Spirituality & Fun

"The danger that people on the spiritual path have is that they tend to become dead serious, and once they become like that, there will be no spiritual process for them. They will only be doing spiritual exercise. So it is very important that you loosen your body and mind. The psychological and physiological structures have to be loosened, and this can be done by just playing a game, singing a song or dancing." – Sadhguru (Isha Foundation)

The typical image which comes to our minds when we talk about spirituality is – serious meditators, sitting in the lotus position or in other difficult postures –  a serene, calm facial expression, probably middle aged or elderly people – slow in their body and mind and finding solace in their spiritual practice. People who have completed their lives, fulfilled their duties and have nothing more to do, except relax and spend the last few years of their life in comfort.

When we read Sadhguru’s words above, we clearly see him suggesting “singing” or “dancing”. Those who know or have read & understood Osho’s teachings will see the similarity here. Osho always said – “the divine is fun”. When we are doing something that is enjoyable, out of choice and completely absorbed in that activity – whether it is a game we are playing or simply singing a song with our complete being, all our faculties are in that activity and the mind is completely free from thoughts. There are pleasant feelings in the body, the body feels light, easy and flexible. Of course, this also brings about good chemical changes in the body and that helps the body function better.

Many spiritual guru’s have given us the message in different ways – our “mind” is the barrier to reaching and experiencing the “god” within us.

Having pure fun, without any goals or objectives, when we get so involved in that activity that we sometimes forget ourselves – the only thing at that moment is the fun activity we are engaged in – is an easy and effective way to experience the “truth”.

A very interesting point here. As children, we were able to do this easily. Doing something just because it makes us happy and for no other reason. Do you remember this? Atleast some distant memories of what we used to do as a child, what games we played, the pranks and mischief we got into, the trouble we caused for others. Yet, all this was so much fun, there was no motive behind it, no plans and whatever happened was pure fun. Surely, we all will admit this much to ourselves – you were happier as a child than after growing up and getting older.

Children are very close to god. They are spontaneous, do the things they want to whenever they feel like it, have fun and the next moment they may be crying. After sometime they are again having fun. “only children can enter the kingdom of God”.

True - we can’t reverse our biological age to our childhood but yes, in spirit and thoughts, we can surely engage in fun activities. Are we too young to have fun or too old to have fun? No such thing. Anyone and everyone can, at any age. 

For many of us, this could well be an easy path to “spirituality” and knowing ourselves.