Gurudev, what to choose between these two things: life in this beautiful world with a Guru like you, or liberation and ultimate union with the Divine?
You can have both; this does not have to be a choice. You can lead a happy life in this beautiful world, and you can get liberation also.
Main thing is, don’t be a football of other people’s opinions.
Many times, you do things because others want you to do it. No need! Be strong in yourself and see life from a bigger perspective.
You don’t know who your real friend is; this is the difficulty.
In the world, what has happened, you think someone is your friend and you show off to them, 'Oh, I got this, and I got that', and they are jealous. They are not happy about it.
If you show that you are good, then they are not happy, and if you show you are not good, then also they don’t care for you.
It's sort of a dilemma that most people face. If you show you are really good in something, they are not happy, they are jealous. And if you don’t prove yourself, they don’t think you are up to the mark, and so they don’t look up to you.
So in any situation, it is not worth wasting your time on what those people are thinking about you. Do you get it? Let them think what they want. If they think you are an angel, fine. If they think you are a devil, fine. If they think you are dumb, foolish, or whatever; you should feel, 'Okay, go ahead and think what you want, I don't care!'
If you go with this feeling, you will carry some weight.
If others think you are a failure, okay, let them think. What big success have they got? People who are successful, look at them, they are not happy at all. They are so miserable. See, not everybody is successful in every field. Some are successful in some aspects. So, never mind, success or failure. You be centered, and be happy.
Each one of you should remain as a center of happiness. You should be radiating happiness, and when anyone comes to you, give them love, compassion, and happiness. Then we can bring a big change in the world.
I always say, you kids who are always participating in competitions, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But if you have done art of living, you don’t lose at all.
You know why? It is because either you win, or you make others win.
When your dad or mom plays games with you, what do they do? They could win all the time, but do they win all the time? No, they enjoy making you win, isn’t it?
So in the same way, either you win or you make others win. If you are more mature, you make others win also.