Why Losing Your Illusions Is a Good Thing
Have you ever felt disillusioned by people and events in your life? Sadhguru points out why that shouldn’t be a cause of bitterness but an opportunity for growth.
The Disillusioned King
Sadhguru: There was a king from Ujjain, India, who had a great urge to become an ardent spiritual seeker. He was willing to give up his palace and his power. He had many wives, all of whom he was willing to give up. Still there was one, named Pingala, whom he was deeply attached to. Years passed by. Then, one day, a sage appeared in the king’s court. Being an ardent spiritual seeker, the king bowed down to him and treated him very well. Pleased with the king’s devotion, the sage brought out a fruit and said, “This is the fruit of equanimity. It will not only give you a long life but a blissful one, and an equanimous mind. You can have it, because you deserve it.”
The king took it. He wanted to eat it, but then he thought about his favorite wife Pingala. He thought, “What is the point of me eating it? If my wife is exuberant, joyful, peaceful, and equanimous, that is more joy to me than me being that way.” So he gave the fruit to her. Although she was his wife and they had a very good relationship, she secretly had a paramour. He was a charioteer who used to take her out since she was a young girl, and they had developed a relationship. So she thought, “He must have this fruit,” and she gave the fruit to him.
The charioteer was pretty frustrated because although she loved him, she was married to another man and was rarely available to him. Out of this frustration, he used to visit a prostitute, and she was so good to him that he had fallen in love with her. So he thought, “She must have it,” and gave the fruit to her. The prostitute got this fruit of equanimity, exuberance, peacefulness, and long life, and thought, “What will I do with this? If there is anyone who deserves it, it is the king.” So she brought it to the king. When the king saw the fruit and realized what had happened, he got disillusioned.
The One Thing that’s Absolute in Life
These days, you do not have to go through all this. Your boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives are disillusioning you quite quickly. Being dis-illusioned is not a bad thing. It means that all your illusions went away. If you got disillusioned, it is time for realization. But you think it is time for a new girlfriend! If you lose someone who is dear to you, you quickly try to find an alternative. You will pay heavily for that. After some time, you will come to a point where even if you eat the fruit of equanimity, peacefulness, and exuberance, it will not take you anywhere, simply because you have enshrined your illusions.
Our engagement in the world – whether it is work, family, relationships, causes, or other action – is all very important, but it is relative, not absolute. If we forget this, then we will choose to remain in an illusionary state, and whatever gifts come our way will pass us by.
Everything that you have gathered or created can be broken or taken away. Whether it is your body, mind, relationships, job, or home – they all need to be treated with a certain amount of care and sanctity; otherwise, they will not stay with you. At the same time, it is important to know that they are not absolute. If you are aware of that, you will come to a sense of dispassion. Dispassion is not being passionless. Dispassion occurs when you understand that you have crafted all these things around you to enable your life.
Your arrangements are not your life – you are life. You have made arrangements to make life happen well. Once you forget this, the accessories of life become more significant than life. With “life,” I do not mean you as a person. When we sit here, we can distinguish that this is my body – that is your body; this is my mind – that is your mind. But there is no such thing as my life and your life. This is a living cosmos. If you do not experience it in this life, the human form has gone waste upon you.
What It Means to Be Human
If you look at the evolution of animals on this planet, their lives, including what they should and should not do, are all set. But once you have come as a human being, unlike any other creature, you have the ability to evolve consciously. You must exercise this choice to evolve, break limitations, and reach out not just to the next step, but to your ultimate nature. This is the significance of being human. Do not settle for your limitations. Do not let your way of thinking, feeling, and conjuring up life become a limited process. Let your experience of life move towards an ultimate possibility.
