MS BOTHAINA KAMEL: First female Presidential Candidate from Egypt: I am very happy Guruji to be with you, and I hope we can start with a hope prayer for Egypt, which is going through a lot of violence today. I know you love Egypt very much.
GURUDEV SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR: Correct, you are right. Egypt is a part of our society, our world and part of our family; and we all are concerned about the violence, the struggle that’s going on in Egypt. One good thing about what is happening there is that people are waking up; another thing is that it could have happened without violence, been a peaceful revolution. For this, we need to educate both, the politicians and the common masses. You know changes cannot happen overnight, we need to pursue it with patience and with determination. The whole community and all of us, I’m sure, have sympathy towards people there, who have suffered a lot. We are with them, and we would like to do whatever we can do to bring peace there - by mediating to bond people together, bringing inner peace to people there. We are committed for it.
MS BOTHAINA KAMEL: We hope. Thank you. You know Guruji, the revolution has been hijacked. We had such high hopes when we got to the streets but now we feel frustrated. There is much more we must do to cease our country back from the grip of dictatorship and repressive rule that will pull Egypt back to the dark ages. But my question is about women; women in Egypt were part of the revolution, yet they still are denied their chance to plan for their future. How shall women perceive this fact in order to be able to change it? What would you tell them to be stronger and more effective? Thank you.
GURUDEV SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR: I right away see one woman who is very strong and who is standing up for the cause, and I congratulate her in you. I would love that more women participate. Of course, if you go from every city to city, you have a lot to do and wake women up to join you. Once women wake up, nothing can stop them, nobody can stop the revolution from happening. So women have great power; we simply need to kindle it a little bit more there. I wish good luck to you on this mission. We all wish that you take reigns in Egypt, and see that women get equal respect and their due position in Egypt.