Don’t Dodge the Sweet!

Namaskaram Sadhguru, Even after so much sadhana, I still think about sweets. And when I eat them, I cannot control it! Why is this happening, and will this eventually go away?

Read in Telugu: స్వీట్ తినాలనే కోరికని అణిచివేయకండి!

A h, the confectionary confession!
With the different forms of yoga that we do, we are essentially trying to change the chemical composition of what this being is. You are a kind of a chemical soup; whether you are a great soup or a lousy soup is the only question. Every day, this soup is altering itself with time, the positions of the moon, the people around you and what is happening in your life. With all this, the chemistry of the soup is constantly changing. This moment, you are a wonderful soup. The next moment, you are a nasty soup, or a fearful soup. And then the next moment again, you are a joyful soup.

Whatever the tendencies, they may have genetic or karmic sources, or it may be that the damn sweet is just too good! These genetic or karmic sources are causing a certain chemistry within the system, so when the chemistry becomes strong, one becomes compulsive. The idea of doing different systems of yoga, particularly hatha yoga and kriya, is to establish a certain chemistry in the system which is sweet by its own nature. It is blissful. If you simply sit, this being is so sweet that you do not think about any other sweet.

Everything is only in comparison to how you are right now. If you put your hand in water, it feels cool because of your body temperature. If you are cold, the same water will feel warm. Sweet is also like that, so become really, really sweet and the attraction towards sweets will come down. I am using the word “sweet” both ways – not just for sugar, but when something is pleasant. If you become so pleasant that the most pleasant thing is yourself, then other things are fine. You do not have to give them up, the compulsiveness will anyway come down.

Compulsion may be towards something edible, a particular activity, or even towards people – it does not matter what it is. It is not a question of morality or of right and wrong. It is just a question of freedom and bondage, slavery and liberation. Anything compulsive means you are enslaved. Whatever happens in human life, it must happen consciously. If you consciously choose to go on a sweet diet today, it is your choice. But if something within you is compelling it, we have to pay a little bit of attention to that; not to the sweet, but to this being. The problem is not the sweet, the problem is, “I have a compulsive soup right now, it is not stable.” If you are going through something, it is best to be conscious about it and just do your sadhana; it will fix itself. But if you pay too much attention to your sweet problem, it will be like the monkey problem. If you say, “I don’t want to see a monkey.” Only monkeys will come up!

So, don’t try to dodge the sweet. Don’t make it a big issue. If you are eating something, it is okay. Just fix this much – between two meals, don’t eat anything. During mealtime, when you are in front of other people, eat as much as you want! The problem is eating in privacy, so destroy your private stocks and the compulsiveness will come down.