Transcript:

Hi! So, every time someone gets an offer to meditate or to learn how to de-stress the mind, etc., the first excuse that I hear is, "Oh, I don't have time; I'm very busy." So, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has a very nice thing to say. He says, "Only those people who want to do a lot in life, who are extremely busy achieving higher standards of living—only those people need to meditate." Because what's the point of having money if you're not going to the market to buy anything? Only people who want to be creative and be successful—those people need to meditate. And those are the same people who give an excuse that, "Oh, I'm so busy, I can't meditate." According to me, it boils down to priorities. I'll explain what I mean.

Let's say you have a mayonnaise jar, a big jar of mayonnaise, empty. And in that, you fill some billiard balls. And then you look at the jar, and you say, "Okay, the jar looks full." Then someone gives you a jar of small ball bearings, the metal spheres, the small ones. And you pour the ball bearings into that same jar of mayonnaise, which already has the billiard balls. And the ball bearings go and sit in between the billiard balls. And now the jar is even more full. And you say, "Wait a minute, what's happening?" Then someone gives you some finely ground sand, and you do the same thing. You pour the sand into the jar, and the sand goes and sits even in the middle of all the billiard balls and the ball bearings. And now the jar is really full.

This is how priorities work. What you put in the jar first determines what else you can put. If I had filled the jar with sand, there is no way for me to put the ball bearings or the billiard balls in it. The sand is the mundane things in your life. Your job, your other chores, even attending birthday parties—they are mundane stuff. If you fill your life with mundane stuff, then you don't have time for the important things. You don't have time for self-care techniques. You don't have time to reflect and to grow your mind and all this stuff. It's never taught in school. You never have time to do that unless you change the priorities.

Fill the jar with billiard balls first, then there will be space for ball bearings, and there will be space for sand. And on top of that, when the jar is totally full, there is always space for two cups of coffee. You can pour two cups of coffee in that jar. However busy you are, you can always find time to sit and have coffee with a friend. But you have to prioritize it.

Learn to meditate. Take some time out. Meditation and self-care are the billiard balls in your life. They are the important things. If you don't do it now, when will you do it? Eventually, it will be too late. Life will catch up. Do it while you can.