7 Mantras for 2012

Let us welcome the New Year with the “7 Mantras for 2012”, given by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar, whom I had the opportunity to meet this year. As it happened, on one of my visits to Bangalore, I thought of presenting him a couple of books and visited his Ashram. I was guided to a large hall where “he would be coming soon to give Darshan”. As I looked around the jam packed hall for a place to sit, he walked in. And as luck would have it, came in the same direction where I was standing. I stepped forward, handed over the two books I had brought (one written by my father and the other by my mother) and gave him a brief introduction. He opened the books, browsed through them and expressed words of appreciation.

Sri Sri Ravishankar, enchanting his devotees during a satsang in Bangalore

So here we go - the 7 Mantras for 2012:

1. Reflect on your life in relation to the Cosmos. This will drop the smallness in you & you will be able to live fully. 

2. Remind yourself of the highest goal in Life. You are not here to grumble / complain. You are here for something bigger. 

3. Serve! Engage yourself in community service to whatever extent you can. 

4. Have faith & trust that the Divine loves you dearly & is taking care of you. 

5. As we flip the calendar, we need to flip our mind too. Don’t fill future dates with past events. Learn & move on. 

6. Smile more! True sign of prosperity is an unconditional smile on your face. 

7. Nurture yourself with music, prayer & silence. Meditation, pranayam & yoga rejuvenate; give depth & stability.