There are two of you. You must know which one is being addressed. || Acharya Prashant (2015)
Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of what you truly love.
~ Rumi
Speaker: Another verse by Rumi which is susceptible to deep misinterpretation.
“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of what you truly love.”
Focus on three words.
What is ‘yourself’?
“By the strong pull of what you truly love.” What is this ‘you’?
And thirdly, what is meant by ‘true love’?
The word ‘you’ comes twice. What is meant by the word ‘you’? What is meant by ‘yourself’, when it comes the first time? What is meant by ‘you’ when it comes the second time? And what is meant by ‘true love’? If these things are not clear, then one would really misinterpret these words, and harm himself and others.
The first ‘yourself’ refers to the ego. The first ‘yourself’ refers to the common, mortal ego. And ego is fragments. Ego is a sum total of influences. It comes from here and there. It is not really you . But at the same time, the ego does not exist in vacuum. The ego has an organic, deep, loving relationship with its Source.
You could say, “The substance of ego comes from worldly influences, but the origin of the ego lies in the source of everything.” The source of everything, is also, the source of ego. Ego’s stuff comes from the world, but the root of the ego, that does not come from the world. That comes from the same place, the world comes from. Are you getting it?
“Let yourself be drawn.”
‘Yourself’ refers to all the ego stuff that has come from worldly influences.
“By the strong pull of what you truly love.”
And there is that point in the ego, which comes, not from the world, which is always connected to the Source, which is original, which is the child of the Sun itself, which you can call as ‘the son of God’.
“Let ‘yourself’,” let the entire crowd in the mind, let the entire world of thoughts and influences, be drawn towards that one, which the Source of the ego loves.
Remember, the other fragments do not love the Source. The other fragments are attracted towards miscellaneous things. But there is one part of the mind, which is not attracted towards the miscellaneous stuff, which is attracted only towards the root.
Rumi is saying, “Let that guide the rest of the parts. Let that one part, guide the rest of the parts,” just as Jesus, the Son of the God, would say, “The world, please be guided by me. I am your shepherd. I am your shepherd, and I will take all of you, to the Father.”
“What you truly love,” and ‘True Love’ does not pertain to the interests of the mind. ‘True Love’ does not pertain to those objects that all the ego-fragments feel attracted towards. It is heresy to interpret these words as meaning, that – ‘True Love’ pertains to an object, in the form of a man, or a woman, or an interest, or a life-mission, or anything. No.
‘Truly love’, does not mean that – “I truly love my career.” ‘Truly love’, cannot mean that – “I love my wife and family.” ‘Truly love,’ cannot mean that – “I truly love my religion.”
There is only one True Love, and not all parts of your mind are attracted towards it. They want to run hither and thither. They want to run astray and amok. Your entire mind wants to run away from Truth, except, the base of your mind. That is always eager, and desperate, and craving for nothing, but the Truth.
“Let ‘you’rself be drawn by the strong pull of what ‘you’ truly love.”
You see these two ‘yous’. Please understand. Had there been only one ‘you’, there would be no question of this advice. Rumi is saying, “Please go towards what you truly love.” Now, if I truly love something, why do I need someone to tell me to go towards it? So surely, there is something within me, which also resists. Surely there is something within me, which prevents me from going towards what I love. So there have to be two ‘yous’; one that is attracted, and the other, that is not attracted, that has other interests.
So Rumi is saying, “Don’t pursue other interests. Pursue just that True Love.” Unfortunately, this verse is misinterpreted to mean – “Please pursue your interests,” because interests will never say that they are interest. Interests would say, “We are true love.” Have you not seen men and women telling each other, “You are my true love”? Do they ever tell each other that I am only full of lust towards you? Ever?
Are you getting it?
Let your mind be drawn towards God, Truth. That is one way you can express what Rumi is saying. The other way to express it is – Give strength to that within you, which is drawn towards God, Truth, and Silence.
There are two ‘yous’. Give support and strength to the right ‘you’. Are you getting it? “Let ‘you’rself be drawn by the stronger pull of what ‘you’ truly love.” There are two ‘yous’. Kindly support the right ‘you’. Kindly support the right one.
Do not line up behind your miscellaneous interests, and they are very strong. They are so strong that they even stand in opposition to Truth itself. Do not underestimate them. They have so much strength that they can carry you away from the Truth. In fact, they are stronger than the god-loving part of the mind. That is why, the God-loving part, requires your support.
The part that is attracted towards the world , is powerful, even without your support. It is very powerful. But the part that wants to go towards Truth, Love, and Silence, that requires your active support. Nourish it, feed it, support it. That is Rumi’s request, invitation. Getting it?
Listener 1: So Sir, when you mentioned the statement by Jesus, that, “I am your shepherd,” so ‘Jesus’ is not someone outside. It is that part of the mind…
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Listener 1: So everybody has a saint inside?
Speaker: Yes, obviously, but only a few people support that saint. You all have a ‘Jesus’ inside, but very few people support the inner ‘Jesus’. The others simply crucify him again and again. He refuses to die. That is the meaning of his resurrection. You crucify, he comes alive again. But ‘you’ do your best, to bleed him to death. He won’t die, that is another matter. You would die. One day, you would die. He won’t die.
Listener 2: What is that which gives power to go towards Truth?
Speaker: Rumi gives power. Where are you searching for it? At some place ten kilometers from here? You are already been given the power. It is like sitting in a restaurant, and eating the most delicious, nutritious, and sumptuous food possible, and then asking innocently, “What is meant by food?” That which you are enjoying right now.
How ignorant can you be? What else is giving you power? ‘This’ *(referring to the discourse and discussion going on) i*s giving you power.
This! Just this! This! What else are you searching for?
