Sadhguru’s Guide to Achieving Authentic Well-Being

Sadhguru: In pursuit of human wellbeing, much has been done on this planet; especially in the last hundred years with the use of science and technology, we have done so much to create human well-being. With this, definitely much comfort and convenience has come our way. But at the same time we cannot claim we are the most joyful generation on the planet; we cannot claim we are the most peaceful generation on the planet nor can we claim we are most loving generation on the planet. Never before another generation could even dream of these kinds of conveniences and comforts; but has humanity become really well?

For this I think, looking at India would be little unfair because still there are, there is a large population which is, even the basic needs have not been met. But if you look at the western societies, for example today United States which is standing as an example of ultimate success in terms of economics and whatever, over 40% of the people are on some kind of psychological medication to keep themselves balanced. Anti-depressants are consumed by over 40% of the people. The outside has been sufficiently fixed, but human beings are not well because we took care of the outside, we never bothered to take care of the inside.

If you look at yourself and see when you really feel well, it is when there is pleasantness in your body, pleasantness in your mind, pleasantness in your emotion and there is also an energy, if there is pleasantness in the energy. So being pleasant in the body is generally referred to as health and pleasure. When you feel pleasant in your mind we call it peace and joy. When you feel pleasant in your emotions we call this love and compassion. When you feel pleasant in your energies we call this blissfulness and ecstasy. If these things are happening within you to whatever extent possible you feel well.

So right now this wellness is coming only when you achieve something. Twenty-four hours of the day you cannot be achieve something. It can happen only once in a way. That is not good enough. All these striving, everything that man has done on this planet is in search of human well-being. A lot has happened, but human well-being is not happening because we have not paid any attention to the inward.

Fixing the outside will only bring comfort and convenience, which is necessary; but well-being will happen only when you fix the inside. As you understand unless you do the right things outside it will not work, unless you do the right things within it will not work.

As long as your well-being is subject to and enslaved to external situation, you being well is going to be accidental because nobody has 100% control over the outside situations. Whoever you may be, however powerful you are, you do not have 100% control over the outside situation. Even if you are just two people in the family, do you have total control over the situation? So if any time outside things do not happen the way you think they should happen, the chances of you being well are very remote.

On one level, every human being is trying to expand the scope of his life, on another level he is setting this impossible condition unless the world is running the way I want it to be, I cannot be happy. This is a no-win situation. You must be ready to live with this, that you will constantly keep working towards something but it never really happens.

So does it mean you cannot be well? No. But your well-being should not be linked to the outside. Only when you are well by your own nature then you can function very efficiently with the outside world also.

The outside will not happen your way, but this must happen 100% your way. Only then there is stability for this human being. For that, you just have to do a few right things about yourself.

So is there a way to create an inner situation? Yes. As there is a science and technology to create external situations the way we want it, we have a whole science and technology to create inner situations the way we want it. As we have engineered the world the way we want it, we can also engineer our interiority the way we want it. If this doesn’t happen, we will function by accident.

Why are people getting stressed out, burnt out – is simply not because of the nature of your work. Stress is your inability to manage your own system; but have we invested any time at all to manage our inner systems? If you do not do this, you will function by accident. I request everybody to take this up in your life. If you really want to bring quality into your life and to perpetuate that quality into life around you, the first and foremost thing that you need to do is that you establish your inner realities in a certain way, with a certain stability that what is within you, your mind, your emotion, your system does not go through upheavals to face challenges of life. Only when there are no inner upheavals, only when there are no inner issues, you can handle the outside issues well.

So if you truly want to enhance the quality of your life, you have to take this step and be willing to invest a little bit of time for your inner wellbeing. If this is done, you will see a remarkable change in the way you function. The necessary technology is there – I call it Inner Engineering, the peak of well-being.