2008 is gone. And here comes one more year. New year wishes everywhere, messages for the new year, resolutions, celebrations everywhere. 2008 was as good as any other year, but it also had its woes. Terrorism rising its head, natural calamities, conflicts,… and it doesn’t feel good to see so much of hatred and hopelessness in the minds of people. When you look at so much of suffering, and the truth that all joys (and miseries too) are evanescent staring at our face, shouldn’t we be feeling guilty? How can we celebrate the new year? Shouldn’t we be mourning instead? Does celebration have any meaning?
Well… Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says we should celebrate. He says,
Yes, you will feel guilty when your celebration is aimed at gratifying yourself. But if the intention is to uplift everyone in your area, just do it. Don’t delay it. We will never feel guilty if we our celebration takes people out of their gloomy moods. This celebration becomes service and there is no guilt. And when your service becomes celebration, there is no ego and pride in it.
Get this. When celebration becomes service, there is not guilt. And when service becomes celebration, there is no pride.
Let us celebrate with this one intention that let’s bring home the (Spiritual) Knowledge to everyone — that life, events are impermanent. What is permanent is our spirit, our consciousness. It has no birth and death. Life at a higher plane is eternal and so celebrate every moment knowing that every moment is a gift to us.
And today’s The Hindu comes with a beautiful cartoon from Surendra…
What an apt way to send off 2008 and welcome 2009!!!
I wish everyone a very happy new year! Let’s serve and celebrate!!! 
