Meditation Is Mental Hygiene

Ignorance. Utter ignorance. People should have the freedom of expression. Let them say whatever they want to say. This is an inhuman act.

See, on one hand you feel pity and compassion for these people because they have never had exposure to true human values or spiritual knowledge. They are dedicated spiritually, they want to go somewhere to heaven, they want to meet God and they want to do God’s work. This is what is motivating them to do all this nonsense. If only they had exposure to the right knowledge, to the wisdom of meditation and of Vedanta.
Had they known that divinity is within each and every one of us, here and now; do you think they would go and do such things? Never! So the onus of responsibility lies on us too. We have not made the knowledge reach the entire world. We have to expand the reach of this knowledge to every nook and corner of this world. Like how people all over the world know how to brush their teeth.
I would say that nearly all of the 7 billion people know how to brush their teeth. Why is it so? It is because we have taught them. We have cultured it in them.

Everybody wears clothes. Everybody takes a shower. Like this, everyone has to be taught mental hygiene, and meditation is mental hygiene. Knowledge keeps you mentally sane. Like dental hygiene, we must teach mental hygiene also to everyone in the world.

Teaching people non-violence is the first step towards it. “What are you fighting for? Why are you killing each other? Come on wake up”.
In the name of religion, all these heinous crimes are happening because they think that they are doing good and they will go to heaven if they do it. They need an education that can make them experience heaven here and now. They do not need to look somewhere else. This is essential.
Peace education is missing in the world. If every child is taught the way to manage his own emotions and his own mind stuff, the world would be a much better place. You may not be able to eliminate violence totally, but you can reduce it to the minimum level.

That is good. An awakening has happened. On the same day and the very same time, 3 million people in Mumbai, India and from all over the world meditated and chanted. We called it Chant For Peace.

Satyam Param Dhimahi. Let my mind be so peaceful and soaked into the transcendental truth.
Thoughts come from the mind. When the mind gets soaked into the infinite energy, the source of the creation, the thoughts that come ought to be noble.

At the same time, I would say something more. There was so much coverage of the 3 million people marching in France when 12 people were killed. A day before that, 2000 people were massacred in Africa by Bokoharam. There was very little coverage of that incident. I would say that this is not justice for those lives. All the world leaders should take notice that 2000 people were killed by people of the same ideology.

You have said sect. You should define what a sect is. Sect is perhaps a very closed mindset where you feel you are special and the other person is excluded. And this is true with every religion. People of every religion on this planet feel a special right for themselves. The Hindus think that they are special. Jains think they are special. Muslims think they are special. The Christians or the Jews think they are special. Everyone thinks that they are special. That becomes a sect. But when one says that 'The whole world is my family and everyone is part of me' then how can you even call it a sect. Art of Living breaks all barriers of caste, creed, religion and nationality. Don’t you think so?

But if people insist that we are a sect, then it is okay. We are a sect of happy people. There are only two sects in the world. One is the sect of happy people and the other is the sect of unhappy people. There are people who are angry, upset, frustrated, irritated and unhappy, and there are people who are happy, content, compassionate and loving. You can choose to be a part of whichever you want — the stress free sect or the stressed sect.

Very good. You can pat your own back. Every confusion takes you one step forward. When the belief in your mind got broken, it gave rise to confusion. It means that you have taken a step forward from your current beliefs.

Now tell me, does your mind have any form. Can you see the mind? Has anyone seen anyone else’s mind? Have you seen the wind? You have neither seen the mind, nor the wind, but do they not exist? They do exist. Just understand this.

You are able to indulge in anything because you leave it for short intervals in between. Is someone able to eat continuously without stopping? No. You eat and then you stop. The same is for any experience that you gain from the five senses. Can you keep on listening to music without any break? No. You listen to music for a while and then you want to shut it off. You cannot eat 24 hours a day, or listen to music 24 hours a day, or smell something 24 hours a day. In the earlier times fragrances were very popular with people. Nowadays, you are getting fragrance free soap. You are getting everything free of fragrances.

All the experience you gain from your five senses, including the thoughts that come out of your intellect cannot be carried on continuously.
Let us say that you have 20 questions. You ask one question after another, but after that what? Suppose you have learned everything, you have received the answer to all your questions, then what next? Just to satisfy this little intellect, we want an answer to calm it down.

The element that is beyond the intellect is within you. Every answer has just one objective, to make you silent. Every question has just one objective, to dive within. If diving within is all that you want to achieve, then what is the purpose of asking so many questions. What will you achieve after asking all these questions and listening to all the answers? Just relax.
Somehow you have to let go of all the things you have learnt. There is a saying in South India, “Unless you forgot what you have learnt, you will not achieve liberation”. All the things you learn — music, Ayurveda, chemistry or physics, you have to forget it. Unless you forget it, there is no liberation.