SADHGURU: IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE SEEKERS, NOT JUST BELIEVERS
ONE of the many names associated with Shiva is Triambaka – the three-eyed one. Because of the “third eye”, he perceives “that which is not.”
“That which is” is physical manifestation – “that which is not” is not physical.
Right now, what you cannot perceive through your five senses is not in your experience. If willing to strive, a human being can see that which is not physical – Shiva.
Today, the human aspiration to be something more than what they are right now has put the planet itself in danger.
Gathering money, property, relationships or whatever else may make you feel like you are something more – but only in comparison with someone. By yourself, nothing of you will be enhanced. Only when your perception is enhanced, then the way you experience this life is enhanced.
We plan to make Adiyogi – the source of yoga – an iconic presence in the world so that people understand that only enhancement of perception ultimately enhances life.
We unveiled a 112-foot tall face of Adiyogi on Mahashivaratri, February 24, 2017. The number is both symbolic and scientifically significant for our existence because he opened up 112 possibilities for human beings to reach their ultimate nature, and there are 112 chakras in the human system with which you can work. This image of Adiyogi will be the largest face on the planet. The idea is not to build one more monument, but to use it as a galvanising force to transform the world from a mass of believers to individuals who seek truth of life and beyond – a shift from religion to responsibility.
All the conflict on the planet, though some would like to project it as good versus evil, is essentially one man’s versus another man’s belief. The moment you believe something, you become blind to everything else. For belief systems to work, you need a flock. If you apply your intelligence and think for yourself, your belief will collapse.
Believing means assuming certainty about dimensions of which you have no clue. This will give you confidence without clarity, which is disastrous.
It is important today that the next generation are seekers, not believers, that they do not belong to some imaginary heaven for which they only qualify after death. This is what believing does – it makes you dead sure about things you know nothing about.
The most important thing is to build a culture of individual seeking, never religion. The good thing about seekers is they are joyfully confused. When you are seeking, you have something to strive for, but nothing to fight for. The world needs this badly.
The way human beings are empowered today, we have phenomenal ability to create and destroy.
When we are striving, we try to create. When we are fighting, we destroy.
Adiyogi is significant to start a new awakening in the world, where instruments of selftransformation will be common. As most people know how to brush their teeth, they should know how to keep themselves peaceful and joyful and manage their body and mind. If this happens, human beings will become a tremendous potential and possibility.
■ Ranked among the 50 most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian award, in 2017, for exceptional and distinguished service.