Sadhguru looks at how life and death are essentially a play of time, information and energy, and how we can become absolutely free if we conduct these three consciously.

Full Transcript:

Sadhguru: When a human being is born, a certain software is set within himself which is a combination of time, energy and the information that he carries with him. These three together will determine various aspects of life. These three together will even determine how long a human being lives and how he lives. So if this is so, is it all predetermined? Is this all predetermined? The information is definitely predetermined. This does not mean you cannot take in new information. It is just that it kind of pushes you or pulls you towards certain type of things depending upon what kind of information you have, but this does not stop you from taking in fresh information today, this moment. Energy is allotted for different aspects of life. This information that we were talking about, the whole heap of information is referred to as Sanchitha or Sanchitha karma. The allotted information which must be handled which is more urgent, express and a little more compulsive than the rest of it… This information that you have is from elsewhere, what life has gathered, the energy allotted within the system, allots according to the nature of the information. If your information or the karmic information is leaning towards or veering towards - let’s say, for example - physicality, you will see the energies naturally allot themselves into the physical structure of who you are. If the information is leaning towards your intellectual process, accordingly the energy allots itself to that activity. If the information is very emotional, energy allots itself to that dimension. If it is inclining towards a spiritual dimension, then energy allots itself in that direction.

This allotment is happening by natural tendencies, but this does not mean one cannot reallocate. One can reallocate but if you simply go by your tendencies, yes, life is predetermined. If you are 100% a slave of your tendencies, life is predetermined, very easily we can predict what will happen. Reallocation of energy, how we manage our energies, in which direction we focus energies, do we enhance it or do we deplete it - these things are very much in our hands, but the third dimension - which is an important composite of one’s life - is the time. Time, (Snaps his fingers) ticking away all the time. You can’t slow it down, you can’t hasten it, you can conserve your energy, you can throw your energy around, you can develop it, you can make it phenomenally big or insipid, but time (Snaps his fingers) - going away.

So this time has its own intelligence and it flows according to certain parameters of karmic information and the energy allotment that’s available in one’s system. So can’t we do anything about it? We can, but that is a much more elusive dimension of life than the other two. The other two are much easier to manage and manifest in one’s life. Generating energy and using it the way you want, not allowing your tendencies to determine the nature of your thought and emotion and activity, is much much easier than taking charge of time. Even the Adi Yogi took charge of time only when he was in certain states. When he was in such states we refer to him as Kala Bhairava, that he took charge of time. Time determines the nature or the duration of one’s life and death. Both life and death are within the ambit of time.

So time, one who has mastery over time has mastery over life and death. One who has mastery over his energies, has absolute mastery over his life but not over his death. One who has mastery over his information, or one who has mastery over the tendencies which are caused by the information, or one who is free from the tendencies which are caused by the type of karmic information you carry has mastery over the quality of his life, that whether this (Referring to oneself) is pleasant or unpleasant. One who has mastery over his energies will determine the nature of his activity and how he lives. One who has mastery over time will determine the nature of his life and death, and he can determine whether he wants to live or die.

So these three components together is the making of life. These three components together is what you are right now. The accumulation of body, the accumulation of information is essentially determined by these aspects. Depending upon what type of karmic information you have, you tend to go towards a certain type of information, certain type of activity. Depending upon how your energy is allotted you naturally tend to choose certain type of activity. If you… You know I was at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences in United States, so they were asking me, ‘Sadhguru, our activity, isn’t it a barrier? If we give up activity, won’t we be progressing spiritually faster?’ If you can give up all levels of activity - yes, for sure. Giving up activity, all levels of activity includes food and going to the toilet and what happens in your mind. Nishkarma is the best karma. That means no activity. Everything is at standstill. You just don’t do work, that’s not nice karma, that’s bumming around. (Laughter) That’s bad karma.

So if you want to stop activity, I’ve always been telling this to people, if you can simply close your eyes and sit here for days on end, oh, we will take care of you in every possible way. You don’t worry about work; we will take care of you in every possible way. That means you’re doing something good to this being. (Referring to oneself) You stopped everything and just sit here that means you’re doing something absolutely wonderful to this being. Then we are fine with you. If you’re doing something great to yourself, we’re fine with you. If you can’t do that, you must be doing something useful to ten people around you. If you can’t do that also, then you must just learn to listen to what other people say. If you can’t do that also we have nothing to do with you. (Laughter) Either you must be useful to yourself or to a few people around you. If you can’t do both, what’s the point of living? I’m asking.

So you cannot do absolutely this and absolutely that, so little bit of closing the eyes, little bit of activity - ‘Not little, Sadhguru - whole day!’ That’s what I call as little. (Laughter) Twenty-four - is it such a great number? Is twenty-four a very big number? Even this little child knows what is twenty-four. (Asks a child participant) Yes. See. See. (Laughter) Even this little baby knows what is twenty-four. Even these little kids (Referring to Samskriti children) who don’t know what’s education also know what is twenty-four. (Laughs) Hmm? What pa? You know what is twenty-four? The number of fingers that you have in your hands and legs and (Counts eyes and ears) one, two, three, four. (Laughter) You don’t need a computer, you don’t need a calculator, it’s all here. So twenty-four is not a great number. We were only talking about twenty-four hours at a time. I am not talking about 10,000 hours; only twenty-four hours. All twenty-four hours either it must be invested in sadhana or in work. ‘What about my sleep?’ That should also become sadhana and that should also become a tool for work.

Rest is the basis of activity. Do you understand? Rest has no purpose by itself. If you only want to rest, you must rest in peace. (Laughter) If you want to practice only rest, then we will bury you - you can practice rest. Rest is used only as a basis of… All activity is based in restfulness. So we want you to be in a restful condition, so that you could be active.

So sleeping and waking up is just management of energies, that’s all. Time you cannot manage, its rolling. If you sit it’s rolling, if you stand it’s rolling, if you sleep it’s rolling. You can’t stop it, but sleep and activity is a way of managing our energies, and a way of coming back with new force tomorrow morning. As you go, go, go you’re like a battery cell slowly ___ (Inaudible) (Gesture) So you charge it up and again come back. The idea of charging the battery is to put it to use again, isn’t it? Nobody charges a battery just for the sake of charging a battery. You charge a battery because you want to use it. So, if one, not intellectually understands, if one grasps these three dimensions within yourself, that you are a combination of time, energies and information, if you can conduct these three things, if you can conduct all these three things effectively, then you’re free in every way, in every way. That’s liberation. That’s mukti. If you can conduct all these three things consciously, you’re 100% free. If you just conduct your information consciously and you can manage it well, you’re 33% free, you still don’t have passing mark. If you manage your energies well and also information well, you’re 66%, all right, you’re doing okay, but if you manage all the three - then you’re free.