16 May 2014 - QA 1

Gurudev, when I see Mr. Narendra Modi (the victorious Prime ministerial candidate of the 2014 General assembly elections in India), I cannot help but swell with pride. Are there other leaders like him who think and work for serving the nation? What should the leader of a country do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There is a leader within everyone. All that you have to do is simply awaken and enhance those abilities within yourself.
This is a skill which everyone should know. It is present within everyone, only it is lying dormant in some people, while in some it is awakened and expressed.
It is good that this time there was a chance during the elections to enhance this skill, and he made full use of this opportunity very well throughout the country.

The voting in this election has been very positive, I would say. Candidates did not go after petty politics, to win by outsmarting and defeating their rivals.
However, one of the candidates (who happens to be my friend) did this. He travelled to Kashi (another name for the city of Benares in Uttar Pradesh) for the sole purpose of showing down another candidate in the hope of defeating him. Instead he was the one who suffered defeat in the elections in that constituency.

The feeling with which we sow the seeds of our actions, we will reap the same kind of results too.
When we think in the interests of our nation, then we also will surely benefit. But if we put the nation’s interests aside, and go with petty selfish interests to only defeat someone, then it is we who will lose out in the end.
It is not right behavior to curse and speak ill of others around you, and only think well of yourself. Such behavior shows a lack of intelligence and maturity in the person.
I am not saying that such people are wicked. No, they are slightly immature and inexperienced.
And it is good that the people came to know about this, so that they could make a well-informed decision before casting their vote.
We need to broaden our vision. This is very necessary.