Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: A Spiritual Perspective

Opening Invocation

Oṃ Asato Mā Sadgamaya

Tamaso Mā Jyotir Gamaya

Mṛtyor Mā Amṛtaṃ Yamaya

Oṃ Śānti Śānti Śānti

Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real. Lead us from ignorance to illumination. Lead us from death to immortality. Oṃ. Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all.

Introduction: The Connection to the Bhagavad Gītā

The subject of how to stop worrying and start living is very practical. How is it connected with our Gītā? Any negative style of living—and worrying is one of the most destructive and completely unfruitful styles of living—exists because of only one reason, and that reason is wrong understanding about life, misunderstanding, delusion about life.

Arjuna really started to worry. What was the cause? Inability to discriminate between what is right and what is wrong. Now the point we have to understand is this: even though Arjuna thought that he would stop fighting, that he would not kill these people, the world would not stop moving as it has been moving inexorably. Whether you want to worry about that or want to be free from worry, the world has its own way of going—nobody can stop it.

Even after Śrī Kṛṣṇa had helped Arjuna to dispel his delusion, he did not stop the war, he did not stop the killing. He never said that if you stop worrying, then the world becomes a better place or a worse place. He didn't say the negative things in life will disappear—never. Life will go on, but each one of us has a choice: how to understand life and how to have a right outlook on life so that the stress can be reduced.

Arjuna followed his advice and he reaped the benefit. We are all Arjunas. Śrī Kṛṣṇa did not teach to one single individual at that time. Each one who has to face life—and each one of us has to face life heroically like Arjuna, not in a namby-pamby way—is an Arjuna. Arjuna is simply a symbol of a sincere person struggling in life, trying to adopt a right attitude towards life so that he can cope with it, and not only merely cope with life, but advance in life towards an inexorable, inevitable goal.

That is what Swami Vivekananda had also said. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also had said.

The Three-Step Process of Healing

You know, when a patient goes to a doctor, there are three processes that take place. First, diagnosis of the disease. Then, right prescription. What is the last one? The patient has to follow the prescription correctly. No doctor can remove the disease of a patient just by merely diagnosing or prescribing. The onus lies on the patient.

And we are all patients. Who are the patients? Excepting jīvanmuktas, liberated in life, all of us are patients, in a small way or big way.

The Buddha's Teaching: Three Types of People

Before I start this subject, I have to bring a beautiful anecdote. Buddha got enlightenment and it was said for fourteen days he had gone around the Bodhi tree, dancing in ecstasy. Then he decided to give up his body, because he thought, "Who is there who would like to have my teaching?"

Then the legend says, Brahmā appeared to him and requested him, "Please give your teaching." Then Brahmā explained to him, "In this world, there are three sorts of people. The enlightened people, the God-realized souls—they don't need your teaching. There are quite a number of people who don't want your teaching. But in between, there are a few people who want to get enlightenment and do not know the way. For them, your teaching will be most helpful."

And Buddha accepted. It is said he attained illumination at the age of forty-five, and for the next forty-five years, until he was a ripe old ninety years old, he went on preaching his experience, the most excellent dharma.

Buddha's Practical Approach

You know what is most curious about his teaching? He never talked about God—he never denied God, mind you. He never talked about God. He said, "Be practical, be good, do good." For most of the people, that is his prescription. But those who want to go further—for them, he had other ways for enlightenment. He had not come merely to make people be good and do good. But for most of the people, that is what is needed.

That "be good and do good" is what is called abhyudaya in Vedāntic language. But for those few people who want to go beyond "be and do good"—which is called niḥśreyasa, liberation—for them he taught deeper truths like meditation, etc.

Application to Our Lives

The point of this anecdote is this: in this world, there are three sorts of people. The enlightened people, the rational people, the wise people—they don't worry. Then there are worldly people, whom we devotees proudly look down upon to distinguish ourselves from them. They are called worldly people. Fortunately and unfortunately, they don't worry, because they are worldly people. They say, "This is our life. If somebody dies, okay, we grieve for a short time—one hour, two hours, one day, two days at best." And if he has a lot of property and doesn't leave a will, the worry will last a little longer time. But they will not worry because they are eager to enjoy the world. Do you see the point? They don't care.

But in between—the triśaṅkus, na ghar ke na ghāṭ ke, neither purely worldly nor purely wise—these in-between hangers worry a lot. All the devotees worry a lot. It is for them this talk is meant.

The Limitation of Psychology

Before we start, another point. There are so many psychologists who try to help people to lessen the worry, not get rid of the worry. But certainly, their effect is minimal. Do you know why it is minimal? Unless a person has a higher outlook, worry cannot be overcome.

Jung's Discovery

To give you an example: Jung had written a book—later on, I think it is Modern Man in Search of a Soul. I am not 100% sure, either that book or some reminiscences. Most likely that book. There he said, looking back at a later time of his life, "Most of my patients, many of my patients, they came to me for help and I couldn't help them. So they had to be sent back home."

After many years, he felt a curiosity—I am putting my words, not exact words, the essence—to find out what happened to them, because even he couldn't help them. So he went and found them, and many out of them had been very successful in life, very happy in life. Successful not in the sense of achieving something, but successful in the sense that they were very contented, happy people.

Then Jung interviewed them: "When I could not help, how did you deal with this problem?" Invariably there was one answer. What was the answer? They said that they did not remove the worry, but when they raised their mind to a higher level and looked at it from the higher point of view, the worries appeared to be very trivial. And then they did not trouble them any longer.

Like you know, for a child, when a doll is broken, the child's heart breaks. But when the same child grows up, if the doll is not already broken, he is likely to break it and throw it in the dustbin. See, we have to grow. That was Jung's conclusion. Unless we raise our mind to a higher level, this ordinary worrying and other things cannot be overcome at all. This is the simple truth. That means only a spiritual outlook can help us overcome the problems of life, modern or ancient—no other way.

The Misconception About a Sorrow-Free Life

Another point in this regard before I really start is this: there is a misconception that in this world it is possible to live without sorrow. In this world it is possible to live without any sorrow? Some sorrow you want to enter and have no sorrow. How is it possible? Saṃsāra—some sorrow. You enter into some sorrow and not expect any sorrow—that is not possible. There will always be some. Nobody can overcome it, even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara.

