Discussion focused on ways to live a more-balanced and purposeful life.
Noida International University welcomed Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswatiji as a guest speaker recently for a discussion on Redefining Success for Stress-free, Balanced and Purposeful Lives, and it was a chance for her to interact with students and faculty members and to provide insights into the art of living life, divinity and achieving ultimate happiness. The appearance was sponsored by Penguin India, publishers of Sadhviji’s latest book, “Come Home to Yourself,” available at Amazon.in.
The students and faculty both responded with a high level of enthusiasm, with Pro-Chancellor Dr Viram Singhji declaring, “I have seldom seen the burst of positive energy in the seminar hall that there is today.” Her presence, literally, filled the auditorium with “the aura of positivity.”
Dr. Singh ji continued, “When daily I come to the university, I see chicken coops…chickens that are being taken to be slaughtered. And when I see students, the body language of my young students and the chickens is almost the same. Both have the same fear…the same anguish and fatigue on their faces writ large. Sadhviji will tell you, you don’t have to be a loser. God has created you and given you your mind, your body and your soul. You are not born to crawl across life on your knees, facing adversity supinely in life. You are winners, but you have forgotten that you are winners.”
Once Sadhviji began her address, quiet filled the auditorium and every word was relished and digested by the students. “Your life,” she began, “the life in your mind, the life in your heart, the life that is there when you close your eyes at night to go to sleep…the times that you are alone with your thoughts – that is the world that you need to be creating.”
“The experience that we all have of stress,” she soon declared, “is the stress of how I perform. Exams? I will fail. Placement? I won’t get the placement. All of what that is about is what I DO. How I perform. The dilemma is that you are not what you do. That belief that we are what we do is what causes stress in our lives.”
Part of that stress, she continued, is caused by our definition of success. “Our vision of success today,” she said, “is a good, high-paying job and I should have money and fame – social media success. Here is the dilemma with that: None of these things actually bring happiness. What is the point of having a bed made of gold if you can’t sleep? Having everything but wanting more means that you’re poor. The joy, the satisfaction that people get by serving others – this is success. This is real wealth.”
“My success is not about the money or the title. My success is a life that is meaningful. A life that brings me and others joy and peace. That is lived in connection to myself and others. A life that is connected to my heritage, my culture, my roots. This is what brings people real joy and real happiness.”
After sharing with the assembly, Sadhviji took a series of questions from the enthusiastic gathering. Immediately afterward, she joined faculty and staff for further discussions that included meetings with Suman and Sneha of Carevanta about the group’s Padyatra, the world’s longest yatra for menstrual hygiene, as well as an autograph session for “Come Home to Yourself.”