- 5 days ago
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00:00Before you compare somebody like Rumi with a corporate person, you have to be mindful of the dimension they are coming from.
00:08When Rumi talks, he's talking from, or at least attempting to talk from, a higher center, a higher point of consciousness.
00:15When others talk, they might be talking really big, but that all bigness is most probably coming from something very small.
00:23I live in pure fancy, and that is what is called the I, a fancy.
00:27The ego's confidence is shallow, at the same time, essential to itself.
00:33If the ego does not have that confidence, it will collapse.
00:36That will be a very great thing for you, the real you, but not for the ego, the false you.
00:42Before you try to bring so-called positive change in the world, ask yourself, do you know what is positive? How do you know?
00:51The real distinction is between people who realize and people who do not realize.
00:56That is the only real distinction.
00:59And that is what is called as discretion.
01:01To realize what is and versus what is not.
01:06The ability to distinguish between that which merely appears and that which is substantia.
01:12The first question comes from Shruti Iyer and she is finding a contradiction between two oft-quoted statements.
01:29The first one is by Rumi, yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
01:39Today I am wise, so I want to change myself.
01:42And the second one is from Steve Jobs, those who are, rather those who think they are crazy enough to change the world, actually do it.
01:59Those who think they are crazy enough to change the world, actually do it.
02:03She says, shouldn't one try to bring positive change in the world, given how the society as a whole is deteriorating, shouldn't one try to change it?
02:27Shruti, I feel people are sometimes just not brave enough to stand up for what is right.
02:37Shruti, any real difference between any two things or any two people or any two statements in this world?
03:04Shruti is only a difference between the points they come from, the difference between their very origins.
03:26I know, what I have said won't be making much sense till now, so let's pay attention.
03:37You see, you may try to change the world, but where are you coming from?
03:49What is the centre of your thought, motivation, operation?
03:55Why do you want to change the world?
03:56Why do you want to change the world?
04:00You might want to change the world, just so that the world becomes more conducive or more suitable to the furtherance of your ego,
04:20to the furtherance of your evolutionary mechanism, your animal instincts.
04:30A seller of products definitely wants to change the world, but why?
04:36He wants to change the world in probably much the same way the rabbits dig up earth these days.
04:53They are trying to change the world, aren't they?
04:59Here, I have my lawn and there is a small home for the bunnies and they live there and they are very busy digging up these days because it's hot.
05:18Their little home and the lawn and the grass and the trees, plants, that's their universe, physically.
05:27And they are trying to change it. Why are they trying to change it?
05:31To bring good to the world? Why are they trying to change it?
05:36They are trying to change it so that their physical, biological, evolutionary, egoistic mechanism can continue itself.
05:47There is no being in the world that does not try to change the world.
05:53The question is why are you trying to change the world?
05:57The question is what within you is prompting you to change the world?
06:02Show me one example of any living being.
06:08From humans to species of the smallest size and smallest brains.
06:20That is not effectively either trying to change the world to suit its own needs or adapting itself to change the world.
06:31That's what is continuously going on, right?
06:35But that is not intended to do any good to the world.
06:44That is coming from a point of your own little ego.
06:50So, usually when a normal human being, a businessman, a seller, feels pumped up and shoots such inspiring words,
07:08come on, be crazy enough to change the world.
07:11It is not as if he is trying to really uplift the world.
07:17It is just that he is trying to modify the world in a way that suits his own needs.
07:29For example, today the world is such that it does not know me, recognize me.
07:38And I want to see a changed world.
07:40What's my image of this changed world?
07:44World A, t is equal to zero.
07:48I am an anonymous entity.
07:50Nobody knows me.
07:52And I want a different world.
07:54And I am all fired up.
07:56What am I saying?
07:57Come on, let's change the world.
07:59Now, what's my vision of the changed world?
08:01The world is a better place or am I better off in the changed world?
08:07What's my vision for the world?
08:10Obviously, I'll go around declaring that I am the savior of the world.
08:17But what is it that I really want?
08:21I want a world in which I am better off.
08:24I want a world in which I am recognized, wealthier, successful, by my own definitions.
08:34So, there is not much in that.
08:38There is not much in that.
08:40Therefore, before you compare somebody like Rumi with a corporate person like Steve Jobs,
08:49you have to be mindful of the dimension they are coming from.
08:57When Rumi talks, he is talking from or at least attempting to talk from a higher center,
09:04a higher point of consciousness.
09:08When others talk, they might be talking really big.
09:14But that all bigness is most probably coming from something very small.
09:21Are you getting it?
09:25So, here is Rumi who is saying, yesterday I wanted to change the world.
09:28I wanted to change the world because I don't want to look at myself.
09:32Typical of the ego.
09:34It does not want to look at itself.
09:37And it doesn't want to look at itself.
09:38It lives in its own fancies and imaginations.
