Teacher asks students, “What is common among famous people like Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna and Mahatma Gandhi?” A student immediately replies, “All were born on government holidays.”
Many people can still be wise without giving smart answers. Having an answer is just an attire; the real self lies in one’s essence. There is a distinction between personality and essence. When centred in personality, one’s love is rooted in self-love, and hence, one suffers from self-concern. But when love arises from essence or innocence, it becomes cosmic love, and the concern extends to the whole, not just the ‘self’. In the whole, the individual is included. In self-love, the world is excluded. One’s love should be inclusive, not exclusive. This is the way of life.
We worship the outer and forget the core—the inner. It is easy to worship the outer, for it involves blind following. But to practice the soul of the teachings, one cannot simply follow; one has to be alert to listen to its inner call. No matter how difficult it may seem, tradition is still easier to follow. But to be truly alert to the soul of the teaching—and to listen to its call—is far more difficult. For this, one has to live in a dimension beyond the known, where following is no longer possible.
We are limited by what we know. There are three dimensions: (a) the Known, (b) the Unknown, and (c) the Unknowable. Many things are unknowable—so how can we ever truly know them? How can our petty intellect grasp the whole? Planet Earth is smaller than a speck of dust in the vastness of the cosmos. Therefore, understand that there is a dimension beyond the known. The medium we commonly use for knowing is the intellect. But the unknowable cannot be grasped through intellect alone. There is another dimension—called intuition. Language has its limitations in understanding the whole of this.
We are the content of our consciousness. This content can be love, kindness and goodness. But as one grows up, if the content of consciousness becomes anger, jealousy or hatred, it pulls us down. Once you know that the food you are about to eat is poisoned, refraining from eating it is not an act of self-control or willpower—it is simply natural.
The problem is that we think too much. It becomes like a whirlpool within. This creates an ache—hence, it is called a headache. When you begin to think less and feel more, there is a transformation from hurt to healing.
Our thinking has gone so deep that it has even polluted our feelings. Therefore, feel only the essential and drop the unessential. Love is the essential feeling one should cultivate. Love brings connectedness, whereas jealousy leads to disconnection. Everyone longs to be connected because disconnection creates isolation. And isolation hurts, for it is a state of inner disorder.
Lead yourself from ‘thinking’ to ‘feeling’, and then to ‘being’. ‘Being’ refers to a state of inner void or inner fullness. In that state, one is free from the disorders of both thinking and feeling.
You can hurt yourself only when you lack a healthy attitude. Attitude creates altitude. One can adopt the mindset of always being a winner in life: if you win, you win; if you lose, you learn—and therefore, you still win. With this attitude, one remains a winner regardless of outcomes. But don’t forget—one should celebrate their victories, learn from their losses and celebrate the learning as well.