KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Friday, March 6, 2026
Suicide Is The Most Foolish Thing
Q: Dear Gurudev, I have had thoughts of suicide many times in my life. What happens if one commits suicide?
Suicide Is the most foolish thing a person can ever do.
It is like, someone is shivering in the cold and he goes out and removes all his clothes. What will you call him? Foolish!
You are already feeling cold in a heated auditorium, and you go out into the open and say, ’I am so cold’, and remove your jacket, your t-shirt, your inner garments and throw them all out. Will the cold become any less? No!
People who commit suicide find themselves there because they are so attached to life. They are so attached to some pleasure, so attached to some joy, that they want to kill themselves. And when they kill themselves they find themselves in a bigger soup.
They feel, ‘Oh my God, this restlessness, these desires which had created such intense agony inside me has not gone. My body has gone but the agony has remained.
It is only through the body that you can dispel the agony and get rid of misery. Instead you destroy the very instrument by which you can get rid of agony. That is why this knowledge is so important.
If you do pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and meditation, you will realize that you are not the body.
Dedicate Your Life For Some Higher Cause
What is it that you are hankering for in life? Are you hankering for love? Attention? Money? Pleasure? What is it that you are hankering? These hankerings are boiling desires and they are creating this foolish idea inside you to commit suicide. If you feel you want to commit suicide, I tell you, I need you. I need you to do my work, so you better stay back. Dedicate your life for a social cause; for some higher cause.
When you think only about yourself, ‘What about me, what about me’, then this is what happens. Depression comes in. Forget about yourself. Die for a cause but don't kill yourself. It is worth dedicating your life for something higher.
I need you. Come here (to the Ashram) and do work. There is so much work to be done, help me out. Know that you are useful to me.
If everyone else says you are useless, remember, 'No, I am here, born at this time because Gurudev needs me. I have some work to do for Gurudev. I am not going to commit suicide', got it?! So, do my work.
If you cannot do yoga and meditation, then sweat it out and do my work. I have lots of work I can give you. I can give some work to the entire nation, and the entire population. I have plenty of work to be done. And whatever you need, I will provide you. You need a roof above you, I will provide you, I guarantee you this, but don’t kill yourself.
The Human Body Is So Precious
After so many different lives and different bodies you get a human body; a human birth. After being a worm, a frog, a scorpion, a chicken, a mouse somewhere in some hole, a cat jumping around here and there, a dog, a bird, etc., then you get a human life, after going through all those births. So it is very precious!
Your Hankering For Pleasure Is The Cause Of Depression In You
Wake up and see, all pleasures are momentary; how long will they stay? See that they are so momentary. Five to ten minutes of joy and then it is gone.
What is it that you are hankering about? Some people appreciating you? My dear, it has no meaning. People appreciate you in front of you, behind you they feel jealous about you. That is what happens. They praise you today, tomorrow they criticize you. So what? Do you see what I am saying?
What is appreciation? It is just a few thoughts that are passing through the mind of someone. Do you think they are going to do it forever?
Some people have good comments and some people have bad comments, so what.
If someone criticizes you, so what? Those who criticize you are also going to die, and you, the one being criticized are also going to die. One day all will be finished! So why are you so much bothered about somebody’s appreciation, or criticism? Why can’t you just be yourself?
You know, it takes such a big load off your head not being bothered by anybody’s criticism or adulations. You can just be yourself; natural. And if you live like this, so lightly, then where is the question of depression? Do you see what I am saying?
If You Get Thoughts Of Committing Suicide
1. Know that it is just your prana which is low, so do more pranayama
2. There are millions of people who are suffering more than you, look at them. When your suffering becomes smaller you will never think of committing suicide.
3. Know that you are needed, you are useful. You have to do something in the world.
4. Forget about what people think of you.
People commit suicide because they think they have lost their prestige, their status. What status? What prestige? Who has time to think about your prestige? Everybody is entangled with their own problems, with their own mind. They can’t step out of their own mind, where do they have the time to think about you? These types of tendencies come because you think others are going to disrespect you. I tell you, it is worthless to worry about what the society thinks of you.
Mainly, we must realize that suicide is the worst thing. This is one of the major reasons that we should conduct as many Happiness Programs as possible. Do you see what I’m saying? When you start the breathing exercises, it all goes away!
