True laughter in life

If you ever happen to meet God, do you know what you would tell him? “Oh, I have met you inside.” God will dance with you when the day dawns in laughter and love. True prayer is laughing in the morning. Don’t just be laughing outside but from deep inside. Laughter comes from the centre of our being, from the core of our heart. True laughter is true prayer.

When you laugh, the whole world laughs with you. It echoes and resounds and that is really the worth of life. When things go all right, everybody can laugh; but when everything falls apart, and then if you can laugh, that is evolution and growth. So, there is nothing in life that is more worthy than your laughter. Never lose it for anything, whatsoever. Events come and go. Some are a little pleasant, some are unpleasant; but there is some area deep in you that is left untouched. Hold on to that.

And anytime we don’t feel up to that untouched innocence, what do we do? You can attend to several layers of your own existence. First, the body – see if you have had good rest, proper food and some exercise. Then attend to the breath. Every mood of the mind has a definite rhythm in the breath. By attending to the rhythm in the breath, the mind and body can be elevated.

Observe the sensation and feeling in the body. Observing thoughts as thoughts, emotions as emotions, opens us to our true self, the godliness within us.The very observation changes it. When you do this, all that is negative falls away. 

The nature of positive emotions is to grow.If you observe your emotions (anger) when you are angry, anger will fall away. And if you observe if there is love, love grows.

That is the best and only way. Observe that thoughts come, and they pass. We need to be able to see things as they are, objectively or totally subjectively. That essence in life, when it blooms from within, allows true laughter in life.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji,