Live in the world; be not of the world. How to do that? Simply pay attention, do your duties and release your energy and consciousness. For my own joy’s sake, for my own peace, for my own satisfaction and gratification, for my own loving and being loved, I would like to do that—so that I don’t have depression or paranoia; so I don’t get habituated to mechanical, day-to-day life; so I can live refreshingly and feel alive every day. So I can feel the newness of the creation and the hand of God guiding my life, as it should have been in the first place.
      We got stuck. That is our only problem. And therefore we have the evils that traditionally have been called attachment, greed, et cetera. All our quarrels and wars are fought over this. What we are stuck on, we fight to protect. Whenever individually or communally or nationally we fight, it is only over the things in which we are stuck. Otherwise you would let it go. You would not fight except where there is legitimacy, for justice, because it is right, not because you are stuck over something you wanted. Mostly we fight over what we want, over possessiveness, not because of right or wrong. To fight for justice is in some cases legitimate, but that is rare.
      Whichever life situation you have created or you want to create, you can still do that. We have every right to create our own story. Maybe we will fall a few times while trying this way—we might still get stuck because of previous habits—but if we keep a watch on that, we may find it is not that difficult.

Seeker: I can understand paying attention to the day-to-day things that you get caught up with and not taking them seriously. But when something really serious happens, we do suffer.
 

F SOMETHING SERIOUS HAPPENS, that is also relative. Each one’s seriousness is different. If it is something serious, we must have created the earlier stages where it became serious. So now, pay attention to solve it if you can. If not, you will suffer. One of the two will happen. The serious conditions that you have created have mostly been cropping up for some time. You must have ignored or neglected or abused things or privileges such that it became serious. But now, even if it is serious—and I know it hurts—you suffer and we don’t want that. You have to pay attention and try to solve it. At the same time, learn the lesson: how not to make things serious further. Contemplate, “If I had done differently, probably this would not have been serious.” Whether it is a health question or a certain social context, we need to learn to live in such a way that these things do not become serious.
      Pay the price at the moment. There is no other choice. If you can, pay attention and solve it. Do not run away from it. But if at that time you are again becoming serious about it, you are going to be depressed, sad and melancholy. And once we do that, we lose the right perspective; even the capacity to solve it might be reduced. Think: this shall pass too. I am still living. I won’t do this again. Don’t just forgive yourself, though. You have to learn the lesson and pay the price. Humbly accept your wrongs. And probably you won’t like to repeat the same thing, since you suffer. That is the law of karma; because I was the one who did it, if I don’t suffer, then who will? It is not a matter of understanding alone but of meekly accepting the verdict of the situation. Joy won’t come until you relax, and this is the way. Then continue the joyful journey.