Riding the Cycles - Sadhguru

Most people keep repeating the same cycles in different scenery. The first time some rubbish happened to you, you were in school. The next time it happened, you were in college. The next time it happened, you had a job. The next time, you were married. The scenery is different, but experientially, the same things are happening if you closely observe your life.

If you exist here as just a body, you know where you are going; every second, you are getting closer to the grave. Life will be play, then it becomes pleasure, then it becomes so many things. Then, every joint hurts and one gets terrified because it is coming to an end. For physical life, this is progression; you don’t have to go through it to know it, you have enough intelligence to just sit and see it. But our fortune is we are not just physical, we have other dimensions to us. In terms of your mental status, it can either continue to grow or it can go in cycles. In terms of your emotional status, it can also continue to grow or it can go in cycles. You may not be aware of other dimensions yet, but even there, you can go in cycles or you can go somewhere. When there is a set process, you cannot change things so easily. But when there is a periodic destabilization of the system, there is a great possibility for change.

If you are very balanced, your cycles will happen once in twelve to twelve-and-a-half years. If you are not so balanced, they will happen in a quarter of the time – a little over three years. It could also happen more often, every sixteen to eighteen months, or every three months. The longest cycle is one hundred and forty-four years; this is a Maha Kumbh Mela. I will not go into the whole arithmetic of it because people will complicate things for themselves, but definitely, everything in this system is cyclical; the earth is going in cycles, the moon is going in cycles. If you do not stand up with a certain level of awareness and a certain level of determination, you will naturally become a part of the cycles. These cycles can mean bondage or these cycles can mean transcendence; that from one cycle of life to another, you transcend. Or, you repeat the same cycle.
The difference between astrology and spirituality is just this – astrology is telling you how these cycles bind you. The spiritual process is telling you how you can get away from these cycles. We are not denying the cycles; it would be stupid to deny them, they are definitely there. They are like waves in an ocean, either you can ride them or be thrashed and drowned by them. But we are looking at how you can slip away from them. If you live by being conscious of the cycles, your life will have a certain equanimity, a certain level of success, wellbeing and prosperity. But if you are constantly looking at how to become free from the cycle, you are looking for your liberation. The question is, are you looking for just wellbeing or are you looking for liberation? Accordingly, you must live.

So right now, if your life is going through cycles and repetitiveness, you are not going to reach anywhere; it is time to change the pattern. I want you to observe – is it happening every three months? Once in sixteen to eighteen months? Is it happening once in three-and-a-quarter years, or is it happening once in twelve years? Don’t start imagining all kinds of things, but it is happening whether you are able to notice it or not. It is not just happening with your mental and emotional situations, if you are aware of it, even physical situations around you will repeat themselves. It is so uncanny that even physical situations happen exactly the same way.
So what can you do about your cycles? If they are manifesting every three months, we can push it to eighteen months. If they are manifesting every eighteen months, we can push it to three years, or we can push it to twelve years. Or we can push it to one hundred and forty-four years. Or above all, instead of trying to dodge these cycles, we can ride these cycles.

I have been riding my cycles. I am now approaching my twelve-year cycle. Every time it comes, my life changes and it will change dramatically in the next four to six months. Every time I approach these times there will be a significant presence of a serpent. Shiva’s compassion lest I should forget – this time around, it is a king cobra. Exciting times ahead. Be with me with all your being, do not mess your Destiny. Of course, don’t miss the fun.