Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, and author. He often talks about associating spirituality with the essence of a positive perspective in daily life through his discourses, teachings, and social media posts. Apart from this, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, for his contribution to spirituality.He once discussed the idea of success, which often looks like relentless striving, but this process can become exhausting.We live in a world obsessed with standing out, and from a young age, most of us are taught that success means becoming someone who has name and fame, someone whose name people remember, whose face gets recognised, whose life looks different from everyone else’s. This run for specialness has quietly become the default definition of a meaningful life.But somewhere along the way, this constant chasing of success to be exceptional starts to feel exhausting. It creates comparison, insecurity, and a constant sense of dissatisfaction that we’re never quite enough. Ironically, the more we try to separate ourselves from others to feel special, the more disconnected and alone we tend to feel.Similarly, Sadhguru also talks about the idea of spirituality by associating it with success, and how we see it as becoming someone special
Quote of the day
Spirituality is not about becoming special, it is about becoming one with everything
Sadhguru
What does the quote mean?
While most of us grow up thinking that growth means becoming more exceptional, with a better version of ourselves compared to others, someone with a unique identity, special achievements, an outstanding “brand.” Even spirituality, ironically, often gets treated the same way. Sadhguru beautifully explains how people chase spiritual experiences hoping to feel enlightened, superior, or somehow above the ordinary chaos of life. But his idea is different.Sadhguru suggests that real spirituality isn’t about elevation; it’s about dissolution. Not dissolving in a sad or negative sense, but dissolving the walls we’ve built between “me” and “everything else.”So much of our pain comes from feeling separate, like we’re on our own with our problems, always competing with others, always guarding who we are, always defending our ego.But when that feeling of separateness starts to fade, even just a bit, life gets lighter. You no longer feel the need to prove you’re special, because you no longer feel like some lonely little island trying to matter in a big, uncaring world. Instead, you start to feel connected to people, to nature, to everything around you.This isn’t just poetic language. It explains something many contemplative traditions have talked of for centuries: that our natural state isn’t isolation, but it’s connection: becoming one.
Why does this matter today?
While our digitally driven world has made us all ‘connected’ online, in reality people are hardly able to make time for each other. People are just busy looking perfect on social media but do not try to perfect their relationships in real life.Similarly, Sadhguru is not asking us to stop striving or stop growing. It’s asking us to loosen our grip on the need to be exceptional, and instead notice our natural connection to people, nature, and life around us. Something as simple as spending time outdoors, listening with all attention and empathy to another person without judgment, or sitting silently without trying to “achieve” anything can bring a taste of this oneness.
