The Resilient Mind - Overcome The Fear of Being Judged - Sadhguru

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

Sadhguru is the founder of the Isha Foundation located in Coimbatore, India. The foundation operates an ashram and yoga center that specializes in education and spiritual practices. An accomplished yoga teacher since 1982, Sadhguru is also the author of several New York Times bestsellers, such as Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy and Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny. He is also a frequent speaker at international events and forums.Take action and strengthen your mind with The Resilient Mind Journal. Get your free digital copy today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Now⁠⁠This episode is brought to you in partnership with Sadhguru. Follow their YouTube channel by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/@sadhguru/featured Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Resilient Mind podcast. In this episode, you will be listening to, overcome the fear of being judged with Sad Guru. Get access to the Resilient Mind Journal by clicking the link in the show notes. Enjoy. So, Satkuru, sometime back, I happened to be in a situation where a friend of mine was drunk. So when she was in the drunk state, she was repeatedly saying that please don't judge me, as I'm drinking, please don't judge me. It is, but she's lost her judgment, but you, she doesn't want you.

So my question is, whether it is alcohol or not, in life, why are we so apprehensive about being judged by others and how can we not let this come on our way of being happy? Look at me. See, I'm always stoned. Never touched a substance. but always stoned. You can judge me whichever way you want. Because one thing is

I am stoned in such a way that I have not lost my judgment at all. And at the same time, whichever way you judge me has absolutely no impact on me because I'm completely stoned. Having said that, why this

consumption of alcohol and drugs is growing the way it's growing in the world is. This is because the heavens have been collapsing. Yes. I was in Bangalore just three, four weeks ago. There were over 8,000 people doing a two-day program with me. And just casually I asked, how many of you think you will go to heaven?

Only five hands went up. Then I asked, are you all the hell people? No. It's just that both heaven and hell have collapsed in people's minds. This is the first time in the history of humanity that this many people in the world can think for themselves. Otherwise, your priest, your mullah, your pundit or a book was thinking for you. The first time that so many people can think for themselves. Are they thinking right, thinking wrong?

are many issues about that. But they're thinking right, thinking wrong, but they're thinking. So all illogical things are naturally collapsing. Still, this generation has not fully walked away from it, still there is fear. They can't openly say there's no goddamn hell or heaven. They're still fearful about it. But they're trying to make a little heaven for themselves here. So, hey, wait, wait, wait.

So naturally, when they're not able to do it for themselves out of their own intelligence, they will fall back on chemicals. Today, just to take very affluent societies because every society is aspiring to be like that, let's say you take United States, which is the most affluent nation on the planet right now. 70% of US population is on prescription medication. the 30% of course buying it off the back streets. Most affluent nation.

Obviously affluence is not working. To be healthful, you need chemicals. To be joyful, you need chemicals. To be peaceful, you need chemicals. To be ecstatic, of course, that is ecstasy. So, I'm not even looking at it morally. It's never a moral issue for me. If 90% of this population right now is

is on chemicals. Believe me, the next generation that we produce will be a generation which is much less than us. If we produce a next generation, less than ourselves, we have committed a crime against humanity. Because the next generation must be at least one step ahead of us. Otherwise, we've lost it. We've lost the entire process of civilization.

When we produce a next generation which is actually less than us, So we are heading towards this rapidly unless we teach individual human beings how to simply sit here and be bliss down. Storned enough or no, just look at me. But am I conscious enough, alert enough, clear enough? If there was a way to intoxicate yourself without losing your judgment, without losing your awareness, without losing your intelligence, it's a great thing. Intoxication is a fantastic thing. Only problem is it takes away your judgment, it takes away your intelligence, incapacitates you. That is the problem, isn't it?

Is it true? Ask anybody, you're not in the medical sciences, but ask anybody. Is it true that this body here is the greatest chemical factory in the universe right now? The universe that we know at least? Hmm? Only problem is you're a lousy manager. If you know how to manage this, you would be like me, always blissed out.

Anybody can say what they want, anybody can do what they want. This is like this only. Because I have not given this privilege to anybody. That somebody can make me happy, somebody can make me unhappy, somebody can make me miserable. Right now, you are a consequence of other people's opinions.

Where do you plan to go? like this, anybody can ruin you. You went outside. Somebody told you, Freya, you are the most wonderful human being we have seen. Then you were floating on that cloud, you know, what number? What number? Nine. Oh, in South we do 11. You were floating on cloud whatever number and you came home. People at home told you who you really are. And the cloud will crash. No, no. It's very important that neither this way or that way, we listen to everybody because we could be doing something wrong.

