QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2022

Q: Can you give us a message for padayatra? (Question from International Vedic Wisdom participants who are about to embark on padayatras as part of the program)

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Just go around and talk to people. Though India is a land of wisdom, unfortunately many have not realized it. For whatever reason, it has not reached to the common masses. The last two generations and a long colonial rule that India has undergone has sidelined or destroyed the wisdom. That is why many people are at loss. This is the reason we have padayatra so that whatever little wisdom we have, we can start sharing it with people, asking them to meditate and sing along. That is what a padayatra is all about. The people love it. When you go in a group and share with them, they will enjoy it.

In this country, unfortunately, the wisdom has been confined to certain sections of society or for some elite group only. It was not available for the masses. For the first time, The Art of Living has said, 'No, we want to go to the masses'.

We need to re-instil the faith in unity, in diversity, freedom to worship, freedom to honour and co-exist, this is the root of ancient Vedic culture. Let’s honour everybody because the whole world is one family, this is the message we need to give. When we go on padayatra, tell people who are moving away from their roots to hold on to your roots. There is a deep sense of low self-esteem in this country that has to be removed. Because of the long colonial rule and other things, people don’t honour what they have and what they are. We need to tell them, "Hey it’s okay the way you are, your belief system is fine, there is nothing wrong. You won’t go to hell!" This reassurance is needed. That’s all we need to tell them -- have faith in yourself, in your traditions, your customs and have a broad vision.

Fanaticism is no good. It’s not a sign of intelligence. Fanaticism is not a sign of intelligence. Intelligent people are very scientific, open, happy, inquisitive, innovative and they are an inspiration to others. Fanatics are scary, they will only bring you fear. They put fear in others. Yesterday when I was in Tamil Nadu, people were telling me, earlier in the villages, everyone ate together. For the Hindu festivals, Christians would all come, now in the last decade or so, the division has become much bigger. People say, "Don’t take prasadam (food offered to the divine) from the temple. Even if it is given, they just throw it on the floor because fear has been induced in the mind that if you eat prasadam or some food from a temple, you will go to hell. This is so unfortunate. People were sharing with me that this has become a big division among the three communities nowadays. That is why The World Culture Festival is being celebrated. It will bring everyone together. So you must tell the people that everyone is a child of God, there is no devil who will enter into you if eat your prasadam. Fear and guilt has been put into people’s mind to keep them aloof. This needs to be gotten rid of.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar