Heaven Is A Lousy Place - With Sadhguru In Challenging Times - 03 April

Well,

Whatever the human condition,

Whatever the human problems,

Whatever turmoils that human beings go through,

Nature and life continues to function as it is,

Actually better.

Minus the human being,

Every other life is feeling better.

Sad story about ourselves.

You saw the peacock dancing,

Many other things happening all over the world.

In terms of carbon emissions,

Some.

.

.

I don't know if anybody can really study it in such a short span of time,

But some people are saying it's gone back to world.

.

.

Just post World War time,

That is about seventy-five years ago or more.

Seventy-five years ago what was the emission level,

It's come to that.

So,

Plants and trees and insects and birds and animals,

On the very air is happy.

Our lives are disrupted and dislocated.

There is a price for this for all of us.

But let's at least celebrate that other life is doing well.

Let's appreciate those.

.

.

All this life that was suffering because of us,

These three,

Four,

Five weeks,

Whatever number of weeks,

They're all doing well,

We must be at least celebrating their well-being.

Because I'm also just a life,

I am also better.

Well,

A little poem for you.

It's called Lilt.

You want to read it by yourself or you want me to read it for you?

To lay under a tree on a hot summer afternoon,

Fruit flies buzz lazily,

The flutter of the butterfly has slowed to match the mood.

A lazy tropical summer afternoon,

Gazing up at the magic of exquisite geometry of branches,

Twigs,

Leaves,

And above all,

The enterprising rays of sun finding their way through this magical mess,

My nots tingle with rapture of pure life and willingness to merge into the very sword that I lay upon.

Life and death goes on.

Whatever our social situations,

Whatever our economic concerns,

All of it is important,

But the most important is life.

Every other life seems to be happy.

I think we should join them.

Happiness does not mean doing irresponsible things.

Because people's idea of celebration is always about eating,

Drinking,

Doing irresponsible things is considered celebration by the youth of the world today.

There is a way to celebrate.

Celebration does not mean any specific activity.

If you are a little playful with life,

Every moment of life is a celebration.

Especially when the situations that we face are serious,

Life threatening.

In such moments if you can be playful,

Your life is definitely a celebration.

This is the time to learn that you're in the safety of your own homes.

Among people who will attack you for every small thing,

But they don't intend to harm you.

That is a family.

They don't want to harm you.

They're your loved ones,

But they are the most critical and most attacking about every small things.

Nobody would dare to attack you for small things like the family does.

So,

This is the time to learn to take these situations playfully,

Make it playful and celebratory.

May you look back on this time of three weeks of togetherness with great joy.

I'm sure by yourself you will create this three weeks again and again,

If you make this into truly beautiful three weeks.

And if all of us behave responsibly,

It will be three weeks and not more.

But if we behave responsibly,

It could be much longer that we will have to pay a severe price in various levels of our activity.

Questioner 1 – Sadhguru,

The first question is from Mark Snow.

The immediate and profound dangers of the coronavirus is justifiably overshadowing the other daunting crisis we face,

That of climate change.

Sadhguru,

How do you assess the prospect of the international community to summon the collective will to sustain a global effort to avert this catastrophe after exhausting ourselves in this struggle?

Well,

Climate change.

.

.

What am I supposed to do?

Climate change is a issue that's not going to go away because you have a viral infection.

Climate change is like a viral infection for the planet itself.

And the virus is us.

For a long time we have infested this planet in such a way that slowly we are taking the life out of it.

As we are.

.

.

So,

You know,

Populations are terrified of this virus.

Every other creature on this planet,

Every plant,

Every worm,

Insect,

Bird,

Animal,

All of them are terrified of the human virus.

Yes.

Many of them have become extinct.

Many of them are on the way.

So in our concerns about this virus,

We shall not forget the other problems that we have.

It is just that right now,

The focus needs to be on this because otherwise this could become a massive issue for the humanity.

Because this can run for months or years.

If we don't clamp it down,

Well,

You got it,

You got cured,

Somebody else will get it,

They will spread,

Again they get cured,

They will spread it to somebody else.

This can go on like a chain process,

Till the virus itself mutates into a milder form,

Which normally has been the trend,

But not necessarily.

So,

We cannot forget the other problems that we have,

Particularly of climate change.

When we say climate change,

Different people have different understanding about it.

As a part of the conscious planet movement,

I'm trying to bring the focus to one thing,

Which is the most important aspect of rejuvenating this planet.

