Jai Gurudev

 

Question - Gurudev, why do we say "Jai Guru Dev"? Is there any reason behind why we greet each other like that in Art of Living?

Gurudev - The fight is always between the small little mind and the big universal mind. That’s why we say, ‘Jai Gurū Dev’ ie., victory to the big mind. It happens so many times that the small mind wins. Whenever the small mind wins, the result is misery. Inside you have both the big and small mind. It is like a mother going with a child to a store. The child goes on wanting this and that. Sometimes the mother agrees and allows the child to have one or two more chocolates. After eating more chocolates, the child gets toothache, a cough or a cold. Why did the mother allow the child to eat more in the first place and get sick? But a child was so adamant sometimes that the mother had to agree. And when the child is sick the mother also cares for it. It is part of the game. In the same way, the big mind allows the small mind to play for a little while, and win for a change. But when it wins, it is miserable and comes back to the big mind. That is why we say, ‘Jai Gurū Dev ’. It means victory to the Gurū, to the big mind; victory to the infinity. This is because when the big mind wins over the small mind, even the failure of the smaller mind is a joy. It has always happened that way. Turn back and see – some of your failures have been very good. They made you progress somewhere and made you stronger.