09:40Therefore, it's always at odds with the facts of the world.
09:44There is a conflict.
09:47The ego is always deluded about itself.
09:52That's what the ego is, right?
09:53A grand delusion.
09:55A myth.
09:58So, the ego lives in imaginations about itself.
10:01Thus I am.
10:02This I am.
10:03Whereas, the ego is not at all that way.
10:08The ego overestimates, underestimates, totally misses the point,
10:15sees things where they are not, does not see what is apparent.
10:21The result is that the ego is constantly in a conflict with the facts of the world.
10:30Forget about the truth.
10:32The ego cannot even fit peacefully with facts.
10:38Because my estimation and imagination of who I am, does not have any feet at all.
10:51I live in pure fancy and that is what is called the I, a fancy.
10:57Having no rootedness.
11:01Having no foundation in reality.
11:06That's the I.
11:08So, the ego is always, as we said, in strife with the facts of the universe.
11:15And when there is this conflict, what does the ego say?
11:17The ego does not say, oh, maybe I am mistaken about myself.
11:20The ego will not say that.
11:21What does the ego say?
11:22The universe seems too conceited, too bloated.
11:28The people are just not prepared to appreciate me.
11:32So, what am I going to do?
11:34I am going to change the people, their perception.
11:37The ego will not say, I am not alright.
11:41I am drunk.
11:42I am daydreaming.
11:44It will try to change the world.
11:49And those who have taken this path, have realized that there is no point trying to change the mirror,
12:00when your face is filthy.
12:02Hmm?
12:03You see that?
12:08Just because what is coming back to you from the mirror does not look pretty to you,
12:14what is it that you attempt to do?
12:16You try to change the mirror or manipulate the mirror in such way that what it sends to you is something you like.
12:25That's what the usual mind, the common man does.
12:29There are so many people who want to change the world, right?
12:34Very few who want to change themselves.
12:36There has to be a reason.
12:38The reason is this.
12:40The ego lives in a very shallow, at the same time, very existential confidence.
12:51The ego's confidence is shallow, at the same time essential to itself.
13:00If the ego does not have that confidence, it will collapse.
13:04That will be a very great thing for you, the real you, but not for the ego, the false you.
13:12Therefore, the ego has to keep pretending that it is in the truth.
13:17And if the ego is already in the truth, why will the ego ever want to look at itself and change itself?
13:23But something is definitely not alright, because the ego is in a constant conflict with the world.
13:29So, the conflict is there.
13:31The proof of the conflict is daily suffering, daily wounds.
13:35One is tense, one is not at peace.
13:40Something is not alright.
13:42So, either of the two have to change, either me or the world, because these are the two at odds with each other.
13:54The choice is simple.
13:56The world has to change, because I am in the truth on any way and already.
14:01So, why will I change myself?
14:03That's the approach of the common man.
14:05That's why Ruming's teaching is valuable.
14:08He is saying, if you are clever, you will try to change the world.
14:12And the use of the word clever here, it's a quip.
14:21It's spiritual sarcasm.
14:25The words say, yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
14:30What he actually means is, yesterday I was outright stupid, so I was trying to change the world.
14:35And then he says, now I am wise, so I want to change myself.
14:40Are you getting it?
14:42Now, let's look at your question.
14:43You are saying, given the state of the society, shouldn't one try to bring some positive change in it?
14:49Now, first of all, if you have not understood yourself, how will you know what the state of the society really is?
15:01Because whatsoever is the state of the society, you are the perceiver, you are the judge.
15:08That brings us to the question of what really is positive.
15:12How do you know what is good for the other?
15:15How do you know that your definition of goodness is absolute?
15:22Maybe it is just relative to your own conditioning and concepts.
15:26Maybe you are just trying to impose your own idea of positivity and wellness upon others.
15:35You are not saying that you must not attempt to bring any change in the world.
15:41But first of all, one has to be clear about why does one aspire to bring that change.
15:47And whether one has brought about any change in oneself first.
15:54Now, change in oneself.
15:57If you want to bring change in yourself, then the role of your external situations becomes important.
16:06And that is one genuine reason why you might attempt to change the world.
16:12Because if you don't change your surroundings, it becomes difficult to bring deep change in yourself.
16:20So that is one good reason why.
16:22The other good reason is, as you start changing, you start developing what is called the faculty of oneness and compassion.
16:32You realize that your wellness, your goodness cannot be separated from that of the other.
16:47Going a little further ahead, you realize that probably this feeling of otherness itself is a miraj.
17:01And then you have no option but to work for the good of the other as well.
17:06Which is nothing but your own good because really there is no other.
17:10Are you getting it?
17:13And these are two very very different things.
17:16Working on the other to promote your own personal welfare is one thing.
17:22And working on the other from a point of compassion is a totally different thing, is it not?
17:34In both the cases, outwardly, it would appear that a fellow is just attempting to change or modify or correct the other.
