The Enlightenment Paradox

One minute. Mmh.

Participant: “Swamiji is there a paradox between the quest for enlightenment that you are talking about, and the patience we need?”

SPH: Uh. Life is paradox. Life is paradox. If you run to catch your shadow, can you catch? Can you catch? No. Just walk. Shadow will follow you. Just you walk where you want to go, shadow will follow you. If you try to run and catch the enlightenment, you’ll be trying to catch your shadow. Just live with waiting. You’ll see that enlightenment is following you, because you have it. It is your being. Mmh. When the deep quest happens it becomes a tremendous waiting. As long as the quest is not full, you think that by doing this, by doing that you can achieve, so you try to do all possible things. When the quest becomes too much and now you know any doing is not going to work. See, only when the quest is not too much you try to do something. You have energy left to, to do something. For example you have a deep suffering, 80%. Then what will you think? With the 20% of energy you will think, “Let us go to resort. Let us go to cinema. Let us go to some party.” But if you have 100% depression. You will naturally lie down in your room and lock yourself. You will not have energy even to, you will not think of even going to the resort or the party or the movie.

So if your quest is half-half you will try to meditate. You will try to do all possible practices. You will try to do all possible things. When the quest is full, you enter into a space called waiting, surrender. If you have the total depression you don't even feel like going out of your room, just you fall in your bed. You don't go to theater. You don't go to shows. You don't go to party. You don't go to restaurants. You go to restaurants, you go to parties, you go to shows, only if you have half-half. Half, little depressed and little you have the confidence that you can come out. Only then you go around. Same way, if your quest is half-half, you go around and just have a window shopping, “Tch, what this Swami is telling, what that Baba is telling. What that Guruji is telling. What this Paramahamsa is telling.” You just go around and start searching. The moment it becomes total, when the quest becomes total, simply you drop and enter into the space called waiting, the ultimate waiting. Any other question? Thank you.