LET GO! -Mooji tells a joke -

tiruvannamalai 27feb09 chai satsang let go
One of the last satsangs, called 'Chai Satsang'
India Tiruvannamalai

[Mooji] The first year we had satsang

people were hanging over the side of the building.

I said, No, let's hurry up
and finish quickly, please. No accidents!

[laughter]

Let Go!
(with subtitles)

[laughter]

Oh yes, maybe I will tell you that joke,
Thomas's joke.

It is a good one, isn't it?

[Mooji] But everybody knows it, no?
[Sangha] No.

[Mooji] Ah, OK.

Thomas tells this joke. He says ...

Thomas tells this joke. He says,

'Once a pilgrim was on his way ...'

This is my version. I have to speak my version.

I don't know. I make things up.
[laughter]

This pilgrim is on his journey to some place.

He is walking through the mountain range
in the night and he slips.

He tumbles down the side of the hill,
'Putam-pum-pum-pum-poof!'

In the last tumble, at the very edge of the cliff,
he is hanging on.

He is hanging on, dangling,
just holding on to the root of a tree.

And down below is a big drop!

And he is hanging there all by himself.

He is there for a while and he is shouting,

'Help! Help! Is anybody there? Help!'

Then minutes go past and his arm is hurting.
'Help!'

He doesn't have enough strength
to pull himself up.

'Is anybody there?'

Then finally a voice comes, 'Yes'.
[with echo sound effect]

'Ah', he says. 'Help! Who is there?'

So, the voice says, 'God'.
[with echo sound effect]

[laughter]

He is making special effects.

[laughter]

Nataraj! [laughter]

The voice says, 'God'.

He says, 'God? God?' He is still dangling.

He says, 'God, help me! Thank you for coming.

What should I do to come up?'

So, the voice says, 'Let go'.
[with echo sound effect]

[laughter]

So, so ... [laughter]

So he says, 'Let go? No! Let go?
If I let go, I am dead.

I am dead! Please, Lord, God, help me.
What should I do?'

The voice says,
[laughter]

'Let ...' [laughter]

The voice says, 'Let go'.
[with echo sound effect]

[laughter]

He says, 'Let go? God! Help me! Please, please!

What should I do? Help me.'

'Let go.' [with echo sound effect]

So, he is hanging.

Minutes pass, again his hand is burning.

His fingers are losing their power.

He says, 'Hello?' [laughter]

'Help! Hello? Hello-o?

Is anybody there?'

[laughter]

No voice comes.

'Hello! Help! Is anybody there?'

The voice comes again, 'Yes'.
[with echo sound effect]

'Who is it?'

'God.' [with echo sound effect]

'Ah', he is hanging.
He says, 'Is anybody else up there?'

[laughter and applause]

And I ...

OK, enough of the echo.

I like this story, because in some ways

it has a deep truth about how we are.

There is a very famous prayer.

It says, 'Thy will be done'.
It finishes like this, 'Thy will be done'.

But secretly we are thinking,
'May my will be done'.

[laughter]

You see?
So sometimes it is not the option that we want.

Sometimes it is not what we want.

If we were free of wanting ...
If we are free of wanting,

which gives rise to projection, desire,
dissatisfaction, discontent ...

If we are free of these, we are free.

To be free of want, is to be free.

'I have another desire.

Life is not going according to my projections,

therefore I suffer;
therefore life is cruel, life is hard.'

So we have not learned,
even after thousands and thousands of years.

We are developed and sophisticated.

Our abilities to create and to invent
know no bounds.

But in the simplicity of being still,

the old tendencies still lurk there.

This was a funny story,
but I think a very truthful one.

'Is anybody else up there, apart from God?'

OK. Does anybody have something to say?