25th February 2012 - QA 18

What is your message for the youth today?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Own this nation, have a vision for this nation.
We are about 10,000 people here. Can each one of us here influence five more people? If we can each influence five more of our friends, we can change the whole face of Delhi, and the nation. Suppose you all bring five more people each, let us all sit, relax and meditate. Then, we create a vision for this country; we can create a vision for a Delhi free from crime, free from corruption, free from inhumane behaviors of people. Can we not envision this? Can we not dream of a world which is much better than what we are having now? I want to do that.
How many of you are ready to join, to dream of a world better than what we have inherited? We all have to do that.

I'm so happy with the YES!+ youth here. They did so much work for our ‘Meri Dilli, Meri Jamuna’ program. Before the Commonwealth Games, when the Delhi government raised their arms saying they can't do anything, it is these youth and volunteers in each area, 5,000 to 10,000 of them who gathered together and cleaned Delhi. They changed the face of Delhi for all the guests coming from all over the world. Of course, the scam of the Commonwealth Games is another matter. We are not able to wash that away! That you will have to do!

We all need to come up with a strong Sports Bill, and change the face of sports in this country. In nearly 1.2 billion people, how many go towards sports? Very few! Our rating is so poor in the Olympics. We need to improve our sports. Don't you think so? How many of you agree with this? We need to encourage our youth to go towards sports, give them proper facilities, encouragement, and scholarships.

Also, there is so much of money hoarded outside the country, all that should come back here. Don't you think so? We all have to work for that, for a just and happy country. We need to raise the Happiness Quotient of India. I am very much interested in that. I want to see happy, smiling faces everywhere. Do you have the same dream? How many of you would like to have the same dream?

You might say, ‘Oh Gurudev, this is idealism, this is not possible’, don’t speak like that. When we started The Art of Living, people said, ‘What can they do?’
Do you know where the Art of Living has reached? To the last city of Argentina, Tierra del Fuego; there is no habitation beyond that. It is only the South Pole. When you go there, you will see thousands of people doing the Sudarshan Kriya there.
When you go to the North Pole, to Tromso, it is the last town of Norway where the Sun does not rise at all for two months. In Tromso also, you will find people who are sitting and meditating, doing pranayama, and whose lives have changed drastically.
So, we should dream of a world free from stress, violence and inhumanness. What do you think? Shall we all make an effort for that?

Finally, I want all of you to raise your hands, and take an oath, that we will all make an effort towards making a better world, and a better society.