A summary of activities from Swamiji's lectures and discussion group topics

Below is a summary of the activities Swamiji incorporated into his lectures along with interpretations of some of the many lessons conveyed.

Activity 1: There is a use for everything

Psychiatry often treats people with depression by talking to patients and asking them to explore their problems. But often the best treatment for depression is to take the patient to someone in a worse state and ask him to help them.

When the patient sees others who are less fortunate and are able to help and assist them, he realises that he too has a use, that his existence has purpose. A life of purpose is a life of meaning, dynamism and activity - one where depression is forever banished.

When Swami Swaroopananda was a young Brahmachari (spiritual student), he and the other students were sent out to the forest by their Guru to find something useless and then make some use of it. They went out, looking for items that appeared worthless and returned with rusted metal, twigs and other discarded objects

They all brought their different objects back to the centre and found that somehow, they could make use of each and every item.

Lesson: IF YOU ARE USELESS, YOU WON'T EXIST. Everything exists because there is some use for it in this world.

Activity 2: Confidence, self belief

Swami Swaroopananda asked who in the audience could sing. A few people put up their hands. He picked 10 people who had raised their hands and asked them to come to the front. He asked them to agree on a song and then to sing it.

They sang Baa baa black sheep

He then asked the audience again to raise their hands to see who else could sing. He then picked on 10 people who HADN'T raised their hands to come on stage and sing the same song. The purpose of the exercise was to show that even people who felt they couldn't sing actually had abilities comparable to those who could. On the day, the second group actually sang better than the first group.

Lesson: We don't know our abilities unless we call upon them. The biggest obstacle to success in life is FEAR OF FAILURE. We know our strengths but we're afraid of them, always fearing failure. This leads loss of self-esteem and a lack of confidence.

What is fear? A lack of confidence. Why do we lack confidence? Because we are afraid. It is this vicious circle that must be broken.

How? Raise your hand, stand up and sing your song.

Activity 3: Truth

Swamiji showed us that by being dishonest, we actually weaken ourselves, both mentally and even physically.

A person came to the stage and stood with his arm at a right angle to his side. Swamiji put two fingers on his wrist and applied small but constant downward pressure. Swamiji then asked the person their name:

"Ganesh (the truth)" - his arm remained raised
"Bunty (a lie)" - his arm dropped

Swamiji repeated this exercise 4 or 5 times with different questions, each with the same result

Lesson: Honesty is of paramount importance. Through honesty we integrate our personality, thinking, speaking and acting as one. Such an integrated personality is a channel for efficiency and dynamism. Dishonest disintegrates us - even a simple, harmless lie manifests itself as a weakening of the muscles - think then of the disintegration caused by being dishonest to our own values and principles.

Activity 4: Thinking with the heart, thinking with the intellect:

Employers look at two things when they recruit people: their intelligence (Intelligence Quotient) and how they get along with other peoples (Emotional Quotient). Nowadays, a lot of people who are very intelligent lose their jobs or don't get promoted because they cannot emote or communicate with people.

Swamiji demonstrated this by making everybody do some mental arithmetic to engage the intellect. Swamiji then called two volunteers to the stage. There was a vase with flowers behind him and he asked them to quickly describe what they saw. They described flowers in a vase. Then he asked them to close their eyes, think of someone that they loved and then to describe the vase of flowers. The description became more graphic with vivid descriptions of the colours, and even seeing the faces of loved ones amidst the petals.

Lesson: IQ is important, but let us not neglect our EQ. Let our decisions be made with our intellect; but let our work be carried out with our the hearts. Such work fills us joy and dynamism.

Discussion groups

Topics for discussion, given by Swamiji:

1. A husband is going away on a business trip, and his wife asks him "Will you miss me". If he's honest with himself, he isn't going to miss her for a few days. He has to answer her truthfully. How should he answer?

2. Do we communicate effectively with our parents and close family members? If not, how can we improve it?

Some issues discussed by various groups:

The business trip

· Just lie - its easier.

· Change the subject and run out of the door as fast as you can.

· To lie weakens us (as demonstrated by Swamiji in activity 3). To speak the truth could be hurtful. So instead we must learn to apply the following principle: Only speak when necessary, when you speak, always speak the truth, and when you speak the truth, always speak it sweetly: 'I treasure every moment we spend together".

Communication with parents and those who are close to us

· We often take those we love for granted - with colleagues and friends we often take more effort in order to preserve good relationships but with our family we know their love for us will never stop so we take less effort to be nice to them. Such an attitude divides a family and though there may be love, sometimes family members can still drift apart.

· Trust must be earned - once it is lost, it is difficult to recover.

· Relationships with our parents often change as we get older and begin to see things from their point of view.

· Our parents look after us. They have cared for and provided for us, physically, financially and emotionally. But do we look after them? My mother only does what is best for me - do I do what's best for her? Do I even factor her needs into my decisions? Sometimes yes. But all too often, no. Maybe I should try looking after her the way she looks after me.