There is one thing that everybody is seeking for, and that is happiness. People find happiness but it doesn’t last long. The spirit is to find everlasting happiness; that won’t turn bitter.

I would like to tell you a small story. There was a gentleman who was looking for his keys which he had lost. He was looking for it under the street lights. A bunch of people came around to help him find the keys and they all started looking. Then one asked this guy, 'But tell me, where you lost these keys?' He said, 'I lost them inside the house'. 'But then why are you looking for it here?' He replied, there is no light there’.

It is very similar to what is happening in this world with everyone. Each one of us has abundant joy deep within us, yet we are looking for it somewhere outside. Each one of us when we were a small child, we were a bundle of joy but as we grew up, somewhere, we lost that joy. A child smiles 400 times a day. An adolescent only 17 times a day, and when he becomes an adult, he smiles occasionally and that too when someone smiles.

If you analyze there are three things that stops us from being joyful like a child.

1. Prejudice, 2. Insecurity, 3. Stress

We need to get rid of all these three. Stress we can get rid of by making using of the breath. A number of breathing techniques help us relax and get back a lot of energy. Breathing exercises, pranayama, meditation, yoga, all these increase the energy level in a short time of 15 to 20 minutes. If we relax consciously through meditation, it raises our energy levels equivalent to 6 to 8 hours of sleep. 

Relaxation that you get from sleep is dull relaxation. Another kind of relaxation is conscious relaxation. That relaxation brings your energy levels higher. That is called meditation. It is going to the source of thought & eliminating it.

Second is to get rid of prejudice. There are many types of prejudices. There is prejudice between generations. There is generation gap. There is prejudice about class, gender, religion, culture, language, and so on. So many types of prejudices. Wisdom is to rise above prejudice and see the whole world as one family. Then there will be no crime and none of the problems that we are facing in the world today..

Third is insecurity. Insecurity of what? 'Oh, there is nobody for me. Who will take care of me?' I tell you, there is so much love and compassion on this planet, and there is a higher power which is all love and it will give us what we need when we need.

If you look at your own life, in the past, how many times have you felt insecure? See how that time has passed and how complete you are today. Know there is a power which is going to guide you and help you out. So with this wisdom and understanding, get over insecurity.

Now, once you have gotten over stress, insecurity and prejudices, then you are like a child, full of joy and happiness. It was already there, but was covered by these three things and once these three things are removed, it becomes obvious. So with meditation get over stress; with wisdom, get over prejudice; and have faith and get over insecurity.