Sadhguru, Isha Foundation
Are emotions a hindrance on the spiritual path?
If there is no emotion at all in a human being, you cannot call him human.
A human being has emotion. If someone tells you that emotion is a hindrance, the next thing they will tell you is that your mind is also a hindrance. Then they will tell you your body is also a hindrance.
Yes, it is true if you look at it one way.
Your physicality, your mind, your emotion, your energy, all these things can either be in your life as a hurdle that you cannot cross, or they can become stepping stones in your life.
It depends how you use them.
So the question is, are you making the body, mind and emotion into a burden and barrier in your life or are you making them stepping stones to climb to higher possibilities?
Thoughts no different
Your emotions are not different from your thoughts.
The way you think is the way you feel. Thought is dry, emotion is juicy, so emotion is just the juicier part of the thought. You cannot emote in a way in which you cannot think.
Can you think someone is a horrible person and try to have beautiful emotions towards that person? It does not work like that. The way you think is the way you emote.
So, if you think emotions are a barrier, you must remove your thought also.
It took millions of years of evolution to bring the human mind to this level of capability and now you think your mind is the problem.
The real problem
No, mind is not the problem. You do not know how to use it, that is the problem.
If you don’t know how to drive and we gave you a really fast car, this is a problem.
Both your life and everybody else’s life will be in danger because you did not learn how to drive, not because the machine is a problem.
Similarly, the mind is not a problem. It’s a wonderful instrument. It’s a true miracle.
But now that miracle has become a problem because you made no effort to understand and learn how to handle it.
All those fools who do not know how to handle their mind think the mind is a problem. Their mindset is definitely a problem for everybody but that does not mean mind is a problem.
Beautiful aspect
Mind and emotion are not a problem. Emotion is a beautiful aspect of human life.
Otherwise a human being will become ugly. It is just that if anything becomes unbridled and uncontrolled, it becomes madness. If your thought becomes uncontrolled it will become madness.
If your emotion becomes uncontrolled that also becomes insanity.
If your emotions are the way you want them to be, how would you keep your emotions – sweet or ugly? If your emotions were happening the way you want, you would definitely your emotions in the sweetest possible way.
Would that be a barrier or hindrance to your spiritual growth? Of course not.
Spirituality and Devotion
Almost 90% of the people on the spiritual path have always been taught only devotion.
Devotion is just a way of sweetening your emotion, to make your emotion as sweet as possible. That is not a hindrance. If your personal preference is for negative emotions, it is definitely a hindrance.
I don’t even want to categorise something as negative and positive.
I look at life as what works and what doesn’t work.
Within your family or in your career or even within yourself, would it work for you if you were constantly angry, frustrated, depressed and hateful? No. If you make your emotions joyful, loving, compassionate, would it work for you?
That’s all there is to it.
The question is, does something work or not. What is the point in doing something that doesn’t work? Every creature on this planet does only what works. What is the problem with human beings?
Isha Foundation New Zealand conducts Isha Inner Engineering and Hatha yoga Programmes. It also offers free Isha Kriya and Isha Upa yoga practices for the General public regularly. For more information Pls contact: 0224637811 or Visit: www.ishayoga.nz
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a Yogi, Mystic, Visionary and Bestselling Author. The Indian Government conferred on him, ‘Padma Vibhushan’ the second highest Civilian Award for exceptional and distinguished service.
