Read the conversation between podcaster Sean Kelly and world-renowned spiritual leader and peacemaker Gurudev for answers to common struggles.
Podcaster Sean Kelly, from the Digital Social Hour, asks Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar about today’s challenges affecting young people. They discuss everything from social media impacts to being caught up in short-term desires, resulting in more anxiety and confusion. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, read what Gurudev says will bring more clarity and resilience to your life. The secret is in your very own breath and is reshaping college campuses around the US.
Topics covered:
How to know which desire to pursue
Sean: I have a very young audience, and I wanted to ask you, as youngsters, we have
so many desires, and so many distractions these days, how do we know which desire to pursue?
Gurudev: You don't have to make much effort. The strongest will always pop up and be at the forefront. Your strongest desire will prevail. There are two things you need to know when you are tackling desires. One is the short-term gain. Another is a long-term goal.
If you're hungry right now, you may need to go for takeout. You can't say I will grow my food, right? But sometimes, we need to grow our food so that, in the long run, we get our own mangoes in our own garden. We get our own apples, our own peaches. So, life is always the balance between the long-term and short-term goals.
Sean: I think a lot of people these days are living with a short-term mindset because of many things. I think that on social media, a lot of people compare themselves to each other. Do you see that issue with young people these days?
Gurudev: Yes, I see young people are so anxious today. They are worried about their acceptance, what to choose for the future, what career to take on, and relationship issues. Confusion prevails in the mind. You need to get out of the confusion. For that, you need to take recourse into your own breath.
Sean: That's why you developed a breathwork technique. I'm going to try it out tonight. I'm excited.
How to feel less lonely
Gurudev: Meditation and breathwork bring a lot of clarity and make life more purposeful. Today, nearly 45% of America is facing a loneliness crisis. In loneliness, people do all sorts of things. [People] just want to go to the bar and drink and try to forget about things that bother [them]. I would say they should try meditation and breathing. It just helps one to come out of that low feeling and feel very vibrant and happy.
Obviously, we would like to be with a person who is happy and bubbling with enthusiasm, and who is creative. Not someone who is very worried or depressed or angry or upset and restless. You know, we convey more through our own vibrations. Unfortunately, we have not learned anything to improve our vibrations, neither in school [or at home]. We don't know how to make our vibration more positive, more attractive, more pleasant, and palatable. So you may have all talents, but your vibrations are not conducive [to being] in harmony with others. You hardly make friends, and even if you make friends, you're hardly able to sustain them.
Sean: I struggled with that for the majority of my life. I was very lonely and had trouble making friends, a lot of mental stuff, and anxiety. They put me on medication, and it was a really, really rough time, but meditation and breathwork actually helped me get out of it.
Gurudev: This is a real answer for it. We have been teaching these programs in 130 [college/university] campuses around the US. Young people have found such a huge benefit.
Sean: That's beautiful cuz these young people feel a lot of pressure, and college is super expensive.
Gurudev: You should see these young people who come, they are so full of joy. Anyone would love to be around [them].
Finding your life purpose
Sean: A lot of these young people also struggle to find that purpose, and you help them go within themselves to find that. That’s powerful.
Gurudev: We call this the SKY Campus Happiness program. We do a lot of knowledge and wisdom, exercises, and a lot of fun, too. Usually, people think meditation, spirituality, and all this is very serious, and for people in their 50s and 60s, who have nothing [much] to do. But in the Art of Living, we are giving programs for young people and for kids in the schools so that their intuitive ability becomes better.
From negativity to positivity
Sean: So, a lot of humans are pretty negative, if we're being bluntly honest. I grew up in that environment, and it was really tough getting out of it. What's your advice on reframing the mindset from negativity to positivity?
Gurudev: Suppose you are given 10 compliments and one insult. What would you hold on to?
Sean: The insult.
Gurudev: Because we don’t know how to train our minds. When there are 10 compliments—so what if one negative remark comes our way! Seeing life from a bigger context helps us here.
We teach many techniques and personality development programs. We train the mind so that it does not latch on to the negativity, does not hang on to the past, or worry about the future. It helps one to be in the present moment, vibrant and happy, and spread that happiness around. So it's all just vibrations. See, we're all vibrations. That needs to be attended to.
Sean: So just stay in the present. That's good to know cuz I get thousands of comments every day, and I just focus on the negative ones, and it eats at me. I should just focus on the present. Gurudev: Breathwork will help you. The breathing exercise, Sudarshan Kriya—the SKY Workshop is tremendously good for you.
The stress and violence connection
Sean: So I was just now watching your video, and there was a quote that caught my eye. It said stress is the cause of violence. Do you really believe that stress is what's causing all these wars and everything?
Gurudev: Of course. One is stress, another is mistrust, and the third is perceiving a threat from others. Suddenly, you feel that someone is your enemy, and then you overreact. That is also one of the causes. One of the causes, I would say, is the breakdown of communication. If people sit across the table, there's nothing that they cannot sort out. When that is missing, conflicts happen.
Sean: Yeah, there are some big wars going on right now; they need you to step in there.
Gurudev: The leaders who make big decisions have to have clarity of mind. I understand leaders have concerns, they have to protect their territory, their people, and all that is necessary. But, I believe that dialogues should never be abandoned.
Sean: If we can raise everyone's vibration, there could be a time when there are no wars, perhaps, right?
Gurudev: Correct.
Sean: That would be beautiful.
Gurudev’s final message
Gurudev: I want to train more and more young people to be instructors to help others get over negative feelings and create more positivity. I welcome you to come and have an internship. We have a [center] in North Carolina. From time to time, twice or thrice a year, we invite interns. They can come to stay for 15 or 20 days, one month. They get trained to bring more happiness and positivity to society.
Sean: I love that! Your final message for the millions of young people watching this?
Gurudev: You know you have the whole world in front of you. The future is very bright for you. Don't worry about the future. You can make [it] what you want. You are in an age of technology and science, as well as an age of humanism or spirituality, where you can blossom from within, flourish, and prosper from outside. All the best to everyone.
Sean: Beautiful, thank you so much for coming on!