There is a saying: "Caught in the net of five elements, even Brahman weeps." Rāma wept. Kṛṣṇa had to flee from Mathurā, so he decamped. Yes, in modern times. But he couldn't cope any longer. He simply packed bag and baggage with his people and shifted residence from one place to a long distance. That is why even God, if he incarnates, cannot escape.

Rāmakṛṣṇa had to suffer from cancer. Holy Mother had to walk so much and face so many problems. Swami Vivekananda had to face so many problems. Show me one man who lived happily without any problems. The only person who can live in this world without any problem is a dead man. A simple truth.

The Anatomy of Worry

Okay, with this background, let us first have an anatomy of worry. This is the diagnosis.

Definition of Worry

First of all, what is worry? Worry is a negative mental reaction to certain experiences in life. Worry is a negative mental reaction to certain events in life. The events in life cannot be prevented. There are people under the same circumstances who look at the same events in a most wonderful way.

The Sufi Saint and the Necklace

Just to give an example, this is an anecdote from real life. A Sufi saint was given a precious necklace by some admirer. Then at night—you know, in the daytime he was given it—at night a thief entered and simply snatched this and was running away. Then the saint said, "God bless you, thank you very much."

So the thief stopped and said, "Why do you thank me? I am stealing your necklace, why do you thank me?" He said, "I was worried ever since I got it. How am I going to keep it? What am I going to do with it? And who is going to steal it?" A real incident.

Gopāler Mā and the Mosquito Net

You know Gopāler Mā, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's devotee? Once some American devotees visited her. She was living in a very poor house. Practically there were no amenities and there was no mosquito net. They thought the best gift they could give to her was a brand new mosquito net. And they left after giving that.

Next morning she came running to Belur Maṭh with the mosquito net bundled under her armpit. She was haggard. "Yes, here is your mosquito net, I don't want it." They said, "Why are you returning it?" "The whole night I was worried where mice will come and eat it up. Without a mosquito net I was very happy."

Of course she was much better than another man who purchased a brand new mosquito net, tied it up nicely, and he went under his bed and slept. Next morning somebody found him and said, "What is this? You have a mosquito net and you are sleeping under the cot?" He said, "You know, these stupid mosquitoes, they think I am in the mosquito net."

This saint, he thanked him: "I was worried about these things. Now you relieved me of my worry." Now for us it may look like it is a precious thing. "Why? He could have done some good out of it." But their way of outlook is something different.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Priesthood

In fact, if you study the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the beginning of his priesthood started with this incident. You know, when he came to Dakṣiṇeśvar, Mathur Babu wanted to give him a job. He said, "I don't want." When his nephew Hṛday came, then Hṛday asked him, "Why are you not accepting the job?" He said, "You know, who is going to worry about the ornaments and protecting them and all that?"

They said, "I will take care of all the ornaments. You just do the worship." Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa accepted it. He didn't want to worry about it. That is how his priesthood started, leading ultimately to the ultimate realizations and all that.

The Key Insight

The point is that in this world certain events happen. Whether they are positive or negative, you cannot say that it is a positive event or negative event. It depends upon how we look upon it.

Swami Premananda's Prayer

Yeah, positive event. Swami Premananda was a very nice person. He was a student. His father told him, "If you pass the high school examination, then I will get you a nice sweet girl and get you married." He went on praying, "O Lord, please make me fail." And God heard him—he failed and he was very happy, because he didn't want to get married.

The point is: how do we look upon any event? Any event can be looked at in a worldly way, in a spiritual way. What is the difference between a saint and a worldly person? The event is not separate, but the way one interprets that event. This is what we have to understand.

Understanding the Nature of Life

So what is the anatomy of worry? What is the first point we have to understand? This world is another name for worry, troubles. That's why Buddha said life is full of misery. That means there will be some events which are difficult, which are painful. You cannot neglect it. You cannot but take notice of it. But how we can interpret them—that is where spiritual practice comes to our aid. This is what we have to understand. That was the first point.

The Second Misconception: Life Should Be Only Joyful

Second point is that we have a wrong understanding about life. That is the cause of worry, anatomy of worry. What is it? Buddha said life should be only full of joy. Somehow we think life should be full of joy. There is nothing wrong with that expectation. What is wrong is if we think life—meaning the world, the events, the objects—should be consisting of only positive things. Everybody smiles. Everybody hugs you. Everybody loves you.

You know what happens? If everybody does like that, you will remain a cockroach.

The Price of Evolution

This is what some evolutionary historian had said. Cockroaches have not evolved in millions of years. Why? Because they are highly successful in life. They can eat carpets. They can eat paper. They can eat wood. They can survive on anything. Because they did not die, they remained there as cockroaches. Even cockroaches have their usefulness, you know. One husband was asked, "What would you like to be in your next birth?" He said, "I would like to be a cockroach." "Cockroach? Why?" He said, "You know, my wife does not fear anything excepting cockroaches."

Okay. What is the price of evolution? Death. When an animal dies, then its desire is not dead. And according to Vedānta, death is not the end of life. Death is beginning of another life. Therefore, in the next life, this animal which died because it did not succeed in getting enough food etc., thinks, "I wish I were like that. Maybe my neck should be a little longer. Maybe my hand should be a little higher so that I can reach food, etc." That desire created the next body until, you know, as you know, a small animal, a horse-like animal, became a giraffe.

Vedānta explains it that we all have to grow until we reach God. There is no escape. But if there were to be no difficulties, if we were successful—meaning we are getting nice food, no enemies, and nothing—we will remain... Wonderful memory is very good.

So, life should be full of joy, only joy, no opposite. No scripture ever teaches this. But we can make our life happier by a different outlook. The change should not come, will never come, cannot come, need not come in the world. It should come within ourselves. The change should come within ourselves. You know that?

The Zen Master and the Change

A Zen—there was a Zen master and there was a student running a pizza hut. So, he went to the Zen master and learned Zen. By the way, you know what is Zen? Zen means dhyāna. The word dhyāna, Sanskrit word dhyāna, became chāna, dhyāna, chāna, and Zen when it reached Japan.

So, the student went, learned Zen very well, had been taught very well, and was running a pizza shop. So, one day the teacher felt like eating a heavy pizza. He went to the pizza hut, paid $10 and was served the pizza, paid $10 and was waiting for the change. But the student wasn't giving any change at all. He was smiling. Then the master asked, "What about the change?" He said, "Master, you taught us, the change must come from within ourselves."

That is an absolute fact. The change must come from within ourselves.

The Nature of Joy and Suffering

I give many times the example: the object being there, something is there. But what that something is depends upon our state of consciousness. For a God-man, it is nothing but God. That is how we have to understand.

Life will be—life meaning the world—will be only full of joy. It is a counterproductive attitude. You know why? If life is full of joy, you will not know what joy is. If you are not hungry, you can never enjoy food. Have you noticed? If you are not tired, you can't sleep. If you don't experience the opposite, you cannot know what is called joy. Like always, duḥkha brings sukha and sukha brings duḥkha. This is the nature of life. This is one of the misnomers.

The Third Misconception: Everyone Else Is Happy

Even worse than that, there is another misnomer. What is that? Each one of us tends to look around us and say, "Everyone is so happy. Oh Lord, why did you make me alone so miserable?" Somehow we feel everybody is very happy, not knowing that is what everybody else is also thinking. If you look at people, each one is looking at the other person, thinking about dressing, fashion, style, not knowing that the other person is also looking at us.

So, nobody can be perfectly happy in this world excepting two people, according to Swami Vivekananda: a God-realized soul who sees everything as saccidānanda sāgara, and the idiotic fellow who doesn't have any thinking capacity. These two people have no worry, perfect bliss.

Ignorance is bliss. And bliss is ignorance. In the case of the enlightened people, they don't know that the world is full of suffering. That is called ignorance, that is why they are so blissful. For the other type of people, ignorance is the bliss. In either case, they don't have the problem. It is a problem for those who are in between.

Everybody else, all others are very happy except me? No. Everybody has his or her share of worries, because it is the same season, same sun, same moon, and same neighbors.

The Fourth Misconception: Sorrows Are Undesirable

The fourth misnomer is: sorrows are undesirable. You know, sorrows—meaning events which produce troubles, difficulties—are undesirable. No. We can only grow through sorrows and sufferings. Nobody has ever become great only through happiness. Have you ever thought about it? Sorrows and sufferings are not only not undesirable, they are the most desirable things.

Swami Vivekananda said, "If you want to quickly go to God, live among people who are always behind you, criticizing, nagging, and unloving to you. Quickly you will go to God. You have no choice." This is the truth, though we don't like it.

"Blessed Misery"

Sorrows are the most wonderful thing. Swami Vivekananda has written a most beautiful poem, "Blessed Misery." Have you ever read about it? Have you ever seen that? Poems of Swami Vivekananda. A man bending under the burden of life, bending his way, and then after a long suffering: "Oh blessed misery, but for you, I would not have reached this state." Read it. It is the most wonderful poem he has written.

The Fifth Misconception: Failures Prove Unworthiness

Another misnomer is: failures, difficulties, troubles, etc. only prove one's worthlessness. Suppose someone is not successful in getting a job, or in getting a promotion, or in succeeding at whatever it be, so he thinks he is a failure. And what does failure prove? What does failure prove? That the fellow is unworthy. This is a misunderstanding.

Failures do not prove our unworthiness. But failure to understand failure as a stepping stone to success proves our unworthiness. We have to learn from our failures.

Edison's Ten Thousand Experiments

You know the example of Edison. He was trying to find out the filament. Ten thousand experiments failed. Not only he, his assistants too. So one day they came and said, "Ten thousand times we failed. Why should we persist in this? Why not give it up?" He smiled and said, "Easy to prove. What wonderful news! Now my boys, we know ten thousand ways we can't produce a filament. Let us find out a new way." And he did.

Swami Vivekananda and the Monkeys

Swami Vivekananda, once he was moving in Vārāṇasī, near Mother Durgā's temple. Some ferocious monkeys, brute monkeys, started to chase him. He started to run. You remember? A monk was coming that way. He said, "You should not run away, because they will chase you and finish you. Face the brutes." And he turned and faced them really. And immediately all of them fled, because once they saw that he was there like that, immediately they ran away. This is the simple truth.

Failures do not prove our unworthiness or worthiness. What they prove is they give us a special occasion for us to do something about them. The choice is ours. What we do with them.

There Is No Such Thing as Failure

There is no such thing called failure, especially according to the Indian way of thinking. Why? Because there is infinite life. If you fail and you are near death, don't worry. Next life you can start where you stopped and pursue it. Failures only teach us how to go forward. This is the simple truth. There is nothing called failure. It is an exercise.

Suppose you are weak. You want to develop your muscles. You go to a gym. At first he will give you some weight which may be too difficult. You try to lift, you fail. Is it a failure? Then what do you do? Next day you go, next day you go. And after a few days you are able to lift it. So what is a failure? It is an exercise in the process of attaining success.

Our attitude is: failures are there to prove my unworthiness. They are not there either to prove worthiness or unworthiness. They are simply opportunities. Yes, that is it. And failures are inevitable.

Rāmakṛṣṇa's Teaching About the Calf

Rāmakṛṣṇa has his own way of expressing this truth. What is that? Anyone of you remember? He says when a calf is born, it tries to get up. How many times it falls. But after a few minutes, not only does it stand up, it also runs. Don't you see children? How many times they fall down? Does it prove that the child is unworthy of getting up and walking? Does it prove? He is a child. He is trying. He will try again. And then after a few days, he will not only get up, he will make you also run—before he runs, you are running to protect some of your precious cups and objects and all those things. Right?

Key Points to Remember

Now, with this background, what are the important points we are deriving? Worries are inevitable. They are merely occasions. And everybody—life is saṃsāra—without any difficulty or sorrow, there is no world at all. And everyone has to pass through this school. There is no way.

Swamiji's Three Comparisons

Swamiji sometimes compared this world to three things. Sometimes to a school, sometimes to a gym, and sometimes, most of the time, he said it is a circus. We are all buffoons playing the part. And one of the characteristics of a mature personality is humor. You know what is humor? The ability to laugh at oneself. If only we know how to laugh at ourselves, we never lack entertainment in our life. Not my saying. It is some great man's saying. I am merely repeating it.

The Ultimate Goal

So with this, events will be there. How to look at them in such a way that they won't produce worry, but rather help us to gain what we are to get, what we really are created to get? And according to Vedānta, what is the only goal of life? God-realization.

