How should one balance the spiritual process and the materialistic aspects of life? Sadhguru says, live your materialistic life as if you will die today. Live your spiritual life like you are eternal.

Full Transcript:

Sadhguru: Once you walk the spiritual path, this question and this struggle of how much of spiritual process should I do and how much of whatever is called as life I should do? And for most people the struggle is - when they are involved in their day-to-day… day-to-day materialistic functions of life, they will long for the spiritual process. If you give them a spiritual process, they will long to go back to their materialistic way of life. So how much of what or how should I do these two things? You should do… You should do your materialistic life… When we say materialistic, that which concerns and satisfies one’s physical body and one’s mind is materialistic life. It’s not right to divide this, but anyway invariably people divide it. So that which satisfies your body and your mind, how much of it you should do or how you should do means - you must do it like you are going to live for ever. How much or how I should do my spiritual process – you must do it like today is your last day. Mhmm? Hmm? Hmm? Which way is it? (Laughter) No.

On a certain day a hunter caught a little bird, a tiny little bird, and he was about to take its life, then the little bird said, ‘You have caught and eaten many far bigger animals in your life, but it has not satisfied your hunger. Me, a little bird, this much I am, what can I do for you? So why kill me? If you allow me to live I’ll give you three invaluable teachings with which your life will be phenomenally rich. One teaching I will give you when I am still in your hand. The second teaching I will give you when I sit upon the roof of your house. The third teaching I’ll give you when I sit on top of that tree.’ Then the hunter thought about it, looked at this little bird, it doesn’t even work as an appetizer - too small!

So he said, ‘Okay, give me the teaching.’ The first teaching that the bird gave is, ‘Does not matter who, whatever pronouncements they make, don’t ever believe it.’ Took off from his hand, went and sat of… (on?) top of the roof, and then it said, ‘You fool, you let me go. Do you know who I am? Within my belly I have a diamond which weighs five ounces.’ Then the man started wailing about his misfortune, ‘Oh such a huge diamond I let it go, what a fool I am!’ Then the bird said, ‘You are definitely a fool. I already told you never believe any pronouncements made by anybody, whoever they may be. See, I weigh just two ounces, how can I have a diamond five ounces in my belly, you fool? So the second teaching is, ‘Never look back and regret at anything that is past,’ and then flew and went and sat on top of the bird (tree?).’ The man started screaming and wailing, ‘No, I missed the diamond. Now you’re telling me not to regret. You fooled me.’ Then the bird went and sat there and waited. Then he recovered, ‘Okay never regret for what has happened. Okay, tell me what's the third teaching?’ The bird said, ‘Anyway you did not listen to the first two. What is the use of the third? Never waste your energies and wisdom upon those who don’t listen. (Laughs) That’s the third teaching’ and flew away.

Now whatever I say (Gestures to show assertion), it's not going to work. Now your materialistic life, you must live it as if you’re going to die today. Your spiritual life you must do it that you are eternal. Not the other way round. Don’t say this (Gestures assertion) to everything. ‘No Sadhguru, whatever you say.’ (Laughter) That’s not true. If that is really true, that you have become like this, that there is no value for reason in your life, you have become a devotee and there is no value for reason. Then all these teachings no good, don’t bother, just… You know, when we were doing the Wholeness Program, the 90-day program – this is a place where we went about exploring and revealing various aspects of life which they had never thought was possible. As we went by, every time I ask a question and ask, ‘Yes or no?’ After some time they… some of them at least, their logic was completely defeated, they said, ‘There’s no point Sadhguru we saying yes, no, yes, no - no good. We’re yes and yes.’ When I came one day they had written on a big board, ‘Sadhguru, Yes and Yes.’ (Laughs)

So if you have realized there’s no value for your logic, then everything doesn’t matter, you don’t even have to do this (Gestures to show assertion); you don’t even have to say yes, but when you still live by logic w hatever is said by whoever, you have to push… put it to the test of your logic because if you do not do that, your logic will not evolve. Logic is a horrible thing if it is in a rudimentary condition. If you refine your logic, it can be the way to your liberation. It can be a stepping stone to your liberation if you refine it. If it's in a rudimentary condition it is a horrible thing, it blocks you from everything, it makes you suspicious about everything. It will not let you experience anything. So you’ve not given up your logic, have you? You’re not listening, that’s why. If you live your materialistic life like you’re going to live forever, what will you do? You will buy 1,673 pairs of shoes.

I… (Laughs) I think I was talking the other day here only. I don't know where. I went to somebody’s house in United States and I was sitting in their house and then I needed to use the bathroom. So I went and opened the door thinking that is the bathroom. I opened, it was a large room about let's say, one segment of this hall like this (Gestures) and it was full of shoes - hundreds of pairs of shoes. I looked, ‘Are they in some kind of shoe business?’ Then I came out a nd the lady of the house was trying to guide me to the bathroom. Then I asked, ‘What are all those shoes?’ She said, ‘No…’ (Gestures shyness) (Laughter) Not two dozens, hundreds of shoes. (She said?), ‘(Gestures) (Laughter) ‘I am buying shoes for twelve lifetimes, I bought and kept, just in case when I come back, if the shoe price is high in my next life, you know, I have already bought them and kept.’ (Laughs)

So you don’t live your materialistic life like you’re going to live for ever. You live your materialistic life like today is the last day. You live your spiritual life like you’re eternal. So without listening, without applying your logic, don’t say ‘Yes,’ unless you become just yes and yes.