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JEEVAN VIDYA'S GUIDANCE TO STUDENTS 1....................................................................................................................

“JEEVAN VIDYA'SGUIDANCE

TOSTUDENTS”

(And also for their Parents & Teachers)

Author : Sadguru Shri Wamanrao Pai

Price : Rs. 20/-

Publisher :Jeevanvidya Mission

(Nam Sampradaya Mandal)A-12, Siddharth Nagar Bldg. No.5 Hsg Soc Ltd.

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Tel 288 79015-16Website:www.jeevanvidya.org.

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2 JEEVAN VIDYA'S GUIDANCE TO STUDENTS....................................................................................................................

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PREFACEIt gives us great pleasure to present this small

“Jeevan Vidya’s Guidance to Students” for the benefitof readers. Sadguru Wamanrao Pai has authored thisbook especially for children (and also useful for theirparents & teachers). He has an important objective inmind in writing this book. The children of today are thecitizens of tomorrow and the future of our nationdepends completely on them. If we observe closely, wewill realise that the students of today are highlyintelligent. However, if such clever students do not getcorrect guidance, their life is likely to be ruined, and asa consequence, the welfare and progress of the nationwill be in danger. Sadguru Shri Wamanrao Pai, who hasretired as a Deputy Secretary, Government ofMaharashtra, has completely devoted himself, throughthe medium of discourses, for the eradication of theignorance, superstitions, fatalism and negative think-ing of the people so that they can blossom their liveswith happiness, peace, success and prosperity. Thetwin objectives of Sadguru are that, “The world shouldbecome a happy place and our nation should surpassevery other nation in the world in terms of materialdevelopment and psycho-spiritual progress.” Forachievening this purpose he has evolved Jeevan Vidyaphilosophy which revolves around the divine message,“You are the Architect of Your Destiny”. The presentbook is being published with the intention that theguidance of Sadguru should become available to stu-dents so that they become excellent citizens of ournation and take it along the path of all-round progressand fulfil the two goals mentioned above.


The book has been written by Sadguru keeping inmind the various questions asked by students fromtime to time. Sadguru expects that students will studythe book again and again, understand the teachingsgiven therein and bring about their own wellbeing andwelfare and also that of the society and the nation.Similarly, parents and teachers too should read thebook and sincerely try to impress upon the minds ofthe students the teachings of Sadguru. This is the soleobjective behind the publication of this book. Sadguruhas been doing the work of guiding the common man,without a break and without any expectation for thelast 48 years. He neither takes any honorarium for hisdiscourses nor does he accept any royalty for the booksauthored by him nor does he take any Guru-dakshinafrom his disciples. In the same way, the Namdharaks(activists) of Jeevan Vidya Mission work like theirSadguru for his cause without charging any commis-sion. We have, so far, published a number of booksauthored by Sadguru and they have all become verypopular. It is only because of this fact that so manyeditions of the books have had to be published. Wehumbly expect that this small book will also be wel-comed whole-heartedly by the people. Despite the highcost of publishing, we have kept the price of this bookvery low.

We place on record our sincere thanks to Shri AjitM. Ingle who has translated this book into English. Weare also grateful to all those who have extended fullco-operation and assistance for the publication of thisbook.

Nam Sampraday Mandal,Mumbai.


I N D E XJeevanvidya�s Guidance to Students

(and also for their parents and teachers)

1. What is education? 112. Can written tests, lasting for only

three hours, evaluate knowledge? 123. How should I study? 134. How can I keep the mind in a good

mood for studying? 165. How much time should a student study?6. Can students be categorised into

�clever� and �dull� students? 187. Should students play?8. Should children attend private

tuition or classes? 219. Should parents insist that their

children must always obtain firstrank in class? 22

10. Should students watch television,movies, plays, etc.? 24

11. Should students take part in extra-curricular activities? 25

12. Should students participate inschool or college picnics? 25

13. Is getting jobs the purpose of education? 28

Page


14. Does God help students in their studies? 3115. Should students indulge in

superstitious practices like Navas,etc.? 32

16. Can students sharpen theirintelligence by taking medicines? 34

17. Are mother, father and teachersequivalent to God? 35

18. Should students be ambitious? 3619. What is the duty of students going

to schools and colleges? 3820. Are educational, social and political

organisations useful tostudents? 40

21. What should a student do if hefails in examinations? 40

22. Should I always speak the truth? 4223. How can a student study in a small

house with a large family? 4424. How can students with good

sanskars avoid thought pollution? 4525. Should parents force students to

perform rites and rituals? 4726. Should students study very hard

when examination draws near? 4927. Should children be punished when

they do something that is wrong? 51


28. What should students do if they areunable to understand what is beingtaught? 52

29. How can a student make good friendsand avoid bad ones? 53

30. If parents of students performundesirable actions how can theybe considered equivalent to God? 55

31. If the teachers in schools arethemselves vice-ridden, how canthestudents have any respect forthem? 56

32. What should students do to remainrelevant in the competitive world oftoday? 58

33. How can students plan and selecttheir career at the schooling stageitself? 59

34. Is fashion desirable for students? 61

35. What should students do if theyare discriminated against byteachers? 62

36. Should students indulge in ragging? 6337. Where students have to share rooms

in hostels, how can students ensurethat their company is good? 65

38. Some students are addicted to vices;


how should good students avoidtheir company? 66

39. Is it proper for students of schoolsand colleges to fall in love? 68

40. How should students study subjectsthat they hate? 73

41. What role does luck play in life? 7642. How can students show progress

in their studies by reciting theUniversal Prayer? 77

43. What should be the policy ofstudents in today�s world full ofthought pollution? 78

44. Some students copy in exams andpass; is this pardonable? 83

45. How can students overcomenegative emotions like jealousy andenvy? 84

46. In today�s world full of thoughtpollution, who can serve as a rolemodel for students? 86

47. How should students worship God? 8848. What should be the attitude of

students towards teachers? 8849. Can you explain the concepts of sin

(papa) and spiritual merit (punya)? 9150. Who is an excellent citizen? 93


Sadguru Wamanrao Pai Says,

“The welfare and well being of humansociety lies in living life with the soleobjective of achieving peace for the entiremankind on the basis of cardinal truththat, God is one, human race is one,human mind is one, human religion isone and human culture is one.”

“God is one,Human race is one,Human mind is one,Human religion is one, andHuman culture is one”

Divine DedicationThink Good, Wish Good, Speak Good and Do

Good,To Blossom Your Life With Blessings From

God.

Divine DoctrineGod is one, Human race is one, Humanmind is one,Human religion is one and

Human culture is one


About the Author .....

Pai, Wamanrao Gajananrao, B.A. (Hons.)Philosopher, writer and former state Governmentofficer. Born on October 21, 1923 at Mumbai(India), retired as Deputy Secretary, FinanceDepartment, Government of Maharashtra.Creator of innovative philosophy of JEEVANVIDYA. JEEVAN VIDYA is a creative philosophyof life and art of living. The philosophy whichhas a global vision and is essentially secular,eternal, universal and revolves around themessage “You are the Architect of your Destiny.”He has been honoured for spiritual, Social andCultural activities by Government, Municipalauthorities and Social organisations.

Divine Message“You are the architect of your own life”

Divine TeachingThe royal road to the kingdom of peace and blissis ‘Wistom’. The good and evil actions that youdirect towards others, positively boomerang onyou sooner or later. ‘Wisdom’ therefore lies inleading your life constantly bearing in mind thiseternal truth.


Jeevan Vidya�s Guidance to StudentsQ. 1 What exactly is meant by education?

Please guide us on this subject.

Ans. In Man�s life, knowledge is supreme.There is nothing as sacred, auspiciousand useful as knowledge. The effortmade by Man to acquire knowledge iscalled education. Man�s education startsin the mother�s womb and continues tillhe reaches his tomb; in other words,Man is an eternal student and mustkeep studying from the cradle to thegrave. Hence, Jeevan Vidya says that,�Education involves studying duringevery moment of one�s existence��. IfMan does not possess knowledge oreducation, he is nothing better than atwo-legged animal! Unfortunately, thenumber of two-legged animals amonghuman beings is only increasingtremendously day by day. Many peoplehave started considering money to beGod and are madly running after it,while at the same time turning theirbacks on knowledge which is essentialfor acquiring wisdom. The main reasonwhy there is so little happiness in theworld and so much sorrow is that


people have over-emphasized theimportance of money and turned theirbacks on knowledge. In short, there isno alternative to knowledge in the worldand, therefore, Jeevan Vidya stressesthat :

�Knowledge is weapon, protector and science,Knowledge is strength, power and force,Knowledge is an asset, riches and wealth,Knowledge is God, Angel and Divinity,So, become great by acquiring knowledge andwisdom�.

Q. 2 Do you think that our knowledge canbe evaluated adequately by means ofa written test that lasts for only threehours?

Ans. It is possible that students� knowledgecan be evaluated adequately by meansof a written test that lasts for only threehours. In this context a Marathi sayingwould be very apt, namely, �One canjudge whether rice has been properlycooked by testing just one grain�.Keeping this in mind, one can say thatstudents� knowledge can be evaluatedadequately by means of a written testthat lasts for only three hours. Further,the knowledge contained in every


subject is so vast that it may not bepossible to ask more questions and carryout a complete evaluation of studentsdue to lack of time.

Q. 3 How should one study?

Ans. Most students do not know thetechnique of studying. Many a times,students erroneously believe that justreading a book means studying it. Thereare certain specific methods of studying.These techniques have been givenbelow in brief: -

1) Jeevan Vidya has laid down a 3 Rformula for studying, viz. Read,Remember and Reproduce as perwhich a student must :

i) read again and again;

ii) memorize whatever has beenread; and

iii) reproduce, whatever has beenmemorized, on paper.

This is called studying.

2) A lesson consists of paragraphs.After reading the paragraph a fewtimes, the student must make asummary of the paragraph. If the


paragraph consists of ten to twelvelines then the summary shouldconsist of three to four lines. If thestudent studies in this manner, hewill find the summary very useful forrevision while preparing for theannual exami-nations.

