You have millions of followers all over the world. What are the biggest obstacles that they face in achieving personal happiness? Do these obstacles differ from country to country, or are the same reasons universally applicable to human kind. For instance, will it be different in India and the United States?
Yes. As many different cultures or languages are there in the planet, that many challenges are there.
Basically, you can put them into four categories:
1. Employment or work related issues
2. Financial problem
3. Relationship problems
4. Health issues
Some people don’t know why they are unhappy. This is another issue. They are unhappy but they cannot pin point and say, ‘I am unhappy because of this reason'. These are the general issues that come up.
If a problem stays for too long people get used to it. It no longer appears to be a problem for them. Somewhere, insensitivity towards the problem itself is a problem.
For example, insensitive towards the environment. If you live in a slum and you have accepted that, it becomes a problem for the society.
Scams and slums have caused a lot of problem in India. But in USA there is classroom violence. You send your kids to school and you don’t know what will happen to them. There is such a fear in parents about their kids coming back home safely.
We hear about the gun culture. There are more gun stores than grocery stores in USA, this is what I read in the newspaper and it is appalling.
40% of the population in Europe are suffering from depression. These are major issues. Depression may not be an issue in India, but corruption and poverty is an issue.
Eroding family values is another issue in India.
As I said, when we bring back the human values in society, people become more proactive and stand up against corruption, and that’s what you have seen in the past couple of years. People have stood up against these ills of society.
Addiction is another big problem in India. In the last three years alcoholism has increased three-folds. Drug abuse has almost consumed a couple of Northern states in India. Strict enforcement of laws is a big issue there. Whereas here the laws are very good. As far as I know, we have very good law enforcement here.
These are challenges still to be faced in India, and the big population is a big hindrance also.
