Brief Summary
Sadhguru discusses karma, luck, and the spiritual path, emphasizing the importance of being present and dropping calculations of personal gain. He shares stories illustrating how societal beliefs about luck can lead to injustice and how imitation hinders spiritual growth. He stresses that true being comes from using intelligence without preconceived notions and acting with awareness in the present moment.
- Karma includes the environment around you, not just your actions.
- Imitation and role models can hinder your spiritual growth.
- Drop the calculation of "what can I get" to hasten your spiritual growth.
Stories of Krishnadevaraya & Tenali Ramakrishna
Sadhguru recounts a story from South India about a barber named Redappa, whose face was considered bad luck. The king, upon seeing Redappa's face one morning, sentenced him to death. Tenali Ramakrishna intervened, pointing out that the king's face must be even more unlucky since Redappa received a death sentence for seeing it.
Another story involves the Mughal army camping on the other side of a river, planning to attack Krishnadevaraya's kingdom. Tenali Ramakrishna advised the king to attack immediately, despite the royal astrologer's warning of bad omens. Tenali exposed the astrologer's bribery by threatening him, proving his predictions were false. Krishnadevaraya attacked and won the battle.
Do accidents happen because of one’s bad karma or bad luck?
Sadhguru explains that karma includes not only one's actions but also what is happening around them. He illustrates this with the chaotic traffic in India, where accidents seem miraculous due to the high population density and disregard for rules. He contrasts this with the experiences of people of Indian origin who have lived in Mauritius for generations, who are surprised by the apparent chaos and divine intervention required to prevent more accidents in India.
He criticizes the tendency to attribute tragic events to bad karma, which provides insulation from taking action to improve inhuman situations. He urges the youth to stand up and do something about their lives and the lives around them, rather than passively accepting events as karmic destiny.
How can one truly be with Sadhguru?
Sadhguru clarifies that being with him is not about thinking or emoting about him, but about using him as a tool to simply be. He explains that thoughts and emotions are instruments to pave the way, but they are not the journey itself. He cautions against getting too involved in psychological processes, which are one's own creation, and missing the creator's creation, which is reality.
He notes that confusion arises from attaching too much importance to psychological processes, leading to a dislocation from reality and a move into the hallucinatory. He emphasizes that true being involves seeing, hearing, and being focused, rather than imitating external acts.
When Adi Shankara drank molten iron
Sadhguru shares a story of Adi Shankara drinking locally brewed liquor and molten iron to illustrate the dangers of imitation on the spiritual path. When Adi Shankara drank liquor, his disciples followed suit, but when he drank molten iron, they hesitated. This highlights how blindly imitating actions without understanding the underlying intention is futile.
Dangers of imitation & role models on the spiritual path
Sadhguru discusses the dangers of imitation and role models on the spiritual path, explaining that they lead to a desperate effort to be something other than who you are. This destroys the natural quality of being and involves tremendous calculation. He emphasizes the importance of growing up without role models to avoid the trap of imitation.
He addresses the common question from older individuals who have studied scriptures but feel spiritually stagnant, while younger people seem to progress effortlessly. The problem, he says, is the desperate attempt to be something other than who they are, which destroys their natural way of being.
Drop this calculation to hasten your growth
Sadhguru advises dropping the calculation of "what can I get out of this" to hasten spiritual growth. He suggests wasting time in meditation without expecting any specific outcome, as this allows one to simply be. He criticizes the modern focus on takeaways and benefits, stating that the real thing will never come if one is always seeking something in return.
He explains that the alternative suggestion of being in love is only to remove the expectation of what one should get, but even love affairs often become mutual benefit schemes. He concludes that dropping the calculation of personal gain is the key to unlocking one's mind and mental processes, leading to boundlessness and compassion.