3) The student must go to school onlyafter first reading the chapter orlesson that the teacher would beteaching in school on that day. Whenthe teacher teaches that lesson inschool, the student must paycomplete attention to what is beingtaught. After returning home, thestudent must read again the lessontaught by the teacher in school. Bystudying in this way, the studentrevises the lesson three times. Bothteachers and students have aresponsibility to ensure that thismethod is adopted. The teacher mustalways tell the students what heproposes to teach the next day whilethe students must also request theteacher to tell them which lesson isgoing to teach them the next day.

4) An excellent method of studying is


to �learn in the process of teaching�.If the student makes efforts to teachother students in his class who needhelp, he would be benefited in twoways. On the one hand he wouldlearn well and on the other he wouldearn the credit of having taught otherstudents in the class. One has tounderstand well before teachingothers. The main reason for this isthat, one cannot teach a subject toothers unless one has understood itwell.

5) The fifth method of studying issomewhat different from other types.As per this method, two or morestudents must first study the topicat home, then gather in the house ofone of the students. The studentsmust discus the topic that they havelearnt and test each other�sknowledge by asking each otherquestions on it. By studying in thismanner, students can obtainexcellent success. In short, to studymeans to reread samething againand again, i.e. revision. Therefore,Jeevan Vidya says,


�There is no vision withoutrevision�

Students must keep this principle ofJeevan Vidya in mind and neverignore revision.

Q. 4 How must one keep the mind in agood mood for studying?

Ans. While studying, every student mustalways remember the fact that bystudying he is not doing favour to hisparents or his teachers. �Studying� is theprimary responsibility and duty of everystudent. The student who does not fulfillthis duty becomes a criminal in the courtof God. Actually, studying does notinvolve doing too much effort. If astudent cannot study with concentration,while sitting comfortably under a fan,he will not be able to do anything at allin his future life. Further, if a studentstudies while he is still in the right agefor studying, he will not find ittroublesome. Every student mustremember the fact that it is not possiblefor him to avoid �studying�. If a studentdoes not take adequate efforts while heis still in the right age of studying, hewill still have to appear for some


examination or test in the future, in theadvanced age, where he will be requiredto study. The problems of studying arefelt very much as an adult and, therefore,a student must study wholeheartedly atthe right age. The second mostimportant point is that the student mustlove to study. To achieve this objective,students should understand the natureof studying. Studying is not to be donefor its own sake nor is it to be done forobtaining a lot of marks. The text booksprescribed for students contain excellentknowledge in them. Studying is to bedone to acquire this knowledge. If thestudent studies keeping the importanceof knowledge in mind and studies withthe intention of acquiring knowledge,he will definitely start liking his studies.Every student must remember that bystudying he acquires knowledge whichwill open many doors to his materialprogress, in future. The student mustalways keep in mind the truth that he isstudying only for his benefit and materialprogress so that he will automaticallystart loving studies. This is the solemethod of keeping the mind always in agood mood for studying.


Q. 5. How much time should a studentstudy? Please guide us in the matter.

Ans. How much time a student should studydepends on the grasping capacity ofeach student. It may be sufficient for abright and intelligent student to studyeven for one hour. Conversely, a dulland less intelligent student may berequired to study for a much longertime. In this context I am reminded of astory. Once upon a time there was aking. He had a hobby of reading andhearing new poems. For this purpose,he hit upon a plan. He had anannouncement made in the kingdomthat, �Whosoever will read a new poemin my court will get a handsome prize.�Accordingly, lots of poets startedvisiting the king�s court to read outnew poems to him. The king hadgathered ten pundits around himselfwho used to sit in a row beside him.The first pundit was such that onceany poem was read to him, he couldremember it exactly as it was recitedand recite it back. The second punditcould do the same once the poem wasrecited to him twice. In this way, theother pundits sitting in a row could


recite a poem provided it was recitedthree times, four times, etc till the lastpundit who could recite the poem ifread out to him ten times. As soon asthe poet read out a new poem, theking used to exclaim, �This poem is notnew, as all of us already know thispoem!� Then he would immediately askthe first pundit to recite the poem. Thepundit would do so easily, since he hadthe gift of remembering the poem ifheard only once. Then the king wouldsay, �Even the second pundit knowsthe poem� and would ask the secondpundit to recite the poem. In this way,all the ten pundits would recite thepoem one by one. On seeing this, thepoets would go away bemused andbewildered. What we should realizefrom this story is that some peoplehave the gift of memorizing somethingafter hearing it once, some after hearingtwice and so on till they hear it tentimes. In other words, some canremember things on reading or hearingthem once while others have to read orhear something many times to be ableto memorize it. This fact is applicableto every student. Every student must,


therefore, decide how much time heshould study after taking into accounthis own capacity. Just as one shoulddecide how much one should eat,depending on one�s capacity fordigestion, so is the case with studying.

Q. 6. Can students be categorised into�clever� and �dull� students?

Ans. From the viewpoint of Jeevan Vidya,basically students cannot becategorised as �clever� and �dull�. Sincethe child�s birth, various types ofeducation, teachings and sanskars(impressions on the mind) are,knowingly or unknowingly imparted tochildren. As explained above, theseeducation, teachings and sanskars areimparted by mother, father, brother,sister, grandmother, grandfather, uncle,aunt, other relatives, teacher, professor,neighbours, friends, etc. and they areresponsible for moulding the mind andthe intellect of the students either indesirable ways or undesirable ways.Nevertheless, according to Jeevan Vidyaphilosophy, it is possible to make a so-called �dull� student into a �bright�student provided correct efforts are


made under proper guidance.Therefore, Jeevan Vidya reiterates that:� The master key to a successful lifelies in accepting the circumstances asthey exist and trying to mould them inthe desired way.�

Q. 7. Whether it is necessary for students toplay as well as study?

Ans: There is beautiful saying that, �Anythingin excess is bad!� Though sleeping isabsolutely essential, there is a limit tohow much a person should sleep.Similarly, eating food is essential butagain there is always be a limit as tohow much one should eat. In the sameway, though it is true that it is absolutelyessential to study, it is definitely wrongto become a book-worm and be whollyabsorbed in studies to the exclusion ofeverything else. In fact there is an aptsaying that �All work and no play makesJack a dull boy!� All the three things,namely, studies, play and rest areimportant. After studying adequately, itis necessary to play for some time andthen rest for a few minutes.

Q 8. Should children attend private tuitionor classes even though their parents


cannot afford them?

Ans. If the parents are illiterate or are literatebut unable to devote any time to theeducation of their children due to somereason or teachers in school do not teachproperly or in the correct way, the onlyoption left may be to go in for privatetuition or classes. Another alternativestudents could be to study whole-heartedly and obtain the guidance ofclever students whenever necessary.

Q 9. Some parents insist that their childrenmust always obtain first rank in class,is this insistence proper?

Ans. Almost all parents whole-heartedlydesire that their children should obtainfirst rank in class, in fact, there is nothingwrong in thinking along these lines. Butparents should realize that this may notbe possible in practice. Since there isonly one first rank, obviously all thestudents cannot obtain it. According tothe view-point of Jeevan Vidya, studentsmust study to acquire knowledge andnot to get highest marks and rank firstin class. In other words, students mustbe knowledge-oriented and not marks-oriented since this would prove to be


very useful for their future. Whenstudents study with the intention ofobtaining knowledge, the students notonly manage to acquire knowledge butthey are also likely to get excellent marksin the examinations. The student whostudies with the intention of acquiringknowledge, will never fear examinations.Instead, he is ever ready to answer anyquestion posed to him on the strengthof his knowledge. Therefore, JeevanVidya emphasizes,�Knowledge is God, Ignorance is Devil�Secondly, our parents give birth to usand look after us in every way till welearn to stand on our own feet. In returnfor this service, our parents do notexpect any compensation from us.Nevertheless, it is the duty of everystudent to make them happy in returnfor all the benefits that parents showeron him. All parents whole-heartedlydesire that their children should go toschools and colleges and study well,get good marks and gain excellentsuccess in the examinations. It is difficultto describe the joy that parentsexperience when their children studywell and obtain excellent success in the


examinations. Students should alwaysremember that, those students who givesuch joy to their parents obtain theirblessings and these blessings in turnhelp the students to gain happiness,peace, contentment, success andprosperity in future,

Q. 10 Should students watch Television (TV),movies, plays, etc. for entertainment?

Ans. I have already answered this in theearlier question. All three things,namely, study, play and rest arenecessary for students. After havingstudied adequately, there is no harm ifa student watches TV or perhaps evena play or a movie. However, under nocircumstances should the student sit infront of the idiot box (TV) for hours likea couch potato since this is an invitationto a number of evils. Sitting constantlyin front of the TV for hours gives rise todiseases like piles, sooner or later.Similarly, watching TV continuously willlead to eyesight getting damaged andresultant visits to the Doctor. In thesame way, on hearing constantly thenoise generated by TV, the studentshearing power will also be affected.


Thus, sitting in front of the TVconstantly will definitely harm the healthof the student, sooner or later, and theresult will be that he will completelyignore studies and he will have to facefailure in the examinations; one doesnot need an astrologer to predict thefate of such a student.

Q 11. Should students take part in extracurricular activities? (e.g. variouscompetitions, dramas, sports, NationalCadet Corps (NCC), etc.)

Ans. Students must always remember thatthey go to school or college primarily tostudy. Students who study adequatelyare likely to find it very difficult to alsotake part in extra curricular activities,since they will not have enough staminato do both simultaneously. Therefore,from the viewpoint of Jeevan Vidya,those students who wish to make acareer through the medium of studiesshould not involve themselves in extracurricular activities.

Q 12. Should students participate in schoolor college picnics?

