| 1.
Why do I get negative thoughts so often? |
Thought is an
expression of your inner patterns and beliefs. If you have negative patterns
and beliefs, you will get negative thoughts and vice versa.
To change your thoughts, you have to change your patterns and beliefs. Learn
the art of changing your pattern and belief. That is true inner discipline
for transformation.
Life will be unfulfilling with negative patterns and beliefs in spite of
you being successful externally. You may be successful externally, but internally
dissatisfied. So, therefore, work on inner transformation. |
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2. Swamiji, What is simple formula to be rich? |
Start with A
B C D, i.e. have a great Attitude; Believe that it is possible; imagine
the Consequence to be abundance and Dare to live that way.
Learn to be in the company of the rich while serving the poor. Do fishing
where there are fishes. Let every activity be a value added activity and
stop your time wasters and make them time users.
Attitude gives you energy to live life passionately. So constantly keep
checking your attitude. Belief is a sense of certainty. Operate from a certainty
that you will be rich. In fact, you are rich in possibilities and have to
bring it into actuality. |
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| 3. How
should we spend money? |
| There is a book where I had
read that the king of a poor country meets the rich man of another country
and asks him the secret of his being rich, and he replies: “Whatever
you earn, ten percent should go to charity. The other thirty percent to
investment and the rest should be for you to spend”. |
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| 4. Why
do I get nervous when I have to make a presentation in front of others? |
There are three patterns
one has to be ware of, i.e., looking good is where most of us operate from
and the best platform to come from is being good. Looking good depends on
others’ endorsement, on others’; validation, on others’
appreciation and hence you are dependent on the other. Depending on others’
is mostly hell as they control your lives and in turn, your feeling good
depends on their appreciation.
You are nervous whether they give you appreciation or not for your feeling
good depends on them. Hence you are nervous.
Your nervousness depends on other’s appreciation. The anxiety whether
others appreciate or not creates nervousness. |
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| 5.
What has meditation to do with dealing with misery? |
Meditation is
basically bringing a wakeful energy in your life. To be awake to the reality
of how your mind and unconscious behavior operate is a part of meditative
living.
To be awake to the fact that
- Misery exists in your mind
- Transform the mind and your misery is transformed.
- Transcend your mind and there is a different reality which exists
and this is a part of meditative living.
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| 6.
When one makes mistakes what should one do? |
Firstly, stop
beating yourself up. Learn from your mistakes. Mistakes are okay but don’t
repeat the mistake. Mistakes make us human. Grow from the mistakes, become
wiser and see what has not worked. Knowing what has not worked will help
you go in the right direction.
Beating yourself up is an act of inner drunkenness. Keep a learning energy
around the mistake you have made and not a guilty around it. Don’t
keep yourself in a torture chamber of guilt. |
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| 7.
How does one make friends? |
The moment you get interested
in others, you will find people getting attracted to you. Drop the words,
‘I and ‘mine’ as much as possible and use words as ‘you
and ‘we’ more often. This will connect you to people. Learn
to listen more and talk less, for God has given us two ears and one mouth,
so listen more and talk less.
The dog hardly works and a bull works a lot, but have you observed how a
dog is love more than a bull? It is because the dog knows how to wag its
tail and if you stroke him, he will be very loyal to you. Learn from the
dog the power of love. |
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| 8.
What should be the vision of the youth? |
Be an outer winner
and inner winner. Learn to balance success and satisfaction with a deep
sense of contribution to humanity. Youth should have a new heart, which
learns to love.
Love should be inclusive and not exclusive. Love should have a sense of
detachment with a caring feeling.
Youth should develop a mind which is calm and creative. A new mind which
sees the beauty of both security and insecurity should be developed. The
soul of the youth should be both alone and connected. Aloneness is different
from loneliness. |
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| 9.
Is there a distinction between knowledge and understanding? |
Knowledge is
conceptual and understanding is existential.
J Krishnamurti used to say that the word is not the thing and the description
is not the described.
Understanding happens through the evolution of ‘being’. When
there is not love, kindness, and compassion, then if you read the scriptures
you gain only knowledge and not understanding.
When you read the scripture it comes to you as ‘knowledge’ and
when your ‘being’ evolves it comes to you as understanding.
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| 10.
What is the mantra for wise living? |
| I call it the
‘A B C’ approach. Have a good Attitude. Attitude creates altitude.
Have a powerful Belief and not a limiting belief. Have a Caring energy.
Care for others and care for yourself. |
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