Sri Sri's message on World Environment Day

Today is World Environment Day. Environment is not just the plants, trees, and mountains but we also are a part of the environment. How we think and how we feel affect the environment and the people around us. And so, caring for each other and seeing that we are all happy is an integral part of caring for the environment. When we are stressed and unhappy, we pollute our environment. If you just sit with a person who is angry or negative for 10 minutes, when you walk away from them, you also carry a little bit of their negativity with you. When you spend a little time with those who are happy (for example, with little kids), when you move away from there, you carry their joy with you.

We pollute the environment not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Today, pollution in the environment is caused due to negative emotions such as anger, mistrust, greed, jealousy, and so on. If the mind is polluted with negativity, how can the environment be clean? Happiness is intimately related to the environment. We are all born happy – every child is born happy and emits happiness, but in the course of growing up, education, and dealing with people all around, somewhere we lose the purity and serenity that we were all born with. We need to get back to our true nature, which is innocence, simplicity, and honesty. Then we will be truly caring towards the environment.

This World Environment Day, Care for the Environment with these Simple Steps:
1) Tackle Stress, Anger, and Frustration Better – It does not mean that you should not get angry but whenever anger comes, it should not stay for more than a little while in the mind. Then, it’s not pollution. But when anger stays for a long time in your mind, it creates pollution.
2) Get rid of the Emotional Garbage – Deal smartly with mistrust, hatred, complaints, or any other negative feelings that you are harboring. Start a new chapter with enthusiasm and naturalness.
3) Make Meditation a Part of Your Life. The best way to purify vibrations is through meditation. Meditation transforms negative vibes into positive vibes. It transforms hatred to love, frustration to confidence, despair to hope, and ignorance to intuition. Who wouldn’t want this!?
4) Feel more confident and have faith that only the best will happen to you.
5) Take part in some form of artistic or cultural activity. Another way to purify vibrations is by engaging in some form of performing art-singing, dancing, and so on-not just sitting and watching but participating.
6) Serve! Reach out to the people who are in need and serve them. Take a break from thinking “what about me, what about me?” and switch to “what can I do, how can I help? How can I contribute to this world?”.
These intentions can change our vibes and keep us much happier. A happy state of mind free from negativity is crucial towards a pollution-free environment.