But put it that way, many people do not agree. But put it in a common-sensical way as I put it: goodness, wisdom, and happiness. Who doesn't want? People want to live, they want to remain for a long, infinite time—immortality. They want to be wise so that they know everything.

Everyone Wants to Know

Once I was giving a talk. Everybody wants to know. Infinite quest for knowledge. One fellow got up and said, "No, I don't want to know anything." I simply said, "Two things I want to know. Don't you want to know how the stock market will be tomorrow morning? And don't you want to know what your wife is thinking about you?" He said, "Yes."

You see, we all want to know, but we sometimes don't want to put forth any effort for a reason. Maybe our time is limited, maybe our energy is limited, maybe our intelligence is limited. But given the desire is there, who doesn't want to be? Every time you are watching cricket, what is going on in your mind? "Stupid fellow. If only I had been there, every strike will be over the boundary." Whenever you watch chess champions playing, you can see clearly what can bring the checkmate. If you are playing football, you will be in the prime position. It is all fantasy. But we all have that fantasy, is it not?

Cinema and Reality

In simple psychology, when you are watching a movie, a hero and a heroine, if you are a man, with whom do you identify? And if you are a woman, yes, you identify. And then, ah, morning about, look at the husband. Vaisa varsa. You know, this is how trouble starts. Cinema is all right. Real life, it is that way. They never show real life. Always the cinema ends: married, happy, afterwards closed. They don't show that. If they show that, nobody will go. Megath aadhi, vendu therappai suvarandi, a trailer degi in Telugu cinemas. "Happily they are married. The rest you watch on the silver screen."

The Universal Desire

Okay. What is the point we are making? Everybody wants happiness. Everybody wants infinite life, infinite happiness, infinite wisdom. This is the simple truth. That is called God. Nobody, even atheists, cannot deny it. They may not accept the word God, but the idea of God is accepted, acceptable. There is no choice.

There was a fellow who was ill, diseased. He was not dead, diseased. Then, you know, a doctor came and told him, "You have five minutes to live. Any last wishes?" He gathered all his strength and said, "Doctor, if you don't mind, I want a second opinion." That is innate, inbuilt within us. Nobody wants to die. If anybody wants to die, that is because he thinks he can't escape suffering, but given that we can escape suffering, nobody wants to die.

The Path to God-Realization

Okay. So what is the goal? The ultimate goal is God-realization. And we are all inexorably going towards it, pushed by nature. This is called evolution. Until human birth, it goes on in an unconscious process or instinctive process. With human birth, it is supposed to go through reason, rationality. We stop, we think, we set particular goals, and we also set a particular path. Consciously, we make efforts to progress. That is called instinct to reason, reason to intuition. This is the inevitable steps of progress.

The Four Goals of Life (Puruṣārthas)

So when we want that, we have to go through so many steps, we should never forget. That is why Hindus divide life into—first Hindus say there are four goals in life. What is that? Dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. It is a most rational interpretation of what life should be about.

Dharma

Dharma means what? Learn what is right, what is wrong. That is the first stage of life, a student's life. What is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong. That should be learned thoroughly.

Artha

What is the next stage of life? Gṛhastha-āśrama life. What is one supposed to do? Two things: artha and kāma. That is, you earn in the righteous way. Make the instruments ready. It is a different subject, I won't go into it, because by instruments, what does it mean? Artha means what does it mean? Artha, we all use the word artha. Artha means, you know, money. Arthaṃ anarthaṃ bhāvaya nityam.

The Merchant's Philosophy

That is to say, you know, one merchant was traveling in a train and a young man happened to be sitting opposite to him. They fell to talking. And the merchant was waxing eloquent. "Life is all about giving and taking." The young man said, "Would you elaborate a little?" He said, "Yes, you give, I take."

The True Meaning of Artha

So, artha means, the immediate meaning is that you have money, wealth. Wealth means what? You have a house and you have money, you have a job and all these things. But there is more meaning. Artha means instrument, proper instrument for the enjoyment of what we would like to enjoy.

It is not enough to have money. Nobody needs money. And supposing you have a wonderful house, but you are insomniac. What is the good? Whether you sleep in a hut or whether you sleep in a palace, what is the good of your rich house with all furnishing? In fact, your worry is more. Having such a good house, everybody else, even your servants, are enjoying. Yeah, you know, sometimes good masters are there. They ask their servants also to eat on the same table. They are at a distance. This fellow is suffering from dyspepsia. All wonderful dishes are there. His own money. The servants are wholeheartedly eating. This fellow is unable to eat. You see the point?

The Three Instruments

The point is instruments must be proper. So there are three instruments. That is called artha. Artha means three instruments. What is it? The instrument which we want to enjoy within the proper environment. For example, if you want to eat a sweetmeat, it should be a good sweetmeat. Even if not the best, it should be reasonably good sweetmeat. And it should be in the right environment. You understand? You can't eat it in a mosquito-infested area or where your neighbors are glaring at you. It should be in a place which would not disturb, right? Then that is fine.

But the body which wants to eat, it must be in a healthy condition. Then the mind also must be in a worry-free condition. Suppose the mind is going on worrying.

The Rasagulla and the Terrorist

My favorite example is: you want to eat rasagullas. You bought the rasagullas and you kept them in your own dining room and you are about to eat them, and enters a terrorist with a gun, puts it on your back, and what does he say? "Eat rasagulla." He is not preventing you. He says, "If you don't eat, I will shoot you." Will it give any happiness? No. Why? Because you are forced. Whatever we are forced to do, that is unhappiness. Voluntarily, freely we have to do. So the mind must be also free from worry.

These three things: the object must be good, in the right environment. The body should be in fit condition. The mind should be free from worry. All these things and other things are also there, which I won't elaborate too much. For example, you can't eat at 2 o'clock in the morning. It must be at the right place, at the right time, and so many factors are involved there. So all those things fall under the category of artha. That is the goal which we learn in the householder's life.

Kāma

Then, what is the next? Kāma. What is the meaning of kāma? You know, among Hindus, certain words gain certain types of misunderstanding. Kāma means lust. Lust means the attraction felt, sexual attraction. That is not the only. Kāma means what? Here, in this context, enjoyment. Kāma means enjoyment. Anything. You want to enjoy food, you want to put on nice dress, that's enjoyment. You want to entertain, want to go on a picnic, boating—anything that contributes to your happiness is enjoyment.

