Effort and prayer both
are essential in life

Sat, 03/10/2012

Mahasatsang at Udaipur

Sri Sri at Udaipur

Being human beings, we all have some responsibilities and some needs. If we sit and make a note of our responsibilities and our needs, and if we find that our needs are more than our responsibilities, then life will lead to misery. If we take more responsibilities and have fewer needs, then we will be happy. This is the secret, and it is simple. Today itself, sit and make a note of all your responsibilities and all that you want for yourself.

Now, God has given us an intellect and we need to make use of it. An intelligent person will see and know that when everyone is happy, then he can also be happy. ‘When my family is happy then I can be happy.‘
So what do we need to do? We need to understand our responsibilities. First we need to understand our responsibilities towards our family. Then we need to understand our responsibilities towards society. We need to think how we can be useful to the society, and then what can we do for the entire nation.
We need to think on these three levels, i.e., responsibilities towards family, towards society and towards the nation.
The more responsibilities we take, the more we grow in our abilities and our strength to do work increases.

Now, having desires is very natural. But if we are unable to fulfill our desires or we don’t have the means to fulfill them, then we must pray! In life, effort and prayer both are essential. Some people just pray and don’t put any effort, this will not work. And there are some people who get tired of putting efforts and even then they don’t pray. They are also unable to achieve success.
This is why in our scriptures it has been said, Purusharth (effort) and Samarpan (surrender). These two should go together. We need to do as much as we can do and surrender the rest to God.
The purpose of my coming here is to remind you of this. To remind you that there is a Divine power sitting inside you and by any means you must connect with that power. Let that connection happen between you and Divine power within. Once that connection is made, then there will be no lack of anything in life. See, a wealthy person will give money and knowledgeable person will naturally give knowledge. But if one does not have knowledge, how can he give knowledge? Similarly, one who is liberated, only he can liberate others. If one is stuck in bondage, how can he liberate anyone? And if he can’t liberate anyone then where is the question of love, meditation, celebration, bliss. All these are far off things.
But once you gain that inner freedom in your heart and that inner freedom in your mind, you experience such blossoming that no one can take your smile away from you.
Everybody is looking for such a smile, and for joy that does not diminish or disappear.
What do we need to do to achieve this? We need to awaken that faith that is within us.

When we are happy, then we can spread happiness to others. Those who are contented in life can bring contentment to others as well.
In our country, we have a custom of taking blessings from the elderly whenever we are about to begin some good work or a new task. Do you know why?
There is a very scientific reason behind this. It is said that once a person becomes contented, any intention that arises in his mind becomes fruitful, and so their blessing is very powerful. If a person is miserable himself, then how can his blessings bear any fruit?
So the ability to bless others comes to us spontaneously when we become contented from within. We need to be contented, at least for some time. With contentment comes the power to bless.

Why do we go to Gurus or to saints? Because they are contented, and when they give blessings for something, the work gets done.
Doesn’t it work? How many of you are getting what you desire? See!
Now, how and when will we achieve such contentment?
Contentment can come by sitting with a contented person; or through satsang. If you sit with a frustrated person, you will become more frustrated. A restless person will spread restlessness. The happy and contented will spread happiness and contentment.
So the secret behind this is simplicity and naturalness. We must be simple and natural. Till now, we have been doing everything in a formal manner.
People came and we welcomed, greeted and garlanded them and gave them respect. These are formalities, and no doubt and they have their place in life. But, we should not get stuck in formalities.
For example, you buy garland from a shop and it comes in a plastic bag. Now, the bag is not the main content but what is inside the bag is the main thing. We need to reach inside the bag.
Similarly, in life this is what we do. We take the plastic bag and think the bag is the main content, like how we live life with formalities, without any belongingness.
It is when belongingness increases that corruption ends, and everyone feels to be our very own. No one is a stranger.
When there is belongingness, life is enriched. And when each person feel enriched, society is enriched. This is because society does not progress with philosophies, but it progresses with the progress of each individual, and it is the individual that directs society. That is why it is important to understand each individual with an attitude of belongingness. If there is belongingness, a big change can happen, and dullness or disinterestedness in people can be wiped out.
Dullness and disinterestedness is the cause of all desires and imperfections. But if joy and bliss arise within us, then you will see everything will come to you spontaneously.
For such joy to arise in life, there are three things that are important:
1. Gyan (knowledge)
2. Dhyan (meditation)
3. Gaan (music)
Infuse all these three into your life. Do kirtan and satsang for a little time every day. Listen to knowledge for some time, engage in some service activities and sit and meditate. Being silent for fifteen or twenty minutes and becoming calm from within gives us lots of benefits. The body becomes strong, our behavior improves, mind feels pleasant, intellect sharpens, memory power increases and soul becomes blissful.
What else you need?

You have heard of the saying, ‘Ek Saadhe Sab Sadhe,Sab Saadhe Sab Jaaye.’ (If you follow one thing you will achieve it, but if you want everything, you won't achieve anything). Following that one thing is this; the self! Sit and do meditation.
In the Gita it is said, ‘Yogastha Kuru Karmaani’, one who practices Yoga become more qualified. Skills increase and success is achieved effortlessly.
So today, we will do all these three. We will sing, we will meditate, we will discuss some knowledge and we will take some vows for the society and for the country.
We all want India to emerge as a strong country. I too wish to see that happening.
We have gone into a slumber, but now we have to wake-up. We need to wake up. When the youth of the country wake up, after that nobody can stop the country from progressing. If the youths are struggling with drug addictions, violence, casteism and narrow mindedness, and they lose sight of their roots, then nobody can save the country.

I have a dream of a Divine society.
In my childhood I used to think that I will take the knowledge that we have in India to the whole world. Foreign clubs came into India, and people used to go to rotary clubs in India. So there should be some organization from India too that should be all over the world.
Today, the Art of Living has completed 30 years and it is present in 152 countries around the world. This happened very naturally. I didn’t do anything. I just had the intention and it all happened.
The knowledge in India is so great! We need to present this knowledge in such a manner that it catches the interest of the youth. This is what is happening.
Thousand and thousands of youth have joined and are joining the Art of Living and their lives have blossomed. But it is not enough; we need to reach out to more of the youth.
Addictions and violence should be removed from society. I have a dream of such a Divine society where in there is no stress, no violence or corruption.
How many of you want to be a part of it? Raise your hands.
We all need to do something to achieve this. Together we all can bring about a big change in the society.

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