Dream the impossible: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Meditation comes highly recommended. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told CNBC-TV18,"Meditation is food for our soul. If we don't meditate, we would be starving our soul. Meditation brings inner wealth." And praying is a path to meditation. However, he says people who say that it's important to be a good human being by being helpful to the needy and to do good deeds but not to meditate, are not helping themselves.

That's because meditation removes fixed and preconceived impressions and drains away the stresses of day-to-day living and only when that occurs, will a person be in a frame of mind to do compassionate deeds for his fellow being. So, without the beneficial cleansing nature of meditation, he won't be able to carry out kind deeds. And the reason people have such notions is because "many people don't understand meditation. They think it's about concentration and you have to focus your mind. Or it's another ritual or it's so difficult. So, these kind of wrong ideas have come up about meditation."

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar equates meditation with sleep because they are both rejuvenating. In fact he says, it's a 100 times more refreshing because it helps you live in the present moment and and also frees you from anger and past hangups. The biggest bonus is ofcourse, is the extra zing - the energy - it brings.

There is also the heightening of intuition, which comes about because of meditation and this especially helps when you are confused and need to make some decisions. So, when one surrenders with confidence and leaves things to God, that's when your intuition will usually be right about any situation. And has it been a correct decision or not, only time will tell.

He adds, "Confusion happens when there are choices to be made. And the choice is usually between good and better or between bad and worse. It's never between good and bad. You have to see what gives you long term betterment. So, if for a short-term loss, you can get a long-term gain - this kind of clarity is essential and is the only criteria to be kept in mind. And to get this clarity, having only intuition is most essential."

So, in the end, he suggests that if you've chosen a path, then stick to it. Over-analysing past mistakes will lead to people regretting their decisions, and he would rather they relax, take some time out and continue on their journey through life. He also encourages people to dream the impossible and work their way towards it.

Written for moneycontrol.com