Free will and destiny
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Ego is harshness, hardness.
It is the "I". But that dissolves by just watching, not trying to dissolve it. If you try to dissolve it, it still remains. Many people teach that you should erase the ego or let go of the ego. This doesn't work. By just being aware, relaxing and becoming aware of the Big Mind, the ego automatically vanishes. With this, the values which we cherish in life are all there. Turn back and you will see that the whole life is like a dream.
Isn't it? See the past. Is it not like a dream? Till today, till this moment?
You came here, you settled; the day before, you had started from somewhere. Before that, you did something, something else on New Year... you enjoyed your Christmas presents.
The year before, and the year before, you cried and yelled and much before you shuttled back and forth from school for years, bored, waiting for the weekend.
Isn't it? That is all gone. Is it not like a dream?
Look back and see it is like a dream.
And what is going to happen? A few more days, what can happen?
At the most, you will laugh and jump, or you will cry and sit. So what! Anyway, it is all going to pass, however you spend your time.
Why bother so much?
In order to smile and laugh, you are bothering so much. Your effort to smile and laugh is making you cry and weep. You are doing the opposite. There is nothing you need to do. Just smile and laugh. Life has no purpose, no mission. It is a game. It's a play. Life has no message. Life itself is an expression of joy. There is nothing you have to do. Everything is being done by the Big Mind.There is a story of two lizards. One lizard was up on the ceiling and another came up from the wall and told the first lizard,
"Why don' you come for a walk? It is a nice sunny day outside. All winter we have been inside. Why don't we go out in the sun?"
The first lizard said, "Oh, no no! What are you saying? If I move, the ceiling will fall down.
How can I move out of here? Don't you have any sense?"
This is what we also think. You make no difference in the world, whether you live or you don't live. Whatever is happening, happens. Even that is not under your control. Whatever has to happen for you, is going to happen.You have this big question,
what is free will, what is destiny?
When things happen according to the thought that came to you, you claim it to be your free will. When your thought was contrary to what happened, you call it destiny. Very simple. People write big volumes on free will and destiny. You can open two pages and you fall asleep. For insomniacs, it is a good thing. When a perfect thought comes to the small mind, you call it "free will". The small mind thinks, "Oh, how nice, it is my free will.
" Free will, what free will?
If the small mind fights against the thought that is coming through it, it calls it destiny. What is it!
I know I am the Big Mind. I know you are also the Big Mind. And there is no difference between you and I. I am in you. I am everywhere as Big Mind. It is all just different bodies, but one Big Mind, one ocean. And all this variety in creation is your own making, your own joy.
Ego is harshness, hardness.
It is the "I". But that dissolves by just watching, not trying to dissolve it. If you try to dissolve it, it still remains. Many people teach that you should erase the ego or let go of the ego. This doesn't work. By just being aware, relaxing and becoming aware of the Big Mind, the ego automatically vanishes. With this, the values which we cherish in life are all there. Turn back and you will see that the whole life is like a dream.
Isn't it? See the past. Is it not like a dream? Till today, till this moment?
You came here, you settled; the day before, you had started from somewhere. Before that, you did something, something else on New Year... you enjoyed your Christmas presents.
The year before, and the year before, you cried and yelled and much before you shuttled back and forth from school for years, bored, waiting for the weekend.
Isn't it? That is all gone. Is it not like a dream?
Look back and see it is like a dream.
And what is going to happen? A few more days, what can happen?
At the most, you will laugh and jump, or you will cry and sit. So what! Anyway, it is all going to pass, however you spend your time.
Why bother so much?
In order to smile and laugh, you are bothering so much. Your effort to smile and laugh is making you cry and weep. You are doing the opposite. There is nothing you need to do. Just smile and laugh. Life has no purpose, no mission. It is a game. It's a play. Life has no message. Life itself is an expression of joy. There is nothing you have to do. Everything is being done by the Big Mind.There is a story of two lizards. One lizard was up on the ceiling and another came up from the wall and told the first lizard,
"Why don' you come for a walk? It is a nice sunny day outside. All winter we have been inside. Why don't we go out in the sun?"
The first lizard said, "Oh, no no! What are you saying? If I move, the ceiling will fall down.
How can I move out of here? Don't you have any sense?"
This is what we also think. You make no difference in the world, whether you live or you don't live. Whatever is happening, happens. Even that is not under your control. Whatever has to happen for you, is going to happen.You have this big question,
what is free will, what is destiny?
When things happen according to the thought that came to you, you claim it to be your free will. When your thought was contrary to what happened, you call it destiny. Very simple. People write big volumes on free will and destiny. You can open two pages and you fall asleep. For insomniacs, it is a good thing. When a perfect thought comes to the small mind, you call it "free will". The small mind thinks, "Oh, how nice, it is my free will.
" Free will, what free will?
If the small mind fights against the thought that is coming through it, it calls it destiny. What is it!
I know I am the Big Mind. I know you are also the Big Mind. And there is no difference between you and I. I am in you. I am everywhere as Big Mind. It is all just different bodies, but one Big Mind, one ocean. And all this variety in creation is your own making, your own joy.
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