Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness

30
2012
Jun
Boone, North Carolina
Q: Guruji, sometimes, dealing with kids gets so tricky that I tend to lose my patience. Everyday I decide to be calm, but when the situation arises I am not able to control myself. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You can’t do anything about it now, you have to live life spontaneously. Do you see what I am saying? It is okay to sometimes lose your temper, never mind. You should leave a little room for imperfection in life, and start accepting.
What did you learn in the Part 1 Course? Accept people and situations as they are. It is a lifetime process. Every day you get reminded of this. When these situations come to you, you get reminded, ’Yes, I have to do this, this and this.’ So this is the direction in which we go. Sometimes you slip here and there, never mind, keep moving. Definitely one day, you will achieve perfection.
The other day, one teacher who has been in The Art of Living for around 20 years said to me, ‘Guruji, sometimes it feels so strange that I am happy all the time. Come what may I am happy’.
And I said, ‘Finally!’
20 years is not too much time, it is okay. But you don’t need to take 20 years. Turn back and see the growth in you; this is why these celebrations are done. What is the purpose of Guru Purnima? Once in a year, you turn back and see where you were and how much you have progressed. How you respond differently to situations now and how your reactions have reduced and responses have increased.
So, life is a continuous process. Isn’t it so?


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Silence

29
2012
Jun
Boone, North Carolina
Keeping silence is very useful. At least twice a year we must do this. Once a year is a must and twice a year is very good.
Silence purifies our speech. Often when we speak what happens, have you observed? You must observe. When you speak what impact your speech is making on others – we must observe that. Many times, we do not bother to notice this, we go on blabbering. We just want to say all that we want to say and become free. No, you must see what impact your speech has on others.

There is a beautiful couplet in the Bhagavad Gita which says, ‘Anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam ca yat. ’ The words that do not rattle the minds of people and which is truth. Truth which is benevolent and which is pleasant, those type of words are to be spoken. That is called the penance of speech.


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