Sadhguru guides a seeker wanting to know who or what fundamentally decides our destiny. Rather than give an easier answer, Sadhguru challenges us to look and seek out life the way it is, instead of trying to reduce everything to a set of beliefs.

Questioner: How have we been assigned to this particular part of the planet, in terms of people, in terms of parents, in terms of people. This is in terms of existence on this planet and the other question is, which again triggers my belief in God is, who is the person who controls our life before we are born and after our death?

Sadhguru: See, you believe lots of things. So, you believe before you were born, you were somewhere. After you are dead, you are going to be somewhere else. Everything you believe. Too many assumptions. When you have so many assumptions, no way to approach truth. Isn’t it so? If you want to approach truth, the first thing is you don’t assume anything. Is it so? If you are interested in truth, if you are searching for truth, that means you have not assumed anything, is it so? If you’ve already made your assumption, you’re just trying to find the confirmation for your assumption, that is not seeking truth. A true seeker of truth has no assumptions, he is just looking. Shall we just look or shall we try to confirm your assumptions. Hmm? You want confirmation. You are right. Does that get you any closer? If I tell you, your beliefs are right, does it get you any closer to truth? Does it? You’ll feel better. “Ah, ok I have been right,” but nothing gets solved, isn’t it? Life doesn’t get solved, does it? No. So, confirming your belief systems doesn’t mean anything. This is a big problem with human beings: they want to be right all the time. It’s the biggest problem. In fact it is the basis of all conflict in the world. “I am right, you are wrong” – this is the problem, isn’t it? Isn’t it so? “What I believe is right, what you believe is wrong” isn’t this the basis of all problems in the world?

Whether it’s within the family or in the community or in the world, or wherever? Yes? Shall we eliminate the problem a little bit? The first thing you need to do is, after all they are your beliefs and your beliefs are not original - picked up, isn’t it? Your priest or mullah or father or mother, somebody put it into you. Isn’t it so? Picked up from somebody. It depends how powerfully they worked on you. And they worked pretty powerfully because the business is at stake otherwise. So, what you assume may have nothing to do with reality. Now, you are trying to understand something which is beyond the physical with physical context, it won’t happen. You are trying to perceive something which is beyond physical through sense perception. Such a thing cannot happen. Now, you want to measure the depth of the ocean but you went with a foot scale. You will obviously come with wrong conclusions. Isn’t it so? If you want to measure the depth of the ocean, your first business is to get the right kind of instrument, yes? Yes or no? That’s your first business. That’s all I am saying. You want to know something beyond the physical.

First thing that you need to do is to have a perception which is beyond five senses, which can perceive that which is not physical. Only then you perceive, otherwise you can only believe or disbelieve, isn’t it? If I tell you God is actually in my pocket, these many people can believe me. “This is a ridiculous thing, oh we don’t believe that.” But I can tell you a more elaborate story if you want, which we can work on and make you believe in, isn’t it? Right now, God is in my pocket, this many people believe me, this many people disbelieve me. Have these people gotten any closer to God than they were before. Have they? Or have these people gone any further away. No, nothing changes, isn’t it? So, why are we wasting our time trying to confirm our assumptions. You must enhance your perception because only by perceiving you will know. There is no other way to know. Is it so? You will know anything only when you perceive it, till then you do not know it. Is that a reality? Is it a reality? People who are not in talking terms with me - is that a reality?

Audience: Yes.

Sadhguru: If you perceive, you know. If you do not perceive, you do not know. You are unwilling to admit “I do not know,” so you believe, isn’t it? If you are just trying to pass the social test, belief is a good way to do it. But you want to really know, then belief is not a good way to do it. Belief gives you confidence and fools getting confidence is dangerous. Do you understand? When idiots become very confident, it’s very, very dangerous. isn’t it so? Do you see intelligent are hesitant, stupid are confident? Have you seen this? Great confidence, because when you simply believe something you will have great confidence. You will have no doubt about anything because you don’t apply yourself to anything. You’re 100% sure. You see George Bush, how confident he is? He is very confident, isn’t he? Doesn’t he seem like confident? Very confident. He came to India and declared “I am a believer, I am a true believer.” I thought “you don’t have to say it, can’t we see.” You must be a believer, otherwise you don’t walk blind into situations. If you’re somebody with sense you would look around, isn’t it? You would see what is there and what is not there because you are a believer, not just in God, in so many other things. The most sensible way to start your life is “What I know I know, what I do not know, I do not know.” Once you come to this sincerely, you will see your knowing will constantly go on expanding on a daily basis. Otherwise the moment you believe, you are stagnant. Belief is death actually. Marx said “It's the opium. Religion is the opium because it puts people to sleep.” He is very right. It puts people to sleep, isn’t it? Hasn’t it? Sleep is comfortable. What’s wrong with it? Why sleep? Why don’t you die? It is even more comfortable, do you know that? Because anyway you’re a believer. After all, your God is waiting, why don’t you go? Yes, isn’t it? Because anyway you know when you die you will go to God. What is the problem, why are you waiting, going to this hospital, all this nonsense, why don’t you go? Why are you delaying your progress towards God? That’s not right. You are not a true believer, isn’t it?