The View from the Projection Room

Sadhguru: The sun actually neither rises nor sets. But the way we perceive it – what a glorious deception! From the smallest to the largest things in life, there is a series of deceptions in our perception. If you sit in the movie theater, the drama seems so real. But if you go to the projection room and see, it is just a light bulb and two wheels spinning. So much drama will happen – love, fight, war, peace, maybe even enlightenment. But essentially, it is just a projection.

 
 
One who does not enjoy the play or cinema is a fool. But one who gets caught up in the play or cinema is a much bigger fool. One who enjoys the play to the hilt and still never becomes entangled with the process understands that it starts with the opening credits and closes with the end titles. In a way, it is like the names at the cemetery – the characters that you just saw in the movie are there now. If you do not understand that what is happening in between is just a play and you get caught up in the play, then so many things that are not real become real to you, and what is absolutely real will be completely lost.

The work of a Guru is not to take you to the movies but on a tour of the projection room. Why should you destroy the beauty of the cinema by going into the projection room and seeing that the fantastic men and women in the movie do not exist, that there is no great drama – just two wheels and a light bulb? If the cinema was about some other actors, it would not be necessary. You could just sit in your chair, have popcorn, and enjoy the movie. The thing is you have a role to play, and you are not holding the hand of the director.  
 
If a director does not hold the hand of an actor, then even well-known stars will be a complete mess. It does not matter how brilliant or capable you are – if you do not hold the hand of the Creator, your life will be a complete mess. If you are successful, it will be one kind of mess. If you are a failure, it will be another kind of mess. If everyone was a failure, the world would go down the drain. If everyone was successful, we would destroy the planet even faster.
 
If you know how to play your role and still be conscious of the mechanics of the projection room, then you can control the cinema the way you want it. If you hold the hand of the director, then it can be a wonderful experience, and above all, you can retire and watch the movie.

Editor's Note: In this ebook, A Guru Always Takes You for a Ride, Sadhguru elucidates what it takes to receive the Gurus Grace and evolve into a higher possibility.

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