By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: January 09, 2020
As 2019 ended and 2020 began, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave a New Year’s Eve address about time to the celebratory gathering at the Art of Living Ashram in Bad Antogast, Germany. He began by saying, “The New Year begins with fun and continues with fun.”
A clear heart and sharp mind can change time
Likening time to a fast-moving conveyor belt, Gurudev revealed how we can have some influence over the constant forward movement of our lives: “Time changes, almost every cell in your body is changing, everything changes—your thoughts, emotions, etc. Your body changes with time, but you have the capacity to change the time. Any time can become a good time. And you can make the time better. Some wait for the good times to come; others make the time a good time. A clear heart and sharp mind can make the time better. Which category are you in?”
Gurudev continues to describe what you need to influence the passage of time: “When you’re on the spiritual path, time runs. Otherwise, it’s dragging. When you’re not in the right frame of mind, time is a drag. There is an expression ‘killing time,’ but actually it’s time which kills.” So having a spiritual path can make a big difference.
Make things happen to the world
Gurudev’s message encourages all of us to “resolve to use every moment of the coming year to make an impact in the society and to make an impact in the environment. Don’t wait for something to happen to you. You make things happen to the world.
What can you contribute to the planet? This is what you have to think. How we can help the environment? How can we change our lifestyle? How can we make the world a better place for the coming generations? How we can impact all those who are into violence to shun violence? How can we wipe all the tears and make those people smile back again? These are the things you need to look into. What can we do? What can we contribute to the planet?”
By asking yourself these kinds of questions, you stay involved in the process of making the time we all live in better. You seek out ways to positively impact the world, and act with good intentions, clarity in your heart, and alertness in your mind. Once you start seeking out ways to make the world a better place, the answers you seek will start to arrive spontaneously.
Material, momentary relief
Gurudev makes the point that spiritual wisdom lightens the soul for a long time, while material wealth brings only short-lived relief.
“Life is short, how much can you enjoy? Whatever you need will fall on your lap once you’re there to give, to contribute something back to the world.
Spread the knowledge. Knowledge alone can take people out of misery, not material things to the same extent. Yes, a little bit of material wealth can give a momentary relief, but it’s the wisdom that brings the real, long term relief. So this year, think what maximum we can do on the planet to spread light, love, wisdom and knowledge.
How can we reach every village? Your competitor is the mobile phone. I always say we must reach more than mobile phones, but reach the population itself. We must reach all those corners where there are no mobile phones also.”
In addition, Gurudev cautions everyone not to make knowledge too serious. The acquisition of knowledge and wisdom should instead encourage a lightness of spirit.
The whole world is your friend
Gurudev continues, “Let’s resolve in 2020 to impact the world in a very positive manner. The year that has just gone by has taught us many lessons; what we have to do, and what we shouldn’t be doing.
We’ve had many achievements, and the world has seen many misadventures also. With this richness of the gone by year, we move ahead, without regret, anger, or stress, but just taking a lesson. Learning a lesson from past events, whether good or bad, both have taught you.
Good events have taught you what you need to do to improve and repeat them. Bad events have taught you what you should avoid and how mistakes have made your life rich.
So in this sense you see that the whole world is your friend. All those whom you consider your enemies are also friends. They’ve taught you something. Anyone who teaches you contributes to your life for your growth. That person is your friend. There’s no one you can call an enemy because they’ve contributed to your life. They’ve taught you a lesson and told you what you have to be careful of. They’ve brought out skills from within you.
It’s not good to cling to the past. Take the lesson and keep moving ahead. There’s no time. Life is moving. Let’s resolve to change the time for good.”
With this encouragement, Gurudev warns against holding onto bad impressions and looking at the world through cultural, societal, or even spiritual lenses that taint our views with paranoia or prejudice. He wants all involved in the pursuit of wisdom to encounter new events lightly, having learned something helpful from the past. During the whole New Year’s celebration, the resolution to become the authors of better times ahead reverberated throughout the hall, and this is a message we can all take to heart going forward into the new year.
Elizabeth Herman writes, offers writing support to clients, teaches, and volunteers for a better world. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition and Literature. Find her on Facebook or Twitter.
