Guiding Light: How Can We Have A Violence-Free World?

Mental health is one of the greatest challenges the world is facing today. More than half of the violence in the world arises from mental health challenges. India, with its spirituality, has been helping the world deal with the mental health epidemic in a big way.

The normal nature of every individual is kindness, being loving, compassionate and joyful. No child cries for no reason. They cry when they are hungry, sleepy or scared. Similarly, if someone is violent, there must be a reason behind it; if someone is not compassionate, there is a reason for it, and if you really go into the roots of it, you'll find it is isolation, fear, a sense of rejection and a lack of a sense of belongingness.

When people are sick, we send them to the hospital. When their actions are sick, we send them to jail. But when they go to jail, we don’t give them the tools and techniques to correct their behaviour, to correct the way they feel.

In general, neither at home nor in school are we taught how to handle our emotions. The sense of loneliness, a major mental health challenge today, is because we have not learnt how to be with ourselves. If we can learn this, then we will bring joy to everyone around us.

The breath holds the solution to the global mental health challenges that surround us. Each emotion creates specific sensations in specific parts of the body. This is also linked to our breath. There is a certain way you breathe when you are feeling low or happy.

Millions around the world have learnt simple breathing techniques and meditation, and their lives have changed. Sudarshan Kriya, for example, has helped people overcome hopelessness and anxiety. These techniques help you master your mind rather than be a victim of it. Breathing techniques and meditation help us remember our true nature and live in the present moment joyfully.

To protect our minds, mental hygiene is as important as dental hygiene. A few minutes of breathing and meditation daily can restore our cheerfulness. When we learn to accept ourselves as we are, when we are happy within, then compassion and belonging flow from within.

Published on: Monday, October 13, 2025, 12:59 PM IST