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Question: There is much talk on humans being born again. Is there something like rebirth?
Sadhguru: With some things, it is best that you know them only by experience. If you want to explore rebirth, first you must die [laughs].
When you ask, “Is there rebirth?” what you are asking is “What is my nature? Is it just body, or am I much beyond that? What is this that is me?” Or in other words you are asking “Who am I? What is my essential process of life?” These are very big questions.
If you cry with this question, if you roll on the ground, unable to bear this question, I have many ways to answer you. If you just casually say, “Is there rebirth?” then I cannot answer your question because whatever I would say or do, you would not understand. Now, if I say yes or no, half the people will believe me, half the people will disbelieve me. Again the same trouble—belief and disbelief. If you believe there is rebirth, it will not make any difference to you. If you do not believe in it, it will make no difference to you anyway.
Right now, you do not know life beyond this body and mind, so do not imagine anything. Just learn to conduct this life in the highest possible way within the limitations of this body and mind. Even in this body, in what beautiful ways you can exist, you are not allowing that to happen. Then how can you handle what is beyond the body, what is going to happen after death? If you get more interested in the next birth, the life that is here now will be forgotten.
It is always the desire of the mind to search for something that is not here. There is so much of life in things that are here. About that, your intention is always less. There is no concern about how your life now should be. But you are concerned about what will happen tomorrow, what will happen after 10 years, how will my child be, (even though marriage is not over) how will I get my child, how will I get a grandson…. Like this, it makes all kinds of calculations. What you should understand is, somehow, mind always attempts to escape from reality.
If you could simply be, you would either become enlightened or understand that “I am a fool.” Anything else is not possible. So the mind keeps doing something or other, about tomorrow, about next birth, or something else. If it keeps quiet, it will understand that it is an utter fool. If this is understood, you have taken a very big step in yoga. The moment man experientially realizes he is a fool, wisdom will flower. Till he realizes this, how can there be wisdom? Foolishness will keep on going.
So when what is happening in your mind in this moment is not in your control, if you think beyond life, beyond death, you will just waste time, energy and life because you do not have the necessary intensity to penetrate dimensions which are beyond your present level of experience.
Your present level of experience is limited to five sense organs. With these, you cannot experience anything that is not physical. The only thing that you can experience in the world is that which is physical. So if you want to know that which is not physical, when you say, “Is there life beyond death?”, when you ask this question, you are saying, “I want to know that which is beyond the physical body.” If you want to know that which is beyond the physical, see how to go beyond the five sense organs. The trap is there.
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Leave rebirth; just live life
May 2011
Sadhguru: With some things, it is best that you know them only by experience. If you want to explore rebirth, first you must die [laughs].
When you ask, “Is there rebirth?” what you are asking is “What is my nature? Is it just body, or am I much beyond that? What is this that is me?” Or in other words you are asking “Who am I? What is my essential process of life?” These are very big questions.
If you cry with this question, if you roll on the ground, unable to bear this question, I have many ways to answer you. If you just casually say, “Is there rebirth?” then I cannot answer your question because whatever I would say or do, you would not understand. Now, if I say yes or no, half the people will believe me, half the people will disbelieve me. Again the same trouble—belief and disbelief. If you believe there is rebirth, it will not make any difference to you. If you do not believe in it, it will make no difference to you anyway.
Right now, you do not know life beyond this body and mind, so do not imagine anything. Just learn to conduct this life in the highest possible way within the limitations of this body and mind. Even in this body, in what beautiful ways you can exist, you are not allowing that to happen. Then how can you handle what is beyond the body, what is going to happen after death? If you get more interested in the next birth, the life that is here now will be forgotten.
It is always the desire of the mind to search for something that is not here. There is so much of life in things that are here. About that, your intention is always less. There is no concern about how your life now should be. But you are concerned about what will happen tomorrow, what will happen after 10 years, how will my child be, (even though marriage is not over) how will I get my child, how will I get a grandson…. Like this, it makes all kinds of calculations. What you should understand is, somehow, mind always attempts to escape from reality.
If you could simply be, you would either become enlightened or understand that “I am a fool.” Anything else is not possible. So the mind keeps doing something or other, about tomorrow, about next birth, or something else. If it keeps quiet, it will understand that it is an utter fool. If this is understood, you have taken a very big step in yoga. The moment man experientially realizes he is a fool, wisdom will flower. Till he realizes this, how can there be wisdom? Foolishness will keep on going.
So when what is happening in your mind in this moment is not in your control, if you think beyond life, beyond death, you will just waste time, energy and life because you do not have the necessary intensity to penetrate dimensions which are beyond your present level of experience.
Your present level of experience is limited to five sense organs. With these, you cannot experience anything that is not physical. The only thing that you can experience in the world is that which is physical. So if you want to know that which is not physical, when you say, “Is there life beyond death?”, when you ask this question, you are saying, “I want to know that which is beyond the physical body.” If you want to know that which is beyond the physical, see how to go beyond the five sense organs. The trap is there.
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