Questioner: I noticed here that a majority of the people have a lot of devotion towards Shiva
but I came from the United States, from south Mississippi
and this yoga is new to me, like three months new to me
and I have an extreme amount of devotion towards you because I’ve experienced it
but I don’t feel the devotion towards Shiva.
I know we say the mantra but do we need to have that devotion towards him
to progress on the spiritual path?
Sadhguru: Shiva doesn’t need your devotion. (Laughter)
Just yesterday someone was reading a passage to me
from a book written by Friedrich Nietzsche. You’ve heard of him?
He is not from Missouri.
Participant: Mississippi. Sadhguru: You're from Mississippi?
I’m sorry, he’s not from Mississippi, from Germany.
So Friedrich Nietzsche is saying or his character is saying
“Only because there are so many people to receive the light, the sun can enjoy coming up.”
This is German bullshit. (Laughter)
If none of you are here, sun will still come up the same way, with the same glory. Hmm?
Yes or no? He does not come up for you.
This is a disease that human beings have got. They think the whole Existence is human centric.
It is not so.
What is here is not human.
A tremendous phenomena is happening here, nothing to do with humanity.
Well, it has lot to do with humanity but it's not of human nature.
So Shiva doesn’t need your devotion.
It is just that if you carry devotion in your heart... What is devotion? Let’s look at this.
On one level, devotion means a certain sweetness of your heart.
It's the best way to be for any human being.
If you do not carry this sweetness in your heart, you will be...
Life will do things to you and you will become bitter.
Don’t think you can insulate yourself.
You can build a home, you can build a family, you can build a huge bank balance,
you can be born in Mississippi
but you will not remain insulated.
Insulation happens... works only for a certain period of time;
after that, one way or the other life gets you.
If there is no sweetness in your heart you will become bitter, resentful
this has happened to a large segment of humanity.
So on one level, devotion means an enduring sweetness of your heart;
a kind of sweetness that does not depend on any outside help.
Suppose you fall in love with somebody... Does it happen in Mississippi? (Laughter)
Suppose you fall in love with somebody, your heart becomes sweet.
But for how long? There is no guarantee.
It can become extremely bitter because of a love affair. Yes or no?
We are not wishing that but it can become
either because of situations or because of disease or because of death
or because of loss, so many ways, or simply because of boredom.
The person that you thought was most exciting and fantastic, after a few years you look at them...
‘Did I do this mistake?’ (Laughter)
You can't believe it! So many things can happen.
So devotion is an enduring sweetness of heart, does not depend on anybody.
‘So should I be devoted to Shiva?’ It doesn’t make any difference to Him.
But if you are a devotee...
devotion is another kind of intelligence which simple intellect is unable to understand.
The nature of a rudimentary intellect is, if you want to know anything we have dissect it.
Yes? If you become interested in somebody, dissect them.
Well, you don’t do it physically because the law doesn’t permit it
but you mentally dissect them, isn't it? Yes or no?
You mentally dissect them and come to a convenient conclusion,
not truth, a convenient conclusion as you like it and one day when that conclusion falls apart
you will become bitter.
The very nature of the intellect is to put things apart.
By putting things apart, you can know the utility of what it is.
If I analyze this person,
I can learn how to make use of her but I will not know her.
Only if I completely include her I will know her, there is no other way.
If you give a flower to somebody who is intellectually strong,
if you give a flower to a scientist first thing is he will rip it off
because he wants to know what is inside.
A poet will sing songs about the flower.
He does not know what is inside, he does not care what is inside
but it gives him joy.
A mystic will become a flower.
If he looks at a flower, he will become the flower
because for him, even a small little flower that is blossoming in something unnoticeable in the grass,
even there, the hand of the Creator is actively there, isn't it?
Hmm?
Actively there, as active as it is in this one, (Referring to oneself) nothing less.
If you pay enough attention to a blade of grass you will see it has been done with enormous attention;
it's been created with a phenomenal sense of attention.
It's not been just made like that,
‘okay just a blade of grass’ it was not made like that.
Whoever made it paid enormous attention to it.
So a devotee is a different dimension of intelligence.
He will see things that nobody else will see because devotion means you are devoid of yourself.
Between you and the ultimate reality there is only one barrier, that is yourself.
So devotion means you must become devoid of yourself.
If that is not possible, at least you should reduce this heap.
If you reduce this heap of garbage suddenly you see life explodes
life explodes in ways that you have not imagined possible.
So it's not about shiva; it's about you.
But you must walk with devotion. What you are devoted to, it doesn’t matter.
You must walk with absolute devotion. Devotion means you are devoid of yourself.
Devotion means a heightened state of receptivity because you are no more full of yourself.
There is emptiness in you, so something can touch you, something can enter you, something can reside in you.
You are looking at everything through your psychological mess and you understand your intellect as the only intelligence.
Intellect is a very rudimentary form of intelligence; useful only for utilitarian purposes.
To make a living, to survive in the world your intellect is needed.
For any thing else, if you want to access any other dimension, your intellect is not enough.
A deeper dimension of intelligence in you has to function.
If this has to function, to be in devotion is the easiest way to do it.