God resides in hearts that are full of devotion

Mahasatsang at Madanpur, Bihar

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.

Our country was a slave for thousands of years only because we were divided in castes and communities. We were never united, never sat and had food together. This was what went wrong in this country. Scriptures have nothing to do with this. Valmiki was a Dalit. Vyas, who wrote the Mahabharata, which caste do you think he belonged to? And Lord Krishna was a Yadav, one of the backward classes. We all worship Lord Krishna. We worship the feet first; we don’t worship the head. So much respect is given to the feet. So we should treat all castes equal and not discriminate against caste.

We will not let any injustice happen to anybody. We will fight to remove scarcity and injustice. We should stand against corruption. We need the vote bank of honest people today. We will only vote for those who are honest. Neither will we give bribe nor take it. If there is anybody here who takes bribe, I would request them not to take bribe for one year. Just promise me that you will not take bribe for a year, see the rest later. I tell you, in one year, we will change the face of the country, if all the officers and leaders pledge not to accept and give bribe for a year. If there are givers, only then there are takers. If everyone decides not to give bribe to get work done, only then can something happen.

We have to stand against this injustice and also remove scarcity. All of us will have to work together for this.
We need to have better hygiene. When I was travelling to this place, I saw heaps of garbage lying around. The pond’s water was polluted. I can come anytime and check any of your houses for cleanliness. Should I come to your house? You will have to keep your houses and the roads clean. The drains outside the houses should be clean. And don’t use chemical soaps at home. Besan, shikakai and other natural soaps are good and will also keep the water clean. We use chemicals and then water gets polluted. We have to save the water and soil against pollution. I am very happy that Bihar has progressed so much but I want four times more progress here.

You should all practice yoga, pranayama and meditation for some time. There are so many yuvacharyas in your service. I will depute more people here. If you practice yoga and meditation for a little while, body aches will disappear, mind will become happy, you will get less angry and be blessed by the grace of God.
If you have any pain or suffering, give it to me. I am ready to take all your problems, miseries and sorrows. Just give it to me with all your heart and then see. God is there inside you and he will do all your work. There will be no shortage; you just need devotion in your heart. God does not reside in dry hearts. He resides in hearts that are full of devotion. If the heart is dry then there is nothing left in life.

Everyone has been given lots of blessings. All of you go back home with joy and live happily. I am with you.

Take one step on the path of knowledge and see there will be no dearth of miracles in your life. Your life will be filled with miracles. There is God that is why I am saying this, otherwise why should I say? I travel all over the world and keep telling people that there is God, he is yours, he loves you very much and he listens to you. I am saying this with confidence because I have experience. There has been a change in the lives of millions of people all over the world. So why will your life not change? It will definitely change.

I find Bihari dialect very sweet and I want to learn some of it. There are many people from Bihar working in the Bangalore Ashram. The security people are from Bihar and many people in the kitchen are from Bihar too. Today, wherever you go in India, you will find people from Bihar. Wherever there is sunlight in India, you will find Biharis there. Now the sun will shine brighter in Bihar.

I want that there should be no quarrels and fights in this village and it should make fast progress. The youth of the village should take responsibility for service and cleanliness. We have to make it an ideal village. Just like the ‘Divya Gaon’ (Divine Village) in Naugarh.

Alcohol is flowing freely in this country. We have to stop this. Liquor shops should be closed. Poverty cannot be eradicated until alcohol consumption is stopped. Women are suffering a lot due to alcohol.

When we grow crops using urea and other chemicals, it affects our body. Pain in the joints is an outcome of this. We should do organic farming. Don’t use chemicals as they pollute the earth and make it poisonous. Your ancestors did not suffer from any pain but now even children have body pain. Just meditate - every pain will disappear.