Questioner: My question is regarding mukthi. I’m not understanding what we are taking when we are asked for mukthi.
Sadhguru: Do you drink coffee every morning?
Questioner: Yeah. Yes.
Sadhguru: Suppose, you can wake up in the morning and without coffee you can still be very alive. One level of mukthi. Similarly, there are many compulsions. Once you come with a physical form, there are many compulsions. Some have multiplied their compulsions. Some have subtracted their compulsions and brought it to the minimum. Compulsion means just this – compulsion means something else rules you. But, one thing that human being values most is freedom, isn’t it?
Compulsion means something else rules you
See we – 20% of our time, resource and energies are spent in the prisons, both in Tamil Nadu and United States. If you go into the prison, actually it is a more disciplined society than the society you’re seeing outside. And more efficient society. Because food comes bang on time, never late. Somebody opens the door for you, closes for you. Somebody turns on the light for you, switches it off for you. It’s actually very efficient. If you know… if you are meditative, it’s just great. This is what we have done to the prison. Now you see, in Coimbatore central prison, you come and see – for 136 years of it’s history, every day there used to be somebody in the solitary imprisonment. Because of the mischief that they do inside the prison. But, after we did this simple programs there, for many months, nobody went into it. And, in United States, if you look at it – even in this prison, even in Indian prisons – their nourishment levels are better in the prison than outside for most of them. Their discipline is better. They are well exercised, they are strong, agile – everything.
One thing that human being values most is freedom
Only thing is, if you walk into the prison, there is pain in the air. I’ve never gone into the prison and come out without tears in my eyes, because there is just pain in the air. That’s how important human freedom is. Most people may not be going anywhere, even in their house they may not be going. But the simple thing that they are bolting the door, not somebody else. That’s how much of a difference it makes. That’s how important it is to be free.
So this is the highest value. So, you know in this culture everything is built-in. Two days in a month you’re not supposed to eat, so that the compulsiveness of food will go away. One day, or actually 12 days in a year, you are not supposed to sleep, so the compulsiveness sleep will go away. Like this many things have been built-in, which we are just throwing it away without understanding anything about it.
Today after billion dollar research happens, and they come back to us, now they tell us, oh yes, yes, yes, this is a great research. We have looked at life, and said this is the way to exist. Various levels of compulsions. Start working one at a time – become free, become free, become free. See when you want to become free, toying with the idea of freedom is no good. What is binding you, that’s what you need to break, isn’t it? Yes. So what is binding you? What is compulsive in your life? That’s what you need to attend to.
Freedom is a fanciful idea. It will make you la la in your head, it’s no good
Freedom is a fanciful idea. It will make you la la in your head, it’s no good. What is binding you, if you work on that, if you get rid of it – you become free. If there is a next level of binding, let’s break that. If there is a next level of binding, we’ll break that. If you break all levels… if you go on breaking one at a time, someday you will break all of them, isn’t it so? Yes. Or you think it’s infinite binding? No. Bondage cannot be infinite. Freedom can be infinite, isn’t it?