Hello? Any moment we could be doing something wrong. So we listen to everybody. But what they say will not determine how I am. Never, ever. This you must fix and you must tell your friend when she's not drunk. Because otherwise she won't understand. When Gautama, the Buddha was asked,

is it better to walk alone or in company? He said, it's better to walk alone than to walk with a fool. Well, that's him, not me. He was quite sure that only a fool will walk with you. So he said, it's better to walk alone than to walk with a fool. Certain lore in this country says, When you want to do a short and quick journey, walk alone.

When you want to do a long journey, walk in company. But the important thing is, who is walking with you? Not always being together is a good thing. Many times, being together can be a nuisance. So, first and foremost, unless you are a twin, even then, we come alone and we go alone. If one does not know how to be by himself or herself, then being together can be a lot of nuisance.

We are referred to as human beings. Human beings means every other creature is what it is simply because of what he does. But a human being can simply be, which is a unique quality of the human being, that we can simply be. That we are not compulsive action. That's what it means. Our action is conscious and judicious. But generally, when people get together, generally, people are in compulsive action. It can be an association where there could be a purposeful action.

action, or it can be a gang where there can be more purposeful action, or it can be a crowd, which can be a compulsive action. So essentially, to be human means we have reached that point of evolution within ourselves, that if we wish, we can simply sit here, just be. we can consider as to what action to take and what not to take. This is definitely individual. When individuals come together, we say it's we in plural, but still it is individuals who have to come together.

To be an individual means you are not further divisible. That means you are just one. People find different ways to divide themselves within themselves. In India, with 8,000 years of cultural history, we have invented various words to divide ourselves. It's very common for people to talk in terms of Atma, Paramatma, Ankara, this one and that one. But every culture has this in their own way. When things are going right, when good things are being done, if you ask people, they say, yes, I dip it.

When things don't go right, when things go wrong, then they will try to find somebody if they don't find anybody. He is always there. When they are very wonderful, of course they take pride in being how wonderful they are. When they turn nasty, they say it was my ego. Mr. ego is always a fault guy. So individual means by, if I'm wonderful, it's me. If I'm nasty, it's me. All of you.

Are you 24 hours wonderful? Hello? Are you 24 hours wonderful? No, no, sometimes wonderful, sometimes nasty, sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly. It's okay. If we understand it is me who is capable of being absolutely wonderful and it is me who is capable of being absolutely nasty another moment, then gradually the number of moments of nastiness will keep on receding.

If I see what is wonderful is me, what is nasty is... In India we have many words, it's my karma, What can I do? Now, you must fix this. Being an individual is very important. That means you're not further divisible. If I'm wonderful, it's me. If I'm nasty, it's me.

If I succeed, it's me. If I fail, it's me. You have to fix this. I'm just asking you a simple question. Within this, how many people? Hello? How many people within you? One, two, only one.

If you're one, you're normal human being. If you're more than one, you're either schizophrenic or you're possessed. You either need a psychiatrist or an exorcist. But you will see whenever things don't go right, another guy will pop up from somewhere. So becoming an individual means you killed all those pop-ups and just said, this is me. This what is me has many dimensions. If I don't see this is an individual, I cannot divide this further, then transformation will not happen. If transformation does not happen, if people come together in that,

state there will be more mess than solutions all creatures hang out together whether it is various wild creatures most of them hang out together even monkeys who are just one step behind us they are also in bunches it is only human being who can sit alone and transform himself or herself because this is the prerogative of being human that we can simply be. This is why you are called human being, you're capable of being. You're not in a compulsive state of activity. If you want, consciously you can evolve.

In this evening, you can evolve if you're willing. It doesn't take a million years, because our evolution is not biological anymore. Our evolution is conscious. For every other creature, it is fixed. Nature has fixed two lines within which every other creature lives and goes. But once you have come as a human being, there is only bottom line, there is no top line. There is no limit as to how a human being can become.

So before we associate ourselves with people, it'll be good every day in the morning or a certain period of your life. If one withdraws to spend a little time with oneself, and see how, in what ways, can this be a little better than the way it was yesterday, this life, how it can be a little better life than what it was yesterday, because most people are coming together for their needs, to fulfill needs, people come together. Some people come together to fulfill a purpose or a cause. Some people come together to eat, drink and be together because they cannot be alone.

This is something that every human being must do. A certain period of time. You do one thing, just 24 hours. Take a break from everything, not today. Right now you are among people. You take a break sometime, just 24 hours. And don't read, don't watch television, don't use a phone. the phone, simply sit in your room, alert, not sleeping. And if you watch the nature of your mind,

you yourself will certify this is a madman. Because for most people, their mind cannot stay on any one thing unless they're in activity, simply they cannot be here. In compulsive state of psychological activity is on. When you are like this, you cannot be. That means you cannot be a human being. Being has to happen. Only then togetherness will be very rich. If you know how to be by yourself, then coming together will be hugely rewarding and of tremendous

value. That means we came together consciously. Thank you for tuning in. Continue strengthening your mind by listening to our other episodes.