November 8

Smile at Him

Question: In order to overcome my fear of being beaten up, I am learning how to fight. Is this the proper course?

Sri Gurudev: First of all, let me remind you that however well you might learn to fight, there will always be a better fighter than you. You may not be beaten up by a classmate, but there will be a stronger man outside of the school. And when you learn to fight, you first think of defending yourself. But later on when you really learn well, and there is nobody to defend yourself from, then you will want to exhibit your capacity. Isn’t it so? Otherwise why should you learn? When you have something, you want to show it off. Learning to fight isn’t going to help you in defending yourself or in any other way.

The best way to defend yourself is with your mental poise and courage. Why is somebody going to beat you up? Think about it. Why should he beat you? Maybe he had some grudge against you. He thinks of you as an enemy. Find out the cause. If there is some fault on your side, go, apologize, make him your friend. You might say, “No, no, no, it’s just a man on the road, some crazy fellow.” If you are really innocent, you will send out a beautiful, innocent vibration. He may come near you, but he will forget to attack you.

So the best defense is to keep a clean and serene mind; smile at him. If he still wants to come and hit you, you should have the courage to say, “Yes, if you like to do it and if you think that you are going to enjoy it, do it. I am ready to make you happy. Is that what you want? Do it.” He will never touch you then.

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