Questioner: What are the best practices for someone who is dead serious?
Sadhguru: Dear or Serious!
Questioner: Well, you referred to this last night!
Sadhguru: It once happened there was a Sufi master in Basra. You know Basra? Basra is that place, which is famous for pearls today in Iraq, or it’s famous for bombing – whichever way!
So, someone came and said – please give me a teaching. He refused, no teaching. Then more and more important people started coming to him, and said – please give us a teaching. He said, no teaching. Now, because he refuses to teach, he became very famous. So one day, a great scholar in the area, who is well versed in all the scriptures and everything, he came and insisted – you have to teach. You have something, that no scholar can have. I am beginning to realise that. So, you have to teach. You can not keep it to yourself.
So, the Sufi master looked at him, and said –
Sufi Master: I am not giving a teaching to you, not because I am not willing, because you are not willing.
Scholar: What are you saying. I am not willing. I am here. I am asking you. I am the one who is asking you, and you are saying I am not willing!
Sufi Master: The teaching that I give, you will not be willing.
Scholar: What is the teaching?
Sufi Master: Are you willing?
Scholar: Anything, I am willing.
So, the master went inside, brought a dirty looking piece of cloth, and gave it to him, and said – wear this as your loin cloth. You take off all your robes and nice clothes. Wear this as your loin cloth. The scholar looked at this dirty piece of clothe. Said – what, this!
Sufi Master: Not just that. Then, I will give you an empty can with a string. Wear it around your neck. And, I will give you a few sweets, peppermint. You go on the street to the marketplace. All the young boys will look at you and tease you, and throw stones at you. Whoever throws a stone at you, take out a peppermint, grin at them, and give them a peppermint.
Scholar: This is ridiculous. What will happen to me in this town, if I do such.a ridiculous thing.
Sufi Master: See, I told you, you are not willing for the teaching.
Because, the question is just this – do you want a teaching that you like, or do you want something that transforms you? That’s the question. So, now you are asking this question – I am dead serious. So, the first and foremost thing is, you must make yourself non-serious, which is not possible. So, the only way you can make yourself non-serious is to be ridiculous, you know. Can you do that? Can you get up and do a jig right now? Do it. You must do it the Indian way! The Indian jig. No..no.. you must do the Indian jig. So, you see, you are getting little non-serious now. Not dead at least. Still serious, not dead.
So, just loosen up your life a little bit, laugh a little more, involve yourself with people around you. Do things that you think is not so important. Don’t do things which are very important. Do simple things – very important that you do simple things. Very important things you are doing in your life, you will become dead serious.
You must understand that tomorrow morning the world will go on fine without you, whoever you may be
You know Bertrand Russel, an Englishman – Bertrand Russel said, if you are beginning to think that what you are doing is very important, you need to take a holiday. So holiday does not mean coming to India. Holiday is, everyday in those 24 hours you must take a holiday from your seriousness. Seriousness comes essentially because of your self importance. You hold yourself as an important person.
I want you to see, you are like a speck of dust in this existence. Tomorrow morning if you disappear, for sure in India nobody will miss you. Even down under, they won’t bother much, you know. A handful of people – they will also forget soon enough, isn’t it so? Woof! Nature does woof, you are gone. And nothing will happen in this world. Everything will happen wonderfully well, even if you are not there. Every human being should be aware of this every moment of his life.
It does not matter what the whole world says about you. It does not matter how significant a work you are doing. You must understand that tomorrow morning the world will go on fine without you, whoever you may be, isn’t it so? If you constantly remind yourself of this, you will have no reason to be serious. Definitely not dead. And don’t be dead now. A time will come. It’s time to be alive.
