Questioner (Pravin Gordhan): Religion is... has an interesting approach, both in the Isha
Foundation and in your work, and you promote let’s call it religious universality.
In other words, you have a more secular approach. And yet religion in many parts of the world,
or in the name of religion, we have conflict and all sorts of negative things happening.
What is your message on religious tolerance and the coexistence?
Sadhguru: Tolerating somebody is a horrible thing. You realized that your spouse is just tolerating you - horrible,
isn't it (Laughter)? If they chucked you out, it would be okay.
But they tolerated you, this is the worst insult.
Pravin Gordhan: It happens, though (Laughter).
Sadhguru: Religious tolerance we’re talking about...
These... These things won’t last if we talk tolerance because how long can you tolerate somebody?
It will become so irritating after some time. You will want to do something terrible to them (Laughs).
And invariably, they’ve been doing, always (Laughs).
We must understand this – essentially, to belong to a certain religion, you must believe something.
I will not go into the details of what you believe, but I want you to understand, belief means this.
S…
Can I put you through an experiment, is it okay? This is only an experiment, okay?
I’m not talking against anything. How many of you believe in god?
Just an experiment, I’m not...
Okay.
How many of you believe you have two hands?
Do you believe you have two hands, do you know you have two hands?
Participants: Know two hands.
Sadhguru: If someone comes and argues with you that you have no two hands,
and if their argument becomes too overwhelming, one slap in the face (Laughter),
he knows you got hands (Laughter).
With hands, you bel... you know; with God, you believe, why?
So, if we work hard enough on you from your childhood, we can make you believe just about anything.
It’s time… It’s time… If you don’t do it – if you do it, it’ll be great – if you don’t do it, anyway your children will do it.
This is – you must come to this much sincerity within you, “What I know, I know,
what I do not know, I do not know.” Is this okay with you?
Participants: Yes Sadhguru: Yes?
Right now, the condition of human societies are – “Whatever I do not know, I believe” (Few laugh).
Belief gives you confidence, this is the problem. Confidence without clarity is a disaster on this planet.
If you had clarity, you would do things in a certain way.
But you have no clarity, but you have confidence… See, this is the whole thing.
If you do something stupid right now, if you go home, your intelligence will bother you.
This is the nature of human intelligence, “Why did I do this?”
But the moment your stupidity is either scripture- endorsed god-endorsed, you can go on doing the
same idiotic thing wis (with) utmost confidence, without ever turning back for a moment.
Pravin Gordhan: Because we believe. Sadhguru: Yes. So, why can’t we become sincere enough
in our lives, “what we know, we know, what we do not know, we do not know”, with all due respect to
everybody? Yes? If you do this, then you will see it is in the nature of human intelligence to seek.
If you see, “I do not know”, you will want to know, you will long to know, you will seek to know and the possibility of
knowing is right here. Otherwise, you will believe and you will destroy all possibilities of knowing.
You must understand the immensity of “I do not know.”
How much ever knowledge you have, it is a miniscule in this cosmos.
But your ignorance is limitless, isn't it (Laughter)?
If you identify with your ignorance - which is a very good thing, believe me - if you
identify with your ignorance, you will constantly have an active intelligence, which will look
at everything carefully.
But if you believe, you can go completely insensitive, without paying attention to anything.