QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Q: Gurudev, India is a rich country with poor people, and I feel that this is the case because of corruption. What are your thoughts on this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
India was under foreign rule for many centuries. After going through all that, with a population that is three times that of America, with only one-third of their land mass, with 600 dialects and 28 languages, the country is the equivalent of a continent, and yet, it is progressing. Why don’t you see this positive side?
If you go to any village today, even in the slums, they have televisions. When we came to this area in Bangalore, there wasn’t a single tiled roof. Everywhere, in all the villages, there were only thatched roofs. (I also liked the thatched roof but when it rains, it would leak.) Today, do you see any thatched roofs at all? No!
India is growing very fast. In spite of seven religions in this country and so many languages, yet there is harmony. We have relatively less number of mental hospitals or even cases of depression. Of course, we have our negative side; there is corruption, uncleanliness, lethargy and indifference.
Last year, there was this huge cry of India being intolerant; I would say that India is not intolerant, it is indifferent. We should have some more intolerance towards corruption and injustice, but we don’t do that, we take it all in our stride. This is where we need to wake up.
At the same time, there are many positive things. There are so many large-hearted people in this country. If you go to a village, they may have only one glass of buttermilk, yet they will share half of it with you. There is still that feeling of caring and sharing in every village here. It may not be the case with urban cities; they have become the same all over the world.
If you see only the negative side, you will feel there is no hope. Then you will say, “This is so corrupt, let me also become corrupt.” Your motivation to stand up against corruption will die. But if you see the positive side, then you will have the motivation to stand up. Whenever you see the negative, you should see the positive side also. If you had these problems anywhere in Europe, India would have become like the former Yugoslavia or the Balkan States and broken up into pieces. What is it that unites the whole country? It is spirituality!
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Posted on: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Q: Gurudev, India is a rich country with poor people, and I feel that this is the case because of corruption. What are your thoughts on this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
India was under foreign rule for many centuries. After going through all that, with a population that is three times that of America, with only one-third of their land mass, with 600 dialects and 28 languages, the country is the equivalent of a continent, and yet, it is progressing. Why don’t you see this positive side?
If you go to any village today, even in the slums, they have televisions. When we came to this area in Bangalore, there wasn’t a single tiled roof. Everywhere, in all the villages, there were only thatched roofs. (I also liked the thatched roof but when it rains, it would leak.) Today, do you see any thatched roofs at all? No!
India is growing very fast. In spite of seven religions in this country and so many languages, yet there is harmony. We have relatively less number of mental hospitals or even cases of depression. Of course, we have our negative side; there is corruption, uncleanliness, lethargy and indifference.
Last year, there was this huge cry of India being intolerant; I would say that India is not intolerant, it is indifferent. We should have some more intolerance towards corruption and injustice, but we don’t do that, we take it all in our stride. This is where we need to wake up.
At the same time, there are many positive things. There are so many large-hearted people in this country. If you go to a village, they may have only one glass of buttermilk, yet they will share half of it with you. There is still that feeling of caring and sharing in every village here. It may not be the case with urban cities; they have become the same all over the world.
If you see only the negative side, you will feel there is no hope. Then you will say, “This is so corrupt, let me also become corrupt.” Your motivation to stand up against corruption will die. But if you see the positive side, then you will have the motivation to stand up. Whenever you see the negative, you should see the positive side also. If you had these problems anywhere in Europe, India would have become like the former Yugoslavia or the Balkan States and broken up into pieces. What is it that unites the whole country? It is spirituality!
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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