Questioner: If you choose to pursue the path of self-development or to gain your potential through this path, then that can take a lifetime. I want to find out what is the balance between trying to pursue my development, versus doing something and finding that balance. I mean how do I go about figuring that out for me? Was that clear?
Sadhguru: Yes Yes. Now, when you talk about self-development, we are not talking about self development here. Self cannot be developed. What you’re referring to as self, cannot be developed. It is not something that you can develop or you can put it down or anything. It’s just that it’s been lost, you have lost contact with it. So getting in touch with it, in case it takes a lifetime, in case, not necessarily – in case it takes a lifetime, how much time do I give for that, and how much time to do other things? What are the things you do?
So, the other things that you do in your life – will I have enough time for it? You shouldn’t do any other thing, you understand? Everything, everything that you do should be towards enhancing your own nature. Now you’re doing family, you’re doing work, all these things you’re doing, everything can be used as a spiritual process. It is not that in 24 hours time, this many hours spirituality, this many hours materialism, this many hours family, not like that.
Every step, every breath, every moment of your existence can be used for your development of who you are. So this is full-time. And in that, what activity you wish to do – you do whatever you want. What is the problem? Because what we are talking about is of inner nature. What the other things you’re talking about – external, isn’t it? So whatever you are doing, you are using everything as a process of growth – everything.
So, this does not mean, doing yoga does not mean, morning yoga, evening yoga, rest of the time you do stupid things No, it’s 24 hours yoga, only yoga, nothing else but yoga. Whatever you do, you make it into your yoga. Every single act in your life, you make it into your process of growth. Only then it’ll work. Part time spirituality doesn’t work. Now, will this take me away from this or that? Not necessarily, not at all because millions of people who have done the program are all people who are involved in variety of activity. Just a handful of people are full-time into it, because some people need to do it full-time. Yes?
Suppose I also pursued some other profession and you know only in my vacation, I taught Inner Engineering, you wouldn’t be here today, isn’t it? Yes? So, a few people take it up full-time because they see that’s their choice, they want to do that. And when you can go to the office, and do software programming or management or something, why can’t you also go out and teach something? It’s not that you have to take it up. I’m saying for an individual person, what is the problem? Somebody chooses that.
So only thing is, only criteria that may be disturbing people is, they are not making money. […] So that’s not going to disturb you [not making money], then no problem. You’re doing what you want to do. You either choose to go to this job or that job or that job, isn’t it? So, with Isha Yoga, if you come instead of working five days a week, you’ll end up working seven days a week. That’s the great change that you’ll have, because you experience your whole life is a vacation. You’ll learn to experience your work as vacation, then you’re always on vacation. So, will this take me away from something? This doesn’t take you away from anything. It enhances your life.
But if you choose to get you – after some time you will retire from your job, isn’t it? When you retire is a question of your choice, isn’t it so? somebody goes out fishing, somebody goes out meditating, somebody goes out dancing, somebody goes out drinking – its individual choices they’re making, isn’t it?
Right now, unfortunately, people like you.. […] because most of you, am telling you, you’re only first or second generation of educated people in your this thing. So you are just thrilled about a few things that you have access to. If you are tenth, fifteenth generation of educated people in your family, you would have total disdain for education, doing well, and all this nonsense. Yes? Because you’re only first, second generation of having access, you think that’s everything. But your children won’t think so, you will see this. Your children won’t think so, because right from their childhood they’ve seen all this nonsense, and it doesn’t mean much to them when they grow up. Yes!
So what you choose is just individual choice, isn’t it? Does doing this necessarily mean taking you away? Not at all. People always ask me Sadhguru, what is the mission? So I jokingly tell them my mission is to plant undercover Yogis. So, today I can very proudly say I have planted many people who are in peak of yogic experience, but they’re managing banks, they’re managing corporations, they’re you know .. they’re housewives. They’re all undercover Yogis. Understand? they’re not dressed like Yogis, they don’t look like Yogi’s, but they are all, experientially, they’re very much Yogis, but under cover. So you want to be undercover yogi or overt?
