Looking within

Bhanu Narasimhan, Director of the Art of Living
Foundation, sister of Sri Sri Ravishankar, and Chairperson of the India-based International Women's Conference.

When you want to shoot an arrow, you first have to pull the bow back. Similarly, you need to step back and look within, before stepping out.

The world is one family.
In the last 25 years I have travelled to over 140 countries and have reached out to countless people from a wide spectrum of nationalities, races and cultures.

I have tried to teach meditation, and revive ancient cultures and traditions and serve humanity as a whole. It has brought immense satisfaction and I think it is in harmony with the values I grew up with.

I grew up in Bangalore [in southern India] and credit my parents for giving my brother, Sri Sri Ravishankar and me an excellent set of values and upbringing. It was my mother Vishalakshi who taught me to be independent. My father enjoyed narrating to us events from India's freedom struggle, telling us how systematically history has been influenced by various events.

I had the most wonderful childhood.
My brother was a born leader and I completely accept his world-view and teachings. He is my philosopher and guide. He was always very protective and caring and has enriched my life and that of many others.

I decided to concentrate on improving the welfare of women and children as they are important pillars of society. The world will be a better place if they enjoy peace and prosperity.

I think the role of a woman in society is extremely important. A woman should possess a pleasant and relaxed state of mind and have a positive attitude to life.

Women like to be appreciated. I tell women that to appreciate themselves they first have to respect themselves. Once you respect yourself, people will appreciate you for who you are.

The International Women's Conference that a group of friends and I set up has received immense response from women from almost all parts of the world. We also created a forum called Strength of a Woman. More than 700 delegates from around the world and India participated in a conference that we organised recently.

In 2005, the theme of the conference was 'celebrating success'. Women from 41 countries participated.

The one held in 2007 was to celebrate a woman's strength, will, knowledge and action. We had delegates from 51 countries. The theme of this year's conference which was held in February, was 'Light of leadership, integrating the global perspective.' Representatives from 71 countries including a few former heads of state and diplomats participated. We intend to continue holding such conferences as we feel they are striking the right chord in the hearts of women.

I go by a multi-pronged approach.
We adopt a multi-level approach to welfare and one of our most important goals is to empower both rural and urban women. We have 'earn while you learn' schemes for village women where we teach them to revive their traditional skills such as embroidery, pickle-making, arts and craftsmanship. Our courses for women are designed to help them economically. The courses have modules where women are taught meditation and relaxation courses as well as computer skills.

Women in urban areas are usually economically empowered, so in our courses the focus is on total empowerment.

We have also opened schools for children. The first school was started 28 years ago with 30 children. Now we have 96 schools where more than 3,000 children in rural areas of India are provided education free of cost.

I strongly believe in meditation.
I feel that when you focus on your inner self, you can deal with any situation.

Earlier, I used to feel drained by the stresses and strains of coordinating all the social activities I was involved with. I was also getting deeply affected by the plight of people that I got to see up close. I used to feel guilty that I had so much in my life when many others had little. But my brother's explanation put my mind at ease: he told me 'only when your cup is full would you be able to share with others happily'. His words calmed my mind and now I undertake the same tasks with a smile.

My advice to anyone intending to do social work is to give space to oneself first before helping others. It's quite like attempting to shoot an arrow – you first have to pull the bow back to give the arrow momentum. In the same way, you need to step back, look within, before stepping out.

A positive attitude helps you manifest your dreams.

I recommend that you set aside 20 minutes every morning for yourself. Spend the first 5-10 minutes observing your breathing pattern, take deep breaths. It will help calm your mind. During the remaining 10 minutes, practise some kind of meditation.

I feel [the best results come] not [only] by working hard, but working smart... that is what will make you successful in life. Every night when you retire to bed, spend a few minutes reflecting on what you have done during the day that you can be proud of. One small good deed can uplift your spirit.
Have positive thoughts: what we think is what we attract. So it is important that we focus on the positive aspects of life. A positive attitude to life helps you manifest your dreams and achieve success in life. If you follow your passion and want to make a difference in the lives of people, Nature will come to your help. Nature has its own ways of helping you. Don't ever think you are alone. I have experienced this with my family and the larger world family.

My biggest lesson in benevolence.
In the course of my work, I have had some of the most humbling experiences and have gained deep insights into human behaviour. At the first conference, one of our themes was 'shelter for the homeless'. I remember meeting a family – an elderly couple who had five daughters. Three of the daughters who were married were forced to return to their parents' house as their marriages had failed. The man kept grumbling about his plight, wondering how he could make ends meet because they barely had a roof over their heads. His wife, on the other hand, glowed with a benevolent smile and said, 'God will take care of us, you needn't worry.'

On the day we met her, we found she had swept her little hut clean and had in her hand a little earthen pot containing yoghurt. She could barely afford food, yet she did not want to break the rule of traditional hospitality. She welcomed us the traditional way – with coconut and flowers from her garden – and offered us a glass of yoghurt! I was touched by her hospitality and her faith in God. I think women like her need to be emulated. They are so simple in their thoughts, do not complain or grumble, are mature and optimistic and have a positive attitude to life. There is a lot that we city-bred women can learn from them.

- As told to Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary, Senior Feature Writer, Friday