Chapter 8 Two Paths

Synthesizers, to me, are almost always wrong. Forget about synthesis. Just choose your path and stick to it. Don't be tempted by others wanting you to join theirs. The only thing to watch out for is knowing which type you are and which path suits you best. I'm not against anything; I support everything. Whatever you choose, I can help you on that path. But don't mix things up, don't create a synthesizer.

 

Remember, they meet at the summit. They lead you to the same destination: transcendence is the destination. Tantra and Yoga, these two seemingly contradictory paths, ultimately lead to the same summit—transcending instinct, transcending duality, and achieving the perfection and unity of consciousness. This destination can be called Samadhi, enlightenment, divinity, or pure existence.

 

Therefore, what matters is not which path you take, but whether you can persevere until the end. The two paths at the foot of the mountain seem diametrically opposed: one demands you fight and climb like a warrior, the other invites you to flow and observe like water. But when you've experienced both hardships and successes, and finally stand atop the summit looking down, you'll find that all paths have vanished, leaving only an endless vista and the same sky. Therefore, there's no need to argue about which is superior; the key is to understand yourself and then fully commit to the path you've chosen.

 

In short, what you're saying is: do you favor all the different approaches? I'm talking about a complex combination.

 

I think people who practice yoga only experience a part of it; they only grow partially... It's like someone's hands becoming too big while their whole body remains small. Unless they can also experience Tantra, they'll look like a monster, because yoga and Tantra are complementary.

 

Remember, this is one of my fundamental insights: there are no contradictory things in life. All contradictions and conflicts are complementary. Night and day complement each other, winter and summer, life and death. They are not opposed to one another. Nothing is in opposition to another, because everything is just energy, all belonging to one existence. My right hand and left hand are not in conflict with each other, but complementary. Like a bird's wings: they appear opposite each other but support each other. A bird cannot fly with only one wing.

 

Tantra and the Tao must be experimented with together. Yoga has a very good insight into discipline, while the Tao has a remarkable understanding of spontaneity. On the surface, they are opposites, but you cannot become one unless discipline makes you more natural, or naturalness makes you more disciplined. Yoga emphasizes control, Tantra emphasizes non-control, and both are necessary.

 

One must cultivate the ability to operate fully within order when the need arises. However, rules cannot be rigidly fixed, or one becomes a robot. One must be able to step outside one's system and discipline at any time, becoming spontaneous, detached, and letting go whenever the need arises. This can only be achieved through the techniques of Tantra; there is no other way.

 

I bring all oppositions into the lives of my disciples through the concept of complementarity. Yogis will object to me because they can't imagine how sex and love could be part of a seeker's life. They're afraid. They're afraid of sex because sex is the most natural, instinctive thing in your life. It must be controlled. They know that once sex is controlled, everything is under control—that is, sex becomes their primary target. Tantra says that if sex doesn't happen naturally, then your whole life becomes like a machine. Sex must be liberated. Both are true, and together they are most complete! That's my way. It seems absurd because my way is illogical. Logic always insists: either a yogi or a Tantric practitioner. I only believe in life; I don't believe in logic. Life is the sum of both.

 

Life needs good discipline because you need to live with many people in this world. You must be disciplined, or life will be chaos. Without discipline, life cannot go on. But if you live solely within discipline, forgetting your natural instincts and becoming part of that discipline, unable to escape it, then the same life is wasted. You have become a machine. Now, as of now, these two have become one of two paths in people's lives: either chaos—which is bad—or being like a machine, which is also bad.

 

I want you to live with alertness, consciousness, awareness, discipline, and the capacity for natural instincts. At work, maintain discipline . However, work isn't everything. On vacation, forget all your discipline.

 

This is what happens to yoga followers: they don't joke, they don't enjoy anything, they don't participate in celebrations… because they don't relax.

 

Therefore, there is a crucial element to understand between chaos and rigidity. It's precisely in the middle, right there, that I want my disciples to be positioned—right in the middle, able to move to either end whenever needed, and to move away from either end at any time. I teach fluidity and mobility. I don't teach fixed lifestyles or rigid patterns. I teach the integrated development of life, expanding lifestyles and patterns, and being able to embrace opposing views. In this way, life becomes beautiful.

 

Only when one can transform opposition into complementarity can one truly know the truth. And this is only possible when your life remains balanced. There is a point of equilibrium between positive and negative, and this point of equilibrium is transcendence. At this point of equilibrium, you will understand that transcendence, and thus, that transcendence is revealed. This is the moment when the golden petals bloom.

