'If life’s not working, you’re not living it right'

Some would say the best was saved for last at the Rajnigandha Times Delhi LitFest. In the concluding session on the final day, Jaggi Vasudev charmed those who had gathered with his earthy wisdom and wry observations on life.
Not surprisingly, ‘Sadhguru’ attracted the largest crowd for a single session over the three days. “If life’s not working, you’re not living it right.Your life is entirely your own making,” he proclaimed.
There was a lot of ground covered in an hour, both spiritual and temporal. “When you think in comparison, it is not reality but a distortion of reality, which is necessary for your survival.” So, if you’re six feet tall in a place where there are not many six-footers, you’ll feel tall; but if you’re six feet in a place where there are only eight-footers, you’ll feel small (this example illuminated in Vasudev’s inimitable style). And if there’s no context, he reasoned, then your senses aren’t of much use.
“Your body and mind don’t take instructions from you, because everything is in reaction to something else.”
‘Sadhguru’ said that once survival is fulfilled, man and woman would naturally aspire to something more. “You always want to be something more than you are. You seek more money, knowledge, pleasure, love.” And when Vasudev spoke of people seeking more money, he joked, “Don’t look at me hopefully – do I look like I will create such a wonder?!”
Vasudev said he doesn’t believe in “feeding misery”. Give him a joyful person, however, and he’ll “bow down to you and look after you”. But humans, said Vasudev, are complex machines, adding, for comic effect, “Did you ever read the user’s manual?”
There was a fair bit of reassurance from the spiritual guru. He said that life opens up if there’s no fear of suffering. But, he said, most of us are battling our demons. “Life is a psychological drama because you’re creating your own ghosts and then fighting them.”
Vasudev believed the biggest problem in the world was folks believing they’ve got everything sussed out, believing everything they do not know. “Only if you say I do not know, the possibility of knowing increases. Otherwise you’ll keep on jumping from one fanciful thing to another.”
It was a talk that enlightened as much as it entertained. Jaggi Vasudev left everyone’s spirits sated.