Questioner: Namaskaram Sadhguru. I just wanted to ask, it’s like – the determination is firm, it’s dogged. There is nothing which breaks it. The body is ready for it, but sometimes an incomplete longing from the past, the confrontation of that makes that moment very painful. It does not waver… it does not waver what has to be done. That moment becomes extremely painful. There is acknowledgement that it’s foolish, it’s meaningless – yet, it’s painful. So, how to be able to dis-identify with that meaninglessness?
Sadhguru: The difference between you and an earthworm – which is right here, beneath you right now – is just that, you can remember almost your entire life. And using that information, you can project, and create what you consider as future. What you and almost every human being is suffering is, what is causing pain to them, what is their misery, what is their suffering is just this – these two fundamental faculties, which set you apart from every other creature, these two faculties are of memory and imagination.
You cannot suffer the past because it does not exist
So when you say something from the past comes and grabs me, and I suffer – past is not suffering. You cannot suffer the past because it does not exist. Nobody can suffer that which does not exist. What you’re suffering is, your faculty of memory. What happened 10 years ago, you can suffer. What may happen day after tomorrow, you can already suffer. This does not mean that you’re suffering a yesterday or a tomorrow – that’s out of question. What you’re suffering is your memory and your imagination.
If we take away half your brain, I think you’ll do quite fine. What you’re asking for is an evolutionary downgrade. If I made you at least a monkey, if not an earthworm, you would be quite happy. Today you got the mango [you are happy]. Yesterday what happened, you’re not bothered. So essentially, you are asking for an evolutionary downgrade. Tell me how much we need to turn you back, accordingly that much of your brain we’ll have removed. We have doctors in the ashram, you know. If we downgrade you in an evolutionary scale – you can’t remember what happened yesterday, you have no bother about tomorrow because you can’t imagine what is tomorrow – maybe you will be quite peaceful and happy. But what’s the point? You have definitely removed a problem, but you have removed all possibilities. That’s a crime. Isn’t it a crime? You took away all possibilities. That’s a crime, isn’t it?
This is all human beings are suffering. They are suffering their memory, they are suffering their imagination
So, this is all human beings are suffering. They are suffering their memory, they are suffering their imagination – nothing else. You’ve heard the ghost story? You must have…hmm..Yes! So, don’t fight with your own ghosts. Because they are your ghosts. At least enjoy the horror movie! These are all ghosts made up in your mind, and at least learn to enjoy them.
When you remember something melancholic, feel like a Shakespeare that you are writing a tragic drama. Enjoy it! We have enjoyed Shakespeare, haven’t we? Not everything is good about it. Nothing good happened to anybody there. Oh Sadhguru – that was somebody else, I enjoyed it so much – this is me! That is why yoga. So that you don’t know which is me, and which is somebody else. Union means just that – you don’t know which is me, and which is somebody!
