Questioner: Sadhguru, I am your devotee. Should I leave my life in your hands or should I take responsibility for it?
Sadhguru: Devotion does not mean – Devi will do it, Sadhguru will do it. Who… Who told you this rubbish? Is somebody spreading this in the ashram? Sadhguru will take care of you, don’t worry, don’t worry. You just sleep; Sadhguru will wake up and do your sadhana. With this kind of stuff, this country which was the very… a stellar example of spiritual process at one time, became very fatalistic and against themselves because of this teaching.
Don’t worry, don’t worry God will take care of you. Somebody came from Mauritius a few years ago – almost twenty-five – twenty-seven years ago. So, these are Tamil people who went there three generations ago. This particular generation has never come to India. Now they are running some industry and they are doing very well to do, and all that. Now they decided to come back to Tamil Nadu – to experience their roots. Still they speak their own kind of Tamil, and they came and landed in Chennai.
Devotion means absolute involvement from your side.
And from there they went to a few temples, and they are driving back to Coimbatore from Chennai. So they came here and naturally we were interested, “What is your impression,” because after three generations you are coming back to your, you know, fore-fathers’ land, “What does it feel like?” One thing they said was, “It looks like, in India, God is working overtime.” “Why what happened?” They say, “We are driving, children come and want to fall under the wheels of the car but somehow they escape. Somebody else just walks in, wants to kill himself, but somehow he lives. When we look at this, God must be really working overtime in this place.” If you make God work overtime, he will also take it out on you one day in such a way that you will regret everything; that goes for me also.
So, devotion means an absolute involvement. Not that, “Sadhguru, I’m your devotee, will you do everything for me?” Why the hell will I do, hmm? Where there is no involvement you will do something socially correct. Some of you don’t even do that. But most people do something that they think is their courtesy or their duty to do something, just about that. But only when you have a very deep sense of love or devotion towards something, you will do everything that you can do. I am saying, in every moment of your life, if you are not doing everything that you can do, what are you saving yourself for? You want to work from your grave? Hello? No people, these days working from their home, so I’m asking you.
If you’re seeking fulfillment of life, then it needs involvement.
You want to work from your grave? Every moment of your life, is it not important, everything that you can do you are doing. So this profound involvement is called devotion. It’s… devotion is not a deal. “Sadhguru, I’ve been so devoted to you, you didn’t do anything to me.” I was not supposed to do anything to you! Deal-makers are different people, devotees are different people. Nothing need to happen to me, I will throw myself into this – this is devotion. Just… Just this freedom from expectation, “What will come to me? What will I get?” If you just become free from that, your life is a blessed life – just know this.
If you just become free from this one thing – what will I get – your life is a very blessed life. This is what we are trying to demonstrate in Isha, that, thousands of people simply working like fanatics – from outside they look like that, but they’re at ease. They close their eyes – okay, world doesn’t exist. Yes. And, only miracle they have achieved in their life is “what will I get” has gone out of their mind. This is all you have to do. Devotion means just this. You are liberated from the pain of expectation – what should happen, what should happen? Whatever happens, I’m fine only. Which is better? What you want happened, is that better; whatever happens you are fine, is that better?
That’s all. But, once you are like this, once you have… you’re not a vested interest of any kind, you will do your best, and that’s all a human being can do. And once you’re not concerned what will you get, you become available to grace. But you don’t calculate, “Sadhguru, for three minutes I did not think, ‘What will I get,’ how much grace will I get?” Actually, for three minutes I did not even think “What will I get,” I just did the work, how much grace will I get? ”You belong to the marketplace; you don’t belong to this life. In this life, there is nothing to get. Whichever way, whether somebody gives you a decent burial or they just throw you, any way you will become part of the earth. Hello? What’s the problem? Somebody gave us a grand funeral – okay; somebody just throw our body out there, what’s the big deal I’m asking? Whichever way, any way you a part of this.
If you show that involvement that you are a part of everything that’s here, you will become available to grace. If you think you’re… you’re an island by yourself and you have come from somewhere, you think you’re going to pile something upon your head and go somewhere, you will waste your life. Well, things will arrange themselves around you. If you are doing something significant in your life, things will arrange themselves around you – some amount of comfort and this will come.
But, what is it that you’re seeking? Are you seeking fulfillment or comfort? This you must decide. If you’re seeking fulfillment of life, then it needs involvement. Devotion means just unquestioned, unbridled involvement – that’s all devotion is – absolute involvement, not holding back anything. If you have that kind of involvement, grace will come in cascades, not in drops. Once, you are graced like that, your life will be fulfilled. In which way, how – you don’t have to calculate. If you have a body, mind and energy which is not an impediment, and you are available to grace, you don’t have to bother, “What will happen with this life?” Whatever happens, the most wonderful thing will happen, that’s about it. Hmm?