Ans. Whether students should participate in


school or college picnics dependsentirely on the prevailing circumstances.The decision whether to participate inthe school or college picnic would haveto be taken after taking into account thequalities of the teacher or professor whois organising the same. A commonexperience is that frequently goodchildren fall prey to various addictionsand bad habits during such picnics. Thenature of the mind is such that it iseasily attracted by undesirable things,just as water always flows downwardseasily. If it is observed that some of thestudents or teachers or professors areaddicted to vices or have an undesirablenature, it is quite probable that thesepeople will influence good childrennegatively so that they may becomeaddicted to various vices. This isespecially true of timid children whocan be easily influenced by such people;there are many examples of childrenbeing spoilt in this way. In the sameway, some children initially try outaddictive substances just for fun, butsubsequently, they get trapped by thetentacles of addiction. Similarly, if someof the teachers among those going for


picnics are smokers or are addicted toalcohol or chew tobacco, etc., it wouldnot take much time for the children, too,to become addicted to such things.Secondly, if the teachers who are takingthe children to the picnic are not goodorganisers and do not have propercontrol over the students, there is likelyto be lack of control over the bad eventswhich will occur and there would be afear of danger to children. One hears orreads of a number of unfortunateincidents of students going to picnicsand having some terrible accidents,going for a swim and getting drowned,slipping and falling into valleys, etc.Therefore, the decision whether thechildren should go for picnics or not willdepend on all these circumstances. Thestudents and their parents should takethe right decision taking into accountthe ground reality explained above.Similarly, considering the tremendousresponsibility involved in taking studentsfor picnics, the Principal should paypersonal attention to the matters relatedto organising of picnics and shouldappoint able and good teachers for thesame.


Q. 13. Even after becoming educated, it isdifficult to get jobs. Then what is theneed for becoming educated?

Ans. The very concept that �one mustbecome educated so that one can getjobs� itself is basically erroneous. Sincethe demand for jobs is very high due tothe large number of candidates, whilethe number of jobs available are limited,how can everyone get jobs? Besides,the population is growing day by dayand the unemployment problem isassuming very serious proportions.Further, as result of advances in scienceand technology, the need to employunskilled people is also decreasing dayby day. On the other hand thesechanges in technology are creating jobsfor qualified and educated people.Under such circumstances, it is wrongto think that students should becomeeducated merely for getting jobs.According to the viewpoint of JeevanVidya, one should become educated forwidening and broadening the scope ofone�s mind and intellect. For thispurpose, reading, listening,contemplation, studying and correct


guidance are essential. After completingone�s education, it would be moreappropriate to start some independentbusiness for one�s livelihood, instead oflooking out for some job. I haveobserved that many illiterate peoplehave been able to earn a lot of moneyfrom business, without having even thenecessary capital initially. If this is so,then why should literate people beunable to earn money through anindependent business? Students mustalways remember that work is, in facta superior form of Yoga, which is usefulto oneself as well as others. Therefore,students and their parents must takeinto account this reality and make plansabout what business the student willbe doing as soon as he completes hiseducation. There are many fields inwhich business can be started.However, usually, people do not eventhink of these various fields but try totravel the stereotyped path of obtaininga job. Not only is this tendency harmfulto the students as well as the parents,but it is also undesirable from theviewpoint of the material developmentand spiritual progress of the nation.


The other important point that teachersand students must always rememberis that, neither should teachers teachthe students because it will help themto obtain their livelihood nor should thestudents look at study as a means tohelp them fill their stomach. Theprincipal objective behind teaching andlearning is to impart or �donate�knowledge to them, which will enablethem to become �excellent citizens ofthe nation�. In other words, studentsshould go to schools and colleges andacquire knowledge in various fieldssince it will help them to make thenation prosperous, strong and powerfuland enable the world to become happyas a result. Both science andspiritualism are forms of knowledge.Science is the knowledge of the world,while spiritualism is the knowledge ofGod. With the help of science andtechnology, Man can make materialdevelopment, while with the help ofspiritualism, Man can attain psycho-spiritual progress. A nation canprogress in the true sense only if it canachieve both material development aswell as psycho-spiritual progress. Thus,


both science and spiritualism areessential for the nation. In brief, theimportance and necessity of educationin life is tremendous. Educationpossesses the amazing power ofmaking a beast into God! Therefore,education to be imparted should besuch that it helps Man to earn hislivelihood, and it also enables him toacquire wisdom.

Q. 14. Does God help students in theirstudies?

Ans. Students erroneously imagine that Godwill help them in their studies - He doesnot help them in this manner. In fact,there is a beautiful saying that, �Godhelps those who help themselves!� Godor nature has granted every student theblessing of intellect. The more thisintellect is used by the student, thesharper and brighter he becomes. Justas a knife get rusted and becomesuseless if it is not used, the intellectbecomes �rusted� if not used and over aperiod of time it becomes duller andduller till it becomes totally useless.Studying is nothing other than makinguse of the intellect. In the same way,


making efforts again and again is alsostudying. Hence Jeevan Vidyaemphasizes that,

�Efforts have the potential or capacityto achieve everything including �God-realization� and, therefore, efforts maybe considered to be even greater thanGod.�

Q. 15. Some students indulge in practices likeNavas (taking a vow that someparticular thing would be offered toGod if the desired result is obtained),tying amulets around the wrist, neck,etc. in the hope that they would passexaminations. What are your views onthis subject?

Ans. To offer a Navas is nothing short oftrying to bribe God! We are aware thatfrequently, people bribe government /municipal officials for getting their workdone. A Navas is a similar sort of thing;the student offering Navas is in effectsaying that, �Oh God! Please pass meand in return I shall offer you fivekilograms of sweetmeats�. The wholepractice of offering Navas is nonsensical.God has never told anyone that, �Pleaseoffer Me a Navas and I shall fulfill all


your desires!� It is only the students orthe parents or the priestly class whohave drawn such imaginary conclusionsand have unnecessarily involved God init! If as imagined by the student, hesomehow passes after offering a Navas,God never �eats� any of the sweetmeatsoffered to Him. All the sweetmeats areeaten up only by the people who offeredNavas. In this context, students mustremember a very important fact. Theidol or representation or image of Godto whom the Navas is offered neithersits down nor stands up nor does itmove nor smile nor walk nor talk; in factit does not do anything at all. If this isso, then how can the idol bless thestudent and fulfil his desires of passingin the examinations? It is not a sign ofwisdom on the part of the student toexpect such an impossible thing tohappen. In short, offering Navas, tyingamulets around the wrist or neck, etcand such other things is nothing butdifferent forms of superstitions. Insteadof falling prey to such superstitions andbecoming fatalists, students should havecomplete faith in the divine force thatresides within them and tread the path


of constructive and wholeheartedefforts. Our Sages and Saints have againand again reiterated that God dwells ineveryone. In this context the followingwords of an American philosopher, Dr.Murphy are worth contemplating:

�The knowledge of a mighty powerwithin you, which is capable of bringingto pass all your desires gives youimmense confidence and sense ofpeace.�

In short, students should not becomevictims of superstitions and blind faithbut instead always try to have completefaith in the God that dwells within them.

Q. 16 Can students sharpen their intelligenceby taking any medicines?

Ans. It is a wrong notion that students cansharpen their intelligence by taking somemedicines. It is quite possible that ontaking certain medicines, an illusion ofsharper intelligence is created. Let alonemedicines, many people are also underthe erroneous impression that smokingbeedis / cigarettes, drinking alcohol, etc.helps to sharpen intelligence. However,students should not become victims of


addictions in search of such so-called�benefits�, since they would be onlydestroying their future with their ownhands. Intelligence can be sharpened onlyby using it properly and not by the use ofmedicines.

Q. 17 Would it be realistic to consider thatour mother, father and teacher areequivalent to God?

Ans. Jeevan Vidya defines God as under:

�God is someone who gives ussomething or some benefit�

God or nature has granted us thispriceless human body. Besides this, Hehas given us subtle, very useful andwonderful gifts of the five organs ofaction, five organs of knowledge, fivepranas (vital energies), internal organslike mind, intellect, memory, willpower,etc. In the same way, he has created theUniverse for us to enjoy the festival of joy.In other words, God has showered uswith his blessings. Man must, therefore,always be grateful to Him. Similarly, ourmother and father give us so much in ourlives. They give birth to us, they lookafter us and care for us, they undergo a


lot of trouble in bringing us up, educatingus, etc. and also help us to becomeindependent and stand on our own feet.Thus, our parents have conferred a lot offavours on us and it is necessary toconsider them as God. In the same way,our teachers and professors impartknowledge to us. In this context, studentsmust always remember an importantprinciple of Jeevan Vidya that,

�Gratitude is Punya (merit), whileingratitude is Papa (sin)�

Similarly, Dr. Murphy says,

�A grateful heart is always close to thecreative forces of the universe causingcountless blessings to flow towards it,by the law of reciprocal relationshipbased on the cosmic law of action andreaction.�

In this context the words of an Englishauthor are worthy of contemplation:

�Think of all you have to be gratefulfor and thank God for all your boonsand bounties.�

Q. 18 Should students be ambitious? If so,what should they do to achieve theirambition?


Ans. Every student must be ambitious. Thestudent who is not ambitious is as goodas a corpse, even though he is alive.However, it is very important tounderstand the exact meaning of �beingambitious�. Many students believe thatbeing ambitious means �to earn lots ofmoney�. Jeevan Vidya does not refer tothis sort of ambition. The students, whoharbour such sort of ambitions, aremotivated to earn money by undesirablemeans. The ambition to earn �lots ofmoney� is responsible for the terrible�cancer� of corruption that has engulfedthe nation. Just as a person sufferingfrom cancer undergoes a lot of sufferingbefore ultimately succumbing to thedisease, similarly the �cancer ofcorruption� will ultimately lead to theruin of the nation i.e. we will all beruined; it does not require an astrologerto make this prediction. A corruptperson is also most likely to be a traitorwho will betray the nation for monetarygains. In fact, corrupt people are traitorsand �enemy number one� of the nation.Therefore, students must alwaysremember that, instead of harbouringthe ambition of earning �lots of money�,


students must nurture the ambition ofacquiring a lot of knowledge. Studentsmust acquire knowledge in various fieldsand utilize the knowledge so gained forbringing about the material developmentand psycho-spiritual progress of thenation. We may conclude that JeevanVidya teaches students to acquireknowledge with the intention andambition of bringing about all-roundprogress of the nation.

