In this conversation with Sadhguru, actress Manisha Koirala wonders how to keep calm inside. Sadhguru explains that, if you learn to use your mind like a mirror to see things just the way they are, you will be able to navigate.

Full Transcript:

Manisha Koirala: So, what do we do to keep calm inside, Guruji (Sadhguru laughs)?

Sadhguru: See, there is no clamor inside, it's calm. It is just that you do not know what is inside, what is outside. Whatever happens outside, in compulsive reaction, inside also it happens. What is happening inside is only a reflection, right? Whatever is happening outside, the reflection is happening inside. Now, if you… if… if I hold a mirror to you, the mirror shows a beautiful face. If I hold it to myself, it shows an ugly face, what to do (Laughter)? What to do? That’s how it is. But your face will not stick to the mirror, isn't it? So, now I want to look beautiful, so I will show the mirror to you first and then keep the mirror in my home - I’m not going to look beautiful. Yes? So nothing stuck to the mirror. That is the importance and significance of the mirror. It is supposed to show you things just the way it is. when you ask a painter to paint your picture, you ask him to do little this and this and make yourself little more beautiful, everything. That’s okay because after we are gone, they see us really beautiful (Both laugh). But in the mirror, you stand in front of the mirror because you want to see it the way it is. Yes or no?

Manisha Koirala: Yes.

Sadhguru: That’s the idea of standing in front of the mirror. I know we have hearld… heard stories of, “Who is the prettiest of all in front of the mirror?” all that stuff. But the essence of standing in front of the mirror is to see reality as it is, not to see a pretty picture. That is the nature of your mind too. This is not about painting a pretty picture. This is about simply seeing things the way they are. If you learn to see things just the way they are, you will know how to navigate. If you see things the way you want it, then you will not be able to navigate because you’re not in reality first of all (Laughs).

Manisha Koirala: Guruji, it is exceptionally difficult to see things as they are because our egos always want to see us as pretty and beautiful.

Sadhguru: (Overlapping conversation) I will tell you why it’s difficult. No, no, no. Where is your e… You… You show me… You show me where is your ego, I’ll fix it right away (Laughter). Where is it?

Manisha Koirala: In the mind?

Sadhguru: Where in the mind, tell me?

Manisha Koirala: Not in the brain, but in the mind. In the idea of ego…

Sadhguru: No, you’re saying something like this (Gestures). Where is it (Laughter)?

Manisha Koirala: So…

Sadhguru: So the thing is just this – sometimes, Manisha is very beautiful, a wonderful person, then you say, “I’m a wonderful person.” Sometimes, she is nasty, then you turn back and say, “Oh, that was my ego,” okay (Both laugh)? So Miss Ego is a fall guy (Laughs). Whenever you’re nasty, Miss Ego will come, whenever you’re wonderful, only you are there (Laughter).

Manisha Koirala: So we are not owning our bad side.

Sadhguru: So (Laughs)… We… We must settle this. Are… Is there only one person in this body or two?

Manisha Koirala: Multiple persons (Laughs).

Sadhguru: Oh, this is schizophrenia (Laughter/Applause). If there is more than one in your… here within you, either you’re schizophrenic or you’re possessed (Laughter). That means either a psychiatrist or an exorcist (Laughter/Applause). What it means is, when you say, “I am an individual,” we must understand the root word for individual is indivisible.

Manisha Koirala: Indivisible.

Sadhguru: Yes, that means this (Referring to oneself) cannot be further divided. Only if you come to this, that this (Referring to oneself) is an individual, then you will understand the fundamental, “If I’m wonderful, it's me; if I’m nasty, it's me; if I’m beautiful, it's me; if I’m ugly, it's me.” If you come to terms with this, your life will be a constant step forward to become better and better. “Whenever I’m wonderful, it's me; when I’m nasty, it's you” – well, it’ll stay that way forever and it’ll grow (Laughs).

Manisha Koirala: So, Guruji – I’ll just take this little more – does it… that means that when we see in the mirror an ugly side, which I was saying as the ego, we should be able to accept that? Is that what you’re saying?

Sadhguru: No, I’m saying, what you call as a human being is not an established thing. It is a becoming (Laughs). It's not really… We must call this (Referring to oneself) “human becoming” (Laughs). You have to become one because in the evolutionary scale of things… You know Charles Darwin?

Manisha Koirala: Yes.

Sadhguru: He told you, “At one time, you were a monkey” – him, not me, okay (Laughter). He told you, “At one time, you were a monkey and then you became a human being” and all this stuff. So he goes about saying, a goat became a giraffe and it took so many millions years – could have become. Or a pig could have become an elephant, it took so many more million years. But between a monkey and a human being, it happened rather quickly (Laughs). It didn’t take enough time, I’m saying (Laughter), to… to such a point that anthropologists today believe that there is a missing link (Laughter). They believe there’s a missing link because it happened so quickly. See, between the DNA of a chimpanzee and the human beings that we are, the DNA difference is only 1.23 percent. Not much of a difference, isn't it (Laughter/Applause)? So physiologically… physiologically, we are not very far away from a chimpanzee. But intellectually, cerebral capabilities and in terms of our awareness and consciousness, we are worlds apart. Or in other words, you have an intelligence for which you don’t have a stable enough foundation. So the entire yogic system is just to create a stable foundation. A stable foundation means – any foundation or any building, if it has to stand for a long time and in a stable manner, it must be geometrically correct. So entire yogic system is about aligning your physical geometry to the cosmic geometry, so that you have a stable enough platform upon which this intelligence can blossom. When I say stable enough platform, today people… Wherever you go, people talk about tension, anxiety, rage on the road, all kinds of nonsense. You can call it by many names but essentially, what’s happening is your own intelligence has turned against you. That’s all that’s happened. Why is your intelligence turning against you? Because you don’t have a stable enough platform to handle it. See, if somebody comes and tries to hurt you physically, you have some defense. Suppose your own hands started beating you up, how to stop this? Only somebody else has to stop it (Laughter), isn't it? So right now, your… If you sit al… See, if you are going through some kind of suffering because I am causing the suffering to you right now, I’m poking you and you’re suffering, it's different. But look at most human beings – when they’re alone, they can suffer. If you are suffering when you are alone, obviously you are in bad company, isn't it (Both laugh)? So your own intelligence has turned against you. Your body, your mind, your energies must work for you. What have you done about that? If you don’t do anything about it, your own hands will start punching you. There’s no solution for this from outside, unless we either handcuff you or amputate you. That’s what they’re trying to do today. In some ways, what do you think all these drugs are? They’re trying to amputate you in some way, mentally put you down (Laughs).