Has it ever occurred to you that what you call your happiness is really your chain? For example, are you calling somebody your happiness? As in, “You are my joy.” It could be your marriage, your business, your degree, whatever. In whom do you find your happiness? Whatever the answer is, that’s your prison. Oh, this is hard language. But reflect on

Why don’t we learn? Because we’ve got to live in illusions. It feels good. It gives us a kick, doesn’t it? It certainly gives me a kick. We want kicks; we don’t want happiness. We want thrills. And wherever you’ve got a thrill, you’ve got an anxiety, because you might lose that thrill, or you may not get it. And then you’ve got depression following

Plunge into the din of battle and keep your heart at peace at the lotus feet of the Lord. But there’s a fear, see. The people who trained us, the people who programmed us, feared that if we didn’t upset ourselves, we wouldn’t do anything. It never occurred to them that when you upset yourself, you have less energy to do something and you have less

“Don’t teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and irritates the pig.”

You can’t acquire happiness. You know why? Because you have it. You’ve got it right now. But the whole time you’re blocking it with your stupidity. You’re blocking it. Stop blocking it and you’ll have it.

So, what I’m offering you is not a withdrawal from enjoyment; it’s a withdrawal from possessiveness, from anxiety, from tension, from depression at the loss of something.

Said the jilted lover, “I have burned my fingers once. I shall never fall in love again.” Said the master, “You are like the cat, who having burned itself from sitting on a stove, refused to sit again.”

Where do you think all conflicts come from? Attachments. Where do you think greed comes from? Attachments. Where do you think loneliness comes from? Attachments. Where do you think emptiness comes from? You got it, same cause. Where do you think fears come from? Attachments. No attachment, no fear. Ever thought of that? No attachment, no fear.

The biggest enemy of love is attachments. Desire, in the sense of attachment. You know why? Because if I desire you, I want to possess you. I can’t leave you free. I’ve got to get you. I’ve got to manipulate you so that I can get you, if I desire you in this way. I’m going to manipulate myself, so that I can hoodwink you into allowing me to get you