Sri Sri Ravishankar Kochi: The urge to keep going and live in the present by incorporating the wisdom of the past and the vision for the future can be the best life philosophy, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar has said.
He was addressing a session at the Manorama News Conclave here.
Urging people to draw from the philosophy of Sri Sankara, he said the primal philosopher was the one who said 'lie is bliss.' He said we should prime the faculty of Drithi, the life spring or the spirit that upholds life, to attain bliss.
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Personal happiness cannot override the happiness of a community. One cannot beat the drums of personal happiness if the neighbors will stay awake.
Something as simple as a clap can alter our well-being, he said.
The act of bringing your hands together delivers you in the present. This is spontaneous and that was why babies clapped a lot in happiness, he said.
Drawing allusions to a doctor who stays healthy even while being surrounded by the indisposed, he said we should also work as transformers who can spread happiness.
The joy of giving
Moving from the infant joy of getting to the mature joy of giving brings ultimate happiness in life, he said.
"These two types of happiness and the gradual growth from the former to latter determines the tranquility in your life. There is something that expands within you when you spread joy, which shrinks when you're shouted at or cornered. You get to attain happiness once you know and conquer this very part of you," Sri Sri said.
Referring to the happiness survey conducted by 'Art of Living' back in 2012, he said 40 percent of our school teachers were facing severe depression.
How do you expect students to spread joy when the teachers are happy? It was noted that a baby smiles 400 times a day while an adolescent does so 20 times.
Happiness is a natural process and it demands rising above your past. Happiness occurs when you learn to manage your mind.
The Art of Living founder said two key responsibilities rule all social services: first, to encounter a problem and second, to find an effective solution to it.
"This is applicable both to the political mass and the journalists. When you place an issue in front of the government or the people, you are responsible to suggest an effective solution for it. You need to live in the present moment for this. You need to get over the grieves and emotions of past and live peacefully in the present," he added.
Asserting the point that personal happiness was not different from community happiness, Sri Sri Ravisankar said community happiness is centered on the happiness of each individual.
