Once a guy visited my
Guru and said that he was very worried about his addiction to coffee. My Guru
told him, “it seems you have divided yourself into 2 parts, one of which is
addicted to coffee and the other is addicted to worrying. Otherwise how is it possible
that you drink mugs & mugs of coffee and worry together? Either one is
possible but not both. Since you do both together, it is obvious there are two
‘You’, two selves in you. One of whom goes on having gallons of coffee and the
another who keeps repenting it, condemning it and cursing it. And the problem
is, the one that has coffee will continue till the end of life and the other
part of you will go on repenting all along the line. The repenting self will go
on taking vows and pledges again and again to quit coffee.” So my Guru said to
him, “You should do only one thing- either have coffee without repenting or quit
coffee. If you try both, you will always be in hell. If you have coffee, be
totally involved in having coffee without sparing an iota of your being. Don’t
allow even a fragment of your being to stand aloof like a judge condemning
coffee or justifying it.”
And then my Guru said,
“If you can become integrated and whole in drinking coffee, then a day will
come when the whole being in you can quit coffee, and quit it effortlessly and
completely. The one who is addicted to coffee totally can quit the coffee as
totally. He will never live perpetually in conflict of to be or not to be. And
he will enjoy coffee and not having coffee.” A fragmented person is neither
here nor there. He is miserable when he is having coffee because his other part
condemns him as a sinner. And when he quits coffee, the addict in him asserts,
saying that he is missing a great pleasure and luxury. There is no need for this
conflict, misery and restlessness. Ne among us who is complete, who is total,
who becomes one with any and every situation comes his way, such a person
ceases to be witness. That person transcends witnessing. Witnessing is a means
not an end. Krishna is not a witness although he exhorts Arjuna to be a
witness. In Krishna there is no alienation between the subject and object,
between the observer and the observed. Now there is only observing, a process
of observation. And this is total.
Let us contemplate in
this line of thinking and meet next week with more observation!
Wishing you good health & happiness,
Dr. Dwarakanath,
Director, Mitran foundation- the stress management people
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