Q. 19 What is the duty of students going toschools and colleges?

Ans. Indian culture considers KartavyaDharma i.e. �the Dharma of performingones duty� to be the true Dharma ofevery individual. What is called Dharmaby Indian culture, as mentioned earlier,is referred to quite differently as religionin the English language. One must realizethat Kartavya Dharma and religion aretotally different things. Just as adiamond has various facets or angles,the �diamond of Kartavya Dharma� toohas various facets or aspects. Thevarious facets of Kartavya Dharma areone�s duty towards one�s mother, father,son, daughter, husband, wife, neighbour,


friend, nation, etc. Religion is nothingbut �the duty towards God� which is justa single ordinary aspect of this diamondof Kartavya Dharma. Unfortunately,however, in reality the various aspectsof Dharma have been neglected andinstead too much emphasis has beengiven to religion i.e. ritualistic religioninvolving so-called worship of God. Theprimary duty or Kartavya Dharma ofevery student is to study wholeheartedlyand acquire knowledge. Words areinadequate to describe the trueimportance of knowledge. While moneyis no doubt important in Man�s life,knowledge is a thousand times moreimportant than money. The nation,whose citizens are illiterate, ignorantand superstitious, will never be able tomarch along the path of progress.Instead, such a nation will definitely godown the path of ruin and disaster.Therefore, Jeevan Vidya reiterates that:

�You must acquire knowledge and wisdom,You must become clever,

You must all become intelligent�.

In short, the Kartavya Dharma of everystudent is to study wholeheartedly and


acquire knowledge. Those students whodo not comply with this Kartavya Dharmawill have to repent for their blunder infuture. Instead, those students whostudy in accordance with this KartavyaDharma will definitely becomesuccessful in their lives.

Q. 20 Are educational, social and politicalorganisations useful to students? Shouldthey take part in their activities?

Ans. Most organisations had been foundedas a result of the founders being inspiredby some specific noble ideal. However,it is debatable as to how manyorganisations remain faithful to thesenoble ideals and work accordingly.Students should definitely take part inthe activities of organisations thatactively work for the benefit and welfareof students. However, they and theirparents should take care that under nocircumstances must their studies beallowed to be adversely affected by theiractivities in such organisations.

Q. 21 What should a student do if he fails inthe examinations?

Ans. Human life is filled with happiness aswell as sorrow. Whenever events that


take place are conducive to welfare ofpeople, they become happy while if theevents affect welfare adversely, theybecome unhappy. In the same way, bothsuccess and failure is a part of life.Hence, Man must not get bewilderedwhen faced with adverse circumstancesbut instead face them calmly. Everyhuman being encounters both joy andsorrow in his life, be he a ordinary personor a saint or a prophet! About ninetypercent of such events are within thecontrol of human beings while theremaining ten percent events are outsidetheir control. However, common peopleare under the erroneous impressionthat all the events in human life arebeyond their control. Therefore,wisdom lies in giving up fatalism andinstead adopting the path of harmoniousthinking. Failing in the examinations isnot a big crime due to which heavenswill fall down on this earth nor is it acatastrophe as though the sky has fallenon the head. In Indian mythology, LordShankar is called Mahadev because hewas able to withstand the poison thathe digested at the time of �AmritManthan�; in the same way, the man


who can withstand the poison of failureand take a leap towards the zenith ofsuccess is called a great man. So insteadof becoming sorrowful, because offailure or blaming and cursing God orfate or teachers or examiners for one�sfailure, the student should look for thereasons for his failure. Where there iseffect, these must be a cause too! Truewisdom lies in finding out this cause.Parents should also provide necessaryassistance to their children to help themto discover the cause. Students oftendo not realise that �studying is an art�,neither do their parents realise this, nordo most of the teachers realise it.Therefore, students must learn the artof studying. Guidance for learning theart of studying has already beenprovided in the answers to questionsasked earlier on this subject.

Q. 22 Why should one always speak thetruth? Please guide us on this subject.

Ans. It is generally in our own interest to �speakthe truth�. Everyone believes a personwho speaks the truth. He commandscredibility in society so that if he is facedwith some monetary or other troubles,


people readily come forward to help him.Conversely, no one believes a person whotell lies. He does not have any credibilityand people are reluctant to help such aperson if he faces some problems.Secondly, once a person speaks anuntruth, he has to tell a number of lies toprevent the truth from being revealed.Despite his best efforts to hide the truth,it cannot be hidden for long and isultimately uncovered to the totalembarrassment of the person. Thirdly, aperson must always discriminatebetween when he should speak the truthor tell an untruth. It is extremelydangerous to tell the truth to a shrewdand cunning person or a person willingto go to any level to achieve his goals orto people who are traitors to the nation.In fact, it is better and in everyone�sinterest to tell a lie to such people andget rid of them. Fourthly, if by speakingthe truth, an individual or a family orsociety or the nation are going to begrievously harmed, on such occasions itis better to tell a lie and save thesituation. Fifthly, certain events that haveoccurred in one�s life and which areusually supposed to be kept a secret


should never be revealed to anyone. Thisis especially true in instances where aman and his wife have been married andwhere it would be better if certain factsare kept discreetly hidden; in suchcircumstances it would be mostcounterproductive to reveal such factsout of notions like �It is a sin to tell lies�or being carried away by emotions like �Ifind it very disturbing to keep the truthhidden�. To sum up, a person shouldgenerally speak the truth and avoidtelling a lie, but when interacting withsome specific type of people or underspecial circumstances, he should havethe presence of mind to decide whetherit is better to tell the truth or to hide thetruth.

Q. 23 If the house of a student is very smallwhile his family is quite large and as aresult he is unable to study, whatshould he do?

Ans. It is said that, �Where there is a will, thereis a way!� If the student is fond of studyingor he is convinced about its importance,he will definitely find a way to studywithout making specious excuses. Myown family was very large and under


such circumstances I have studied whilesitting on the staircase of the building,where I was living. There have been manyinstances of great people having studiedunder the streetlights provided by themunicipal corporations. Many librariesexist where students can go and study. Inother words, the student who has theurge to study will definitely find a wayout. Therefore, Jeevan Vidya says:

� The master key to a successful lifelies in accepting the circumstances asthey exist and trying to mould them inthe desired and successful way.�

Q. 24 Some students are given good sanskars(impressions on the mind) at home, butthe social atmosphere is very polluteddue to undesirable behaviour andactions of people, corruption, atrocities,vices, etc. Under such circumstances,what should students do?

Ans. There is beautiful saying in Marathi that,�If one is dwelling in water, one shouldnot antagonize the crocodile living in it!�As per this saying, one should not live insociety and quarrel with others,particularly the crooked persons, livingin it. However, not picking up quarrels


with others does not mean befriendingthem. Those students who have receivedgood sanskars at home will easily beable to discriminate between what isgood and what is bad or who are goodand who are bad in the world. Under thecircumstances, one should not quarrelwith others but at the same time, cleverlystay away from undesirable things orpeople. One should not do anyundesirable thing for fun or because offear of others or under the influence orcoercion of anyone, because, once oneslips while walking along the straightand narrow path of goodness, it becomesvery difficult to retrieve the situation.The second important point to rememberis that students should inform theirparents about the prevailingcircumstances in society. Thirdly, studentsshould always make every effort to be inthe company of other good and decentstudents. Besides this, students and theirparents should always remain in touchwith good organisations like Jeevan VidyaMission so that they can obtain thecompany of good people, so that thestudent�s welfare will be enhanced by it.Fourthly, students and their parents


should foster a relationship of affectionand friendship among themselves; if thisis not so, students will always remain infear of their parents and will not be ableto speak out their minds and reveal theproblems faced by them. Under suchcircumstances, it will not take long for aminor problem to assume graveproportions. Hence, parents shouldestablish a rapport with their childrenand try and understand their difficultiesand problems so that timely action canbe taken to implement the remedialmeasures required - this would be ineveryone�s interest.

Q. 25 Some students are asked by theirparents to perform pooja or other suchrites and rituals which they do notlike; what should they do?

Ans. There exists a gap of one generationbetween students and their parents.Because of this generation gap, the newgeneration does not agree with thethoughts of the old generation. Parentsfeel that their children should listen tothem and not disobey them. While thequestion of whether to perform pooja iscorrect or incorrect could be a matter of


debate, the intention of the parents inasking their children to perform rites andrituals is usually good. All parentswholeheartedly desire that their childrenshould be benefited and that they shouldcome up in life. Parents fear that if thechildren do not perform rituals asprescribed by tradition, they will incurGod�s wrath and thus be harmed. If astudent performs rites and rituals toplease his parents the sky will not fall onhis head; at the same time the studentcan try and convince his parents thatperforming rites and rituals has really nomeaning. Similarly, students can alsoexplain to their parents the worship taughtby Jeevan Vidya Mission which are analternative to rites and rituals. Since themethod is scientific, its significance canalso be explained to parents. In thiscontext students and their parents mustalways remember the fundamentalprinciple of Jeevan Vidya that:

�God neither blesses or punishesanybody nor does he interfere orintervene in any way in Man�s life.Instead, Man alone blesses or curseshimself, by his actions performed at


the three levels of thought, speech anddeed. The harmonious or harmfulactions that Man directs towardsothers come back to him like aboomerang to bless or curse his life inaccordance with the inescapable lawsof nature.�

Therefore, it is better to perform goodactions and bring about the welfare andwellbeing of everyone i.e. oneself, thefamily, the society and the nation. Toperform good actions means to-

�Think blissfully, wish blessfully, speaksweetly or pleasantly and performactions harmoniously for all.�

Q. 26 When examinations draw near,students study very hard which causesthem great strain. Is this the correctthing to do?