Everything that you see as life,

There is life beyond that also,

But everything that you normally see as life on this planet,

From worms to insects to birds to animals and plant life and ourselves,

All this happens out of just thirty-nine inches of topsoil.

Everything happens within this,

Below that are all microbes which are also important,

But we are not causing much damage to them.

The real damage is happening only to this thirty-nine inches of topsoil,

Which sustains every life that we know.

From an ant to an elephant,

Everything depends on this thirty-nine inches.

Not that what's below is not important,

But this is where maximum life happens,

And this is where maximum damage is happening.

There are many other things,

There is air pollution,

There is water pollution,

There is noise pollution,

There are many other problems for which we are the source.

But the most important thing is to ensure that these thirty-nine inches of topsoil is organically rich and healthy.

If you do this one thing,

Rest of it,

The planet is capable of regenerating itself and manage the other problems,

Largely.

Well,

People will debate about this,

They can debate as much as they want.

But if you want action,

A solution-oriented action,

Then this is the way to act.

This is what I'm trying to get many significant forces in the world,

Many important people and influencers in the world,

Various organizations in the world as a part of Conscious Planet Movement,

To bring the focus to these thirty-nine inches.

But somebody is concerned about the air in Delhi,

I am not saying you should not be concerned.

That is also a concern.

But right now the most important thing on the planet is to ensure that the desertification stops.

Desertification means we transform rich soil into sand,

Because we suck out all the organic content in the soil and it becomes sand.

Once this happens,

To turn it around it would take hundred,

Two hundred,

Three hundred years to put it back.

But this is happening rapidly.

Twenty-five percent of India's soil is right now considered fallow.

Forty-two percent of Tamil Nadu soil is considered fallow.

These were all very fertile,

Rich lands.

But today,

They are moving towards desertification.

So putting the organic content back is a no-brainer.

There are only two sources,

Animal waste and leaves from the trees,

There is simply nothing else to put back.

It doesn't come from anywhere else.

People talk about technologies and technologies.

Every.

.

.

Technologies can be used to limit the damage,

But the solution is only in the soil.

Every technology that today we are complaining about,

We must understand fifty or hundred years ago,

They were illogized as the best.

When the first steam locomotive driven by coal came,

People thought that is the greatest miracle that we've brought about.

I'm not trying to talk against it.

Yes,

This has been our.

.

.

Part of our evolution of human technologies or human beings dealing with technologies.

That's okay,

What's happened we cannot.

.

.

We cannot change the history of what we have done.

But right now the most important thing is this,

Everybody's focus needs to shift towards soil.

We must see that as much soil as possible on the planet is organically rich.

The only way you can do it is putting back the soil under shade,

Where organic activity will begin.

Right earnest.

If you don't understand what I'm saying,

Where there is no any kind of shade,

Just dig the soil up to eight,

Nine inches and see how it is.

Go where there are a lot of trees or in a forest,

Dig the soil how it is.

You yourself will know you don't have to be any kind of a scientist.

Just simple common sense will tell you this soil is rich and alive,

Full of life.

Soil is the habitat upon which zillions of lives thrive.

Because of that thriving life,

Everything grows,

We eat food,

Other animals grow,

Everything happens because soil is rich.

Once there is no richness in soil,

Then you have forsaken the planet in many ways.

But people like to draw attention to small things.

I'm not saying it is not necessary.

It is important that we are cognizant of all the problems we have.

But right now,

When there is an express need to stop or arrest desertification in the world,

Attending to small things could become too much distraction.

Resources will not go where they have to go,

Action will not go where it has to go.

This happened.

Shankaran Pillai was sleeping in the night.

His wife poked him with her elbows in the ribs,

Because you know rib and woman have some connection.

At least it's believed,

Okay.

So she gave it to him in the ribs,

In the remaining ribs.

What,

What,

What?

She said,

I heard the doors squeaking.

Ah,

Okay,

Slept.

Again,

Now knocking,

Not poking,

Knocking in the ribs and saying,

I heard it once again,

The doors squeaked.

What,

You want me to go and oil it now?

There is a bigger problem,

This is not the time to oil the hinges in the door.

There is a much bigger problem.

The biggest problem right now is this soil degradation.

Yes,

There is carbon in the air.

Well,

They're telling you just one week of lockdown,

It's gone almost,

Everything is fine.

So those things will fix themselves very quickly.

But if you damage the soil,

It will take a century or two centuries to bring it back.

