Guiding Light

Love Thy Neighbour — Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

I see these slogans “I Love Jesus” everywhere. I want you to understand that Jesus himself never said “Love me” or “Love God,” he said “Love thy neighbor.” Loving the person who is next to you right now irrespective of who he is, is a tremendous challenge. You may not know who the hell he is or what he is capable of. You may not know what horrible things this man may be doing or what he may be plotting in his mind. You are not ignorant of his possible qualities or his pluses and minuses or the good and evil he may carry within him but still if you are capable of loving this person who is next to you, it is a tremendous thing.

But unfortunately, you dropped the “Love thy neighbor” and chose “Love Jesus.” This is easy. Any fool can love somebody who is not here right now. Loving Jesus, Krishna or somebody else does not bring about any transformation in you because Krishna or Jesus has become an ideal, perfect person in your mind. To love that person is very easy. But to love your neighbor with all his weaknesses, problems and struggles takes strength, it takes heart.

This has become a fad everywhere these days, especially the new age spirituality in the West has taken this on – “Oh I love humanity. I love the cosmos.” That’s easy because you don’t have to love anybody. If you have to love just one individual, it costs life. “I love the whole cosmos but I can’t stand the person who is sitting next to me right now.” This is just bullshit.

To love just one person, you have to surrender so much of yourself. “Love thy neighbor” – that is very significant. “Oh let me check who my neighbor is.” That’s not the point. Whoever and whatever is in touch with you right now, just love it indiscriminately. The very air that you breathe, the water that you drink and the land that you walk on are your neighbours. Just love whatever is in touch with you right now. Now this is something else.