17:49But internally everything is different.
17:52The saint and the seller are not the same.
17:56The saint works tirelessly to change the world because he realizes that his own welfare is not separate from the welfare of the world.
18:14He realizes that the other's suffering is his own suffering.
18:21He realizes that joy is not something personal or fragmented.
18:29Therefore, he has no option but to work for the other as well.
18:36His narrow self has just fallen apart.
18:44Even if he tries to, he cannot work merely for his personal benefit.
18:51He has seen the falseness of what we call as the person.
18:59What we call as the me, the self, the individual, the personality.
19:07He has seen what all this is about and where it comes from.
19:13So, there is no way he can keep working for something that's just an illusion.
19:19Therefore, now his work is for the greater common good.
19:26The seller on the other hand, will work relentlessly to effect a change in the world.
19:33But the change that he wants to bring in the world, I would reckon is mostly for his own benefit.
19:43Before you try to bring so-called positive change in the world, ask yourself, do you know what is positive?
19:53How do you know?
19:54What do you mean by positive? What is negative?
19:58A decade back, this used to be my favorite question to college going students.
20:07What is positive for you is not positive for him at all.
20:19Basics of coordinate geometry.
20:21Shift the origin.
20:22What is positive becomes negative.
20:24It all depends on your center.
20:27Where are you operating from?
20:29What's positive for the man is not positive for the woman.
20:32What is positive for the Indian is not positive for the Chinese.
20:36How do you know what is positive?
20:39And if your idea of positivity is just your own personal idea, relative to your personal self,
20:53is it right to impose this idea or even carry this idea to the other?
21:02First of all you have to figure out what is meant by the absolute and universal good.
21:07Not personal good. Absolute good.
21:11There is a great difference between personal welfare or personal good and that which is absolutely good for everybody without exception unconditionally.
21:23Before you work for the other, you will have to move from your personal position to an impersonal position.
21:32You have also said that most people do not have the courage to stand up for what is right.
21:41It is not so much about courage. It is not so much about courage. It is about clarity.
21:47There are mental conditions in which one seems to become very fearless.
21:56Nothing great about those conditions.
22:00Some drugs, some weed, a bit of alcohol and there are so many people who lose all fear.
22:08Tremendously intrepid they become.
22:13They can challenge the god of death himself at that moment.
22:21Three pegs down, you ask them to jump from a seven story and they would.
22:28It is not really courage that is always virtuous.
22:33Clarity is virtue.
22:39Yes, obviously, there are many people who are courageous and in your words, brave.
22:46And there are many people who are afraid.
22:49I would not greatly distinguish between the two.
22:54The real distinction is between people who realize and people who do not realize.
23:01That is the only real distinction.
23:07And that is what is called as discretion.
23:10To realize what is and versus what is not.
23:16The ability to distinguish between that which merely appears and that which is substantial.
23:26Have that.
23:28From that what you get is something higher than courage.
23:33Courage, as I said, can even be a result of your hormones or your drunkenness.
23:40Right?
23:42If you are a bit under the impact of something bodily, you find yourself ready to take on all kinds of challenges.
24:03Fear stops mattering.
24:05No.
24:06Nothing big about that.
24:10The jails of the world are full of very, very courageous people.
24:17At least in their moment of madness, you could say they were not short of courage.
24:24There is no great virtue in courage.
24:28We were saying that when you have clarity then something much more indomitable then
24:36courage comes from it.
24:40Courage is momentary and after that it subsides, does it not?
24:45Are you always equally courageous?
24:49From clarity what you get is something much more stable, much more lasting, not something
25:09that is frothing and shouting and erupting but something that is passively and solidly
25:23and permanently present in you.
25:29Courage appears heroic, does it not?
25:32Courage is spectacular.
25:34What clarity gives you may not appear heroic or spectacular but it does great things.
25:46If you want to steal the show for five minutes, ask for courage.
25:53If you want to live a worthy life, ask for clarity.
26:03Courage is just suspension of fear.
26:09In clarity, you know the falseness of fear.
26:20That's the word, clarity.
26:22You are clear about fear or you are clear of fear.
26:31If fear has merely been suspended or suppressed, obviously it will come back, bounce back.
26:39In clarity, you know what the whole game, the whole mechanism of fear is all about.
26:49You know how it operates in you, you know how it operates in others.
26:56And then you relate to the world in a very different way.
27:02You tell the world, I know why you live the way you do.
27:07I have been so much like you, I still am.
27:13Before I want to talk to you.
27:19If I could overcome something, you too can.
27:25Potentially, fundamentally, the two of us are not different, me and the world.
27:32So let's talk.
27:36That's one way of bringing about change in the world.
27:40That's the better way.
27:45No.
27:52Oh.
27:53There.
27:57You.
27:58There.
28:00You.
28:01There.
28:02There.
28:02There.
28:04There.
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