Q: Guruji, If God is within us, why does God not guide us all towards good deeds alone? Why is there so much crime and violence in the world?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Imagine a movie with no villain. Imagine there is only a hero who is eating, sleeping and generally just hanging around with nothing to do! Would you watch such a movie? Opposite values are complementary. Thorns and petals both exist. You have the choice to pick up either the thorns or the petals. God is there within. He is sometimes sleeping and hiding, sometimes awake and dancing. After some sadhana, God is awake. Then He is rocking. Awaken the God and Goddess in you! Waking the godliness in you is essential. This is why there are particular hymns sung in India in the morning, ‘Wake up and bless us, O Lord’! On one level, it sounds ridiculous. It is the parents’ job to wake up children, but in this hymn, human beings are singing to the Gods to wake up and bless the creation. This is a paradox, and in this paradox, is hidden a deep secret of existence.