Message for the New Year 2021

2020 has made us wiser; it was a challenging year - all those who were on the run or never sat at home were forced to sit at home. Those into service like frontline health workers put their heart & soul, put their lives at risk. Places of worship like temples, mosques, even ashrams were shut down. Hotel industry and tourism almost disappeared. 

But there’s 1 thing - the zeal/enthusiasm didn’t stop, the flame was alive. Our experience in caring /sharing for people has only grown.

Human mind has enormous capacity to adjust, accommodate and acclimatise to any eventuality. Many have discovered another dimension in their life - the spiritual dimension, that you don’t need to go to any place of worship to be spiritual and can sit and meditate wherever you are to find peace amid the chaos. These dimensions have made our lives richer. 

Innovative spirit has been coming up in many parts of the world. Innovation comes when the mind is calm, serene and relaxed. This time gave us an opportunity to do things that we were either postponing or complaining about that we didn’t have the time to do. Now we say goodbye to 2020 and get ready to welcome 2021.

The coming year will definitely give us the much-needed spirit of enthusiasm and willingness to care & share for each other and move towards more progress in our personal and social life. 

There are people who get stuck in time, then those who flow with time, then those who change time and there are others who surpass/go beyond time. As meditators / people in conscious living, you all have the ability to beyond time. That is spiritual wisdom. Know that you are beyond the body and events. This glimpse will make the foundation of love, thought and compassion unstoppable, irrespective of situations, with a smile & sense of celebration.

There are people who could not see through the year and exited the planet earlier and the families could not even say goodbye to them due to COVID-19. I tell them - there is a strength within you, of deep inner silence, through which you can bring peace, not just to everyone around you, but to realms that are unfathomable, which are beyond our apparent reach. Continue to meditate; your deep connection with with the silence within you will bring peace and solace to those who have crossed over as well.

Let’s welcome 2021 to bring more happiness and remove any traces of fear or uncertainty that we may have harboured or carried on with us. Let’s use wisdom to uplift our spirits in these times.

Art of Living is a global family and in the new year, we celebrate our 40th year. We will spend this year in reflecting on the path this movement has walked through. All those who have spent decades, many years, in AOL should recollect, write and compile their stories/ experiences for posterity. This is the icing on the cake, the real thing is the profound inner silence. In this 40th year, let’s spread the fragrance to all those in need so that people can feel the transformation in their lives and lead a happy, healthy life.

All those who are sincere, intense seekers - this would be a year in which you’ll go deeper in wisdom and be the lighthouse for the whole world. 

We’ll do some celebrations in the year-end, after the pandemic and uncertainties looming over the entire planet are over. In this, ayurveda will help, yagnas (ancient ceremonies), they will all help.

And, this year will have many surprises for us all! Yes, pleasant surprises!

Be happy now!

Once there was a congregation of fish, who got together to discuss who among them had seen the ocean. None of them could say they had actually seen the ocean. Then one fish said, ‘‘I think my great grandfather had seen the ocean!’’ A second fish said, ‘‘Yes, yes, I have also heard about this.’’ A third fish said, ‘‘Yes, certainly, his great grandfather had seen the ocean.’’

So, they built a huge temple and made a statue of the great grandfather of that particular fish, saying, “He had seen the ocean. He had been connected with the ocean.’’ In life, our search for happiness is like that. 

You can experience happiness at three levels. One is the happiness in society, in the environment. How can you bring about happy situations? How would you feel in a place where everybody around you thinks only about himself or herself ? Would you like to be in such a group where there is no sharing, no sense of belongingness, and no happiness?

The second level is the happiness of one’s mind. When one accepts things and moves in knowledge then the happiness dawns in the mind. Sometimes everybody around you is happy and you are serving others also but you are not happy in your mind; there is no fulfilment. Dedication brings the second level of happiness.

The third level is the happiness of the soul. This level of happiness happens when the soul is united with the Divine. When there is no duality, no two, when you are in deep meditation, then you experience this innermost joy.

All the three levels of happiness are interlinked. When you are totally united with the Divine you cannot but be fulfilled on the second level and on the third level and you cannot but serve because everybody is part of you. When you start serving and stop thinking about yourself all the time, mental satisfaction will come. The mind will also feel happy and relaxed and it creates such an environment.

A wise one is happy even in bad times. And the foolish one is unhappy even in good times. Spirituality is nothing out of the world. There is no division between what is spiritual, and what is material. Attaining a spiritual level is simply recognising that there is life everywhere, that there is spirit everywhere. When you go beyond happiness, what happens? The mind expands, at the same time it is not unconscious or unaware. Usually when you are happy, you become spaced out and you lose focus. When you are unhappy you are very focused. But a beautiful combination — of being happy and alert and focused at the same time — can be experienced in spiritual life.