So you cannot damage the topsoil and think we will live well by purifying the air.

No.

You cannot damage this topsoil and think there will be substantial water in the world.

No,

It will be somewhere but it will not be available to you.

If we do not want to really upset the planet and its balance,

In a way that it is not inconsistent with the flourishing of human civilizations.

Why is it that great civilizations did not flourish in the Kalahari desert?

Simply because the soil is not rich.

It's as simple as that.

If we do not stop the desertification,

If we do not stop soil degradation,

Then it is not that the planet will go away,

It will not be conducive for human beings to live on it.

So,

It's very,

Very important to focus on that.

Human footprint has to be reduced.

There are many things to do.

The most important thing is to reduce the number of feet.

We are too many feet.

We are nice,

But we're just a bit too many.

So,

Half the world are little more than that right now staying at home.

Certainly they're saying all kinds of ratings about air quality and this one,

That one,

Everything.

At the beginning of twentieth century,

We were only 1.

6 billion people.

Today we're reaching towards,

Inching towards 8 billion.

In hundred years,

Or little over hundred years.

Well,

That doesn't speak of us as conscious human beings.

Obviously,

We are living very compulsively.

So it's time to address that.

It's not that tomorrow morning population can be fixed.

If we address it now in the next thirty years,

You will see necessary decline.

People are seeing population as a power.

People are seeing population as political power,

Industrial power,

Some kind of economic power in the world.

That's not the way to see it.

That is not the way to see it,

Otherwise,

These kind of pandemics and epidemics will come and level us down.

If we don't deal with this consciously,

Nature will do it to us in a cruel manner.

Right now that's what is in progress in a certain way.

It's happening to us in a cruel way.

But even this calamity,

Impending calamity can be dealt with consciously,

So that it doesn't become very cruel,

If everybody comes to their senses.

Questioner 1 – Sadhguru next question.

Please raise the question.

Questioner 1 – Is from DJ Juan Cuba from France.

Sadhguru throughout our lives,

We learn about ourselves and the world around us.

We develop qualities and abilities.

Do they disappear in the next life?

Do we have to start all over again?

Will you have your DJ skills in your next life,

Is that the question?

DJ.

He's from France?

I'm sure you can take a joke.

One day,

A French DJ was traveling by the local train.

And a mother with a little boy,

School going boy,

Was also traveling in the train.

And she heard her saying,

His name was Alphonse.

So the mother said,

You must do your homework today,

Otherwise,

Would you like to listen to the Alphonse Alphonse show?

The DJ,

He's just swelled,

He felt proud that the mother is recommending his show to a child.

The boy said,

No.

Then she said,

You better behave,

Otherwise you will have to watch Alphonse Alphonse show.

So,

The skills that you gather now,

Will it go into my next life?

I thought it's only Indians who are reborn.

French don't.

.

.

Please do not get into this kind of thought process.

The first and foremost thing is,

In your life,

You do not invest your time,

Your thought,

Your emotion and your energy into anything which is not in your experience.

What this means is,

If you invest your thought and emotion into something that is not yet your experience,

You will become hallucinatory.

You will already start living your next life,

When you have not lived this life properly.

Then how do I be a spiritual seeker?

Spiritual seeking means this,

Where you are right now.

Suppose you're here in this premises,

You want to see something which is outside,

Far away.

It is not that you sit here and think about it.

You go climb the tallest tree and look out,

You will see little better.

And if you sit on the tree long enough,

The tree also grows little taller.

So you will see further better.

So this is all you do as a spiritual seeker.

From where you are,

You see what is the next step.

You don't think of the ultimate step,

Because you will become hallucinatory.

This is all that's happened to most religions.

Everybody is thinking of another place to go,

Making a mess out of this place and going to another place.

Where rudimentary things are offered,

Rudimentary stuff.

The way the heavens are described in various religions,

I'm very clear that's one place where I don't want to go.

Hundred percent.

Because it looks like it is made in some crude man's head.

No room for women.

Anyway,

Except as utility,

There is no space for women,

Because these things were all manufactured in perverted men's minds.

All the things that they're deprived of here,

They're imagining things in big quantity out there.

There is really no role for a woman.

You're doing better on the planet,

Don't even think of going to heaven.

I'm definitely not going there.

Not because of eligibility.

Maybe that is also a question.

Simply because that is not the kind of lousy place that I would ever want to go.

The heavens that people have created.

This is what you're seeing here is Creator's making.

What is within me is my making.

