We all know and love the comic Howie Mandel! Read part of his conversation with meditation master Gurudev and be wowed!
Recently, Gurudev visited Howie Mandel’s podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff. Here are some excerpts from their conversation.
Happiness is innate
Howie: I'm so excited that you're here today because I have a lot of problems. And I've been really open about it. And I think humanity has a lot of problems, and you have a lot of answers. Are you happy?
Gurudev: How do I look?
Howie: Uh, you're smiling, but I smile a lot, and I'm going to be honest with you: I have a hard time being happy.
Gurudev: I can't do what I'm doing [without being happy].
Howie: I think it's easier to tell others what to do than to practice it within yourself.
Gurudev: You know, it's not effective unless you are. It doesn't make sense; it doesn't impact people.
Howie: I'm not as impactful as him [Gurudev]. I've watched you talk with some of the great leaders of business and entertainment and just huge crowds internationally.
You know I've struggled with mental health issues, and you know life throws a lot of challenges. You seem to be at peace. What is the secret? I've read a lot about you and what your secret is. Sometimes, I don't want to use bad language, but my hell is sometimes the quietness. The ability to turn in is exactly the opposite of how I personally cope. I'm not here to teach you; I want you to teach me. I want at the end of this podcast to feel better. How can you do that? Can you help me?
Gurudev: But don't you feel that when you go to sleep every night, you hit the pillow, and that's it? You're gone for six hours, eight hours. And you know nothing; you're cut off from everything.
Howie: Right, right, so that's my escape.
Gurudev: Ah and that same way, you can do it consciously. That's what I call meditation for a moment. You just erase all that you have. You have a delete button on your computer; just don't forget to press it. You can press delete mindfully yourself, correct?
Howie: So I have my coping skills, distraction, and noise. I find that if I am consciously quiet and then the noise that I hear is, if you are constantly with it, you get so used to it it doesn't bother you anymore.
Gurudev: If you are in a constant problem, it's no longer a problem, it doesn't bother you anymore. Everything bothers you when it's very new, right? When you're not used to it, either you get used to it, and it stops bothering you, or you learn how to shut it off or cope.
You know, life has multiple dimensions, and it has so many things. And we enjoy them all. And the challenges are many, too.
The first step is to recognize there is a problem. The second step is to have the confidence you can get over it. You can come out of it, because in life you have had many such incidences before. It's not the first time that you've faced a challenge, isn't it?
The power of breath
Howie: But you seem so calm. So, I have a question. When it comes to my own issues that I deal with and struggle with, primarily social anxiety, I've recognized that I have a problem, and there are two different avenues that I've been told to take. One of them is to try to find a way to work through it and find a way to cope so that it doesn't bother you anymore. Or, why are you so bothered that you have this social anxiety? Why are you putting yourself in those situations? Why not just accept that you feel better not putting yourself in those situations? And don't try to be social.
Do you think you should face it head-on and try to get over it, or do you think you should just be content with whatever your makeup is, whatever your brain is telling you to do?
Gurudev: You know, the thing is, we know very little about our mind. Our emotions are linked to our breath. Through breath, you can manipulate your emotions. In theatrical school or college, they'll tell you how to breathe differently when you want to exhibit different emotions. Correct?
If you have to get angry, then you can't have a soft breath. You have to breathe faster to show your anger. Similarly, when you are in a romantic scene you can't keep breathing like you’re angry. There is a different pattern of breath for all different moods of the mind. So, with the help of the breath, you can easily get over the anxiety, calm your mind, and get to that center.
Howie: So the answer, the one answer, is almost like you're answering my question; the key is in the breath.
Gurudev: Yeah, we need to understand our breath in order to understand our emotions, and have a say over our emotions.
Howie: What came first, the emotion or the breath? Is the breath causing the emotion?
Gurudev: No, they are together.
Howie: Should we be off of social media or not?
Gurudev: No, that's not the answer. What is needed is to learn to manage our own emotions and our own mind and be centered.
Spirituality vs Religion
Howie: What's the difference between religion and spirituality?
