Caption: Sri Ravishankar Guruji, Founder of Art of Living, is seen delivering a spiritual discourse at the Open-Air Auditorium in Manasagangotri last evening.
Mysore, Feb. 5- “Patriotism and devotion are like two faces of the same coin. A healthy society can be created only if all of us involve in social service activities with the belief that the Almighty resides in Nature,” said Sri Ravishankar Guruji, Founder of Art of Living.
He was delivering a spiritual discourse on ‘Healthy Mind- Healthy Society’ as part of Art of Living’s Swastha Samaja Abhiyan at the Open Air theatre in Manasagangotri last evening, under the aegis of Art of Living, Mysore Kendra.
“The land, water, air and other natural resources gifted to us by nature must be kept clean and preserved. But we find that all the water bodies are polluted. Even the air is polluted. Trees are being felled and forests are getting denuded. If this continues, how can we have a healthy society?” questioned Guruji and added, “Every individual must pledge to protect the environment. We can attain spiritual progress only if we indulge in social service works.”
“Liquor must be banned”
“The society can never be healthy unless consuming alcohol is totally banned in the society. People must realise that crimes like rape take place under the influence of alcohol. Similarly, violence must also be eradicated from the society,” said Sri Ravishankar and added, “Political rivalry, casteism, religious intolerance, discrimination and other social evils must be eradicated.”
Take care of health
“Mind is the foundation stone for a healthy life. For a healthy mind, a healthy body is essential. Every second, four crore information reach our mind, of which only 40 are saved and only three to four remembered in the memory. Hence, it is essential that a healthy body and healthy mind is maintained,” Ravishankar Guruji said and advised that healthy food must be consumed to attain this.
“Presently, there is only 0.4% carbon in the atmosphere. Hence, the food items that we grow lack nutrition. Soil fertility too has been adversely affected due to the excessive use of chemical fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides,” he said and rued that even the drinking water lacked essential minerals. He advocated for the consumption of Tulasi (Basilicum sanctum) and other plants that have medicinal values and called upon the farmers to take up organic cultivation.
‘Made Snana’ does not bring peace
“Practising rituals like ‘Made Snana’ (the ritual at Kukke Subramanya of rolling over leftovers on plantain leaves on which Brahmins had eaten) and walking on fire does not give one a peace of mind,” said Guruji, adding, “Such rituals, avowals, certain ancient traditions and other religious practices do not atone one’s sins. It is only if one’s conscience is clear that the body will be clean and healthy.”
Humaneness of Mysoreans
In between the discourse, Gururji recalled with pleasure his visit to Mysore when he was a student. “Mysore city was a very serene place then. It was said, in those days that if one has to witness humaneness, one has to visit Mysore. People who visited Mysore to witness Dasara were considered guests by the locals who provided food and boarding facilities. However, it is unfortunate that here too, incidents of crime are on the rise these days and the society’s health has deteriorated,” he rued.
Meditation
After the discourse, Guruji made the audience do meditation and some simple exercises for about 20 minutes. When he said that even the politicians must do regular exercise for a healthy society, the entire audience raised their hands in approval.
Before the arrival of the Guruji, Shalini-Srinivas couple rendered bhajans.
Earlier, Guruji was received amidst the playing of chande. The houseful audience, comprising not only Mysoreans but also foreigners, were given a small slip to write their questions, if any, and hand it over to Guruji who spoke both in English and Kannada.
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