 

So, is synthesis truly possible? Perhaps for beginners, choosing a clear and pure path (yoga or tantra) at the "foot of the mountain" to delve deeper into is wise and necessary, avoiding confusion and failure. But for those who have already traveled far on the spiritual path, or those who yearn for a more complete and flexible expression of life, a higher level of "synthesis" or "balance" is not impossible. It's not about forcibly mixing oil and water, but about possessing both the spine of yoga (discipline and direction) and the blood of tantra (flow and spontaneity) in the art of life, wisely mobilizing different inner qualities according to the circumstances of life. Ultimately, whether choosing a single path to the end or seeking balance in the dynamics of life, the goal remains the same: to transcend that inherent, divided, and constrained state and attain true freedom and awakening. You must listen for yourself to see which message resonates most deeply with the call of your soul at this moment.

 

Regardless of which path you ultimately choose, or whether you aspire to that dynamic balance, your journey requires a common inner foundation. This foundation is not a technique, but a fundamental mindset, a way of treating life and all things. It is: non-possession. This is the necessary path to true freedom because it directly dismantles the "self" wall that creates all suffering and separation.

 

Do not possess. Because whenever you have possessive desires, it's like showing yourself to be a beggar; when you want to possess, it means you don't actually own it, otherwise you wouldn't need to exert any effort—you'd already be the master. Possession is an act of greed and stinginess; with greed, there can be no sharing. A greedy person will always suffer from mental constipation or mental illness.

 

These five inner disciplines are the most fundamental requirements, “...regardless of class, place, time, or circumstance.” It doesn't matter whether you were born in modern times or five thousand years ago. Some Indian preachers say, “In the Kali Yuga – the degenerate age, you cannot attain enlightenment.” Patanjali, however, says, “...regardless of class, place, time, or circumstance.” You can attain enlightenment anywhere. Time is not the issue; the key is awareness. Location is not the issue; it doesn't matter if you are in the Himalayas or in a marketplace. Circumstances are not the issue; it doesn't matter if you own a house or have renounced worldly life. Class is also irrelevant; it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, high or low class, Hindu or Muslim, Christian or Jewish, because at your deepest core, you are one. Outwardly, there may be many differences, but that is only on the surface; at the core, you remain forever the same.

 

You see, the urge to possess—to grab, control, and claim "mine"—exposes your inner sense of lack. It's like a beggar reaching out to beg and grasp because he has nothing. A truly abundant person, a person of inner fulfillment, is relaxed and giving; he doesn't need to prove he possesses anything by acquiring external things. When you feel the need to possess someone or something, stop and look at yourself. You won't see a king, but a beggar whose heart is filled with unease and emptiness. This possessiveness is spiritual greed and stinginess; it blocks the flow of your life.

 

Only when you have reached the state of brahmacharya – the state of desirelessness – is it possible to possess the world without owning it. However, you must train yourself step by step to avoid possession. True possession is a profound, inner experience; it requires no external labels or claims. For example, if you love someone and want to possess them, it means you don't truly love them and have doubts about their love for you. That's why you create all sorts of security measures, using tricks and cunning to bind them, making it impossible for them to leave you. But in doing so, you are essentially killing love.

 

If you truly have love, you don't need to possess; you deeply possess love, what more could you need? Don't ask for anything; asking makes you seem superficial. When you truly possess, you won't possess. However, this requires self-training and self-awareness. Don't try to possess anything. At most, use those things, and be grateful for being able to use them, but don't possess them.

 

Love is freedom; love gives freedom, love lives in freedom. The very essence of love is freedom. And your actions will only destroy the whole thing.

 

Possession and love are fundamentally contradictory. Love means seeing the other person's uniqueness, appreciating their existence, and wanting them to blossom as they are. Love is giving space, blessing, and letting go. Possession, on the other hand, stems from fear and distrust; you want to confine the other person to your world, making them your possession. It's like putting a bird in a gilded cage. You may possess its body, but you've forever lost its soul, the soul that sang in the blue sky. You've killed the bird's most precious part. Similarly, when you use "you are mine" to bind a relationship, you begin to stifle the vitality of love. Love can only breathe in the air of freedom and grow in the soil of trust. Once you try to possess, love begins to wither. Therefore, true love never says "mine"; it only says, "Yes, I see your beauty, and I rejoice in it."

 

You must open up and share. Share whatever you have, and you will become fuller; the more you share, the more it grows. As you give, you will continuously receive. It is an inexhaustible source, so don't be stingy. Whatever it is: love, wisdom… whatever it is, share it. The meaning of sharing is not to possess.

