Wherever I go for our events and programs, it is such a joy for me to see people crossing their limitations to make things happen. Human beings who do not break their self-created boundaries will remain trapped in them. Breaking your limitations is an essential part of your spiritual growth. This spiritual process is not based on a scripture, philosophy, or dead tradition – it is a living thing. You have to live it every day. I do not want you to miss this possibility because you are getting caught up in day-to-day situations or issues with other people. If you want to move forward in life, it is important to constantly keep account of your growth – ideally every day, but at least weekly once or monthly once. Ask yourself, “Am I getting better? Am I a little more joyful? Have I grown a little more compared to the way I was yesterday?”
People keep close account of their money. It is only a
transactional tool – you cannot take it with you when you die. The most
precious thing you have is that you are alive right now. If that is the case,
is it not worthwhile to keep account of where you are going in life, if you are
improving yourself or you are regressing? You do not regress because of what
someone else does to you. No one can do anything to you within you. Your boss
or your family can make your life a little difficult on the outside. That means
they give you more exercise – that’s all. This should only make you stronger.
You should at least be as smart as this smart ass – let me tell you the story.
One day, an ass or a donkey past his prime slipped and fell into a
well. The well had gone dry and was not too deep, but the donkey could not get
out. It started braying from down there piteously. A few villagers and the
owner came and saw what happened. The donkey kept screaming, wanting to get
out, fearing for its life. People said, “This stupid donkey will go on
screaming. It is already old and of no use – we can neither put it to work nor
sell it. Anyway we wanted to close the well. Let’s do it now.” So they decided
to close the well and bury the donkey alive. They started throwing earth dirt into
the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. Every time a basketful of earth
dirt fell on its back, the donkey shook it off and stepped on top of the pile.
As the earth gathered, it kept coming higher up. The moment they filled up one side of the well, the donkey
walked out. The villagers thought, “Wow, this is a real smart ass.” In
appreciation, the owner went and tried to hug the donkey. It kicked him
straight in the face and ran away to freedom.
No matter what someone throws at you, you must make the best out
of it – this is spiritual process. A mango tree, which does not even have a
brain like you, can make mud into mangoes and sweetness. Plants can make filth
into flowers and fragrance. You should be able to make something beautiful out
of whatever comes your way. If you are able to do that, that shows who you are.
The biggest problem on the planet has been that if small things go wrong,
people blame it on “the small guy” (someone else). If big things go wrong in
their lives, they blame it on “the big guy” (God). They themselves do not seem
to be responsible for anything. It is time to stop blaming or trying to fix
others. Instead, you should
grow to your full potential.
Seeking something that can only happen within you outside in the
world is the most foolish thing to do. To find peace and joy, people are
looking up. To find wellbeing, they are looking all over the world. Only when
you turn inward, will it happen. Your sadhana is a scientific approach to both
your immediate inner wellbeing and your ultimate wellbeing. If you want your
sadhana to be successful, you need to free your mind from unnecessary junk. With
the initiation into meditative shadhana, you got the right seed. It is up to
you to cultivate the soil. Even the most fantastic seed will not sprout if you
put it on a rock. If you keep collecting other people’s garbage, it will not
allow anything to sprout. Modern times are such that most people have too much
trash in their heads to realize the immense possibility of what is being
offered to them. I do not want you to waste your life, not realizing this
possibility.
One way to reduce mental distractions is to drop the gossip. In
Kannada, there is a saying that if someone creates some nasty karma, people who
keep talking about it will get it. The person who did it may have forgotten
about it. But people who keep talking about it will get it because it occupies
their minds. These are simple things to remember when living and working with
other people. You may have heard this story about Socrates, who was considered
to be phenomenally wise, even in his lifetime.
One day, someone came up to him
and said, “I want to tell you something about Diogenes.” Socrates said, “I have
a simple principle. Whatever you want to say, you must put it through the
triple filter.” The man asked, “What is this triple filter?” Socrates said,
“First thing – whatever you’re going to tell me now, have you ascertained the
truth?” The man said, “No. Someone just told me this.” Socrates said, “So it
doesn’t pass the first filter. The second filter is, is it something nice?”
“No, quite the contrary – that’s why I want to tell you this.” Socrates said,
“Then it doesn’t pass the second filter either. Is it something useful?” The
man said, “No, I don’t think it’s useful. I just want to tell you this.”
Socrates said, “That means it doesn’t pass any of the filters.”
Put these three filters on your mind: If someone wants to tell you
something, have they made sure that it is the absolute truth? Is it something
good about someone? Is it useful? If, from whatever others want to tell you or
what you want to tell someone else, you filter out everything that does not
meet these three criteria, you will have a lot of space in your mind to do
useful, wonderful, and spiritual things. If you fill yourself with unfiltered
information, you will always be busy with junk, whether it is someone else’s or
your own. You should never take pleasure in someone else’s problems by
gossiping about them. You could make it a rule for yourself to not speak about
anyone when that person is not face-to-face with you.
Do not waste your energy mulling over things that someone said or
did. Most of you are not in a state of mind where, if you close your eyes, the
world is gone in your experience. If that is the situation, the best thing is
to expend yourself in such a way that there is simply no energy left for
anything that is not necessary for your wellbeing. It is better to die of
exhaustion than of boredom, laziness, resentment, or misery. The fact that you
are aging does not mean you have to reduce your activity. If you keep doing
something with tremendous intensity and involvement, your capacity will only
increase.
One day, a young cowherd went into the forest to graze his cows.
While there, a cow delivered a calf. For the first time, he witnessed a birth.
Suddenly, there was this little piece of life – it was a miracle to him. He
felt such a deep sense of love and compassion for the calf that he picked it up
and hugged it. And since it could not walk, he carried it on his shoulders back
home. The next day, when he went to the forest with his cows, again he carried
the calf on his shoulders, and he continued to do so every day. Over time, the
little calf grew into a big bull. As its weight increased, the man’s strength
also increased. By the time he walked around carrying a full-grown bull on his
shoulders, everyone in town thought he was a superman. You could
lift it until it grew so large that you are no longer strong enough to lift it.
That will make superman-woman.
I want to see supermen and -women like that
everywhere. You should not put a limit on what you can do. Let us see where
life puts a limit. Human beings who put limits upon themselves cannot create
anything big.
What this
story tells us is-
1. First you should start light and
focus on the form
2. Progressive overload is the key
3. Be consistent and don't miss your
workouts
4. Make gains over a course of time
It is important that you use your life to the fullest, in every
possible way. This is such a brief life – why waste your time on things that
are not worthwhile? Either you must do something for your inner wellbeing, or
you must be doing something that is useful for people around you. If the moment
you hit the pillow, you fall asleep instantly because you have spent all your
energy for the day, whatever sadhana you do will become many times more
effective. Do not sit around thinking about what to do and what to avoid. If
you shift from unwillingness to willingness, from inertia to effervescence,
your life will become joyful; your journey will become effortless. And when it
is time to die and you look back, you will see you have lived a spectacular
life. It is very important to me that this happens for you. Become spectacular
and light up the world. I shall burn with you.
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