Sadhguru: Why is it that one person's brain
sparkles with genius, another person's brain sparkles with pain and suffering and
tension and stress and whatever else? So, is it a question of higher intelligence?
Is it a question of some magical influence from somewhere?
Sadhguru:
Generally, all of us have about the same-sized skull.
So, to a large extent most human beings have enough brain material in their head.
Everybody, except somebody who may be severely
deformed at birth, almost every average human being has what it takes to do life.
But why is it that one person’s brain sparkles with genius, another person’s brain
sparkles with pain and suffering and tension and stress and whatever else?
All the ugliest things that nobody wants, happens in people’s minds.
So, is it a question of higher intelligence?
Is it a question of some magical influence from somewhere? Or, is it a question of bringing the
necessary balance within yourself, so that you become available to the magic of life?
A skewed intelligence, however smart it may look on the periphery,
cannot make this life happen beautifully. Above all, balance is needed – balance on all levels.
Otherwise, our very body and our very brain will function against us,
to a point where the only idea
or the only form of relaxation today in the world – either they’re asleep
or drink or drug. All you’re trying to do is to be brainless for a period of time
because brain has become such a nuisance.
If you didn’t have one, you would be at least peaceful (Laughs). Yes?
What took millions of years of evolution to achieve, today has become a nuisance. What was…
What is the greatest miracle within this human frame has become a misery manufacturing machine.
There’re many aspects to it. I don’t… I don’t want to make it too simplistic
but above all, above all, the most important thing is balance or lack of balance.
So, this human mechanism, which is the most sophisticated instrument on the planet,
if you do not pay enough attention to it, if it turns against you,
there is nothing here in the world which can save you because nothing
is more sophisticated than this one (Referring to oneself).
Because this (Referring to oneself) is of the highest level of evolution and
sophistication – if this turns against you, nobody can save you. I want you to know this.
So, if this should not turn against you, it’ll… To know the entirety of what this is,
it’ll take a certain level of attention. But to bring balance to this doesn’t take too much.
It is just that you’re doing a few fundamental things absolutely wrong – that’s all.
To know the entirety of what this is, that’s a whole lot of attention, time, education,
assistance, guidance – so many things are involved. But to bring a reasonable sense
of balance into you, it doesn’t take much. You’re ta… doing a few things basically wrong with life.
When I say basically wrong, one thing is, for everybody to understand, all human experience
is generated from within. Is that so? All human experience is generated from within. So, at any
time if you feel happy or unhappy, miserable, joyful, ecstatic, in a… in a state of agony,
doesn’t matter what happens, what is your experience – pleasantness or unpleasantness,
just to know that it’s happening from within and it can only happen from within. You can either
take external stimuli or you can create your own stimuli, but essentially it happens from within.
This one thing, if it is not grasped – when you feel miserable, if you think it’s this
one (Gestures to indicate it’s someone else, not oneself) – you’re gone. You’re… you’re just…
The keyboard is here (Referring to our body) but you’re punching the wall.
This’s not going to work.
This one basic fundamental thing (Laughs) is something
that almost ninety percent of the humanity is always doing it wrong.
Whenever they feel miserable, it… they think it must this one or that one or that one or
that one. No, all human experience is generated from within. If something is feeling unpleasant,
first thing is to look at this (Referring to oneself) – “What am I doing wrong with this?
Am I eating wrong, am I sleeping wrong, am I sitting wrong, am I breathing wrong,
is my heart beating wrong? Something, my very chemistry is wrong, something is wrong with this
(Referring to oneself), not with that (Gestures to indicate it’s someone else, not oneself).”
So, the moment you think by kicking the wall, you can fix this one (Referring to oneself),
then you made a fundamental mistake – the harder you try, the further away from it you go.
So, this possibility of bringing balance to the system, first of all,
is the fundamental nature of yoga. The most basic forms of yoga, whether it is, you know,
many of you’re doing probably the Nadi Vibhajan or Yoga Namaskar or Surya Namaskar or Surya
Kriya – these are all basic forms of yoga; the first thing is to bring balance.
Once there is balance, then you can build a tower on top of this.
If there is no balance, whatever you build will only lead to more trouble. The more basic you are
the better it is. So, this is what a whole lot of humanity is seeking – somehow to re… remain basic,
because if you build something, it feels terrible when there is no fundamental balance.
Anything standing up without balance is a big problem. So, the best thing is to lie down,
stay close to the ground. If you grow tall it’ll be a problem, so remain at the minimum.
A whole lot of humanity has rezu... reduced themselves to a minimal possible
thing in their life – “If I don’t get into trouble that’s good enough” –
a whole lot of humanity. This is a serious waste of evolutionary work.
What has happened on this planet in the last few million years
to evolve life from its simplest form to what it is today – just wasting the entire process.
And Mother Earth is not going to get you… let… let you get away with it. You will pay the price.
If you try to make life go backwards, it will make sure you pay the price.
So, instead of trying to do this, that, so many things, first thing is to do something to bring
balance. First step is just this, that everything that I generate from within me in the form of
experience, sensations – painful, pleasant, wonderful, horrible, whatever I go through,
is essentially generated from within me and nobody else but me. Others may help, tch,
you know, others help. If you’re miserable, some people will fuel it and help. If you’re joyful,
some people will fuel that and help. There’re different types of people around us. They
assist you as they know their life but essentially it is your making.
This is the fundamental aspect of yoga. The first teaching that came out was,
that it is your karma – that means it’s your making. Your life and the experience of your
life is entirely your making. If this one thing doesn’t sink into you absolutely,
you will not make the necessary changes. You still think, “Yes, I know it’s my karma but you know
my husband, what he did?” Tch (Laughter). You can’t fix this. First you understand, this is my
making, entirely my making; the moment you see it, you have the ability to change it. “I see it but
you know what they did to me yesterday?”
Now you can’t change it. It doesn’t matter who did what. What is happening within you, your
experience of your life is entirely your making – this is your karma. Karma means, not something
that drops upon you from somewhere, karma means your action. It’s your making. It’s your doing.
So, if you just set this one thing,
creating the necessary balance will happen automatically. Once there is balance, then
you would want to try many things. Otherwise, I’m talking about so many things up there in the sky,
you will only be a spectator (Laughs), you will not be the one who flies. You will only be a
spectator because when there is no balance, you don’t want to go three inches above the ground.
So, this is one fundamental thing. We’ve been talking about this in many forms
but if you want to make the full scope… if you want to make use of the full scope of this body
and this brain, of this human possibility, of this consciousness that we refer to as human being,
then first thing is this, that you understand and fix it within you absolutely, that,
“The quality of my life is entirely my making and nobody else and nobody else.” If you fix
this one thing, balance will come. Once balance comes, I am impatient to take you to places where
only people with balance can walk, others cannot
(Laughs).