ELISABETH FAYT: Writer and international speaker from Canada: I remember so vividly when I was a little girl singing spiritual songs, and the words to one of the songs went like this – Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. I would get so choked up, because even as a little girl, I knew  that this is where it had to start, that if I wanted peace outside of myself, if I wanted peace in my home or at my school or with my friends, then this is where it would have to be. So the tears would always flow when that song came on, and when I would sing that song. I really believe that this is what the world needs today. If we want a peaceful world, we need to learn how to love ourselves, to be at peace with ourselves. So Guruji, I would love you to share with the world how can we cultivate that – self love, because it is that self love that we need in order to create that peace within. When we can learn how to love ourselves, then we can learn how to love others. Please share on that.

GURUDEV SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR: Good, good, I would say you are love. You simply have to know how you can get rid of your negative emotions, your guilt, your fear, your anxiety. These things you can do by attending to the breath. You see the mind and emotions are so abstract, and the body is concrete (we think it is concrete, it is really not concrete if you ask physicists). There is something in between these two (mind, emotions and body) that is the breath, which is a little bit concrete and yet abstract. The breath has the connection or the secret of transforming the negative emotions into positive ones. You know, with every emotion, there is a particular rhythm in the breath. So through the breath, you can handle negative emotions. What happens is you simply realize, as an experience, that you are a fountain of love. So the self doubt disappears, the self blame disappears; a sense of peace and wellness dawns from within you. When you feel wellness and a sense of peace within you, then that’s what you radiate and bring to the world around you. You will make others happy, you will make others peaceful. It all begins where you are, actually. So all that you need to do is pay a little bit of attention on your breath, understand the science of breath, meditate a little bit (not more than 10-20 minutes a day, that is good enough). Even knowing how the breath can help one to overcome negative feelings is good enough; it is like learning to ride a bicycle, once you know it, anytime you can do it, you don’t have to do it every day even.