Madanpur, 21 January 2012
You (referring to Naxalites) are not having a party there in the forest. You empathize with the poor and feel for them. We are all with you but don’t resort to violence. Leave the gun, come forward. We will vote for you and bring you forward in this country. You assume leadership because when honest and selfless people take responsibility and serve the country, they do it honestly. They don’t want anything for themselves but for everybody. This society needs such youth today. You shun the path of violence. Whatever Karl Marx and other communist leaders have said about equality, removal of ignorance, etc., Lord Krishna had already spoken about all this thousands of years ago.
We first need to remove ignorance, illiteracy, and stop child marriages. All the women here take a pledge that girls will not be married before eighteen years of age and boys before twenty one years. Here, children are forced to get married at the age of ten or twelve years. This practice must be stopped. Boys and girls should only be married after 18 years of age. Until then, they should be allowed to study.
Eradicating ignorance is our primary duty. In the state which was home to the Nalanda University and great scholars such as Chanakya, it is a crime if its people remain uneducated. About fifteen to twenty years back, schools here used to be empty – they were not ready to teach anyone and even the people were scared of sending their children to school. But now, the situation has changed. So let’s take a pledge today that we will provide hundred percent education and send our children to school.
Where there are no other schools except government schools, we are ready to open schools in those regions. We already have a school running here.
These days in Bihar, we don’t find people to perform pooja or to teach yoga and pranayama. So, we will train all those who are interested in learning these. I don’t want any man or woman here to be unemployed. The Art of Living runs a project for the unemployed youth. There are so many jobs available in our country. There is a need for business. I meet so many industrialists who tell me that they don’t find people to work. There is a shortage of drivers, cooks, plumbers, electricians, masons in our country – in every field, we can involve people. The statues of our gods and goddesses are made in our neighbouring country, China. Can’t we make these statues here in India? You take this project in one of your villages. You will make all the Ganesha statues required in Maharashtra. This way, the money which is going to another country will be used here.
Women can make papads (a snack) and other Bihari delicacies here. So much work can be done. Bihar has water and sunlight. However, there seems to be some problem in planning.
We should plan in a way that everyone gets justice, especially the farmers. Everyone should live happily. We should all work towards that. We have to first remove ignorance and then work towards creating justice. Caste discrimination should be removed. Our Vedas and Puranas talk about more than a thousand Rishis. Only a few of them were Brahmins. The rest of them were from different castes and communities.
In those times, there was no casteism like what exists today. Everyone is a shudra by birth. Who is a shudra? The one who runs around crying. Doesn’t a child do that? So every child is a shudra, but when he comes into knowledge and stops crying, then he becomes a ‘Dwija’. This is what is written in our scriptures. Therefore, all saints have got equal respect here, irrespective of their caste. It is a crime to discriminate on the basis of caste. This should not be done. All the youth present here take this pledge not to discriminate on the basis of caste and to consider everyone equal. Live in harmony and respect all.
Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today
© The Art of Living Foundation
You (referring to Naxalites) are not having a party there in the forest. You empathize with the poor and feel for them. We are all with you but don’t resort to violence. Leave the gun, come forward. We will vote for you and bring you forward in this country. You assume leadership because when honest and selfless people take responsibility and serve the country, they do it honestly. They don’t want anything for themselves but for everybody. This society needs such youth today. You shun the path of violence. Whatever Karl Marx and other communist leaders have said about equality, removal of ignorance, etc., Lord Krishna had already spoken about all this thousands of years ago.
We first need to remove ignorance, illiteracy, and stop child marriages. All the women here take a pledge that girls will not be married before eighteen years of age and boys before twenty one years. Here, children are forced to get married at the age of ten or twelve years. This practice must be stopped. Boys and girls should only be married after 18 years of age. Until then, they should be allowed to study.
Eradicating ignorance is our primary duty. In the state which was home to the Nalanda University and great scholars such as Chanakya, it is a crime if its people remain uneducated. About fifteen to twenty years back, schools here used to be empty – they were not ready to teach anyone and even the people were scared of sending their children to school. But now, the situation has changed. So let’s take a pledge today that we will provide hundred percent education and send our children to school.
Where there are no other schools except government schools, we are ready to open schools in those regions. We already have a school running here.
These days in Bihar, we don’t find people to perform pooja or to teach yoga and pranayama. So, we will train all those who are interested in learning these. I don’t want any man or woman here to be unemployed. The Art of Living runs a project for the unemployed youth. There are so many jobs available in our country. There is a need for business. I meet so many industrialists who tell me that they don’t find people to work. There is a shortage of drivers, cooks, plumbers, electricians, masons in our country – in every field, we can involve people. The statues of our gods and goddesses are made in our neighbouring country, China. Can’t we make these statues here in India? You take this project in one of your villages. You will make all the Ganesha statues required in Maharashtra. This way, the money which is going to another country will be used here.
Women can make papads (a snack) and other Bihari delicacies here. So much work can be done. Bihar has water and sunlight. However, there seems to be some problem in planning.
We should plan in a way that everyone gets justice, especially the farmers. Everyone should live happily. We should all work towards that. We have to first remove ignorance and then work towards creating justice. Caste discrimination should be removed. Our Vedas and Puranas talk about more than a thousand Rishis. Only a few of them were Brahmins. The rest of them were from different castes and communities.
In those times, there was no casteism like what exists today. Everyone is a shudra by birth. Who is a shudra? The one who runs around crying. Doesn’t a child do that? So every child is a shudra, but when he comes into knowledge and stops crying, then he becomes a ‘Dwija’. This is what is written in our scriptures. Therefore, all saints have got equal respect here, irrespective of their caste. It is a crime to discriminate on the basis of caste. This should not be done. All the youth present here take this pledge not to discriminate on the basis of caste and to consider everyone equal. Live in harmony and respect all.
Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today
© The Art of Living Foundation
