Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Birthday Message 2012, Quebec Centre
Guruji celebrated his birthday and spent 10 beautiful days at the North American retreat. To watch the video of his birthday message to us, click on the links below to Part 1 and Part 2 of the message, respectively. To read the transcript of Guruji's birthday message, scroll down!
May 13th, 2012 - Birthday Talk Transcript – Centre international l’AdeV
Everybody’s a leader. To lead people in the right path, our life has to be very pure… spotless… That is what is here… Here we are spotlessly clean… It’s not something we have achieved. It’s a gift! In my 56 years, I haven’t said one bad word to anybody… ever. The worst I have said is “stupid”. That’s all that has come out of me… but I can’t take credit for it. Those words just don’t come. Unpleasant things just don’t come. This purity of life is not of your making, it has come to you as a gift. Humility remains in life. When there is humility, you are always moving forward. There is no “big faults”. When humility is missing, then there are faults. (That’s all for today… Laughter)
Guruji asks the audience: “Everybody is a….”
Audience: Leader…
Guruji: “In order to lead in the right path, in the right knowledge, you need to be ….????
Audience: PURE…
Guruji: Pure… It’s a fact. And how do you remain pure? When you’re in association with pure people, you become pure. Purity comes with all this knowledge, with wisdom, pranayamas. What does knowledge do to you? Knowledge simply purifies you. It’s like detergent.
Guruji quotes a sutra in Sanskrit and translates: “Nothing purifies you better than knowledge”. Every individual is pure in the present moment… whatever your past has been, it doesn’t matter… Those things you doubt, you surrender them… Surrender is only about the past… In the present, you are pure, you are innocent. Believe in that! Believe in your purity. “Siddhi”, perfection, is right now. But if you think: “I am the purest person! I have a very good heart”, then that ego cannot surrender, it makes you impure. Honoring the purity and not ascertaining that. Be humble but not claiming that you are the humblest person on the planet (laughter)… the most humble person the planet has ever seen… It’s an oxymoron… It’s ridiculous…
If you are pure, you can lead the whole world, everyone in fact.
You may say: “My deeds are correct, clear… but my thoughts, I have no control over them… What do I do with my thoughts?” Your deeds may be correct… I don’t do anything, but my thoughts come out: “Let me strangle this person!...” (How many of you had this question? People in the back also had this question. Raise your hands. Don’t feel shy…)(laughter) The deeds we can control, the words we can control, but what do we do with the thoughts? It automatically starts…
When the body is cleansed, when the mind is cleansed, and in good company, right company, it may happen.
If you’re in the company of sattvic people and in the right atmosphere, such thoughts don’t come… When do they come? When you’re in the company of people who are uptight, angry, agitated… you seem to pick up their vibes. But again, here, every time you get negative thoughts, don’t blame others. Don’t say “That person is putting these thought in my head…” Our mind is so tricky. In every situation, it can go on such a track… There is a proverb in Sanskrit which says (quotes Sanskrit), which means: “The moment you say something, it is distorted.”
Pranayama and meditation purify your thoughts. Your determination, your will, not to utter all those words which are unpleasant – should help you keep them from coming out of your mouth. They have a different place from which to come out… You know what I am saying… Many people say such words… It’s hard to hear such words… Make your sankalpa: “I am not going to say these words…” “Oh! My God” is OK, but something else should not come.
Whether you make a mistake, or someone else makes a mistake, you can say “Jesus!” that’s OK. “Allah!”, that’s OK. “Oh! My God”… That’s OK. “Hey! Ram!”. That’s OK. But not the other words. What do you say? If you do that, children will pick up the same… Words and deeds are very small. The most important is your mind.
Guruji: So you remember? Everyone is a …????
Audience: Leader!
Guruji: You lead people either towards light or towards….???
Audience: Darkness…
Guruji: Astray… You tell them things that make them confused… They lose whatever nice things they have in their minds, in their hearts, about goodness… In society, they become paranoid… people who are lost… Or, you lead them towards wisdom… and joy. Every individual can instill faith … or destroy faith. Every individual has this capacity. Not forever though. You can’t destroy someone’s faith forever. Temporarily. Eight or ten years, everything goes round and round. They don’t believe there are good people on the planet. They believe only everything is bad… everyone is hopeless… There are 3 things in a law (you can call it a law) or a power, beyond explanation, beyond logic. A power that envelops the universe. There’s no one sitting, trying to punish you. Forget about it. There is a law. There is energy, divine energy. You can call it Divine… You can call it the basic energy of creation, which has perfect orderliness. The best definition for God is a field or energy that has perfect orderliness which is intractable compassionate loving energy. 1. Faith in that energy. And then: 2. Faith in the goodness of people. There are good people on the planet, people with good heart. There are innocent people. 3. Faith in yourself (You feel you can’t do anything in this world. You are in an illusion…). You get a picture that the world is a horrible place.
Bad company destroys faith in all the three.
The other day, a couple came to me. Their son, a young boy -13, 14 or 15 years old- committed suicide. He left a note that the world was “a horrible place. I don’t find any hope anywhere. People are fighting on the religious lines. There is crime everywhere.” A young boy!!! Thinking “this world is a dark place. I don’t want to live here any more.” In Tibet, they say 30,000 youths are committing suicide every year. Why? Not because of poverty. Because the faith in the goodness of people, of society, is gone. Do you get what I’m saying? You get to think “every one is a fraud, everybody is selfish, everyone is no good.” This kind of insecurity is created in society. So, even after marriage, couples keep everything separate. They’re scared. Any time, anything can happen. Living in the same house!!! “Better I keep my things, you keep your things.”!!! It means you don’t even believe in the goodness of your spouse. You don’t even believe in the goodness of your own kids. That is what bad company does: it destroys the faith in the goodness of people, of the society.
Finally, bring yourself down. “You can’t do anything. How can you bring any change in the world. Just be practical. Do your thing”. This is one type of leader. Unconsciously, they lead people in that direction.
And good leaders are the ones who bring enthusiasm, happiness, energy. They encourage to do more. “you have failed 10 times. Never mind. The 11th time, you stand up and do more.” Mistakes happen. Never mind. Even among the criminals, there is goodness… Even amidst the criminals, there is a good person sitting… Many of our people have done PRISON SMART… How many here have done that Prison program? Talk to them… Ask them what happens when they meet the prisoners… Even one who has been condemned by the rest of the world, there is a good person sitting inside them… Isn’t it?
Audience: “Yes, … Yes…”
Guruji: That is a good leader. A bad leader will find even in the best person, or even in a child, will find something wrong, that the child is bad. Even the courts give freedom to the juvenile. They can’t punish them. Because they are kids. The bad leader finds faults even in them. A good leader takes you towards… happiness, confidence, knowledge.
So today, don’t ask me: “How do I become a good leader?” Don’t ask. The fact that you are here means you are a good leader. That’s it. NO doubting. No questioning. We have to seal the deal. (laughter) The deal is sealed. “I am a good leader”. No more questioning. No more examination. No more cross-examination. OK? Done deal! That’s it. However you were in the past is a different story. Today, the deal is sealed. YOU ARE A GOOD LEADER. And that’s it. (applause and cheers).