Life Is Energy
Here, all is connected. The sun is at a distance of nearly one hundred million miles from the earth. If the sun becomes cold, we will all die. We will not be able to say, “What concern do we have with the sun which is one hundred million miles away? Let it become cold.” We will not be able to light the lamps in our houses; we will not even be able to speak. We all will be dead, because we are getting all our life energy from the sun.
But this sun too is connected with other, greater suns. Scientists say that they have counted about one hundred million suns up to now, and they are all connected. The count will never be complete, because there are expanses beyond and beyond and beyond – it is endless. In this endless expanse, all is connected and joined together. A flower has blossomed and that too is connected to us. There is a stone lying by the side of the road – that too is connected to us. Once you have understood the language of togetherness, not only will the pulse be influenced but you may be influenced by things which you have never even imagined.
Do an experiment with a needle. Fill a small glass with water and spread some oily substance on the surface – a little purified butter or a little oil – and float a small needle in it. Then for two minutes sit down and gaze at the glass. For two minutes your eyes are not to blink. And then say to the needle, “Left turn.” You will be surprised that the needle will turn to the left. Tell it “Right turn,” and you will be surprised that the needle will turn to the right. And say “Stop!” and it will stop, and then move again to your suggestion.
I used the example of a needle because you have little willpower; otherwise even mountains can be moved – that’s why I chose a needle! But if a needle moves there is no reason why a mountain cannot move, because what really is the difference between a needle and a mountain? There is a difference in quantity but no difference in the principle.
Yoga says we are all joined. Yoga says that when one man thinks something bad, then the people around are also affected by it – the thought does not need to be expressed. When one man thinks something good, then all around some waves of good thoughts start spreading – the thought does not need to be expressed. Suddenly, standing in front of someone, you feel a kind of peace descending. Suddenly, standing in front of someone, you feel restlessness arising.
You are passing through some place and you feel that the mind has become light; you are passing through another place and you feel that the mind has become heavy. You sit in some house and you feel caught by fear; you sit in another house and your heart feels cheerful. These are the effects of the waves coming from all around. These waves are surrounding you from all sides, they have touched you. And it is not only that these waves are touching you, you are touching these waves, as well. It is happening all the time.
In the vast expanse of the whole, we are also an accumulation of energy. And all around, everything is active from the same energy source. The destiny of the whole universe is our collective destiny. This fourth sutra of yoga means that to see oneself as separate is madness; to understand oneself as separate is stupid. To live thinking oneself separate is to carry a weight on the head, alone.
Excerpted From Nine Sutras CH: 1