Ans. Studying very hard when examinationsdraw near and thereby straining thebody is the height of foolishness! Moststudents fall prey to this only becausethey have not understood the importanceof examinations. Students must first ofall understand the reason for holdingexaminations. Students know the


syllabus in advance and the textbooksare also available. From the viewpointof the students it is essential to studythese books well and acquire theknowledge given therein. Examinationsare held to find out whether studentshave studied properly and acquired theknowledge given in the books. However,students are usually unaware of thisprincipal purpose behind holdingexaminations or they ignore it. As aresult, students study only at theeleventh hour when examinations drawnear. They somehow study somethingand in this process, they strainthemselves and somehow just pass inthe examinations. On the other hand,some students learn everything �byheart� without bothering to understandthe meaning and get good marks in theexaminations. These methods ofstudying are meaningless from theviewpoint of the students� future, sinceneither learning �by heart� nor gettinggood marks will be of much use to themin their lives. Only the knowledgeacquired by students will stand them ingood stead.


Q. 27 Some people are of the opinion thatchildren should not be punished whileothers are of the view that studentsmust always be punished. Please guideus in this matter.

Ans. Unfortunately, the truth is that moststudents do not adequately understandthe intention behind going to school,need for teachers, need for education,significance of studies, education, etc.Most students believe that they attendschool only because their parents sendthem and they have no option but toobey. From the very beginning, parentsand teachers must give correct guidanceto students, about the importance ofacquiring knowledge and inculcate inthem a love for studies. They must alsouse every opportunity to stress uponthe students the harmful and disastrouseffects of avoiding studies. If suchguidance is given to students, the needfor punishing them will never arise!However, despite such guidance, if thestudents persist in mischievousbehaviour and neglect their studies, itmay be necessary to punish them.However, the punishment should bebeneficial to the students. Like, making


them hold the thumbs of the feet forsometime, performing pushups, learning�by heart� certain passages from theirtext books, etc. However, under nocircumstances must the parents andteachers beat the students.

Q. 28 Frequently, students are unable tounderstand what the teacher isteaching. What should students dounder such circumstances?

Ans. �Teaching� is an art and all people cannotbe good teachers. Sometimes, highlyqualified teachers may not be able toteach well. While some lesser-qualifiedteachers may be able to teach in anexcellent manner. Therefore, it isessential that while appointing teachers,their ability to teach well should beexamined. Secondly, teachers should bepaid good remuneration. It is difficult toget good teachers for low salaries.Thirdly, the Principal or headmastershould carry out surprise inspections toensure that teachers are teaching thestudents in the appropriate way.Similarly, the headmaster should alsotake the students into confidence andcleverly find out from the students


whether their teachers are teachingthem satisfactorily. Finally, the studentsthemselves should meet the concernedteacher and humbly explain theirdifficulties, so that the teacher can teachproperly in future.

Q. 29 After obtaining admission to schoolsand colleges, it is essential that studentsshould make friendship with goodstudents only. Please guide howstudents can get good friends?

Ans. The future of students depends on thetype of friends they make. Even a slighterror could lead to complete disaster intheir lives. In this context, studentsshould never forget an importantprinciple of Jeevan Vidya that:

�Acquiring company of good studentsis very difficult and retaining thiscompany is even more difficult; butacquiring company of bad students iseasy and it is also very long-lasting.�

Therefore, students should be extremelyalert while acquiring company of otherstudents. It is not very difficult torecognize good students and badstudents. One can very easily recognize


whether a student is good or bad bymerely observing his thoughts, speechand deeds. Students should alwaysconsider all these aspects beforeacquiring company of other students.Once the company of bad students isacquired, there is grave danger of thestudents getting carried away andruining their lives in the process. In thesame way, parents should also keep aneye on their children. Parents shouldinvite the friends of their children totheir house on some pretext likecelebrating birthdays, etc. and judgethe qualities of the friends from theirspeech and behaviour. After examiningother children in this manner, parentsshould encourage their children to makefriendship only with good children.Further, parents should invite other goodstudents to their house for some reasonor another and help their children tocement their friendship with other goodstudents. Besides this, parents shouldvisit the children�s school regularly andmeet the teachers and headmaster tofind out about the behavior of theirchildren in school and learn about theirprogress in studies; this is very essential


for ensuring the welfare of children.When children realize that their parentsvisit school frequently and inquire aboutthem, they will not dare to go astray,fearing that they will get caught. Inother words, students must always bevery careful of the company they keep,since �the company of other students�has the tremendous power to eitherbring about their improvement or tobring about their complete ruin. Hence,it is one of the main duties of parents totake care that their children get thecompany of other good students only.

Q. 30If the parents of students performundesirable actions like drinkingliquor, smoking cigarettes, eating gutka(chewing tobacco), quarrelling withneighbours, getting into fights andscuffles, etc., then why should thestudents consider them as equivalentto God?

Ans. Howsoever the parents may be, still thechildren are indebted to them for manythings. Parents give birth to children,bring them up, look after them, givethem nutritious food, education, etc.Students should take into account this


debt that they owe to their parents andtry to consider them equivalent to God.On waking up, the first thing thatchildren should do is to prostratethemselves at the feet of their parents.In the same way, they should pray toGod to grant everyone (which includesthe parents of the student, too), goodthoughts. The Universal Prayer of JeevanVidya should be recited in such a mannerthat everyone in the house can hear it.There exist numerous instances ofparents, who were earlier indulging inundesirable habits, but weretransformed simply by hearing theUniversal prayer regularly.

Q. 31 Frequently the teachers in schools arethemselves addicted to cigarettes,alcohol, gutka, etc. Under suchcircumstances, how can the studentshave any respect for them?

Ans. Though the teacher may be a victim ofaddiction, still, as long as the studentgoes to school and learns from him, thestudent should look upon him in thesacred role of a �teacher� and considerhim as equivalent to God and respecthim. Students should consider the


important fact that the teacher teachesthem and try to look upon him with thefeeling that he is as good as �God�.Students should do this as a matter ofduty. If the students look at the teacherwith this innocent and sacred viewpoint,it is probable that the teacher himselfwill be transformed. Once the studentsstart looking upon the teacher with thefeeling that he is �a God who impartsknowledge�, these holy emotions areradiated towards the teacher in the formof positive vibrations, and they definitelyhave a salutary effect on the teacherand it is possible to bring about histransformation for the better in thismanner. Besides this, students shouldpray to God to grant their teachers thewisdom to give up their undesirablevices. If students collectively recite theUniversal Prayer of Jeevan Vidya it willbenefit everyone. Secondly, teachersshould also behave in a responsiblemanner. Should teachers not realize thatif they themselves do undesirable thingsor are addicted to vices, then whatwould be the terrible impact of this onthe students? The children of today arethe citizens of tomorrow and if they are


spoiled and ruined, what will be theterrible consequences and harm thatwould befall the nation? Who canunderstand this better than teachers? Ifthe house in which we live collapses,then the destruction and complete ruinof all the inmates is inevitable. In thesame way, if students are spoiled andruined, the nation will be in grave dangerand everyone will be totally devastated.Teachers should take this into accountand behave with a sense ofresponsibility. For their own welfare, andfor the welfare of the society and thenation, teachers should keep themselvesaway from bad habits and giveappropriate guidance to the students.

Q. 32 What exactly should students do toremain relevant in the competitiveworld of today?

Ans. It is not true to say that only the worldof today is very competitive and it wasnot so in earlier days. Today, thecompetition has become very severedue to the tremendous increase inpopulation. To remain relevant in today�scompetitive world, students shouldalways remember the following


principles of Jeevan Vidya:

1) You are the architect of your destiny;

2) Efforts have the potential or capacityto achieve everything including �God-realization� and, therefore, effortsmay be compared to a jewel whichis even greater than God;

3) To be reluctant to study is to turnyour back on good-luck;

4) Everyone wants a person who isknowledgeable and useful and hecan withstand any competition.Therefore Jeevan Vidya says:

�You must all become knowledgeable,You must all become clever,

You must all become intelligent�.Q. 33 While studying in school, how can

students decide in advance as to whatthey will become in future? Whatefforts should they make to reach theselected goal?

Ans. Every student is born with some specialtalent. However, most students are notaware of this truth. The talents inherentin the student are manifested in theform of �liking� for something. Frequently,these talents are accidentally revealed


due to circumstances. Therefore, inconsultation with their parents, studentsshould decide what they would like tobecome after taking into account theirliking as well as their talents. Under nocircumstances should the parent forcethe student to become somethingagainst his wishes. All occupations thatare useful to society are equally good;no occupation is superior to another.Whatever the occupation selected bythe student, he should do itwholeheartedly and strive to becomethe best in the field and reach the top.There also exist certain careercounseling organisations or vocationalguidance centres which guide thestudent to select the appropriate fieldafter taking into account factors like hisliking for some occupation, the scopefor various occupations, etc. Theseinstitutions also help the student byadvising him about how to plan for thecourses, how to prepare for them, etc.Some organisations also conductexhibitions on this subject and also givedetailed information about variousoccupations. Since complete informationis available at one place in these


institutions, it becomes easier forstudents to take into account their likingand decide on which field to select.Similarly, some business andemployment magazines and books areavailable which give detailed informationon this subject. All these things areuseful to the student for deciding thefield of business or occupation in futureand making preparations well in advancefor achieving the same.

