Just like magic

Questioner: If we want to achieve certain goals in our career or vocation, it really keeps us busy. So how do we make time for self-realisation? 

Sadhguru: Let us first of all clear whatever ideas you or anybody may have about self-realisation. Do you have a cell phone? Do you use a camera? Whatever instrument you use in your life, the more you know about it, the better you can handle it. The more you know about something, what you can do with it is greatly enhanced. If this is true with everything that we handle, is that not true with yourself? The more you know about it, the better you can handle it. So, do not think of Self-realisation as something that happens in a Himalayan cave. It did happen there also, but I want you to understand it from your context. 

Self-realisation means just knowing yourself. How could it be against your vocation? How could it be against anything that you wish to do in your life? How can you live an effective life without knowing anything about yourself? People are trying to teach each other how to be confident without knowing anything about the life process. Confidence without clarity is a disaster. Unfortunately, we think confidence is a substitute for clarity. 

Let’s say we blindfold you and ask you to walk around. If you are sensible, you will feel your way, here, there, and slowly you will walk around, touch the walls, feeling with your feet and hands. But if you are very confident and you walk without seeing, the rocks are not going to be kind to you. Life is not going to be kind to you either if you are confident without clarity. To perform your activity in the world, to be successful in whatever you are doing, to do anything well in your life, you need clarity, not confidence.

So, the more you know about yourself, the greater the things you can do with yourself. You can know this mechanism inside out. If you know it inside out, it becomes like magic. Whatever you do will be magic. If you sit, you can do things, if you close your eyes, you can do things, if you sleep also, you can do things. If you are awake or asleep, you can still do magical things with this system, once you know it inside out.