Balancing the outer and inner technologies

Today, man is seeing more physical and material comfort than ever before. Average citizens have the kinds of comforts and conveniences which even kings and queens could not have dreamt of a century ago. In spite of that, man is no happier, peaceful or loving than what he was back then. The state of the world clearly demonstrates that.

It must be understood that this pursuit to find happiness outside of ourselves is a foolish effort, which will never come to any kind of fulfillment. No matter what is offered to you, you are not going to be satisfied. You will always want the next thing and the next thing; it will be an endless run. True fulfillment and wellbeing will not happen by fixing the outside.

In this pursuit of happiness and wellbeing, we have caused much harm to every other creature on this planet; in so many ways we are threatening the very life of this planet and, in the end, our own lives. Ever since man lived in caves and forests, he has always sought to be happy and well. When he did not have the tools of science and technology, it did not matter how vigorous his pursuit was, other creatures could still exist on this planet.

But inthe last hundred years, armed with the miracles of science and technology, this pursuit has become very dangerous. Never before have people had to think in terms of the survival of the planet. Today, we have brought ourselves to a self-threatening situation. There is such potential in science and technology. But what could be a boon to us could easily turn into a curse – which it has right now, in many ways; what could make our lives could also destroy our lives completely.

It is extremely important that human beings pursue their inner enlightenment also. There is a great urgency that people have to turn spiritual, because it is not just a question of wasting your life – you will do things that will harm many other creatures on this planet. It is an absolute necessity for our survival and the planet’s survival that every human being turns spiritual.

As there is way of engineering the outside situation the way we want it, there is a whole technology as to how to engineer the inner situation the way we want it. Through this technology, peace, joyfulness and an inner balance are attained so that life is not a pursuit of happiness but is an expression of joyfulness. This is the technology of yoga.

(Sadhguru is a Yogi, mystic, and Padma Vibhushan awardee, also known for his New York Times bestselling books. He founded Conscious Planet–Save Soil, the world’s largest people’s movement, impacting over 4 billion people)