The Dharmic Way of Enjoyment

Then why does Hinduism specialize? Everyone of us wants to enjoy. Why should there be any injunction, "you enjoy," as though, in the scriptures, we are such great devotees of scriptures, we are enjoying because the scripture asked me to enjoy. What is the scripture telling? Indiscriminate enjoyment doesn't lead to real happiness. It leads to consequences which bring terrible unhappiness later on. Sooner or later. So anything you want to enjoy, it must be in the right way, it must be in the right quantity, at the right place.

The Right Way of Giving (Dāna)

With regard to this injunction about dāna, in the Bhagavad Gītā, one of the... That is a gift given to a wrong person, at the wrong time, with a wrong attitude. It is considered as tāmasika. It must be given to the right... A rich man is giving something to a poor man. And because the poor man asked you at 12 o'clock—no. And you go at 12 o'clock night and wake him up and say, "Look here, I have brought food."

The Hospital Story

I remember an incident, you know. There was a hospital. It's a real story also, but I put it in a different way. There was a patient, and the patient's trouble was inability to sleep. So the nurse was instructed, "If you find the patient like this, you go and give this medicine, so that the patient could sleep at this time." Doctor instructed. So the nurse went there, found the patient fast asleep, shook him up—because timely medicine has to be given—"Here is your sleeping medicine." The idea is, if you find him sleepless, give him the medicine.

The Pumpkin Thief

Or, funny story, just to keep you awake, you know. There was a rich man, and he was in a village. He was growing pumpkins. So one poor thief entered and stole one pumpkin. Unfortunately, this man was keeping an eye, and he was caught. And he caught hold of the thief, took him to his house, along with the pumpkin, and said, "Poor man, you wanted to eat pumpkin, isn't it? Please eat it. Eat the whole lot. I will beat you up." Is that called eating a pumpkin? It's a very Indian pumpkin.

The Proper Attitude

So, there is a right way of enjoyment. There is a wrong way of enjoyment. According to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, according to the Gītā, according to scripture, what is the right way? It should be suitable to you, and it should be enjoyed at the right time, with the right attitude. What is the right attitude? First you offer it to God. If you are a devotee, offer it to God. That's why Christians have the habit of saying grace: "O Lord, we thank you." And we devotees also, before we eat anything, we say, "Brahmārpaṇam." Offer it to God. There may be defects. It will be covered up by this. Beautiful.

And in the right balance. If you overeat, then it will be terrible.

The Diabetic Devotee

Yes, you see, we are experts in inventing reasons why we eat. As I was telling to some of us, there is a devotee in Houston, and he is diabetic. His wife doesn't allow him to eat sweets. He shouts, whenever I—he says, "Swamiji, you come to my house." Because whenever I go, and she prepares the best sweets. And he starts eating. His wife starts shouting. He replies, "Why are you mad at me? You see, I am doing so much good. You are eating sweets." "No, I am not eating. I am eating prasādam." First reason.

Second reason is, he says, "What did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say? He will eat through the devotee's mouth. If I don't eat, you are starving Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa." Third reason, he says, even more cogent, "If I don't eat, how are the doctors—poor doctors—going to survive? Doctors, pharmacists, and all those people have to survive. Even the undertakers also have to survive." You know, we invent a lot of excuses.

The Teaching of the Gītā

Think. Vedānta is not there to prevent us from enjoying life. But proper, dharmic way of enjoying life. Offer it to God. Thank God that it is coming. Where did it say? In the Bhagavad Gītā, it says that: "He is a thief who doesn't offer to the Gods what they have kindly granted us and eats for oneself." You remember? Only what remains of yajña. What is yajña? You offer it to God. The prasādam is called yajña-śiṣṭa. That is the dharmic way of enjoying. Anything.

That's why Hindu way of life. Everything you offer to God. New dress, marriage—you worship God and they take seven steps. "Oh Lord, please bless us."

The Seven Vows of Marriage

I don't know how many of you have ever been given those seven vows, seven steps. Have you ever been given? If you know what the meaning is, you will be astonished. The first thing that comes and strikes you is: life is for God. We bring up the children for God. We are traveling co-pilgrims towards God. Let us help each other progress towards God. At each step, that is the meaning that comes. But because, you know, we are not told and the priests also don't want to tell all those things. They do just rituals and then it goes.

It's a wonderful thing. Christians say: "Marriage is made in heaven." That was their belief. For what purpose? It is to help each other to go towards God. This is the simple fact. Every religion has its own words. When Sister Nivedita repeated these things to Holy Mother, you know, she appreciated and said, "Dhārmika kathā, dhārmika kathā" ("These are dharmic teachings, dharmic words").

The Main Point

And unfortunately, many people don't follow. But what is meant, what is the point I am making? Anything that we have to enjoy, the Vedānta or Vedic teachings do not say "do not enjoy." They say "enjoy." If you don't enjoy, you are doing something wrong. You are going against God's will. But acquiring the prosperity or instruments is in a dharmic way. And enjoying also is in a dharmic way. That is called, comes under the broad category of kāma.

Only when we pass through these three stages, then comes the pre-university course. What is it? Upāsana. Vānaprastha-āśrama is meant for upāsana. Then comes finally, ultimately, saṃnyāsa. Saṃnyāsa corresponds to which value? Mokṣa, liberation. How wonderful.

The Four Divisions of the Vedas

And the Vedas are also divided into four. You know what it is? First, Ṛg Veda. Ṛg Veda has got, what does it tell you? The prayers, the aspirations. Then comes Brāhmaṇa. Mantra, saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa—how to perform rituals, so that we slowly become purified. Then comes upāsana. Finally comes Upaniṣads. It's one way of dividing the Vedas. Mantra, Brāhmaṇa, upāsana and jñāna. This is the logical way we have to develop.

The Importance of Having a Goal

So that is what we have to understand: that we have a final goal which is mokṣa, but our proximate goal is to go through these steps by the teachings of the scriptures. That is why Śaṅkarācārya's beautiful instructions are there. What is it? "Vedo nityam adhīyatām." Scriptures should be studied regularly. And what is our scripture? The Gospel. And what is the teaching of Rāmakṛṣṇa? Five commandments. Wonderful.

So there must be a definite goal in life. A person who has no goal will go on worrying. If you have a goal—even if it is a goal like "I will grow some beautiful flowers," "I will learn a new song," or "I will read a new book"—you must look forward with joy to making your life. Life will not make you joyful. You will have to make life. It gives opportunity. But we have to make our own life better. Otherwise we will make it worse.

