29 December 2012 - QA 4

Gurudev, are desires created, and can they be removed? If so, how?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just look back and reflect on your life from your childhood. You had so many desires back then; some of which you fulfilled and many of which you dropped. You have not been able to fulfill every single desire that has arisen in your head as a child, as a young adult, or as a youth.
If it had happened that way, you would have been crazy. You would have been miserable. Thank God that it did not happen. This is why only those things which had to happen started happening to you.

All this praise and insult, everything happens only on planet Earth, and we have to face them and move on. Become a strong soul, a strong individual. That is the real strength.
Are you able to smile through every event in life? That is the purpose of all this.
Can you keep your smile?
It is tough, I know, but you need to do it.
If you try to run away from anything, it is only going to chase you further. If not in this life, then it will happen in the next life. That is why it is said that just be done with everything which has to happen now, and move on with a big smile, with courage, and with enthusiasm.

The bitter experiences that you came across, have given depth to your personality, while the good experiences broadened your personality. So they have all contributed to your life. Good or bad experiences, both should be welcomed, as both make your personality strong. They both contribute to your being in an unimaginable manner.
Just know that they are all part of your Sadhana (spiritual practice).
So, pleasant experiences are also a part of your Sadhana. The same goes for the unpleasant events that you have gone through.
For example, people giving you compliments, or people throwing insults at you are both a part of your Sadhana. In both cases, you become solid, you get centered, and you grow the way you are supposed to grow.