Don't Make a Plan: Have a Purpose - Sadhguru
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What does Sadhguru mean by ‘life is an infinite number of doorways’?
Life is an infinite number of doorways. If you're very diligent, you will open a few of them. If you're brilliant, you will open many of them. But if you're truly vibrant, then they will open for you. The process of being successful becomes so complex for people that why they're working towards it is generally completely forgotten and they will start evolving concepts of success. All kinds of concepts. What is being successful? I would like to see. Can I tell you a joke? You're looking so serious.
There was a man in India. whose name is Shankaran Pillai. It's like John Smith. His son came to United States. Obviously, an Indian young man means he's a software engineer. He went to Texas, Houston and started working there. Then he fell in love with a white American woman. He struggled because back home this love affair is a crime. He struggled and struggled and one day told his mother.
How does the story of Shankaran Pillai illustrate the limits of rigid plans?
Then the mother informed the father and the father exploded. He went back home to convince him, didn't work. Because in India, if you have to get married, they're tracing your family tree for five thousand years. They're looking at the genetic purity of the person that you're marrying. So somebody from somewhere else, a white woman from America, how can you marry her? What do we know about her genetics? Where does she come from? What is her lineage? So no way to convince, he came back. And of course, when he came back again, he fell in love and they went ahead. Then the father disowned. Shankaran Pillai just disowned his son, I have nothing to do with you. But years went by and they had a boy. And the boy's picture from the day he was born, it was on the Facebook and the wife sticks it in his face and the little baby and it's growing up every day and all the things.
Slowly, you know, you have disowned the son but the grandson is a different matter. Slowly, within a matter of one, two years, he completely fell in love with this little baby that he has not seen. Things happened and people started coming from America, those who were traveling. Oh, you must see your grandson. You've not seen him? Oh, you must see him.
Why does Sadhguru say a plan is just an exaggeration of today’s reality?
This is the fruit of your life. Slowly it caught him. Then he decided he's not going to see his son's face. He'll come to America and only see the grandson's face. And of course he's not going to look at that white woman. Then he came to America and a seven-year-old boy full of energy, they're living on a small ranch, he's all over the place doing all kinds of things, he completely got washed away by this little fellow. Then this little boy one day said, Grandpa, come I'll show you my archery skills. He took him to the barn inside and he went into the barn and there he saw eight targets. all of them with the arrow in the bull's eye. Shankaran Pillai looked at it and then he thought, oh, this is my grandson.
He thought of all the great legendary archers of India, you know, Arjuna and Ekalavya and he saw the future, all the Olympic gold medals falling from the sky. Then he asked, from what distance did you shoot? The boy said, from twenty yards.
What,
from 20 odds, eight targets, you shot them dead on bullseye? How do you do this? And the boy said, grandpa, I first shoot and then paint the target.
So, these concepts about being successful can be very crippling and I've continuously been with people, they've reached a certain point of success and their concepts of success are not fitting, their life is not fitting into their concept of success and it's breaking it and they think something is going wrong. It is not going wrong, they're just getting better. Situations are pushing them on but their concept is breaking up so they're suffering their success.
What lesson does the Pennsylvania flood anecdote teach about purpose versus plan?
You will see any number of people going through these kind of things. When we talk about success, I'm sure all of you must be already having plans as to how to unfold this success in your life. Have you made your plans? Plan is good, but plans again can get caught up in things because you plan from what you know today. Nobody can plan from something that you do not know.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does Sadhguru mean by ‘life is an infinite number of doorways’?
0:00–1:40
2
How does the story of Shankaran Pillai illustrate the limits of rigid plans?
1:40–3:12
3
Why does Sadhguru say a plan is just an exaggeration of today’s reality?
3:12–5:18
4
What lesson does the Pennsylvania flood anecdote teach about purpose versus plan?
5:18–7:19
5
How can having a purpose make plans evolve instead of restrict you?
7:19–9:26
6
What are the dangers of turning passion for success into a need?
9:26–10:45
7
How does Sadhguru describe ‘genius’ and its role in everyday life?
10:45–12:30
8
Why does Sadhguru say true intelligence is felt through the body, not the mind?
12:30–14:10
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