Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for ‘samvaad’ (Dialogue) in place of ‘vaad’ (Argument) and ‘vivaad’ (Controversy) to promote unity and make the world a better place to live. In his opening remarks at ‘Samvaad with Sadguru’, Naidu referred to the need for inner peace and tranquil minds to face various challenges that flow from mechanical lifestyle and work pressures that are making lives stressful.

“Societal interactions marked by anger and hatred do not bode well for progress. We need to liberate our minds from such feelings so as to overcome irritation and intolerance. Spiritual leaders from all religions shall reach out to the people helping them in such liberation of minds,” Naidu said.

Renowned Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev also addressed the eminent gathering which saw presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Supreme Court Judges, Ministers, Members of Parliament, top officials of the Government of India and the Parliament and other invitees at Vice-President House.

On the occasion, Sadguru elaborated on the causes and consequences of individual stress and the ways to manage it. “Stress and tension are self inflicted as people fail to be at peace with themselves by effectively managing their time and energy. A person is a manifestation of his experiences. Even 90 per cent of successful people are tension ridden. To claim to be stressed out has become a fashion.”

Sadguru urged the people to promote ‘Inner Wellbeing’ and to live in harmony with the society and the nature. He expressed concern over depleting water levels in the rivers and his campaigns ‘Rally for Rivers’ and ‘Cauvery Calling’ for water conservation. Vasudev stressed the need for agro-forestry to meet the growing demand for timber and avoiding felling of trees.