Adultery

— Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

Questioner: How does adultery affect a person’s spiritual growth?

Sadhguru: One thing that needs to be understood is that if there is no love in your heart, you are anyway an adulterer. Without love in your heart, for convenience or comfort if you have given yourself to any aspect of life – not necessarily a man or a woman – you are an adulterer. In that sense, I am against adultery. But from the perspective of what is considered socially as adultery, it is an individual choice. For every action that you perform there is a consequence. Most people are not willing to face the consequences when they come. They want to have situations that they enjoy without facing consequences. Anybody who is not willing to joyfully accept the consequences that come to them for whatever actions they perform is a fool. A fool goes against himself in so many ways.

If you are turning against yourself because you have given in to an aspect of your body or emotion or anything, it is definitely not okay, because you will bring suffering to yourself. It doesn’t make sense to bring suffering to yourself – whatever the reason.

In your life, you must do what makes the utmost sense to you. It is not about right or wrong. That is not the point. Are you living your life sensibly? Or are you a slave of something? That is the question. A senseless life is a sin, isn’t it? If you live sensibly in a way that the creator will be proud of you, it is fine. If you have just given in to the ways of your body, emotion or mind, and are going against yourself, it is not sensible.

Is such senselessness wrong? I am not saying it is wrong, it is just very limited and stupid. Anything that is limited and stupid is not worthwhile. So I would say adultery is not worthwhile. It is stupid and senseless to give into something which seems to be everything today but tomorrow will make you feel like a fool. That is a senseless way to live. You must live in such a way, with so much sense that God should be envious of you. If you show such a sense, there is no right and wrong with your life. If you do not have such sense, everything is wrong with your life.