How Humane Are You?
IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN OVERFLOWING SENSE OF HUMANITY OR THE INTELLIGENCE TO SEE FAR ENOUGH YOU WILL SURELY HEAD TOWARDS DISASTER
When you are ambitious, you plan your life in a particular direction and you take some steps at the expense of others. In fact, everything is at the expense of someone. The house in which you live may be very comfortable for you but to build a building like that, many worms, insects and other creatures would have suffered immensely. In other words, we have committed genocides. If we are conscious of this, we will do things only to the extent necessary, nothing more and nothing less!
Choose Humanity Not Vanity
Who is to decide how much is necessary? You decide, but try to choose humanity over vanity. The ants, bees, birds and most creatures on the planet may not agree with your decision, but as they have to live, you too have to live. However, we as humans must understand that they also have to live! If we forget this, we will go berserk and do things which will ultimately destroy us, not them.
Scientific studies reveal that if all the insects on the planet disappear today, in just few years, all life on the planet will be wiped out too! And if all the microbial creatures disappear, you will die right now, because more than half of your body is bacteria.
If you understand this, you will know that the bacteria, the insects, the animals, the trees and the plants should remain healthy. So, work towards this, either because of humanity or at least out of your intelligence. Else, we will not exist! For if you don’t have an overflowing sense of humanity, or the intelligence to see far enough, you will surely head towards disaster.
Your Ambition Is Only About You
How do you live with something that is always at someone else’s cost? Once in a way, if we cross pathways and it is at someone’s cost, it is all right, we have to live with it. But every moment of our life, whatever we do, if it is at someone e so’s cost, then we should consider changing our activity. Ambition is essentially a mission, but it is about you, It is good to have a mission, but let it not be about you. If your mission is about everything around you, you will undoubtedly see positive results.
There is no one in the world who is devoid of humanity. It is only a question of scale. For one person, humanity may mean only himself. So if he is concerned about humanity, it means, he is worried only about one human being.
For another person, his idea of humanity is him and his family. Another man’s sense of humanity is him and his community. Another man’s humanity is him and his nation. Another man’s sense of humanity is all of humanity. Another man’s sense of humanity includes all life around which supports this existence. So, everybody is humane but the degree differs.
It is good to have a mission, but let it not be about you. If your mission is about everything around you, you will undoubtedly see positive results
Try To Put Humanity First
Let us do things in the largest scale possible. Your thoughts, emotion, your humanity must happen at the highest scale. Only then, your activity will not be at someone else’s cost. If you are ambitious, why don’t you do it in a big way? Make your love very big! Why should you just love one person in the neighbourhood? Love the entire neighbourhood, what is the problem? There is no price to it. And not just your neighbourhood, look out into the ocean and fall in love with the ocean! There is no price attached to it.
All those things that are not at anybody’s cost, must be scaled up to full size. Material things are always at somebody else’s cost. So, let us keep it only to the extent necessary But how much is necessary, must be left to one’s decision. Nevertheless, just be sane enough to see that these decisions come about due to your compassion and not because of your fancy or vanity.
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. Sadhguru has also been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017.