Question:
How to control our mind from bad habits?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Mind cannot be controlled directly. Only through Meditation and Pranayam it can be done. I see a lot of mothers here. I have something to tell you. When a child cries, unbearable with its crying, we put a nipple plug in its mouth. This is not good. Actually this was not in our traditions at all. It has been imported from some other culture. A child who cannot cry cannot also laugh. By putting these plugs we are controlling their expressions. They are not able to express good or bad. Ultimately, the child becomes expressionless. This creates inhibitions and more stiffness in them. Allow the child to cry for at least two minutes everyday. This is good for its health, because crying helps opening up of the lungs. Do you know the first act in life ? We took a deep inhalation and then cried. What is the last act of human life? Exhalation and making others cry. If others are not crying then you have not lived an impressive life. You need not cry for anything and everything in between. The name Art of Living is given to teach these small techniques to lead a happy life. Earlier the courses were conducted free of charge. Our volunteers and teachers took all the pains to arrange a class and most often participants were irregular as it was a free course. To make the participants committed, we have fixed a small fee and now that helps to fund our village development programmers.
