For a flame to go up, you need space above. In the same way, for a man to rise up in his life, he needs an ideal, he needs something to adore and worship. Worship is the culmination of love and appreciation. Worship prevents love from turning into hatred or jealousy, and appreciation into low self-esteem. In life, if you do not adore or appreciate anything, you will be filled with negativity. And a person who has nothing to worship or adore is sure to fall into depression. Lack of adoration has led to many emotional, psychological and social problems in the society. If you have nothing to hold up high in life then selfishness, arrogance and violence are sure to follow. Adoring and honouring each other in society eliminates stress and fosters compassion and love. In the previous century, it was thought that worshipping was an uncivilized and unintelligent thing to do. Worship was thought to rise from a slavish mentality. In fact it is just the contrary. Worship can only happen through gratefulness and not through slavish mentality. In worship, a sense of belongingness, love, honour and respect all come together. Without a sense of belongingness, worship or idealism can bring low self-esteem. The ancient people knew this so they insisted that people should feel part of what they worship. They encouraged people to worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, plants, animals and people. WORSHIP IN A TRUE SENSE IS A SIGN OF MATURITY AND NOT WEAKNESS. Question: You said worship is the culmination of love. Does worship also have a culmination? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Culmination of worship is Self knowledge, Samadhi.
Guruji stopped in German Ashram on his way to the Kumba Mela, India, where 80 million people are assembled to worship the river Ganges and Mother Nature.