II Jai Gurudev II
http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/
Posted on: Friday, March 6, 2026
Suicide Is The Most Foolish Thing
Q: Dear Gurudev, I have had thoughts of suicide many times in my life. What happens if one commits suicide?
Suicide Is the most foolish thing a person can ever do.
It is like, someone is shivering in the cold and he goes out and removes all his clothes. What will you call him? Foolish!
You are already feeling cold in a heated auditorium, and you go out into the open and say, ’I am so cold’, and remove your jacket, your t-shirt, your inner garments and throw them all out. Will the cold become any less? No!
People who commit suicide find themselves there because they are so attached to life. They are so attached to some pleasure, so attached to some joy, that they want to kill themselves. And when they kill themselves they find themselves in a bigger soup.
They feel, ‘Oh my God, this restlessness, these desires which had created such intense agony inside me has not gone. My body has gone but the agony has remained.
It is only through the body that you can dispel the agony and get rid of misery. Instead you destroy the very instrument by which you can get rid of agony. That is why this knowledge is so important.
If you do pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and meditation, you will realize that you are not the body.
Dedicate Your Life For Some Higher Cause
What is it that you are hankering for in life? Are you hankering for love? Attention? Money? Pleasure? What is it that you are hankering? These hankerings are boiling desires and they are creating this foolish idea inside you to commit suicide. If you feel you want to commit suicide, I tell you, I need you. I need you to do my work, so you better stay back. Dedicate your life for a social cause; for some higher cause.
When you think only about yourself, ‘What about me, what about me’, then this is what happens. Depression comes in. Forget about yourself. Die for a cause but don't kill yourself. It is worth dedicating your life for something higher.
I need you. Come here (to the Ashram) and do work. There is so much work to be done, help me out. Know that you are useful to me.
If everyone else says you are useless, remember, 'No, I am here, born at this time because Gurudev needs me. I have some work to do for Gurudev. I am not going to commit suicide', got it?! So, do my work.
If you cannot do yoga and meditation, then sweat it out and do my work. I have lots of work I can give you. I can give some work to the entire nation, and the entire population. I have plenty of work to be done. And whatever you need, I will provide you. You need a roof above you, I will provide you, I guarantee you this, but don’t kill yourself.
The Human Body Is So Precious
After so many different lives and different bodies you get a human body; a human birth. After being a worm, a frog, a scorpion, a chicken, a mouse somewhere in some hole, a cat jumping around here and there, a dog, a bird, etc., then you get a human life, after going through all those births. So it is very precious!
Your Hankering For Pleasure Is The Cause Of Depression In You
Wake up and see, all pleasures are momentary; how long will they stay? See that they are so momentary. Five to ten minutes of joy and then it is gone.
What is it that you are hankering about? Some people appreciating you? My dear, it has no meaning. People appreciate you in front of you, behind you they feel jealous about you. That is what happens. They praise you today, tomorrow they criticize you. So what? Do you see what I am saying?
What is appreciation? It is just a few thoughts that are passing through the mind of someone. Do you think they are going to do it forever?
Some people have good comments and some people have bad comments, so what.
If someone criticizes you, so what? Those who criticize you are also going to die, and you, the one being criticized are also going to die. One day all will be finished! So why are you so much bothered about somebody’s appreciation, or criticism? Why can’t you just be yourself?
You know, it takes such a big load off your head not being bothered by anybody’s criticism or adulations. You can just be yourself; natural. And if you live like this, so lightly, then where is the question of depression? Do you see what I am saying?
If You Get Thoughts Of Committing Suicide
1. Know that it is just your prana which is low, so do more pranayama
2. There are millions of people who are suffering more than you, look at them. When your suffering becomes smaller you will never think of committing suicide.
3. Know that you are needed, you are useful. You have to do something in the world.
4. Forget about what people think of you.
People commit suicide because they think they have lost their prestige, their status. What status? What prestige? Who has time to think about your prestige? Everybody is entangled with their own problems, with their own mind. They can’t step out of their own mind, where do they have the time to think about you? These types of tendencies come because you think others are going to disrespect you. I tell you, it is worthless to worry about what the society thinks of you.
Mainly, we must realize that suicide is the worst thing. This is one of the major reasons that we should conduct as many Happiness Programs as possible. Do you see what I’m saying? When you start the breathing exercises, it all goes away!
II Jai Gurudev II
http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/
