up and walk ahead. Run!
See, life is a combination of both destiny and free will. I know this question is in the minds of many of you. How many of you here were thinking about this very question? Raise your hands (many in the audience raise hands in agreement). Ah, see! I was getting all your vibes.
Life is not only destiny, and life is not only free will. If anyone thinks that life is just free will, then know that they are not sincere. It is not all free will and neither is it all destiny. An intelligent person will always see the past as destiny, and the future as free will. If you think that the past was about free will, then you will only sit and regret in the present. And if you think that the future is all destiny then you will have no enthusiasm to do anything in the present. So fools think that the past was free will and the future is destiny, and get depressed and become unhappy..
Someone once asked me, “Did you become a Guru by choice or by accident?”
I said, “By accident!” -- so that is the destiny. Knowing that the past is destiny, the future is free will, you should live happily in the present moment. This is wisdom.
A strong body can carry a weak mind, but a weak mind cannot carry even a strong body. Clarity in the mind and purity in the heart are the signs of happiness. Having these will uplift your spirit, and it has not left anyone untouched.