Gurudev: Religion definitely divides people but spirituality unites. The banana peel and the banana.
Howie: I was going to say that. I don't understand the answer.
Gurudev: Religion is just the outer things. you know you're born into some family, your name is according to some religion, and your burial, all those events happen through religion, right? But spirituality is how you see life and how you connect with people. Your awareness, your happiness, your joy, your attitude to serve, your love and compassion that you have—all this is part of spirituality. A lot of religions or factions, whether they're political or countries, and social media prey on fear. They are set up specifically to move you. And the way to move you, is you being afraid. Even in a religion, if you don't follow these rules or these traditions, something eternally bad will happen to you. You'll go to hell.
That's where spirituality doesn't subscribe to these ideas. It just makes you realize that you are the light, you have the energy, you are love, you are compassion, and you're part of the Universal Consciousness.
Howie: What can we do to rectify that, individually and even globally?
Gurudev: First, build bridges between the communities, faiths, and people. Second, give them an experience of inner peace. Inner peace is essential for outer peace—Global Peace.
We are all vibrations
Howie: I'm being honest with you; I never feel inner peace.
Gurudev: Nobody can say I've never felt inner peace.
Howie: You told me when I go to sleep for 6 hours then I have inner peace.
Gurudev: Also, when you listen to music, it is something you love so much. And when you are with your daughter. You love your daughter so much, and you get a certain amount of peace.
Howie: (turning to his daughter) Sometimes you leave, and there's peace and quiet. I'm a comedian, and that's what I'll be here all week.
Even being around you, and I don't know that people are getting this listening to it or watching this at this moment, but you have this…I'm probably using the wrong word, a Zen kind of…I actually feel comfortable having you here. I think that our emotions are somewhat magnetic and affect others. Is that true?
Gurudev: Definitely. See, we are all vibrations. You know, as a student of physics, we're all just vibrations. And the more positive and centered we are, that is the type of vibration we emit. And that's very infectious. It is something that you've learned throughout the years. Did you ever go through a time when you had a lot of turmoil in your life or you didn’t have inner peace? You had to learn and teach yourself how to find it.
Howie: No, that's one thing that has never happened to me.
Gurudev: This is not the only life that we are in. We have been here many times.
Howie: You believe in the afterlife or reincarnation?
Gurudev: Yeah, we do reincarnate. You know our mind and our spirit are nothing but energy, and energy can never be destroyed.
The journey and taking silence
Sunny (band member): Gurudev, you're talking a lot about your journey and how you've always been this way. Was there an age that you started to take this journey? It had to start somewhere and begin somewhere for you. Where was that, and when?
Gurudev: Yeah, it was in 1981. That was when I thought there was something I had to share with everybody. I didn't know what that something was. And then I took 10 days of Silence. Before that, I also taught meditation and yoga, but I was not satisfied with what I was doing. Then I said no, there's something more that I need to bring to people. I see so much suffering around. Then, after 10 days of Silence, I started teaching [The Art of Living].
Howie: When you took 10 days of silence, where were you in a field?
Gurudev: I was in a small room on the bank of a river in India called the Tonga River in the south of India.
Howie: My ex's father, who was a Buddhist, used to go to Silent Retreats for over a week, and he thought it was super helpful for him.
Gurudev: It's an experience everyone should have. Silence is the mother of all creativity. There's so much fun. You know, usually, when someone has died, as an expression of respect for someone who has passed on to the other side, you stand up and observe one minute of silence or something like that. But there is a silence that is so joyful, a different type of Silence that takes you to another dimension, deep within.
Howie: I want to invite you back to another episode, and we will do just a silent episode with you. Is that a good idea?
Gurudev sits silently. [Laughter]
Howie: That was beautiful, especially for the people who aren't watching on YouTube—just a moment of silence.
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Author’s note:
To experience Gurudev’s ancient secret to modern well-being, try SKY Breath Meditation for yourself register for the Art of Living Part 1. SKY has helped millions of people worldwide improve all aspects of their lives.
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