Stop Being Dead Serious About Life

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Stop Being Dead Serious About Life

What are the best practices for someone who is dead serious?

Dead or serious?

Well, you referred to this last night.

Yeah. It once happened. There was a Sufi master in Basra. You know Basra? Basra is that place which is famous for pearls today in Iraq, or it’s famous for bombing. It’s a [inaudible 00:00:43]. Someone came and said, “Please give me a teaching.” He refused. No teaching. Then more and more important people started coming to him and said, “Please, give us a teaching.” He said, “No teaching.” Now, because he refuses to teach he became very famous. One day, a great scholar in the area who is well-versed in all the scriptures and everything, he came and insisted, “You have to teach. You have something that no scholar can have. I am beginning to realize that. You have to teach. You cannot keep it to yourself.”

The Sufi master looked at him and said, “I am not giving a teaching to you, not because I am not willing, because you are not willing.” The scholar said, “What are you saying I am not willing? I am here. I am asking you. I am the one who is asking you. You’re saying I am not willing?” “The teaching that I give you will not be willing.” He said, “What is the teaching?” “Are you willing?” “Anything, I am willing.” The master went inside, brought a dirty looking piece of cloth and gave it to him and said, “Wear this as your loin cloth. You take off all your robes and nice clothes. Wear this as your loin cloth.” The scholar looked at this dirty piece of cloth and said, “What? This?”

“Not just that. Then I will give you an empty can with a string. Wear it around your neck. I will give you a few sweets, peppermint. You go on the street to the marketplace. All the young boys will look at you and tease you and throw stones at you. Whoever throws a stone at you, take out a peppermint, grin at them and give them a peppermint.” The scholar said, “This is ridiculous. What will happen to me in this town if I do such a ridiculous thing?” “See, I told you you’re not willing for the teaching, because the question is just this, do you want a teaching that you like or do you want something that transforms you? That’s a question.”

Now you are asking this question, I am dead serious. The first and foremost thing is you must make yourself non-serious, which is not possible. The only way you can make yourself non-serious is to be ridiculous, you know? Can you do that? Can you get up and do a jig right now? Do it. You must do it the Indian way, the Indian jig. No, no, you must do the Indian jig. You see, you’re getting a little non-serious now. Not dead at least, still serious, not dead.

Just loosen up your life a little bit. Laugh a little more. Involve yourself with people around you. Do things that you think is not so important. Don’t do things which are very important. Do simple things. It’s very important you do simple things. Very important things you’re doing in your life, you will become dead serious. You know Bertrand Russell, an Englishman, Bertrand Russell said, “If you’re beginning to think that what you’re doing is very important, you need to take a holiday.” Holiday does not mean coming to India. Holiday is every day in those 24 hours you must take a holiday from your seriousness. From your seriousness’s come essentially because of your self-importance. You hold yourself as an important person. I want you to see you are like a speck of dust in this existence. Tomorrow morning if you disappear, for sure in India nobody will miss you. Even down under, they won’t bother much, you know? A handful of people, they will also forget soon enough. Isn’t it so?

Poof! Nature does poof! You’re gone. Nothing will happen in this world. Everything will happen wonderfully well, even if you’re not there. Every human being should be aware of this every moment of his life. It does not matter what the whole world says about you. It does not matter how significant of work you’re doing. You must understand that tomorrow morning the world will go on fine without you, whoever you may be. Isn’t it so? If you constantly remind yourself of this, you will have no reason to be serious. Definitely not dead. Don’t be dead now. A time will come. It’s time to be alive.