Questioner: Sadhguru, I have lived in the US since ’94 and I am originally from Himachal Pradesh. It’s a beautiful place and I would like to move back there, but my husband has no interest in going back. How important is the place we live in?

Sadhguru: The place as such is not that important. It is a question of what you want to do there. If for example growing apples is important to you, you have to move there. If what you are doing here is important to you, you should stay here. I have no sense of nationality, but still, most of my activities are in India because that is where I am most effective. If you give me ten dollars, particularly in Tamil Nadu, I will do a hundred dollars’ worth of work. I choose to work in a place where it is most effective because one’s life is just a certain time of span and a certain amount of energy.

Time and energy are limited commodities. How effectively you use them is how effective your life is. So, naturally, you would like to work in a place where you have maximum impact – otherwise, your time and energy will go waste. That is what you have to consider. It is not about the nation.

Where to live is a question of what you wish to do, and where you are most comfortable. It is not a question of which is a better place.

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Someday, we must overcome the idea of a nation. Such a silly idea – someone draws a line and that becomes so immensely important. These boundaries have become meaningful only because there is such inequity in the world. If there was no inequity, if for example, Mexico and the United States both had the same level of economic prosperity and wellbeing, would one side be guarding the borders with guns, barbed wires and all that, and would the other side be digging tunnels to get here? No. Whoever wants to go in either direction could do so – no one would care. But in our lifetime, we may not see the abolishment of national borders. Europe has done reasonably well, but it looks like they are beginning to step back from the European Union because those who have, do not want to share with those who do not have.

If you make economics inclusive, the military forces on the planet will become redundant. There will be nothing to fight for. Most of the wars, right through history, have been for economic purposes. Of course, some people fought for their gods, but the rest of it has always been for resources and economic prosperity.

Where to live is a question of what you wish to do, and where you are most comfortable. It is not a question of which is a better place. There is no better place. Those who are there want to come here. Those who are here want to go there. When you were in India, you were desperate to come to the United States. Now that you are here, you desperately want to go back there. Something will always be lacking.

Do whatever you want – anyway you have a way of suffering it. I would say change that first, so that whether you are in the United States, in India, or in Timbuktu, anyway you will live blissfully. Make that happen. After that, go wherever life takes you. If you are blissful, what does it matter where you are?

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Editor's Note: This article is based on an excerpt from the October 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Pay what you want and download. (set ‘0’ for free). Print subscriptions are also available.