Be it anxiety, heartbreak or addiction to online games, Sadhguru’s motivational session, Youth and Truth, at Bennett University on Thursday evening, spanned many topics that are not often discussed in classrooms. Sadhguru’s visit to the University in Greater Noida saw an engaging conversation in which he shared many important life lessons with the students and faculty, who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Before Sadhguru began his talk, Mohit Chauhan gave a brief performance and sang his hits like Dooba Dooba and Na Ja Bewafa. The singer, who has been attending Sadhguru’s sessions at different locations since September, said, “I’m very happy to be at Bennett University. This is the first time that I am visiting, and it’s a great campus and a lovely venue. It’s just so beautiful. To perform here was special.”

Bennet

Sadhguru’s advice on tattoos

Most questions from the students were related to everyday problems. From parental disapproval of tattoos to heartbreak and PUBG, the questions got witty replies from Sadhguru. When a student asked him his views on tattoos, Sadhguru said, “Today in the US, tattoo removal is a bigger business than tattoo-making because people get the name of their beloved tattooed, and then when it’s over, they try to erase it. If you write something on your forehead, it should be something that matters to you for the rest of your life. Because if the relationship fails, you’ll have to peel off your skin. Also, everything that you are need not be written on your face. You’re already telling us your beliefs through your tattoos – someone has a Shiva tattoo, someone has Jesus. If you want to live a simplistic life, it’s okay. If you are looking for more complex involvement in life, it is better that people are not able to mark you in any particular way.”

‘It’s time, you took responsibility for yourself’

When a student asked Sadhguru how one should deal with anxiety – a common problem for youngsters – he replied that one should take responsibility for one’s mental health. He said, “What is coming from within you, is it not your responsibility to fix it? Like your body, what happens to your mental health is also your responsibility. Like physical illness, mental illness can be caused by many factors, but you can’t fix sadness by just visiting a doctor. Your mind is the most sophisticated chemical factory. The question is, are you a great manager of this factory or a lousy manager?”

Bennet

Sadhguru on PUBG: I don’t think it is heroic to shoot down some animated pictures

A point of discussion which had everyone’s attention was PUBG. “I haven’t watched or played the game, but I’ve heard about it through Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I don’t know about the statistics in India, but in the United States, they are saying that between 18 and 26 years of age, people are spending four to six hours on an average on these games. I think this will produce a dumb generation. If you feel heroic by shooting down some animated pictures, it’s just stupid. Playing a game for some time is fine, but if you are playing only a game all through your life, I think you are trying to find some substance that you don’t have. You want to be a warrior without having to shed your own blood,” he said.

Sadhguru on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul: We don’t need to hang them

Much has happened since Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were suspended and then reinstated by the BCCI for their misogynistic comments on Koffee With Karan. When a student asked if parenting was responsible for such behavior, he replied, “I don’t know the details of what they said, but they showed me one part of the conversation. Definitely, there is a problem with parenting, a bit. Apart from that, it is also a certain segment of society, where on one level, they talk about gender equality, and on another level, they constantly demean women in many ways. So probably, these young boys got carried away. I think they must be penalized to some extent, but you should not destroy their careers. Shaming has happened, there is no need to hang them.”

Sadhguru’s take on heartbreak

Another student asked Sadhguru that everybody teaches us to love, but nobody teaches us how to undo love. Sadhguru said, “I don’t know about a broken heart, because I gave away my heart very early in life so nobody could break it. What is a love affair? I’m not trying to de-romanticize the idea of love for you. Let’s say when you were 10, the world around you was normal. But as you turned 13, the neighborhood girl who didn’t mean a thing to you, suddenly became a goddess. This is because your intelligence is hijacked by your hormones. It makes you believe all kinds of things and when you look back, you think of it as stupid. There is nothing wrong with that, but we must understand what’s happening to us, otherwise, we might do idiotic things. It is not a question of morality, it is a question of handling our life sensibly.”

A motivational day for Bennett students

The seminar hall of the college was packed, and many students who could not be accommodated inside were watching the session being streamed live on several screens around the campus. Many told us that the conversation taught them a lot. Mehak Kapoor, a first-year BTech student, said, “It was insightful. I liked how he encouraged us to make peace with ourselves before worrying about our surroundings.” Varnika Sharma, a second-year Mass Communication student, added, “He talked about inner beauty, which made all of us feel really good about ourselves.”

Bennett University has been established to provide students with an Ivy League-quality education in India. The University’s strength lies in the programs it offers in partnership with Georgia Tech (USA), Johnson Cornell (USA), Cornell Law School (USA), Babson Global (USA), edX. The courses offered include B.Tech, MBA, BBA, Law and BA Mass Comm. For more information, log on to https://www.bennett.edu.in.