This always feels like heaven.

If you manage the outside reasonably well,

The outside also will be heaven.

This is an assured heaven.

External situations need management,

But with little management that is also heaven.

You want to go to another place,

Please go,

But why are you staying here right now?

We need social distancing.

All the people who want to go to heaven if they leave,

It will naturally happen.

Social distancing is a need of the hour,

You know.

So,

Alphonse,

What's his name?

His name is not Alphonse.

I'm Cuba.

Okay.

But just in case,

Instead of throwing you back onto this planet once again as a DJ,

Suppose they need a DJ in heaven.

You go there.

We don't know what all other kinds of DJs are there,

If they've made it before or you are the first DJ to go there,

I don't know.

Whether they need your music or not,

I don't know.

On this planet,

Right now,

Whatever you're doing,

Whether you're joking something,

Whatever you're doing,

Just do it your best.

Whatever,

It doesn't matter,

Whatever you're doing,

How small,

How big,

It doesn't matter,

Do it to the hilt.

When you have opportunity to do what you can do,

You hesitate,

You're holding it back so that you can take your skills to heaven or to next life.

Hindus want to take it to the next life,

Christians and Muslims want to take it to heaven.

No,

Please,

In this life,

Whatever skills you have,

Whatever energy you have,

Whatever love you have,

Whatever joy you have,

Spend the damn thing here,

Fully,

Absolutely.

This happened.

You know,

Right now UK is reeling under this virus attack.

This is some time ago,

A young man who lived in London,

Mr.

Bunbury,

Decided to see his uncle who lived in the countryside.

He had not visited him for a long time,

Many years had passed.

So he decided to make a visit.

Because his aunt has had passed away eighteen months ago,

But because he was busy,

He couldn't go immediately.

Now,

He decided to go,

Went and got off in a single track railway station.

Then he looked around,

It looked desolate.

There was a time bitten old man who was sitting there.

So he went up to him and asked,

My uncle Bunbury lives somewhere here.

Can you direct me to the Bunbury farms?

Andrew Bunbury.

The old man said,

Oh,

Andrew,

He died yesterday.

Oh,

How can he die?

I came here to spend the weekend with him.

The old man looked at this well-dressed Londoner.

And he said,

He drawled,

Ah,

Maybe he was expecting you.

So he died in time.

So,

Especially now,

These virus times,

You know you're mortal.

You always are,

But at least now you know for sure.

So,

Whatever you have,

Whatever you have,

Your skills,

Your love,

Your joy,

Your ingenuity,

Please show it now,

Your ability to do things,

Show it now.

Don't try to carry it to another life.

Who knows,

Next life you may be a cockroach.

Why are you laughing?

They are saying,

Cockroach is one creature which has survived for over a billion years on this planet.

This time around you're born as a human being,

Next time you may go back to your original shape.

And DJ skills may not be helpful,

I'm saying.

So,

Do it now and do it well.

Throw yourself into every damn thing that you're doing,

Absolutely.

Because that's where life is,

Involvement.

Life is in your involvement with it.

Where there is no involvement,

There is no life.

So,

Do not sit around and think up all kinds of silly ideas.

You don't know whether you will be reborn or not,

You're just reading some Indian books.

You for sure don't know you will go to heaven or not.

You read up some book.

Leave those things.

Put all your five senses out and feel the life.

What does it say?

Do that damn thing.

It says you have to live.

To live and to live totally.

This does not mean you have to do something,

To live totally means,

Should I party every night?

No,

No,

No.

To live totally means to explore every possibility that life holds for this one.

To every possibility that this life holds,

You must explore,

That is living totally.

Now,

But Sadhguru there is a lockdown,

How do I live?

I want you to know,

And I'm just reminding you,

Life happens only within you.

What you think is happening around you is just an illusion.

Somebody sitting here,

You think you're seeing them.

No,

It is just that light falls on them,

Reflects,

Refract and image in your retina,

That's where you're seeing it.

You're not seeing anything here.

Every experience of life of seeing,

Hearing,

Smelling,

Tasting,

Touching,

Thought,

Emotion,

Joy,

Misery,

Agony,

Ecstasy,

Pain,

Pleasure,

Everything is happening within you.

The more you become alive,

The more you get turned inward.

External activity is only an expression.

Life is really happening here.

So,

Lockdown is a fantastic time.

You should not call it lockdown,

This is not a government imposed lockdown.

This is your pratyahara,

A significant step in your spiritual process.