This is one way how to deal with worries. But the first thing is, what did I say? Nobody can be free from worries. Life is full of sorrows, sufferings. But we should not develop a negative mental attitude.

Okay. What is the next thing I said? The final goal of life is God-realization. So what has that got to do with how to stop worrying? Because all these worries, finally they will go only when we realize God. Where is it said? So if we keep in mind that everyone of us is going to God, "I am also going to God," but all other goals are small steps towards that goal, then we are far less likely to worry. Right. Not only that, in that light, these worries do not seem to be so glaring.

Practical Remedies for Worry

Then it is wonderful to study two things. I especially recommend it.

Study History

Study history. The first thing I ask you to do is study history. What is the benefit? If you study history, you will find that the whole history is nothing but a gory story of man's inhumanity to humanity. Will Durant, an American author of The Story of Civilization, says, "If you look for God in history, you will not find him. Because if there is a God, such things would not happen."

Even today, we are not any wiser. Second World War. Two World Wars. Second World War—how many people died? More than 100 million people died. And how many millions are worried? God alone knows. Right? So when we study history, we compare it to those troubles. What are these troubles? Our troubles are petty things. Even today, see, the people in Rwanda, or in other countries, under Saddam Hussein, or under the Taliban in Afghanistan, etc., etc.—compare to their problems, what is your problem? We never compare. History gives us that insight.

Study the Lives of Great People

Then, what is the second? I said two things you must study. What is the first? History. Then, second, study the lives of great people. Show me one man who has been free from worries. "Oh, wonderful, happy, carefree life, and he became great." Will you find one single example? You will not find.

All of us have our own worries. The thing is, we think our worries are—you know, others' worries should never be compared to our worries. They are all small.

The Rabbi and the Bundles of Worry

There was a village, and only Jews lived there. There was a Rabbi, there was a synagogue. So one day, all the time people used to complain to the Rabbi, "Oh, so much worry, so much worry." So one day the Rabbi said, "Do one thing. Next Saturday, all of you bundle your worries and bring them. We will leave them in one room. After the prayer service is over, then you go and choose which bundle you want to accept."

So next Saturday, they all came. Everybody put their bundle—small bundle, big bundle, everything. After the service was over, they all rushed—first come first served, you see. And then they took somebody else's worries. Next day they came, "Rabbi, Rabbi, what is the matter? Please give back our old bundles. These new bundles, even though they appeared to be small, oh my God, unbearable." Then next Saturday, everybody took back their own bundles, and ever afterwards were happy after that experience.

You know that is true. You think other people's worries are less. But if you step into their shoes, then you will find that your shoes pinch far less. This is the fact. So study the lives of saints, including Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother. Did they not have problems? Did they not suffer in life? And yet in one sense, they did not suffer. Why? Because of their attitude toward life. And also they have a higher experience.

Hard Physical Labor

Okay. One of the greatest remedies for worrying: hard physical labor. Go on doing, digging a useless field, rocky field. And then when you come back, you are so tired that you have no time to worry at all.

Dale Carnegie's Example

You know Dale Carnegie's famous book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living? There was an incident. There was a couple and they were in practically good condition. The husband was earning and they had five, six children. Suddenly the husband died. And the woman was not very literate. She did not know. But what to do? After the funeral ceremony was over, then she had to find a hard job. She was doing that work.

So a journalist went and said, "Are you not worried?" She said, "I simply don't have time to worry. Early morning I get up, go on washing my children's clothes, preparing breakfast, taking them to school, and then I rush to the job and again come back, bring back the children, look after them, feed them, put them to bed, and then by that time when my head touches the pillow, I am totally out."

It is true. If we do hard physical labor, that is a great aid in getting rid of worries. There is something also to be said: when sweat comes out, the sweat also removes some amount of worries. This is the truth. If you only experiment and see, then you will understand. And breathing fresh air while walking, running, etc.—you cannot be breathing fresh air and then thinking these stale worries. Worry means stale, like a broken gramophone record, going over and over the same things. So it helps. If it is an enjoyable physical labor, that is much better. You know, either gardening or whatever it is.

Avoiding Too Much Activity

One of the things is, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: too much activity. And nowadays it seems to be either we are forced or a person becomes habituated—they become workaholics. More activity, more worries. More activity, more worries. Some people are helpless. They have to work because they have to live life. Unfortunate, but that is what life is. But there are many who do not need to. And if they go on—if there is activity, there is relationship. If there is relationship, wherever there is a relative, there is a villain. Wherever there is another person, some kind of friction.

Who Loves Whom?

Who loves whom in this world? We think that everybody loves us. And we learn, nobody loves us. Everybody loves himself or herself. This is the hard truth.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Story

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's story. One guru told his disciple, "Come away with me." "You know my mother loves me. My wife loves me." Remember? No? Then he said, "I will give you a medicine and you take it early in the morning. And you look like half dead. Dead. You will be watching everything. But you will look like dead to others." And then the guru entered. "What is the matter?" "Oh, our husband died. Our son died."

"Okay. So there is a way out. He can come to life." "Yes. How?" "I will give you a medicine to one of you. But you will die. But he will come back to life." Immediately they started seeking excuses. The old woman said, "My daughter-in-law is new. She doesn't know how to bring up my grandchildren. Without me, they won't see the light of the stars." The wife said, "Jo āgayā so calā gayā" ("What came has gone"). What Vedānta! He was come, he was gone. "Why worry about it so much? Why should I die for a person who died?"

Then the disciple got it and became a monk.

The Truth About Love

No, the idea is, it is wrong to think anyone loves us. In this world, every one of us loves only one thing. Primarily. What is it? Happiness. Primarily we love only happiness. Secondarily, what is it we love? The instrument through which that happiness can come to us. This is the simple truth. Husband, wife—these are all instruments.

Suppose husband doesn't give happiness. Yes? What do you think the wife does? She cannot tolerate. Maybe she can put up for a few days, but afterwards, she will wish he is dead. Suppose wife doesn't give happiness. He will do the same thing. This is the stark truth.

The Teaching of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad

That is why in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, there is a... "This Ātman is dearer than the son, dearer than the wife, dearer than everything else in this world, dearer than even this body, dearer than even this mind." Beautiful exposition of Śaṅkara's bhāṣya is there. It is true.

