For many people, the reason why the spiritual path seems to be a struggle is that their culture and social situations have always taught them to be special. So one's whole life effort becomes focused on this. To be special means to have something others do not have, but wanting to possess something that others do not have is not "special" -- it is a convoluted sense of wellbeing. Right now, if your only joy is that somebody else does not have what you have, if this is the only pleasure in your life, we call this perversion, not special.
People can find pleasure in all kinds of things. Once it happened -- two men were captured by fierce cannibals from a neighboring tribe. After a meeting with their headman, the tribe decided to cook the men alive. The men were placed in a pot of water, and as the fire started burning and the water became hotter and hotter, the older man started laughing -- really laughing. So the younger man said, "Are you crazy? Do you know what is going to happen to us? Why are you laughing?" The older man said, "I just peed in their soup!" So people find pleasure in all sorts of perverted ways.
Spirituality is not about becoming special. It is about becoming one with everything. This wanting to become special -- this disease -- has come to people simply because they have not recognized the value of the uniqueness of their being. By living on the surface for so long, their whole effort has been to be special. As long as this effort is on, you are only working counter to the spiritual process. The whole dimension of spirituality is to melt and become one with existence, not to stand out like a sore thumb.
In so many ways, the mind always wants to be special. That is the nature of the egoistic mind. Logically, it can only compare. The moment this comparison comes, competition starts. And the moment competition starts, your life sense will disappear because now it is only about being better than others. It is because of this foolish endeavor that we are in the ridiculous situation of having to teach people about their own nature. We have to remind people about their own original nature simply because they are just lost trying to outdo someone or everyone around them.
Some time ago, our yoga program brochures used to say: "From Ordinary to Extraordinary." People thought they would become special by doing the program and would ask me "Sadhguru, how will we be special?" And I would always tell them, "You are going to become "extra" ordinary -- more ordinary than other people."
The more and more you try to be special, the further and further you get from the truth. So much suffering and mental illness have come from this desire to be special. So instead of deriving perverse pleasure from the fact that somebody does not have what you have, if you genuinely make the effort to become one with everything, then this internal struggle will completely go away. If you recognize your uniqueness and also every other being's uniqueness, you can neither become less nor more than anyone else.
Isha Yoga programs are based on tested, scientific principles. They offer tools for optimal health, emotional well-being and professional excellence. To participate in Sadhguru's online "Inner Engineering" program, visit www.InnerEngineering.com.
For over 25 years, Isha Yoga programs have touched and transformed the lives of millions of people around the world. To learn more, please visit Sadhguru's Huffington Post bio page.