Of course, you might be as foolish as many others. They think they must give up their house and move to the forest, because how can you live in a house if you don't own it?

 

You can live in a house without possessing it. When you go to live in the forest, do you possess the forest? Do you say, "Now I am the king of this forest"? If you can live in the forest without possessing anything, what problem is there? Why can't you live in a house or a shop without possessing anything? Foolish people say, "Leave your wife and children. Avoid them, because you must learn not to possess." These people are truly fools.

 

Where can you go? Your possessiveness will follow you wherever you go; it's the same everywhere. Wherever you are, you just need to understand and let go of your possessiveness. If you don't say, "My wife," your wife won't be a problem. You just need to let go of the concept of "mine." Your children are not wrong either; they are all sweet, sacred children. They give you the opportunity to experience service and love: use them but don't say they are "mine." They came into this world through you, but they don't belong to you. They belong to the future; to this whole. You are a conduit, a tool, but not the owner.

 

So, do you need to escape somewhere else? Stay in whatever situation has already occurred, stay wherever existence has placed you, live without possessiveness, and then, suddenly, you will begin to blossom. Your energy will begin to flow without blockage; you will become a flow. Flow is beautiful. Living in blockage and rigidity is ugly and lifeless.

 

The core of the problem lies not in what you possess externally, but in the stubborn concept of "mine" within yourself. This "mine "—my house, my car, my wife, my children, my status, my thoughts—builds walls around the self, bringing with it the pain of separation and the anxiety of possession. Breaking free from the concept of "mine" doesn't mean abandoning everything and running away from home. That's formalism, another form of folly. You might escape to the forest, but then mentally claim the entire forest as your own. The real skill lies in a shift in mindset: you live in a house, but know in your heart that it's a temporary shelter, lent to you by the universe; you love your partner and children, but understand that they are independent souls who came into this world through you, but do not belong to you. You are a witness, a servant, a celebrater, not an owner. When you let go of the label "mine" from your heart, your relationship with all things changes from possession to encounter, from tension to ease, from blockage to flow.

 

Preventing mental constipation is essentially preventing the blockage of inner energy caused by possessiveness, greed, and unwillingness to share. This requires continuous self-training and awareness.

 

First, become aware of your inner "beggar's mentality." Whenever you feel the urge to possess, grasp, or control, acknowledge it, admit it, and understand that it stems from a deep sense of lack. Then, remind yourself that true abundance lies in inner fulfillment, not in the accumulation of external possessions.

 

Secondly, practice freedom, not constraint, in relationships. Especially in love, be wary of any control disguised as love. Give your partner space and freedom, and give yourself the same freedom. Love is a shared journey, not a prison for each other.

 

Secondly, actively share. Start with small things: share your time, your attention, your smile, your knowledge, your possessions. Don't be afraid that sharing will diminish you; experience the opposite principle: sharing enriches you. Sharing is the best way for energy to flow.

 

Finally, and most fundamentally, it's about gently but firmly breaking down the concept of "mine" in daily life. With everything you use, with everyone you meet, silently practice in your mind: "This is not 'mine,' it's a gift, an experience, an encounter." You don't need to change your external lifestyle; you only need to change your internal relationship with them. Be in whatever situation has already occurred, be wherever existence has placed you, living without possessiveness, and then, suddenly, you will begin to blossom. Your energy will begin to flow without blockage; you will become a stream.

 

When you do not possess, you possess everything. Because the whole world, with its beauty and mystery, is freely and joyfully reflected in the clear, unobstructed mirror of your heart. You are no longer a traveler burdened with heavy baggage; you become the omnipresent wind, free, light, dancing with all things. This is the profound freedom that comes from not possessing—a freedom that transcends all dependence.

 

Now, let's return to the initial crossroads, but your perspective is now different. You understand the fundamental difference between yoga and tantra, and you've contemplated profound insights into complementarity and the integrity of life. You also understand that, whichever specific path you choose, you must first shed the heavy shackles of "possession." Because possession is the root of all attachment, suffering, and separation.

 

Ultimately, whether you choose to follow a single path to the bitter end or seek balance in the dynamics of life, the goal remains the same: to transcend that inherent, divided, and constrained state and attain true freedom and awakening. You must listen for yourself to see which message resonates most deeply with the call of your soul at this moment. Is it the will and effort of yoga, the surrender and contemplation of tantra, or the wise balance of both in the flow of life? Find your path, starting with letting go of the burden of possession, and then, set off. Freedom lies at the end of the journey, and also in every moment you embark on the journey and release your grip.