The Langoor is more secure than us, go get a tail || Acharya Prashant (2016)
EXCERPT:
If you are anxious about paying the bills, simply keep the bills small. Or don’t raise the bills. Unless there is a bill, where is the question of payment? Simple!
The intention is to keep raising bills. So, first of all, for the sake of pleasure, one wants to generate bills and then, one throws herself into horror by thinking, “Now how will I pay these bills?”
Do you see such a self-defeating cycle?
Question: I cannot bring the courage to believe that life will provide for me. Each time I try to, my ego arises and only I feel that I have been irresponsible.
Acharya Prashant: You can go behind that sofa and beat up the ego!
(Laughter)
L1: Yes, but that is very difficult.
AP: Then you can take somebody’s help. May be the two of you can together pulverize the ego. The ego is a non-sense. You really require courage to beat it up? Don’t fight it, laugh at it.
If you fight with it then you are unnecessarily making it strong. When you laugh at it, then it goes away. If you think so seriously about, “You know, I need a lot of courage. The Ego is coming and fear is coming and where is my AK-47? And where is the rocket-launcher? Can I call up the United Nations? Let me do something about it.”
Then, you are psyching yourself up into horror. All these things happen. Just sit like this. Now ego has come, just say “Hurrr!! Shoo!”
L1: But ego says, “Someone has to pay the bills!”
AP: Someone has to pay the bills? Let the ego pay the bills.
The ego is billed, nobody else is billed. You have no obligations to pay the bills.
If you are anxious about paying the bills, simply keep the bills small. Or don’t raise the bills. Unless there is a bill, where is the question of payment? Simple! Now there is no bill. The intention is to keep raising bills, first of all. So, first of all, for the sake of pleasure, one wants to generate bills and then, one throws herself into horror by thinking, “Now how will I pay these bills?”
Do you see such a self-defeating cycle?
Limit your bills. And then have faith that, that much of limited expense you will be able to meet anyhow. You belong to a developed country, nobody starves there! And you are educated and young, and intelligent! Why must you think so much about the bills?
You are not a resident of some starving, impoverished, third world country. And you are not so old that you must think about earning the next dollar. And you are not illiterate; you are not incapable. Even the birds have enough to eat. The fish don’t starve. Seen the cows? Seen the langoors?
You try putting fear into a langoor. You try that, tomorrow! Two of them are my friends, they live on Lakshman Jhoola (referring to a place).
L1: Yes, I met them yesterday.
AP: Yes! You just go there and say, “Café Rishikesh”(session’s venue) , they will come to you. That’s the password. And when they come to you, just try psyching them down. Just, try making them afraid. Just tell them, “You know, you don’t have any savings. Show me your savings.”
(Laughter)
“Show me your fixed deposits, your bank accounts! Show me!”
“How will you eat tomorrow?”
“What if it rains tomorrow?”
“What if there is no social security?”
“What if the government changes?”
What will the Langoor do?
“Khaahhh” (making noise like a Langoor)
(Laughter)
Even the Langoor is more secure than us. So better get a tail. That’s the only spiritual discipline. Get a tail! Get a tail, fix it and hop around like a Langoor. That’s the essence of all spirituality. I have revealed the most mystical practice.
The universe is not an enemy, it’s a friend. It provides for you. Just as it provides air, water, love, birth; it will also provide food. Don’t you worry!
L2: I think, this whole matrix, the system, is that going to fall apart?
AP: For the one who is liberated. For others it will continue. Let them continue in their ways.
You are taking the Langoors very seriously. Now you are wondering, “What if the langoors don’t come?”
When the disease is imaginary, the treatment too has to be imaginary.
L3: My mind isn’t a fool. I feel it’s like a crucial moment for me. Because I feel this is the Truth, so I think it’s like a crucial moment. And because of this, the mind says,”No! No! You won’t get it. You’re not ready for it. This is not for you.” It keeps going like this.
AP: The langoors are also fond of whipping with their tail.
“It’s such a crucial moment! It’s such a crucial moment! It’s such a crucial moment!”
And the moment is? Gone!
When it’s a crucial moment, you don’t psyche yourself up in excitement. You surrender to it. You let yourself be possessed by it. You don’t start acting in a very blown up way.
“Oh! Oh! It’s so damn important. It’s so damn important!”
You clutch at the Truth, and all that you will get is the Clutch.
L4: All of my life I have missed it, trying to achieve…
AP: All that you get is a closed fist. Nothing else! You get the Truth like this (Acharya Ji Opens and stretches out his hands)
L5: I remember in primary schools, may be twelve or thirteen years old. The teacher would make us stand there and one of our best friend would be behind us and ask us to fall back and be caught.
AP: Just fall?
L5: Yes
AP: You know faith is something a little different than this. In this the teacher was trying to prove that if you fall somebody is there to take care of you. Faith is not this. Faith says, “If I fall, somebody may be there; somebody may not be there. I might be taken care of. I might actually fall and get hurt but even if I get hurt, it is alright!”
Faith says that even if something bad happens it is alright. Faith does not say that only good will happen. Trust says that only good will happen. So be cautious of those who tell you, “No! No! No! Only the good will happen.” because what you call as good will not always happen. Bad things will happen. And when bad things will happen, then you will find yourself crumbling down.
And you will say, “Oh! We believed that fellow.” And he was saying, “You know, the universe is such a loving place and we are one kind family and God is kind and merciful but such bad things are happening to me.”
Faith is about having gratitude even when bad things are happening to you.
Bad things will happen. Let nobody assure you that bad things won’t happen.
You will die.
You will be cheated.
