94. Drop the desire for Change
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Your mind thrives on change. That is why so much of desire for entertainment. The truth is, you think of even enlightenment as a change! That is why you want it. Even in your spiritual practice, you are constantly looking for change. People go on trying to find some entertainment in their lives, because it's a change. Even within type of entertainment, you want something different, different, different! Every three minutes you change the TV channel; in fifteen minutes you go one full round and come back - because mind thrives on change. That is why, when the mind knows there is no possibility for change, suddenly you will see, it just dies, it disappears, it leaves. When you decide that there is going to be no change, suddenly, in an unexpected way, mind is killed. In a very unexpected way, mind will disappear.
I have a story for you: A man goes into a bar and admires the stuffed lion's head mounted on the wall. 'What a great trophy!' says the man to the bartender. The bartender says, 'I would not call it great. The damn lion killed my wife.' This guy asks, 'Really? You were on a safari in Africa when it happened?' Bartender says, 'No, right here in this bar. It fell on her head and killed her.
Understand: most of the time, death comes in an unexpected way! If you decide that you are going to be drop the idea of change, when you decide to unclutch forever, the death of the mind comes in an unexpected way, at the very moment. Suddenly the mind settles all the accounts. It surrenders its credit card.
I have one more story. Two accountants are in a bar when armed robbers burst in. The robbers line the customers up against a wall and proceed to take their wallets, watches, etc. The first account slips something into the second accountant's hand and whispers, 'Here is the fifty dollars I owe you.'
> You think of
> even enlightenment
> as a change!
When you know it is going to be taken away, you settle the accounts by yourself. This is the story of your mind! As long as it has the hope that it can flow, it flows. When there is no hope, it just settles. So, all you need to understand is this one truth, only this one truth.
- There are different kinds of knowledge in the world.
- There are certain kinds of knowledge, just by listening about it once and understanding it, you will have the benefit of that knowledge.
- There are certain kinds of knowledge, if you have access to it whenever you need, you will have the benefit of that knowledge. So you need to work with it again and again. You need access to that knowledge to have the benefit.
- There are certain kinds of knowledge, only when you practice it you will have the benefit.
Spiritual knowledge is the third type. You need to practice it, live it — there is no other way. People come and ask me, 'Is there any shortcut to enlightenment, Swamiji?' I tell them, 'The one and only shortcut is practice, practice, practice!' The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The shortest way is being straight. Practice, nothing else. If you want transformation, practice is the only way. However much you hear, however much you talk, however much you discuss, nothing can be done. Practice without the desire for change is the only way.
CONTEMPLATION
Today, commit yourself intensely to a practice of your choice.