Man doesn't love anybody. Man loves primarily only one thing. What is it? Happiness. But secondarily he loves what he thinks is the appropriate object through which he can get that happiness. And so long as that happiness comes. After that, even if the people are there, objects are there, he won't love them. They may be there. Traditionally, you know, they live like two dead people. That's all. No relationship. There is no happiness. That is the idea.

Reducing Unnecessary Activity

So, what am I talking about? Too much activity binds people more. So, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Swami Vivekananda advised against unnecessary activity. If you study the Gospel, you also do whatever is necessary. Then you reduce it. If you reduce it, your responsibility, your worry, the thinking about future results—all these things will come down. Then what shall we do?

What does it mean reducing activity? Not sitting like morons. You reduce unnecessary activities and increase fruitful activities. You read, you enjoy music, you develop a garden, you enjoy your life in whatever way. You need not even think about God. But you should definitely know how to enjoy. That means outer activity becomes less, inner activity becomes more. Because, how long can you depend upon outer activity?

Swami Śaradānanda's Advice

Even reading books—Swami Śaradānandaji was telling, you know, you develop—he used to say to monks, brahmacārīs—"You develop doing more japa. You develop also the habit of studying. Then," he said, "supposing you become old, you can't do much, but you can read books. But a time will come when perhaps you won't even be able to read books. But if you know how to do japa, you can lie on the bed, in any condition you can think of God." This is the only way out. Otherwise other things are dependencies.

Work as Escape

This is the positive way of understanding. Negative way of understanding is, you see, work can become, like alcoholism, a way of escape. Work-holism. And if you don't have work, you become restless. Because you have not developed any inner resources. And so you go on being, "What shall I do? Play cards. What shall I do? Do gardening. What shall I do? Temple management." I am not saying they are bad. I am saying, if you do them as master, wonderful. If you do them as slaves, because if you are not able to do, then you will feel unhappy. We have a right to become happy. That is all.

Japa and Prāṇāyāma

Japa is a wonderful thing, as I said. Then prāṇāyāma can reduce worry. Prāṇāyāma, it's very good. Prāṇāyāma, at least temporarily, calms the mind, and it also helps us to think clearly, and it helps us to reduce our worries.

Personal Responsibility

All these things depend upon one important factor. You know what it is? There is a principle which is very clearly enunciated in the Bhagavad Gītā. Nobody can worry for you. You have to worry for yourself. Nobody can dream for you. You have to dream for yourself. Nobody can eat for you. You have to eat for yourself. That is enunciated in the 6th chapter. What is that?

"Uddhared ātmanā ātmānam nā ātmānam avasādayet"

("One should uplift oneself by one's own self, one should not degrade oneself")

"Ātmaiva bandhuḥ ātmaiva ripuḥ"

("One's own mind is one's own greatest friend and one's own greatest enemy")

Bandhu is an ātmā, means one's own mind is one's own greatest friend. Which type of mind? The mind which has been purified and subdued, controlled—that mind becomes one's greatest friend. And an uncontrolled, impure mind becomes one's own greatest enemy.

Thinking for Solutions

Even from a practical point of view, okay, let us say you have a big problem. Really it is a problem. Really it is worrying. How many times do you need to think about it? How many times? Only once you have to recognize it. And then think what is the best way to...

What is the point? "Tomorrow my boss may fire me. Tomorrow my boss may fire me." Whole night you are thinking about, tossing about. And next day when you go with that face, even the boss who has been reconsidering his decision will reconfirm his decision. Thinking for a solution itself takes time. We are not wise. What I am saying is, it is better than repeating the same thing. It is better to think what could be the better solution for it. And there are various ways. For devotees especially, praying to God, depending upon Him, etc., are wonderful.

Okay. What should the devotees do? Put this point, keep in mind. Only one can worry or one can get rid of worry. It all depends upon our own training. Nobody can do it for us. This is the simple truth.

The Law of Karma

Now one important point, for devotees, especially Hindus, there is one wonderful solution. For others there is another wonderful solution. What is that? Hindus believe in the law of karma. And if you really believe in it, nothing happens by accident. Everything happens as a result of our own karma.

I am a 150% believer in that. If I have some people giving me trouble, it is my karma. If some people are making me fed up, that is also my karma. Yeah. What is the point? And if we believe in it, that means we are taking responsibility. It is my actions which brought about this result. Therefore, it will be my actions again which will also be the counteraction to this. Duṣkarma should be countered with puṇya karma. Pāpa karma should be countered with puṇya karma.

God's Grace

Of course, we also believe in the grace of God. So if we sincerely pray to God, every time God will come to our aid—there is absolutely no doubt about it. But there is a "but." What is the "but"? Sincere prayers to God would never go unanswered. But God in His infinite wisdom knows how to answer our prayers, when, where, in which form. Because He sees our whole future. We only see immediately.

The Story of the Wrong Bus

I will narrate to you an incident. Maybe I did. I think I did it last year. But still, there was a devotee. It was a real incident in Calcutta. He had a daughter to be married. So he heard of a boy, an eligible boy, in a village which is about 7-8 hours' bus drive. And he fixed an appointment with them. Have you heard of this?

So he went one night. One morning, he got up into the bus. The whole day, the bus would take to reach that village. And then he reached that village. He was expecting his future son-in-law's people to come and receive him. It was a small village. Nobody came. Along with him, another passenger was there. Many passengers were there in that. So he got up. Meanwhile, you know, they were talking. They became friends in the bus. They were talking. They got down. And the person was looking here and there. And the passenger understood. "What are you looking for?" He said, "This is the situation. Somebody was supposed to come." He said, "There is no such person in this village."

Then he discovered that there were in fact two villages, exactly of the same name and at opposite ends. He entered into the bus which took him to the wrong, supposedly wrong village. What can you do? It's night time. So the man said, "This bus only will go to Calcutta next morning. Please come to my house." So he came to his house. And he had a son, a young man. And this man liked that boy very much. And they had a nice talk. And it was fixed that that man would come and visit his daughter. And actually it so happened that they liked each other so much that their own marriage had taken place.

Now, did he enter into the wrong bus? Or right bus? It was meant to be. Ṭhākur, because they were devotees, he prayed to Ṭhākur sincerely. And he entered into the bus. Ṭhākur had taken him to the right village. He did not know. He thought that by mistake—God doesn't make a mistake. He thought he made a mistake.

