Listener: Sir, you say that we must not go by the social norms, but we want to enjoy worldly success, like earning money…
Speaker: Do you understand enjoyment? There is a difference between enjoyment and titillation. There is a difference between enjoyment and entertainment. Do you really know, what joy is? You are using these words very loosely. Just because society has handed over these words to you, you are tossing them around. What is it that makes life worthy? You tell me, ‘what is it that makes life worthy?’ You will have to inquire into the essential nature of life. What is life all about? When do you say that a man is alive? Let us start with this : When do you say that a man is alive?
Listener: When he is fully engrossed in the moment.
Speaker: When he is fully engrossed in the moment. Let us say, ‘this moment’. What happens?
Listener: Right now I am listening…
Speaker: And hence you ‘know’, what is going on. To be alive is to really ‘know’ what is going on. To be alive is to clearly know, that I am conditioned and all my likes and dislikes are sourced in this conditioning. What else does it mean to be alive? What else does it mean to be alive? To eat, to breathe, to fidget, to sleep? What does it mean to be alive?
Listener: Sir, we all are alive for a cause.
Speaker: How many of you who are paying attention right now, are hearing me right now, for a cause, for some charity, to help the downtrodden in the society? How many of you are listening for a cause? Is there a cause?
Listener: Life-Education.
Speaker: Really? Are you thinking about life-education? What does it really mean to be alive? What happens in the moment? You said that you are fully immersed. What happens in the moment of immersion? Is there a confusion? Is there a lot of confusion in the moment of immersion?
A particular lightness and that lightness is called freedom. To be alive means to ‘know’, and know not from the past, not from any external source. Know right now, attentiveness. To be alive means to be free. To be alive means that the mind is unburdened, unconditioned, that the mind understands what it means by enjoyment, that the mind understands what it means by fear, that the mind understands its processes; and to be alive means to love, that is what worthiness is. This is what makes life worthy of living, knowing. And know what? Truth. When you know, ‘Truth is there’. ‘Truth is there’ only when you know, right? For you Truth is there only when you know. So, this is what worthiness is.
Truth, Joy, Love, Freedom; simple, very simple. This what makes life worthy; he is free, he is free of schedules; he is free of the response of the audience; he does not have to worry that what price would my next painting fetch; he doesn’t have to think what the critics would say about my painting. To be alive, is to be creative. Because, when you are in the moment, that expression is called creativity. He is creative, really creative. He is not just manipulating the past; he is not just improvising upon the past. He is truly creative, and that is what makes his life worthy, that is what worthiness is. He knows what joy is; this is what worthiness is. One thinks that he is enjoying: the other one is enjoying. Do you understand the difference? One ‘thinks’ he is enjoying, and the other one ‘is’ enjoying. Do you see that there is a lot of difference between the two? One thinks he is happy; the other one is happy. One lives in images; the other one just lives. One is ‘somebody’; the other one just ‘is’. One wants a particular peace, a particular joy, a particular achievement; the other one is peaceful and joyful. This difference, this is what worthiness is.
Excerpted from a ‘Shabd-Yog’ session. Edited for clarity.
Acharya Prashant: ‘How can I get my ex-girlfriend back?’ The question comes from Shubham. Shubham you will have to die (audience bursts into laughter). There is no other way, you will have to die.
You know, it was Kabir Sahab who said: ये तो घर है प्रेम का, खाला…
Understanding expresses itself through action. And understanding knows no other expression. Words are a very poor substitute for the right action and that is what Gibran is talking of here. He says that which is understood claim for its final expression as action in life. The poet often lets his understanding become his words. To that extent, there is a flow but if the words remain mere words and do not turn into life then there is no freedom yet. The imprisonment continues. Live what you love, otherwise, the punishment is tremendous.
Questioner: Why do people commit suicide?
Acharya Prashant: They still have a lot of hope. They feel that suicide would redeem them. They have not given up everything. They are still carrying a lot of hope. If I do not know what is beyond life, how can I enter that…