Q. 34 We are living in the era of fashion; isfashion desirable for students or not?

Ans. Whether to adopt fashion or not is forevery student to decide based on hisliking. It is not as though fashion is badby itself. If a student likes fashion, hecan indulge in it to some extent.However, students should ensure thatthey do not get carried away by �fashion�and in the process �ruin� their parents.There is no harm in students indulgingin fashion in a limited way, taking careat the same time that their parents canafford it and they are not troubled inany way. Students could take recourseto fashion for looking smart and be welldressed. However, under no circums-


tances should students indulge in toomuch fashion for the purpose ofimpressing others, especially girls, orfor competing with other students. Indoing so, it is likely that the studentswill harm themselves as well as theirparents. Secondly, students should notneglect studies in their love of fashion.Thirdly, being fashionable is not such agreat thing; it only indicates superficialityin a person. Those people who areastute and wise prefer students whoindulge in �simple living and highthinking� to those who indulge in fashion.

Q. 35 What should students do if they arediscriminated by teachers and otherson grounds of religion, caste, tribe,region, etc?

Ans. From the viewpoint of Jeevan Vidya,discrimination on grounds of factors likereligion, clan, caste, tribe, sect, region,etc. should never be tolerated underany circumstances or for any reason orunder any other excuse. To discriminateamong human beings and to commitinjustice and atrocities on any humanbeing is a very grave crime in the courtof God. Therefore, it would be extremely


wrong for teachers or anyone else forthat matter, to discriminate againstothers in the name of religion, caste,etc. If teachers themselves startindulging in such undesirable behaviour,it would create wrong sanskars(impression) on the students and no oneshould be surprised if the graveconsequences of these actions are borneby the students, the society and thenation in the years to come. It is thecrystal clear viewpoint of Jeevan Vidyathat in the interest of the welfare ofstudents and the all-round progress ofthe nation, there should never be anydiscrimination in the name of religion,caste, etc. But if such discrimination doesoccur, the students concerned must firstof all meet the teacher and complain tothe teacher in all humility and, ifnecessary, then meet the headmasteror principal and complain to him.

Q. 36 Should students indulge in ragging?How should victims of ragging protectthemselves?

Ans. Ragging is an extremely disgusting,ignoble and terrible thing. It is a blot onstudent world. All the people concerned


should ensure that under nocircumstances should instances ofragging ever occur. Ragging is not anact, which brings glory to anyone;instead it is a horrible act and is anindicator of a perverted psyche. Manystudents had to face terrible hardshipsand harm due to ragging. Some studentshave dropped out of college due toragging while others have evencommitted suicide because of it. Theparents of students should always bevery alert about ragging. Parents shouldregularly inquire and ensure that theirchildren are not being ragged. Evenafter such alertness, if some instance ofragging does occur, the students andtheir parents should rush to the collegeprincipal and the police and duly makea written complaint against the studentswho have indulged in ragging; legalaction will automatically be startedagainst the students who indulge inragging. However, under nocircumstances should the students andtheir parents remain silent and allowthemselves to become victims of raggingdue to fear. There is a beautiful sayingin Marathi that, �If I call a tiger by his


name he will eat me up, and even if Icall him Lord Tiger, he will still eat meup!� In the same way, if the studentscomplain to the police against thestudents who indulge in ragging theywill have to face harassment and even ifthey don�t complain they will have toface harassment in the form of ragging.Under these circumstances, it would bebetter to complain against the studentswho indulge in ragging. In case thereare undesirable instances of studentscommitting suicide or students leavingcollege or students getting physicalinjuries, etc., it would be possible forthe police to take action against studentswho have indulged in ragging. At thesame time, in the interest of welfare ofstudents, Principals and professors ofcolleges should also keep in touch withthe students and take them intoconfidence to find out whether raggingis indeed taking place in the college.

Q. 37 As per the rules of hostels, threestudents have to share one room. Ifthe other two students are bad oraddicted, they may force a goodstudent to become addicted to vices.What should the good students do


under such circumstances?

Ans. Under such circumstances, studentsshould immediately contact their parentsand make them aware of the gravesituation that exists in the hostel. Parentsin turn must immediately contact theprincipal of the college and get the roomof the student changed. Under nocircumstances should the students fallprey to fear and remain silent aboutsuch circumstances. In the same way, itis essential that the principal and therector of the hostel should contact thestudents who indulge in vices and takethem into confidence and give themproper guidance. Further, the principalshould contact the parents of studentswho indulge in vices and alert them tothe bad behaviour and addiction to vicesof the students.

Q. 38 Some students who study in collegesindulge in vices like drinking, smoking,eating gutka, etc. in the name ofenjoyment. Such students, who areaddicted to vices, make fun of studentswho do not indulge in vices; whatshould good students do under suchcircumstances?


Ans. The main reason why students becomeaddicted to vices is that they do notreceive correct guidance at theappropriate time from their parents andteachers. Jeevan Vidya emphasizes that:

�If students are given timely andproper guidance, they will neverbecome victims of addictions or vices.�

Therefore, parents must ensure thatchildren who are addicted to vices getproper guidance by any means availableto them. An invaluable principle ofJeevan Vidya states that:

�The human body is a living idol ofGod or a living divine computer andthe body will give desirable orundesirable results, as per theUniversal Laws of Nature, dependingon the good or bad inputs in the formof actions given to it.�

If this important principle is properlyexplained to students and the terribleconsequences of vices and addictionsare brought out, then no student willdare to become addicted to vices. Toindulge in vices is like acquiring terribleand horrible troubles and it is an


invitation to one�s own destruction anddoom. If this truth is impressed uponstudents, they will definitely not fall aprey to vices. Whatever be thecircumstances, students should not comeunder the evil influence of addictedchildren. Parents should make everyeffort to impart correct guidance to suchchildren through the medium ofdiscourses and books. In this manner,everyone will be benefited.

Q. 39 Is it proper for students of schools andcolleges to fall in love?

Ans. Firstly, students should remember thattheir parents send them to schools andcolleges so that they study and not forfalling in love! Those who stray from thepath of Kartavya Dharma i.e. �the Dharmaof performing ones duty� will alwayshave to repent in years to come. TheKartavya Dharma of a student is to studyand to get education. To neglect thisKartavya Dharma and instead indulge inlove affairs is to invite troubles foroneself. Parents and teachers have greatexpectations from their children, whostudy in schools and colleges. Mostparents cannot afford to educate their


children. They have to make greatfinancial sacrifices for sending theirchildren to schools and colleges,sometimes, even taking a loan for thispurpose. Parents expect that theirchildren will learn well, acquire excellentknowledge, select an appropriateoccupation in future, become excellentcitizens and take their nation along thepath of progress. But instead ofstudying, if students indulge in loveaffairs it would mean that they arefooling themselves, their parents, theirteachers, and even God. It is obviousthat such cheating is a great crime andevery criminal automatically facespunishment by the Universal Laws ofNature.Secondly, �love� is a splendid andexceptional emotion and such peoplewho genuinely love others arethemselves very wonderful andexceptional. Such exceptional peopleare rarely found. Such a true loveinvolves sacrifice and not enjoyment andthe exceptional people who possess thisexceptional love are ever ready tosacrifice everything that they possessfor the happiness of each other. If the


love of such exceptional people is notsuccessful, their only wish is that theperson whom they love should alwaysdwell in peace and happiness, whereverhe or she may be. Such exceptionalpeople do not have attraction for thebody but love the qualities of the personwith whom they are in love.

However, in actual practice what oneobserves in the case of people whoclaim to be in love is just the opposite!Students become victims of infatuationas a result of sexual attraction of thebody and fool themselves and othersinto believing that they are really in love;this so-called love becomes a sure recipefor disaster in life. Since this so-calledlove is merely infatuation due to sexualattraction, it is rooted in craving for�enjoyment� and there exists not even atrace of sacrifice in it! Instead, if due tosome reason, this so-called love affair isnot successful, these �lovers� do nothesitate to even go to the extent ofkilling each other! In the same way,before a love-marriage, the loversserenade each other, court each otherand make all sorts of vows and promises


to each other of undying love. Theyvaliantly proclaim, �I cannot live withoutyou�, etc. during the course of the loveaffair or before the love-marriage. Sincesuch couples are adept at quotingdialogues from films, it is not surprisingthat young boys and girls becomevictims of their own make-believe world.The love-talk and vows taken beforemarriage are so absurd and unrealisticthat within six months of marriage, theirmarriage is on the rocks and within twoyears of the marriage these lovers mayget divorced. In short, wise studentsshould realise that it is not in their owninterest to get involved in love affairs;such distractions are likely to mar theirfuture prospects.

In this context, it is essential to clarifyan important point. There is a world ofa difference between �love� and �loveaffairs�. It requires wisdom to love buteven a foolish person can indulge in�love affairs�. Considering the age ofstudents in schools and colleges, it maybe said that they are immature in allrespects. They do not even know themeaning of true love. Due to their tender


age, childish thoughts and actions, itshould not surprise anyone if studentsindulging in such activities ruin theirlives. Students generally fall in love onthe basis of superficial things like beautyof the body, wealth, money, proficiencyin games like cricket, tennis, etc. or falseassurances and showy, stylish andfashionable appearance. The phrase �tofall in love� is significant in this context.Those who fall into the pit of �love� arenever able to get up again. During theperiod of the love affair, lovers feel thatthey are literally floating in the air.However, after marriage, their feet touchthe ground and the thorns and pebbleslying all round start hurting them, witha result that they wake up to groundreality! The principal reason for this turnof events is that all the superficialattributes narrated above do not havethe capacity to make human life happyor successful. It is said that, �Love isblind�. However, in reality love is notblind but the intelligence of loversbecomes �blind�. It is commonlyobserved that 99% of all love affairs andlove-marriages are unsuccessful sincethe �lovers� have forgotten that,


�Appearances are deceptive�. However,only 1% of the love affairs and love-marriages are successful because thelovers possess �wisdom�. Such �wisdom�lies in taking into account qualities suchas good human nature, pleasingbehaviour, good education, excellentteachings and �sanskars� (latentimpressions on the mind), adjustingnature, freedom from vices, economicindependence and vocationalcompetence. When love is showeredbased on these qualities, such couplesbecome happy and successful.In short, students must alwaysremember that, �Life is not a bed ofroses�. At the same time, to ensurethat, life does not become a �bed ofthorns� and they do not face bitterexperiences in future, students shouldaccept the ground reality orcircumstances as they exist and stridealong the path of wisdom so that theycan soar like an eagle to the pinnaclesof success in life.