Trusting in God's Plan

So we all believe in God's grace. Holy Mother also said, "If your prārabdha is such that a plough share was to go through you, if God's grace is there, a thin needle will prick you"—just to say, "Yes, I also suffered like that." But it can happen. So God will always answer. But only we should not say that "you have to give an answer the way I want it, right now, right here." No. Leave it to him.

Prayer is your responsibility. And answer is His responsibility. How do you translate ane? Swearing? Or it is a covenant. Covenant. It is my responsibility to pray to you. It is your burden to answer. Otherwise you will go to hell. Yes.

So, prayer it is. This law of karma is very good. It is not a negative thing. It is a wonderful thing. The purpose of the law of karma is prakṛti is taking us to God through right and wrong, difficulties and pleasure, and fame, etc. Ultimately it is all taking us to God only. So that is one thing.

More Practical Advice

Now, there are two points we have to understand.

Stop Finding Fault

Stop finding fault. Worry is one of the things that happens because we start finding fault. Instead of finding fault in ourselves, we start finding fault in others. "My boss is a bad person. Or he is favoring somebody. Or something is happening." No. All faults ultimately are our own faults.

Compare With Others' Misfortunes

And the most important point we already discussed but in a slightly different way: Never ever compare yourself with others' good fortunes. Always compare yourself with others' misfortunes. Compared to others' misfortunes, our misfortunes look like we are in heaven. But we always do the opposite. That is not a good thing.

Summary

These are the few points I wanted to bring: how to stop worrying and start living.

To summarize, what is the way to stop any worry? First of all we have to know that it is a negative mental reaction. The event being the same, how to look upon it in a positive and helpful light. That is called an optimistic but realistic attitude toward life.

Second, what we have to know is that we are all invariably going to God. And these are all stepping stones. A saint also will have the same events. But he will use it in a positive way.

Rāmakṛṣṇa's Teaching

Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: suppose there is a family. And then there are two brothers. Younger brother wants to progress towards God. Perhaps the elder brother takes all responsibility of looking after the family. Perhaps there is enough money, income, for them not to worry. So all these factors are wonderful factors. Then the younger man need not worry at all about these things. But in any case, life is all about growth.

Expansion Is Life

Expansion is life. Who said that? But you know, most of us, what we understand by expansion? After this vertical growth stops, the horizontal growth is expansion in life. That is not what is meant. Expansion means we grow in how many things? Goodness, wisdom, happiness. That is real expansion. That is what we have to think.

Final Advice

So as I said, let us have some definite goals. We look forward. If we pay more attention to what we ought to do to achieve them, we have that much less to worry about. And I also said, even events which lead us to worry, even leading to failures, do not prove our worthiness or unworthiness. Only they are opportunities for us to grow over. Failures are the steps to success. This is absolute truth, wonderful truth.

And the other truth also we know: an idle brain is the devil's workshop. And if we don't engage ourselves in positive activities, what do we do? We go on brooding, thinking negative things, which doesn't do any good. And it does worse. It poisons our life.

So these are some of the points which I thought our devotees must learn.

The Importance of Satsaṅga

And satsaṅga. Rāmakṛṣṇa says satsaṅga. Now I will connect it very briefly. What is satsaṅga from this topic's point of view? Cultivate the company of those people who will take away your worries.

The Woman's Advertisement

There was a woman, poor woman. She had a lot of worries. So she put up an advertisement: "Anybody who could take away my worries, I will pay for that person $5,000 a month." So one young man rushed, applied and rushed to her apartment. And he said—it was a very poor house. She didn't look like she had even $100 to pay. So he asked her, "How are you going to pay me $5,000 for taking away your worries?" She said, "That is your first worry. You should find out how to pay."

The Value of Cheerful Company

So worries are good. They do not prove our worthiness or unworthiness. They can be used as stepping stones to success. But keep company of those people who are always cheerful. In the company of cheerful people, you cannot go on keeping your gloomy face for a long time.

And in fact Swami Vivekananda said, "If you get up any morning with a gloomy face, don't come out of your room. Lock all the doors and windows. The world is full of gloominess. Don't come and add one more."

So satsaṅga helps a lot in every way.

The Five Commandments Applied

Then what was the other commandment? Now and then go to solitude. Then what do you need to do? You have to think all these points we raised and said, everybody is having their own problems. And all problems are meant for me to grow. And let God help me, pray to God. That is what you will have to do.

Then what is the other? Discrimination. Discrimination means compare other people's misfortunes and say, even they are suffering so much, in comparison with them, my problems are far, far better. Would you like to be there in the shoes of, you know, under Mugabe? Would you like to be under Mugabe's kingdom? So that is discrimination.

Finally, live like a maidservant. What is the maidservant? How does the maidservant live? Completely detached. What does it mean in this context? In this context: let the others worry.

The Story of Borrowed Money

In Calcutta, you know, there was one person—there were two friends, and one of them had borrowed some money from the other, promising that he would pay after fifteen days. He got the money. Fifteen days passed. The fifteenth day was the next day. This fellow started at 11 o'clock, restlessly moving about. His friend asked him, "Why are you not sleeping?" He said, "I am worried." "What are you worried about?" "You know, I borrowed money. Tomorrow I have to repay." He said, "Stupid fellow, it is not for you to worry, it is for the other fellow. Where is he going to get it from?"

Now, God is there. He will help us, if we live a correct life. He will help us.

The Ultimate Remedy

A dharmic life is the ultimate remedy for all worries. Do you believe in it? If you lead a puṇya life, a dharmic life, what would be the result? There would be some existential problems, but karmic problems will not be there, because your karma is very, very good. This is one remedy.

Of course, if you look upon every event as an opportunity to go towards God, the good and the bad, both are welcome. This is how we have to develop first a dharmic outlook, then a spiritual outlook. This is the only way to overcome worries.

There may be other short-term remedies, like, you know, you borrow some money, and you borrow from some other place to pay that one, and borrow from some other place to pay that one. That's not ultimately a remedy at all.

Closing

So think over these few items. Tomorrow, we will summarize our 11th chapter. Actually, I have already dealt with the most important points, but there are a few points, both to recollect what we had spoken, and also certain points which need to be thought about, and we will wrap up the subject.