Sadhguru: This is the time of the year
when Adi Yogi’s attention first fell upon
the seven celebrated disciples…
Now, celebrated disciples.
So we are in this month
when an ascetic,
a yogi who is completely uninvolved with what’s around him
is beginning to get involved.
Slowly the intention of sharing his experience is beginning to blossom in this month.
From the last full moon day,
to the coming one which is going to be referred to…
which is referred to as the Guru Pournima,
it is these 28 days
that Shiva could not take his attention off the Saptarishis
who had prepared,
who had done some simple preparatory steps for 84 long years
without even a moment of attention from him,
and now his attention upon his disciples,
the first seven ones, was undivided.
So this month is seen
as a month
where even a completely heartless ascetic
could not ignore
and he became compassionate.
Somebody who had hardened himself in such a way
that the world can never touch him,
loosened up,
became compassionate
and
was compelled to become a teacher or a guru
for which he had no intention at all.
So this month is seen as the best time
to receive the Grace of the guru.
this is a good time to be open to Grace,
because this is a time when even an ascetic
who smeared himself with the ash of the dead…
of many other things
one important thing is that he has made himself like he is dead to the world
that he is no more available to the world around him,
the people around him,
but even that yogi,
softened up and became compassionate.
So this is a good time to seek Grace,
this is a good time to make yourself receptive to the process.
This is a good time
to earn that attention from the Grace.
‘What should I do?’ is always the question.
If you don’t do anything of your own,
that’s the best way to be receptive;
that you’re less of yourself,
that is the best way to be receptive.
The sadhana is always structured like this,
so that it absorbs you into activity in such a way
that in the daily process of living you forget who you are,
you forget what you are,
you forget what your life is about,
you’re just absorbed into what’s happening.
That is the best way to receive Grace.
Do you know you even breathe better
when you’re not aware of who you are and what you are?
You see how smoothly people are breathing when they’re asleep.
You watch their breath through the day;
it is going through various turmoils.
Everything that happens in your mind…
The more limited you make yourself
you will see the more limited the breathing process becomes.
When you sleep… (Gestures?)
that’s how it should be happening all the time, but
when you’re awake,
you are there
even in the way of the breath. (Laughs)
So just to simply…
Like the tree is standing here,
just to be here.
Just standing here means,
it is not here doing nothing,
it is doing everything that it has to do,
but simply there,
just like that.
There’s a beautiful expression,
in the Zen system of
allowing human consciousness to grow.
So when a disciple goes to a Zen master
and asks
‘What should I do for my spiritual growth?’
‘Sweep the floor,
chop the wood,
cook the food,
that’s all.’
‘For that why should I come here, I can do it at home.’
But there sweeping the floor, it’s your own floor. (Laughs)
You will not sweep next house floor if it’s dirty,
you will not;
chopping the wood for your own use;
cooking food just for yourself and who you consider as yours.
You’re using every activity to enhance who you are,
instead of using every activity to dissolve who you are.
This is all the difference,
between making our activity,
making our karma either into a bondage
or into a process of liberation.
Either you’re acquiring karma
or your karma is becoming yoga.
That’s all it is.
Either you’re doing your activity to enhance yourself
or are you doing your activity to dissolve yourself.
So, just sweeping the floor,
cooking food,
planting a tree
not on your property
not for you and your children to sit under its shade…
only you and your children to sit under its shade.
Simply planting it, anybody may sit.
Your enemy may go and enjoy it.
You plant a mango tree,
your enemy and his children may eat the mangoes.
it's all right
We don’t care who eats, just plant.
Now the activity is process of dissolution,
otherwise every activity is a way of imprisoning yourself.
It is activity which is entangling people unfortunately.
Human ability to do things,
unfortunately, is being used to imprison themselves.
So this month is the month of Grace.
Grace is like manure for growth,
that a human being can catapult himself
to another dimension of existence,
capability
and possibility.
So making use of Grace
what should we do?
Nothing to do.
The less you do within yourself
and the more you do outside of yourself,
the more available you become to Grace.
Doing things outside would not be necessary
if you can simply sit here and do nothing,
but that’s not possible, isn’t it?
any kind of activity or situation should not become a limiting factor
for one’s ability to receive and absorb Grace.
If all you wanted is more and more words,
you should’ve gone to a university.
I’m sure they can speak much more than me,
the professors in the university,
or you could read the Vedas
or even better you could read the dictionary,
nothing like it,
everything is right there.
Really.
Have you ever tried to read a dictionary from page one to the last page?
Please try, it’s very interesting. (Laughter)
Everything is there.
Really. (Laughs)
So you don’t come to a guru just to listen to his words,
it’s not about the words.