Why Enlightenment Seems Far Away

“You keep yourself busy, not because the world needs your work. The world can do without you, whatever you may be. You are doing it not because the world needs it, you are doing it because your activity is compulsive.”

—Sadhguru

Sadhguru: No one is incapable of knowing it. If you were incapable of knowing it, I would not waste my time on you – believe me, I am very ruthless about those things. If you are incapable completely, you are not a possibility, then I will not waste a moment with you. Have you ever seen me trying to teach meditation to the frogs? I have never wasted a moment with him except in the biology class because I do not see the possibility in him.

It is not a question of capability, it is a question of willingness. Someone else cannot give willingness – that is your end of the deal. They may serve you dinner, but unless you are willing to eat, they can only serve, they can say, “Please,” but beyond that it does not work.

This is also the same thing, but much subtler. We can only offer it to you. It is you who has to become willing. There is no other way. Now the question naturally becomes, “What should I do to become willing?” Instead of that, it is best to see what you are doing to make yourself unwilling.

The nature of life is willingness. Right now, you may not like the person who is sitting next to you, but you are still willing to inhale what they exhale. Even what your mother-in-law exhales, you inhale! Usually when somebody is around that you do not like, you breathe hard. So, especially if your mother-in-law is around, you are inhaling much more than usual!

One Little Thing

The very process of life is willingness, not just on the level of breath. If you go down to the atomic level, there is a constant transaction with the rest of the existence. Everything that you call as life is a process of willingness. The only place where you have a choice about whether to be willing or not is your mind – and you are screwing that up.

If you made your body, your breath, your heart, your liver or kidneys unwilling, you would be dead. Nature kept everything that is vital to your life in its own hands. It gave you only one little thing, but even that, you want to mess it up. The only thing that you have is your mind. You can make it either willing or unwilling for the process of life. With everything else, you have no choice – anyway it is willing.

I will handle the whole existence for you, but this one thing – your mind – you must handle. Your mind should not get into positions of unwillingness. “No, no, I want to do it, but…” That “but” is the unwillingness. You have to handle this “but”. To remove that “but”, you must clearly look at your life – why is it that you are here?

Monkey Business

This is a question a lot of people do not give themselves two moments to ask. If you give yourself a little time – if you just sit for 24 hours without indulging with your family, entertaining yourself with television or a book, or looking out of the window – if you simply sit for 24 hours, this question will confront you in such a big way. “What the hell am I about?” You cannot avoid it.

But you do not give those few moments to yourself. You keep yourself busy, not because the world needs your work. The world can do without you, whatever you may be. The world can do both without you and me. You are doing it not because the world needs it, you are doing it because your activity is compulsive. You cannot stop it. Just try and see if you can stop everything that you are doing in your body and your mind.

Compulsively doing something is primate nature – it is monkey’s business. Human nature is to be active in a conscious way, doing action as it is needed. There are a lot of things that need to be done, but nobody is interested in doing that. They are all interested in doing something for the sake of doing. In no way is it enhancing people’s lives.

True Wellbeing

Look at your life and see whether you are more happy or less happy since you started working. Getting that job was your dream. But in ten years of working, are you a much more joyful person than before you joined up? Most people would say no. Just look carefully at, “What is the nature of my life? What is it that I am aspiring for?” If you see this, you will get connected; there is no other way. You will have to get connected.

Anyone who is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of who he or she really is, if such a longing comes within you, wherever you are, I will be there with you. You have to focus on your ultimate wellbeing. What is it that this piece of life is longing for? If you look at it, you will be connected.

Editor’s Note: Offering the rare possibility to go beyond all limitations, Sadhguru takes the seeker on a mystical journey towards ultimate liberation. In the ebook “A Guru Always Takes You For a Ride”, Sadhguru delivers rare insights into the Guru-shishya relationship. Name your price and download.