By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: April 02, 2020
By holding onto and repeatedly analyzing whatever faults we might have, we keep ourselves in bondage, which often restricts our ability to love freely. That’s why someone needed to ask Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar about how to avoid being judged as arrogant. In the following brief video, a participant asked, “Where does self-respect end and arrogance start? How does one maintain a position of power without it being misjudged as arrogance?”
Gurudev began to answer by encouraging the person to get in touch with their own feelings. He said, “If you’re watchful, you can feel it; you can recognize it because when arrogance comes in you, somewhere it disturbs you. Inside it pricks you. At that time, just wake up. Another thing is, don’t sit and analyze yourself too much.”
He continued, “Be spontaneous and keep moving forward. Why do you sit and analyze too much? Once in a while it’s good to analyze, but every day, sitting and analyzing yourself: ‘Oh, am I happy or unhappy? Am I arrogant? Am I humble?’ It’s a big headache! And it’s an unnecessary exercise!”
Righteousness or guilt
On the consequences of too much analysis, Gurudev asserts, “It can give rise to two situations. One, it can make you feel that you’re very righteous. ‘Oh, see, I’m always good.’ When you feel you are very righteous, you’re inviting anger; you’re prone to anger. All the angry people on this planet, if you observe them, they have righteousness. ‘I’m right!’ Self-righteousness will bring anger, number one.
Second, suppose you feel that you aren’t right. What will it give rise to? Guilt. In that case also, who is the sufferer? If you’re right, you’re suffering. If you’re wrong, you’re suffering. If you’re right you’re suffering because you feel that everybody else is unjust and only you’re right, and that will give rise to anger. And if you feel you’re not right, it eats you inside. You’re guilty, guilty, guilty and that’s another botheration.”
Let be and let go
Then Gurudev offers a most easy and effective solution, saying, “The best is, just let be and let go. Offer it all, good and bad, everything! Offer all action to the divine.”
To move beyond the problem, a wonderful Sanskrit verse compares the act of surrendering any tricky situation to the way different waters naturally flow into the ocean from many different places. “At the end of every puja there’s a verse that says, ‘like the water that comes from the clouds, that falls on the earth, like the waters all move towards the ocean, in that same way let all my worship to anybody go to one divinity. By word, body, and senses, whatever I’ve done and am doing, all that I offer to the divine.’ Then, you’ve offered the good, you’ve offered the bad, everything. Then you became hollow and empty and free. When you’re free, then love blossoms again. If you’re not free, love doesn’t blossom.”
“Virtues don’t come up. You can’t say, ‘I have these virtues,’ and feel stifled, upset, angry, and agitated inside. When can you feel devotion? When can you feel clarity of mind? When can you feel happiness?” asks Gurudev. The answer is that you feel these great things when you let go, be free, and allow your virtues to flow spontaneously, without your analysis. “Only when you feel freedom, and freedom is when you just let go of the past and the future.”
Moving beyond the habit of overanalyzing yourself can help you to love more and be loved more. This is one of the important skills to take your happiness to the next level. I invite you to join this free online Happiness Webinar to learn some more such skills that can enhance your happiness enormously.
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.
