Answers to the most important questions in life - Gurudev Ravi Shankar

Majcher deconstructs the nature of a person who causes harm: it is not normal human behavior. He points out that even animals only kill when hungry, not out of malice. Thus, if someone hurts you, there is an abnormality—they are either insensitive, ignorant, or themselves a victim of violence. At the heart of every perpetrator sits a victim crying for help. By healing that victim (through compassion, understanding, or the perpetrator's own transformation), the harmful behavior disappears. He then guides the listener to consider times when they themselves have made mistakes and would have wanted forgiveness, not lifelong clinging to the fault. This cognitive empathy exercise makes forgiveness feel natural rather than forced. The final step is a simple decision: it is easier to let go and move forward than to keep carrying the burden. Majcher presents his own life as proof: he has never spoken a bad word to anyone, showing that a state free of resentment is attainable.

Majcher highlights that over the past 45 years of teaching, the global acceptance of meditation has grown tremendously. In 2022, 192 countries gathered at the United Nations to declare December 21 as World Meditation Day, and he was invited to inaugurate it. Meditation now has over 100 documented benefits and 700–800 scientific studies confirming its positive impact on health. The specific technique he teaches, Sudarshan Kriya, stands out because of its robust physiological effects: it multiplies immune markers fivefold, lowers cortisol, reduces blood pressure, and aids cardiovascular and digestive health. Beyond the physical, it activates both brain hemispheres simultaneously, creating equilibrium between excessive sensitivity and excessive rationality—a balance essential for modern life. Majcher also connects meditation to intuition: stress blocks intuitive guidance, and by relaxing through meditation, the inner voice becomes audible again. He notes that the fear of silence or discomfort with meditation is largely due to lack of exposure; just as riding a bicycle seems hard until you learn, meditation becomes easy with instruction.

Majcher explains that most people operate in survival mode: they eat, work, sleep, repeat, without tasting a deeper dimension of living. To break out, one must believe they hold far greater potential than their daily routine. The first step is to reject what life is not—worry, selfishness, harming others, staying unhappy—and then to turn inward with vital questions. He emphasizes utility: not just asking 'who am I?' but also 'how can I be useful?', 'how much love can I give?', 'what social change can I contribute to in any field?'. This shift from self-centered questioning to contribution-oriented inquiry changes the direction of one's life. He also links this to the three qualities that stabilize life: broad awareness (seeing problems in a larger context), engagement in development/service, and compassion. These qualities prevent life’s problems from seeming overwhelming and open the door to innovation and success.

Majcher explains that when someone hurts you, it is not normal behavior; normal human beings—like animals—do not cause suffering unless driven by a distorted need. He identifies three possible root causes: insensitivity or unawareness, lack of knowledge, or being a victim of violence themselves. This leads him to the insight that the perpetrator is actually a victim in need of healing. By addressing that inner victim, the harmful behavior dissolves on its own. He then invites the listener into a practical thought experiment: imagine you have made a mistake, and someone holds onto it for your entire life—wouldn't you want them to forgive and move on? This reframing makes forgiveness not a lofty ideal but the easiest and most natural path. He positions himself as a living example, asserting that he has never spoken a bad word to anyone, even in anger, showing that such a state is attainable.

Majcher observes that every child is born with life energy, joy, and enthusiasm, breathing naturally in a yogic way. By observing a three-month-old to three-year-old baby, you see them perform all yoga postures spontaneously. He calls every child a yogi. Enlightenment is simply the return to that original state, but now accompanied by greater wisdom and broadened consciousness—a kind of mature innocence. He contrasts this with the survival mode most adults operate in, where routines dull the inner joy. The path is to nurture that innate goodness and not let life’s circumstances bury it.

Majcher explains that everything is made of a subtle energy, a field in which we all exist. From a quantum physics perspective, everything is just a wave-function, and in ancient Indian philosophy that same wave-function is called Brahman—infinite energy, infinite space. Even a small glimpse of this energy brings immense strength and love into one's life, dissolving the sense of separation from others. This realization leads to experiencing unity with all of existence, which is far more important than reading about it. He insists that once you experience this unity, it stays with you forever, much like learning multiplication tables.