Q: Some people seem to keep spirituality separate from life. Why is this? Is awareness only when you are meditating?
Sadhguru: If your spirituality is time-bound, there is nothing spiritual about you. What conclusions have you made about being spiritual? If you have made the conclusion that being spiritual means speaking kindly to everyone, you are mistaken.
If someone is communicating with different aspects of life in different ways, out of their understanding, out of their sensitivity, out of their own experience—they know how to communicate with a baby, a buffalo, a mountain, they know how to speak to the bus driver—if they know it out of this awareness, then it is wonderful and fine. That is how life should be.
If someone, out of their so-called spirituality, is trying to speak with whatever they believe is kindness or goodness, to every aspect of life, they are just moralistic and stupid. Maybe they are good people, but they have no sense of life. There is no inner experience; it is just coming from their goodness and morality.
They may make good citizens, but they will not know anything of the beyond.
If one is communicating in different ways with different aspects of life because of their unawareness or prejudices, that is a different aspect altogether. It is best that you do not judge a person by the way they are speaking to someone at a certain moment. If there is a pattern of addressing something kindly and another aspect of life rudely, then you know it is coming from ignorance.
First, let us understand that spirituality is not a moral code. Spirituality means you are beginning to experience that which is beyond the physical. It has nothing to do with the way you communicate and handle the world around you. The way you do that is just a question of your capability, intelligence, inclination, and what kind of objectives you have in your life.
There was a yogi who lived many decades ago. Once, he was sitting in the forest, absolutely blissful, but if people came anywhere near him, he threw stones at them. He never hit anyone, but he threw stones at them like a mad man. As far as people were concerned, he was a mad man throwing stones. It was only much later when people looked back, they were able to see that not once did he hit anyone. He always made sure of that. He just did not want people around him. He knew that if people came, they would ask for things, and because of the way he was—his energy was in a certain state—miracles would happen naturally. Then people would gather and mess up his life. So if people came near him, he would throw stones at them.
If you go by one’s behaviour about what he is doing or what he is saying, you will definitely come to a wrong conclusion, a wrong judgment. If you had known Sadhguru Shri Brahma, if somebody came and said something stupid to him, he would just kick them—not out of arrogance or hatred. That was how he dealt with people. I don’t do that. This is not because I am more realised or less realised, it is simply from being a little smarter with the world. How you operate is just a question of your inclination, intelligence and exposure. It has got nothing to do with your spirituality.
Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, a bestselling author and poet.
He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2017.
Isha.sadhguru.org