Narrator: One day, when a Zen monk, Tanzen,
and another young monk, who were traveling,
they happened upon a beautiful young lady
unable to cross a deep stream in full flow.
Tanzen offered to help, and carried her across the stream.
He bade farewell to the lady, and the monks continued on their journey.
After a few days of travel, the younger monk turned to Tanzen,
and in a very disturbed voice asked,
“I thought we monks were supposed to avoid women. Why did you pick her up like that?”
Tanzen replied, "What woman?
Oh, you mean the woman way back there?
I put her down long ago. Are you still carrying her?”
What does Tanzen mean when he says is the young monk still carrying her?
Sadhguru: The nature of the mind is such,
the reason why people are struggling in their lives is,
they've not made any effort to understand the nature of their mind.
One fundamental aspect of the mind is, what you say as “I don't want,”
that becomes the nature of your mind, that becomes the main content of your mind.
If you say, “I don't want to think about monkeys,”
you take a vow, “From now on I will not think about monkeys.”
Whole day you'll be thinking about monkeys only.
If you did not take such a vow,
probably you will never think about monkeys, unless you see them.
So, being a monk, being a brahmachari is not a vow that “I will not touch a woman.”
You have taken a certain commitment to achieve something higher in your life,
to touch another dimension where mundane things will be meaningless to you.
But if that has not happened, you're trying to do it as a rigid vow.
You think by not touching a woman you will become a brahmachari,
or you will become a monk? That's not it.
By aspiring for something higher you'll become a monk.
You're constantly aspiring for something high,
so you did not look at what's around you – that's different.
But you saying “I will not look at this” will fill your mind with that.
So, some woman needs some help, he helped her, he left her there, and went on.
This one did not touch the woman, but now it's going on in his mind for 2 days.
And he can't keep her down.
So, the one who did what is needed, he left the woman there;
the one who is trying to avoid the woman is full of that all the time.
So, this is not about the woman, this is not about something,
this is about understanding the nature of your mind.
If you say “I don't want something” only that will happen,
because in this mind there is no subtraction or division.
Forcefully you cannot take out a single thought from your mind.
Whatever you try to do, there is only +1.
Addition and multiplication will happen,
there is no subtraction and division in your mind.
So, you cannot forcefully take away a particular thought.
It is just that if your aspiration is something else,
all these things may evaporate.
You want to go to the top of the mountain, you're very focused on that,
what is at the foothills is not your concern.
If you're trying to dodge the foothill, how will you go to the peak?
You will never go, isn't it?
If you avoid the foothills, how will you reach the top of the mountain?
You will never reach it.
You're focused on top of the mountain,
you'll cross the foothill and not even notice it.
So, he helped the woman, it was not a big issue;
probably he didn't even bother whether it's a man or a woman.
Somebody asked for help, he just helped, and went on.
But this man who's trying to avoid the woman, his mind is full of that. [Laughs]