Q. 40 Students have to study a number ofsubjects. While, they enjoy some ofthese, they hate some other subjects.Why is this so?


Ans. Our life revolves around the mind.Sometimes the mind is favourable to usand at other times it is adverse. Theboat of our life sways from side to sidedepending on the favourable conditionor unfavourable condition of our mind.We like some subjects because our mindtakes interest in them. Similarly, thosesubjects which are easily grasped orunderstood by the mind are liked by it.The mind likes to study only thosesubjects from which it derives joy.Conversely, some subjects are notgrasped by the intellect due to whichthe mind does not like these subjectsand tries to avoid them. So the tendencyof the student is towards neglecting thestudy of such subjects or not studyingthem adequately. As a result, studentseither fail or get less marks in suchsubjects. Students are often unable tofind a way out of this problem. JeevanVidya provides excellent guidance tostudents in this topic. A vicious cycle isformed here; since the student does notstudy the subject, his intellect cannotunderstand it and since the intellectdoes not understand the subject thestudent does not like it. This vicious


cycle has to be broken by the studentsthemselves. If students study as per the3R formula laid down by Jeevan Vidya,they will start understanding thesubjects better and better and as theystart understanding the subject well,their mind will start taking interest inthe subject so that they will start likingit. Secondly, it would be beneficial forstudents to seek proper guidance fromthe right people for subjects that theydo not like. This guidance could beobtained from clever students in classor from teachers or parents. If properand timely guidance is obtained,students will start understanding thesubjects and gradually liking them.Thirdly, students must always rememberthe important fact that there is no escapefrom studying all subjects and gettinggood marks in them. Studying involvesreading of the subjects again and again.They should also remember that nothingis impossible if one is only willing tostudy. If one studies with the intentionof acquiring knowledge, one graduallystarts liking even those subjects thatone does not like at first. In other words,students should always remember the


important principle of Jeevan Vidya that,

�If you avoid studies, a brightfuture will evade you�.

Q. 41 Jeevan Vidya proclaims that, �You arethe Architect of Your destiny�; what isluck then and how does it occur?

Ans. There exist tremendous misund-erstandings and erroneous notionsabout the concepts of destiny (Niyati)and luck. Man�s destiny does not showeron him from the heavens nor does itgrow in the soil. While living, Manperforms actions continuously on thethree levels of thought, speech and deed.There exists an intimate relationshipbetween the Universal Laws of Natureand Man�s actions. When Man acts, hesets into motion the Universal Laws ofNature; which, in turn activate what istermed as Niyati or destiny. When thisNiyati manifests in Man�s life, heexperiences it in the form of happinessor sorrow. For understanding thisimportant topic in detail, I recommendthat you refer my other book �You arethe architect of your destiny�.


Q. 42 Can students show progress in theirstudies by reciting the Universalprayer?

Ans. The Universal Prayer of Jeevan Vidya isgiven below:

�O God,

Bless all with health and wealth,Bless all with money and harmony,Bless all with peace and happiness,

Bless all with wisdom and your devotion�By reciting the Universal Prayer, Mancan progress in studies as well as makeall-round progress in his life. Studentsshould not neglect their studies to recitethe Universal Prayer. However, the sparetime which is available in between thestudies, should be used to recite theUniversal Prayer. Similarly, aftercompleting their studies and just beforegoing to bed, students should recite theUniversal prayer. By doing so, it will givestability and peace to the consciousmind; while the sub-conscious mind willabsorb the studies already done duringthe day. Once the knowledge isabsorbed in the sub-conscious mind, itis easily available to the conscious mind,which can reproduce it accurately in


examinations. This helps the student toget success.

Q. 43 In society, we observe that well-educated graduates are unable to getjobs; while, people without anyeducation get into politics andaccumulate huge wealth using illegalmethods. Given such circumstances, itbecomes difficult for students tounderstand what they should do?Please guide us on this topic.

Ans. The fundamental reason for theoccurrence of all troubles andundesirable things is only one and thatis the tremendous increase in populationwhich is also aptly referred to as the�population explosion�. There are moregraduate applicants for jobs thanavailable vacancies. Obviously, it wouldnot be possible for all the applicants toget jobs. This problem has become moreacute because of technological advanceslike automation of jobs which were beingdone manually as well as the advent ofcomputers. With the help of computers,one can do excellent work in lesser timeand with lesser people than could bedone previously. This has contributed to


unemployment, especially of unskilledlabour but technological changes havecreated jobs for educated andspecialised people who have undergonethis training. Therefore, graduatesshould not hanker after jobs but insteadlook out for opportunities to set up someindependent business. If even illiteratepeople can set up independent businessand gain a lot of wealth, there is noreason why a graduate cannot do so.

Secondly, as a result of inability to getjobs, young men become frustrated and,in this frame of mind, they may beprovoked to go to any extent and doundesirable things which they may notunder normal circumstances do. Theunderworld takes full advantage of thissituation. Under the guise of giving jobs,they encourage young men to doundesirable and illegal things. Oncesome crime has occurred, these youngmen have no other option but to dowhatever the underworld dictates tothem. Just as a person who enters thetiger�s den cannot come out alive,similarly once these young men becomevictims of the underworld, they are


forever trapped in it. Under suchcircumstances, it is no use repentingsince nothing can be done about it.

Students should always remember thatthough some people, whetheruneducated or otherwise, do evil thingsand accumulate huge wealth and indulgein conspicuous consumption, they cannever become happy. People whoperform evil (illegal) deeds and earnblack money are actually criminals. Buttill their crime is proved, they continueto live in society with their heads heldhigh. These criminals can never attainpeace, happiness or satisfaction.Instead, such people lead their livesunder terrible tensions. Leading such alife is like dying a thousand deaths. Theevil deeds of such people will definitelyboomerang on them, today or tomorrow,by the Universal Laws of Nature. Theyhave to face wretched circumstances intheir lives like physical and mentaldiseases, dangers, problems,catastrophes, troubles, misery, sorrow,etc., and their children are also likely tobecome addicted to undesirable things.Money and wealth which is accumulated


by undesirable and corrupt means iscursed. Not only does it bring trouble tothe person who has accumulated it, butit is also responsible for bringing terribleharm, sorrow and misery to his childrenand future generations in accordancewith the law of inheritance and theUniversal Laws of Nature. Studentsshould take all these things into accountand should always remain away fromwicked people; this is in their owninterest as well as in the interest of thenation.

Fourthly, students should not give undueimportance to earning money. Anyonecan accumulate wealth. Even thieves,dacoits, terrorists, prostitutes, black-marketers, etc. accumulate moneythrough undesirable means and spendit on wasteful expenditure andconspicuous consumption. However, asmentioned earlier, such people can neverbecome happy. Even if God were toappear on earth for this purpose, hewould not be able to make them happy.Persons who accumulate wealth bycheating others, robbing others orcausing misery to others, can never


become happy. People generally believethat money is Lakshmi (the Goddess ofwealth). However, this is not thecomplete truth. Wealth earned throughundesirable means is nothing but anincarnation of �Kadak-Lakshmi� (themalevolent form of Lakshmi) whilewealth earned by good means is actuallyMaha-Lakshmi (the benevolent form ofGoddess Lakshmi). Kadak-Lakshmi isresponsible for creating all sorts oftroubles, problems, miseries and chaosin human life; while Maha-Lakshmiblesses Man with happiness, peace,success and prosperity in life.Just as Man begets Man, while a tigerbegets a tiger, in accordance with theUniversal Laws of Nature, similarlysorrow begets sorrow and happinessbegets happiness. Hence, whatsoeverhappiness or sorrow that Man gives toothers comes back to him like aboomerang, magnified and multiplied,to bless or curse his life. Students shouldalways remember that people whoindulge in �enjoyment� and waste theirlives in it have to ultimately face amiserable and bleak future. Further,those people who accumulate wealth


and money through black (evil) meanscreate grave dangers to the economicsystem of the nation. Thus, such peopleare traitors and criminals in the eyes ofsociety and are enemies of the nation inwhich they live.

Q. 44 Some students copy in examinationsand pass. Could you please guide us onthis subject?

Ans. Copying itself is a crime and a criminalwill automatically have to facepunishment either by law or by theUniversal Laws of Nature. If a criminal issomehow able to escape from theclutches of the law, he will have to facepunishment in accordance with theUniversal Laws of Nature.

Secondly, when a student passes theexaminations by resorting to copying,he is fooling himself, his parents, histeachers and God. It is possible to passexaminations without studying, but it isnot possible to acquire knowledge inthis way. If a student does not acquireknowledge by studying, then in futurehe will not be of any use to anyone,wherever he may choose to go. It willnot be surprising if such a useless


person faces a hopeless and bleakfuture.

Thirdly, if a student is lazy and tries toavoid studying in schools and collegesand neglects studies, he may betemporarily able to save himself fromhard work. Nevertheless, in his futurelife, he is likely to face great difficultiesand troubles since he has not acquiredknowledge through education. In otherwords, it is not possible for a person toavoid making efforts in life. If efforts arenot made to study in schools andcolleges, he will be forced to perform allsorts of hard tasks involving great effortsin his future life.

Fourthly, studying does not really requiretoo much effort. Instead, if the mind iskept stable and still and the studentstudies with the objective of acquiringknowledge, he will start liking studies.In short, instead of copying inexaminations and fooling oneself as wellas others, it would be in the bestinterests of students to study and attainsuccess in life.

Q. 45 Some students are jealous and enviousof others. Does this retard the growth


of students? Could you please guidesuch students in the matter?

Ans. It is foolish for students to be jealousand envious of others. By being jealousand envious of others, such studentsare likely to radiate negative andpoisonous thought vibrations into theenvironment. If we touch coal, we willbe defiled or blackened. In the sameway, jealous and envious thoughtspoison the relationship betweenstudents. No one benefits from suchthoughts; instead, the studentsthemselves are likely to be harmed as aresult.

