Sadhguru: How Do We Handle Hard Times in Life (Transcript)

“When will you learn how to handle my thought? How to handle my emotion? We will give you tools, how to figure this machine out… Whatever the issue, we’ll do our best. But this should not be the issue.” – Sadhguru

Question:

In life, there are many phases where we feel that we are depressed, we are lonely. And when everybody is against us, and there is no one to guide us or talk about it. So at that moment, how should we handle it? Or how should we deal with it?

Sadhguru:

See, this is an unfortunate condition that a whole lot of human beings are in. In their experience, in their personal experience, life is like ‘me versus the universe’. Being in competition with the universe is a stupid thing to do. That’s not a competition you must get into. ‘me versus the universe’ is a bad competition to get into. Would you also agree with me? So, this is why yoga…

Yoga does not mean twisting and turning your body. The word ‘Yoga’ means ‘Union’.

Right now it’s me versus the universe. This is just your psychological condition. This is not the reality. Even when you feel utterly lonely, are you still breathing? So you’re transacting with the world, isn’t it? Yes. You only can’t get along with the people around you. But atmosphere is okay with you. Food is okay, if it tastes good. Water is okay. You have transaction with the world, isn’t it?

Your existence is constantly an engagement with the universe, but your mind becomes against the universe. If you create a psychological condition that you are against, or you’re in competition with the universe or the cosmos, obviously you will feel crushed for small things. Little things will crush you.

When I say little things, maybe you failed your examination. Maybe you got thrown out of this university. Maybe you got fired from a job. Maybe somebody ditched you. Maybe something else like this happened. These are all small things between life and death, because you came here with nothing, isn’t it?

When you die, there is no container service for you. You die with nothing. In spite of that, most people have turned their homes into warehouses. Most people are carrying such a huge baggage on their head, as if they’re carrying the whole universe on their head. This is their own psychological condition.

Your thought and emotion is what you’re talking about, right?

When are you going to figure out how to handle your thought and emotion? Not hers, not hers, not his – yours. When are you going to learn how to handle my thought and my emotion? At the end of your life?

The only problem really with life is just this. Most human beings have taken themselves too seriously. They don’t understand. You’ve seen on the computer screen these pop ups. You are a pop-up on this planet. You pop up for two seconds and pop out!

Now you must see countless number of people like you and me have walked this planet. They were also big people. Where are they? All topsoil. Topsoil or no? Unless they, somebody, your friends, decided to bury you real deep, fearing that you may rise from the dead – you know, there have been such instances.

Or maybe you’re planning to go to heaven. Anybody who talks about a place other than this place as a better place than this — this is a crime against humanity.

My fundamental work is to destroy all heavens, so that people will learn to live well here. All these idiots who made a hell out of themselves, they want to go to heaven. They made a mess out of this place, and then they want to go to heaven.

I’m asking you, do you have any proof? Do you have any proof that you are not already in heaven and messing it up? Do you have any proof — you’re already in heaven making a mess out of it?

Yes, simply because you are not even learning how to handle your basic faculties of thought and emotion, isn’t it? Your only justification is – “Everybody is like this only.” That’s how it is in a madhouse. That is how it is in a madhouse. Only a doctor looks crazy.

So when are you going to handle it? Slowly, at the age of 60?

I’m asking: When will you learn how to handle my thought, how to handle my emotion, how to handle my body, how to handle my chemistry, when are you going to figure this? At the end of your life?

Because this culture has grown. When to do spirituality means when you’re 70? When you’re no good for anything else? No. At the earliest possible time. Whatever is most profound about you. Not about heavens, about this life, everything that you need to know. You must know soonest; isn’t it? Only then you will live a sensible life.

Okay, if I tell you a joke, you won’t get offended, because this is the most serious crowd I’ve ever seen in the last few years.

“How many of them are journalists?”

Most of them, okay.

This happened. “Shankaran Pillai – when he was in Paris was married to a French woman. One day, it was their anniversary. First anniversary. So she invited a bunch of friends and she wanted to cook something really fresh, everything fresh.

So, from morning, she was driving him to this market, that market. He got this fresh vegetables, fresh meat, fresh chicken, this, that everything.

Then in the evening, she said because the French have this you know snail appetizer — she said ‘Go to the beach and get some snails, fresh. And I will make some appetizers for all the friends who are coming!’

So, Shankaran Pillai went to the beach and he was picking up all these snails and putting them in a bucket. Then he met an old friend, an Indian guy, they hit it off and they were talking about their old times. He just forgot that he’s married. You know, when you meet old friends, it happens.

And both of them went to a bar and they had a few drinks and he just forgot. Then he realized — then these snails were just climbing out on top — one snail fell out of the bucket. He realized, ‘Oh my god! I’m supposed to take these snails. My wife, French wife – She’s waiting!’

So he said ‘I need to go’ and he went by then it was already very late. He went. He knew, it’s not going to be pleasant. So he came near the house and spilled all the snails on the ground, threw away the bucket and went and knocked on the door.

The French fury came. He turned back and said, ‘Come on, you guys. We’re almost there. Come on, let’s go.’”

So, when are you going to pick your snails and put them in the bucket and fix them? Ah, your problems, you must fix them, isn’t it? These are not problems. I want you to understand you’re not suffering your life. You’re only suffering two fantastic faculties, that only — it’s a privilege of being human that we have these two fantastic faculties:

• One is we have a vivid, vivid sense of memory. This is because of this memory, our life is so rich, unlike any other creature.
• And we have a fantastic sense of imagination.

Now, this is what you are suffering. What happened 10 years ago you can still suffer. Why? Are you suffering life or memory? Hello? Memory. What may happen the day after tomorrow you’re already suffering. Are you suffering life or imagination? Imagination. Two most fantastic faculties you have, you’re suffering.

So what are you asking for? You want to become once again an earthworm. An earthworm is a very eco-friendly creature. I have nothing against it. But it took millions of years of evolution to get you at this size of brain and now you’re suffering it. If we take away half your brain. Of course, you will sit there without any anxiety without any suffering – peacefully.