It’s been three years since the Rishikesh-based yoga and motivational guru, Yogi Amrit Raj has been grooming beauty pageant contestants who go on to participate in international contests such as Miss World and Miss Universe by teaching them a mix of spirituality, yoga, and meditation, tempered with some beautiful self-affirmations, so that they imbibe a spirit of healthy competition and connectedness with each other and their environment. “These days, youngsters are so focused on brands and on external accessories such as shoes, clothes and accessories, that in this obsession, they forget important aspects of their inner Self,” says the dapper young yogi, who hails from a family of ayurvedacharyas who run treatment centres both in Rishikesh and in Muzaffarnagar. “As mentor for the finalists, my advice was simple: ‘Surround yourself with good habits and positive people and watch the world change for the better’.”
What he stresses on is the key virtue of gratitude. “Inculcate that in your life and see the changes it brings,” he says. He outlines how you must run through your day. “Begin and end your day with large doses of gratitude. As you hop out of bed, thank God for your good health and wisdom, then look out of the window and think with gratitude towards the sun, grass, trees and flowers and simply thank them for being there. You can say a silent and heartfelt thank you to your body and all its various body parts for the efficiency with which they operate, doing jobs for you. Remember to also thank your parents and elders for being around to guide and bless you.”
“Whenever one is in gratitude for one’s own healthy body and mind, a surge in the production of our positive hormones takes place and our serotonin and dopamine levels rise, establishing the perfect start to our day,” he emphasises. He has more valuable advice for the beauty contest participants that we can also imbibe: “Don’t focus on rejection and jealousy, all natural emotions in a beauty pageant”—where there can only be one winner besides a first and second runners up. “Be in gratitude instead for the great things going for you—and what enabled you to get to this point.”
“When you think this way, you begin to live in harmony with yourself, and this can change your entire outlook towards life,” he reiterates. Likewise, he also tells the girls and whomever he meets to think of positive thoughts and to seek out the company of good, positive people. He suggests speaking out affirmations, something he also recently spoke out passionately to a group from BBC who recently visited his ashram in Rishikesh.
He had them all saying: ‘I am a divine soul; I am a peaceful soul; I am a rock star and superstar; I am a millionaire…..” Such affirmations spoken joyfully can change the energies that flow around you. When one repeatedly speaks such positive statements, it soon leads you to become less critical about yourself. “Your attitude should be to give everything your best, then leave the rest to God. That attitude brings with it a sense of surrender to God.” He recalled how all the finalists at the pageants took to that advice and stepped out giving their best.
We can apply these very same affirmations to ourselves. We can strive to speak, think and act positively, and make positive changes in our food, thoughts, and choice of drinks. If all of us begin to do that, won’t the world be a better place? It most certainly will.
Reena Singh has more than 37 years’ experience in senior editorial positions in The Times of India (TOI) and Genpact. She was Deputy Editor with TOI’s spiritual newspaper, The Speaking Tree, where she spent nine years.
Very good advice. Gratitude helps us to enjoy what we have and received in life rather than crib for what we don’t have. This keeps negative emotions at bay.
Absolutely true….
Very interesting article! Very well written and practical steps to implement 🙂