Secondly, students should remember thatthe human body is like a computer. If youfeed the computer with wrong or correctinputs then it will give you correspondingwrong or correct results. So, when astudent harbours negative emotions ofjealousy, he feeds his own computer withharmful emotions. Simultaneously, hefeeds these harmful emotions in thecomputers of others. Therefore, he andothers are greatly harmed by this wrongfeeding to human computer, because theoutput from the computer will also be


harmful. In this context the followingthoughts of Dr. Murphy should always bekept in mind by students:

�Thoughts of jealousy, fear, worry andanxiety tear down your nerves andglands bringing about physical andmental diseases of all kinds.�

Instead of being jealous of others andharming themselves and others, it is, inthe best interests of students tocooperate with each other and help eachother so as to bring about the welfareof all people concerned.

Q. 46 The social environment is full ofcorrupt practices, atrocities and wrongbehaviour; under such circumstancesstudents are unable to decide as towho their role model should be. Couldyou kindly guide us in this context?

Ans. During cold weather, we wear warmclothes to protect ourselves from thecold. Similarly, even though there existscorruption, injustice and wrongbehaviour all around us, we must protectourselves from their influence with thehelp of the good sanskars (subtleimpressions on the mind) that we


imbibe. It is wrong to believe that theseundesirable things are occurring only intoday�s world. In fact, such undesirablethings have been occurring since timeimmemorial. The main reason why theseundesirable things occur is due to theevil of �thought pollution�. The whole ofthe human race is mired in the�quicksand� of ignorance. This ignorancegives rise to undesirable things like ego,superstitions, false pride, erroneousthoughts, jealousy, envy anddissatisfaction. These in turn give riseto the terrible demon of thoughtpollution who creates undesirable thingslike corruption, bad behaviour, atrocities,rape, feuds, riots, battles, wars, etc. inMan�s life. Jeevan Vidya has been createdwith the intention of curbing thoughtpollution. In my view,

�Jeevan Vidya is the only solution forthis thought pollution�

Students must avail of the facilities andbenefits provided by Jeevan Vidya andprotect themselves from abovementioned undesirable things. Toconclude, our country has given birth tomany eminent, brave and great men


and women since ancient times; studentsshould use them as role models.

Q. 47 In your opinion, is it proper forstudents to worship God? Please guideus on this subject.

Ans. Barring a few intelligent exceptions, thetraditional method of worshiping God,is based on performing rites and rituals.Jeevan Vidya, however, does notapprove of performing rites and rituals.Therefore it does not approve ofritualistic methods of worshiping God.From the viewpoint of Jeevan Vidya, thesupreme worship of God for students isto attend schools and colleges andobtain �good education�. The schools andcolleges are temples of learning, theteacher is the God in these temples, thestudents are the worshippers there andstudying wholeheartedly for acquiringknowledge is the worship of God. Bystudying in this way, with the intentionof acquiring knowledge, students pleaseGod in the form of the teacher, givesatisfaction to their parents and theythemselves obtain the capability ofbeing able to serve the society and thenation, in an excellent way, in future.


Students should always remember that :

�Knowledge is God�

Students who study well and acquireknowledge become excellent citizens ofthe nation in future and are responsiblefor taking their nation to such greatheights that the nation surpasses allother nations in every way. At the sametime, Jeevan Vidya further definesworship as doing all that is necessaryto keep the body in good health,making the mind stable and quiet andbringing about the development of theintellect. In Marathi and Sanskritlanguage, the word for worship is�Upasana�. �Upa� means near or close toand �Asana� means to be seated. Thusworship involves being very close toGod.

Another method of worshipping God isto be happy and to make others happy.This is possible because our inherentnature is bliss (swanand). Similarly, theindwelling God in us is also called as�ananda�, which means bliss. He is alsocalled �Govinda�, which means blissflowing through us. Similarly, weexperience happiness when we are


healthy by doing exercises or yoga-asanas. In fact, no happiness iscomparable to that of being healthy. So,by constantly thinking positive andauspicious thoughts and rememberingGod i.e. thinking blessfully, the mindattains stability. By speaking pleasantlyand performing harmonious and goodactions, the mind attains peace and bystudying in the correct way, the intellectis developed.

In short, studying is an indivisible partof worship. Therefore, students shouldperform the worship prescribed byJeevan Vidya and bring about their ownwelfare as also the welfare of the societyand the nation in which they live.

Q. 48 What should be the attitude of studentstowards teachers and vice versa?Please guide us on this subject.

Ans. �Every action has an equal and oppositereaction� is one of the principal Laws ofNature. Man should lead his life takinginto account this inevitable Law ofNature. The attitude of studentstowards the teachers and vice versawill determine the results that theyget; thus if they behave in a positive


way towards one another they will getdesirable results; if they behave innegative way they will get undesirableresults. Teachers should alwaysremember the truth that the studentsof today are the citizens of tomorrow.The progress of the country dependson these students. In other words, wewill all be benefited if students becomegood citizens and we will all suffer ifthey become bad. Keeping this fact inmind, teachers should always sincerelyendeavour to give students correcteducation. In the same way, studentsshould remember the truth that theknowledge they acquire from theteachers will be useful to them in futureand will help them to make their lifesuccessful. Students should thereforesincerely respect and honour theirteachers.

Q. 49 There exists a lot of confusion amongstudents about the twin concepts ofsin (papa) and spiritual merit or virtue(punya). Please guide us on this topic.

Ans. Some people are of the opinion that thetwin concepts of papa and punya aremerely superstitions. However, this point


of view of thought is totally wrong sinceit is based on ignorance. Nevertheless,it is true that there exists manyerroneous concepts about whatconstitutes papa and punya among thepopulace. Similarly, a large number ofpeople consider a number of things tobe punya while these are in fact papaand vice versa.The concept of papa and punya asenunciated by Jeevan Vidya philosophyis totally different from the traditionalviews. Man is a social animal and he isdeeply indebted to society in a numberof ways. It is every Man�s duty to repayhis debt to society. Whatever good orbad actions are performed by Man onthe three levels of thoughts, words anddeeds have a corresponding desirableor undesirable impact on society.Conversely, whatever bad or goodincidents or events that occur in societyhave a corresponding desirable orundesirable effect on Man. Man musttake this truth into account and alwaysensure that his actions will result only inthe welfare of the society at large. Allsuch actions are designated by JeevanVidya as Punya. Conversely, if Man�s


actions harm him, as well as the society,such actions are termed as papa.

In short, bad or good actions create�papa� or �punya� and when these papaand punya mature, they createinauspicious or auspicious �niyati� whichbecomes responsible for bestowingsorrow or happiness in Man�s life.

Q. 50 Who can be called an excellent citizenfrom the viewpoint of Jeevan Vidya?Can you kindly guide the students inthis respect.

Ans. 1) He who holds the firm conviction thatthe nation is everything in life and isever ready to make any sacrifice forthe nation is an excellent citizen ofthe nation;

2) He who is fully aware that in theprogress of the nation lies his ownprogress and in the ruin of his nationlies his own ruin is an excellent citizenof the nation;

3) An excellent citizen is he who abidesby the Panchsheel (five cardinalprinciples) of national life, namely,National Discipline, Devotion to theNation, progress of the Nation,


Defence of the Nation, and Duty tothe Nation;

4) He who acquires knowledge invarious walks of life with the intentionof taking the nation along the path ofprogress and utilizes the knowledgeso gained for bringing about thematerial development of the nationis an excellent citizen of the nation.

5) He who does whichever work thatcomes his way and work which isuseful to society, with utmost love,sincerity and honesty, is an excellentcitizen of the of the nation;

6) He who does not accumulate money,wealth and power throughundesirable means like corruption,evil means, atrocities, etc. is anexcellent citizen of the nation.

7) He who does not use the poweravailable to him for �feathering hisown nest� or for furthering his ownselfish interests but instead uses itonly for bringing about the welfare,benefit and well-being of the peopleand for the progress of the nation isan excellent citizen of the nation.


8) He who does not give importance toman-made artificial divisions andbarriers of religion, colour, caste, clan,tribe, sect, region, language, etc. butinstead holds the sincere opinion that�We are all the citizens of the Nationand are all equal in every way� is anexcellent citizen of the nation.

9) He who leads his life with the firmconviction that his every �thought-word-deed� should be for the welfareand benefit and well-being of thenation is an excellent citizen of thenation.

I pray to God Almighty that everystudent should become an excellent

citizen of the nation.F F F


UNIVERSAL PRAYER

Oh God, kindly

Bless all with health and wealth;

Bless all with money and harmony,

Bless all with peace and bliss,

Bless allwithwisdom and your devotion.

Epigrams of Sadguru Wamanrao Pai

1) 6) Knowledge is missile, weapon and science.

Knowledge is might, energy and strength.Knowledge is wealth, riches and splendour.Knowledge is God, Almighty Power and Cosmic LifeForce. Therefore acquire knowledge and bless yourself.

2) Men of wisdom are those who think twice about theconsequences of their actions, while fools are thosewho act first.

3) Lack of national spirit is the only cause for all sortsof crooked and wretched problems, the nation has toface.

4) The master key to successful life is to first accept thecircumstances as they are and then make relentlessefforts to shape them beautifully.

5) Human body is a wonderful gift of nature and is asuper computer. All actions of Man performed at threelevels of thought, speech and physical action are ineffect actual feeding to this super computer whichgives fovourable or unfavourable results to his actionsin the form of peace and happiness or pain andmiseries.

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JEEVAN VIDYA'S GUIDANCE TO STUDENTS “JEEVAN VIDYA'S ...jeevanvidya.org/.../downloads/PDF/Jeevanvidyas-guidance-to-students.pdf · 4 JEEVAN VIDYA'S GUIDANCE TO STUDENTS..... The