01 January 2014 - QA 1

(A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I want to tell you a story. A white cat put a label on its head that said, ‘I am a black cat’, as it kept moving around.
Any amount of anyone telling, ‘Hey, come on, you’re not a black cat, you’re a white cat', it says, ‘No, I am a black cat.’
So like that, if you think you don’t have confidence, no one on earth can make you confident. Wake up! You have all that you need in your life. You are self-reliant, you are beautiful, you are truth, you are beauty. That is what our spiritual path tells you.

You haven’t heard Ashtavakra Gita? Listen to the 33 knowledge tapes of Ashtavakra. It will give you strength and confidence. It will open you up. You have all these beautiful qualities within you.
For them to blossom, it just needs a little nurturing.
Everything is already there. All the petals are there, it is only a matter of time. When you know this, great peace dawns within you.

As a child you’ve been told, ‘You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good!’ And we think we are no good! This is not the ancient culture. This is not the path of spirituality. The path of spirituality has always inspired you; it has always said, ‘You are great, you are part of the Divinity, you are love, you are beauty, you are truth!' This knowledge needs to be instilled in people, rather than saying, ‘You are hopeless, you are no good. You are a sinner, and you are good for nothing.’
Bombarding a child as no good has brought in so many problems. We should instead say, ‘You are a part of the Divinity. You are loved the way you are. If you have some weaknesses, point them out and know that you will grow out of it.’

Whenever you feel, ‘Oh, I can’t do it', then you can’t do it at all. But when you say, ‘I can get over this, I can do it’, then that energy, the courage, enthusiasm, zeal, and everything comes. If you are a smoker and you say, ‘I cannot but smoke’, hey, come on, get up and say, ‘No, I will not touch cigarettes’, and then see what happens.
Similarly, if you’re suffering from bulimia and you say, ‘Oh, I’m so weak. I can’t do anything!’ Come on! Wake up! You are not weak.

The spiritual path instills confidence. You’re in the right place. But don’t be in a hurry. If you want to walk ten miles, it won’t happen tomorrow. Practice. First walk one mile, then go to two miles, then five miles, and in two to three months, you can walk ten miles. I want to tell you a story. A white cat put a label on its head that said, ‘I am a black cat’, as it kept moving around.
Any amount of anyone telling, ‘Hey, come on, you’re not a black cat, you’re a white cat', it says, ‘No, I am a black cat.’
So like that, if you think you don’t have confidence, no one on earth can make you confident. Wake up! You have all that you need in your life. You are self-reliant, you are beautiful, you are a truth, you are beauty. That is what our spiritual path tells you.

You haven’t heard Ashtavakra Gita? Listen to the 33 knowledge tapes of Ashtavakra. It will give you strength and confidence. It will open you up. You have all these beautiful qualities within you.
For them to blossom, it just needs a little nurturing.
Everything is already there. All the petals are there, it is only a matter of time. When you know this, great peace dawns within you.

As a child you’ve been told, ‘You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good!’ And we think we are no good! This is not the ancient culture. This is not the path of spirituality. The path of spirituality has always inspired you; it has always said, ‘You are great, you are part of the Divinity, you are love, you are beauty, you are truth!' This knowledge needs to be instilled in people, rather than saying, ‘You are hopeless, you are no good. You are a sinner, and you are good for nothing.’
Bombarding a child as no good has brought in so many problems. We should instead say, ‘You are a part of the Divinity. You are loved the way you are. If you have some weaknesses, point them out and know that you will grow out of it.’

Whenever you feel, ‘Oh, I can’t do it', then you can’t do it at all. But when you say, ‘I can get over this, I can do it’, then that energy, the courage, enthusiasm, zeal, and everything comes. If you are a smoker and you say, ‘I cannot but smoke’, hey, come on, get up and say, ‘No, I will not touch cigarettes’, and then see what happens.
Similarly, if you’re suffering from bulimia and you say, ‘Oh, I’m so weak. I can’t do anything!’ Come on! Wake up! You are not weak.

The spiritual path instills confidence. You’re in the right place. But don’t be in a hurry. If you want to walk ten miles, it won’t happen tomorrow. Practice. First walk one mile, then go to two miles, then five miles, and in two to three months, you can walk ten miles. Anything needs a little patience and a little practice. I can’t just make this bud into a flower right now. If I open it, it will simply spoil. I have to put it in water and it will happen automatically.