Worry : How or what does a yogi worry about?
"A Yogi is one whose mind enjoys undisturbable inner peace."
"And among all yogis, the one with great faith who worships Me with unwavering devotion, he is considered by Me to be the most united with Me in yoga."
Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 6, Verse 5.
Krishna in the Gita defines a Yogi as one who remains undisturbed in any situation, deeply connected with Me (pure consciousness).
I want to start by describing my inner state when a serious infection hit my left ear. No, this is not about me or my miseries. I want to draw a contrast between a mind that is still moving around the divine fragment and a mind that is completely connected with the Divine, that of Sai Baba, who recently became my personal mentor.
This Deafness and This Mind
About 20 days ago, I suddenly started hearing less from my left ear. I tried to clean it with earbuds, but it was of no use. At night, I searched for possible ENT surgeons near me. I visited the nearest doctor at 8 am, too early as he was scheduled to arrive at his clinic by 10:30 am. I had to wait for 1.5 hours. I went to the next one; he would come by 11 am. I went to the 3rd ENT specialist, and luckily, I found him by 9:30 am. I had to wait for 30 minutes, but he did see me and informed me that I had some Eustatian tube issue, and it should cure in 1 week to 10 days. I should have calmed down, but I didn't. I went back to the 2nd ENT specialist; he saw me well, cleaned both my ears, and told me I had wax in the right ear. But I had less hearing in the left ear. He asked me to get an audiometry first. I did, and it came as a shock that the test showed I had suddenly lost high-frequency sound from my left ear. The doctor prescribed a mild steroid, vitamin, and antacid. I took this to the 3rd ENT specialist. He was a little taken aback at his missed diagnosis. He said I should get a tympanometry to confirm that the cause was not in the middle ear. I did, and it was normal. He didn't change the prescription, but clearly, I was shocked that I am deaf in one ear.
I hadn't told anyone at home, my wife Rimpy, mom, and dad. But I did express my strong emotions. When my mom started shouting, asking where I was the whole morning, I said I am deaf in one ear, showed them all the prescriptions and test reports. No one else knew my mental state; the thought kept revolving around for days; it is still doing. The thought is like the shadow of the body; any major change in the body, thoughts will happen as long as the issue remains.
Now the Mind of Sai Baba
I have always been interested in spiritual gurus, but very recently, a rare spiritual master got interested in me —Sai Baba. Don't take me as crazy; Sai left his physical form on October 15, 1918, and I was born on December 14, 1976. How can this mutuality even be possible? I will just say it is and talk about the details in the coming chapters. But yes, one thing I can say because I was a little extra interested, his life and, in return, he scooped into my family, work, and every aspect of me. But that will be the topic of the chapter "How I Met Sai Baba in Oct 2023."
How a Yogi Responds to Worries? Actual Yogi
Sai Baba was a perfect yogi of the highest order imaginable. No one knows from where he came; people believe from Hyderabad. When he entered Shirdi, people had no clue about his reality. So, a group of people and a shopkeeper planned to trick him and have some fun. Baba came to beg for some oil for his lamp he liked to have with him. The shopkeeper, smiling mockingly, said, "Sorry, Baba, no oil, please go ahead; this is usually how we treat a beggar." Baba left silently, and I am sure he knew these shopkeepers would follow and want to see what this old man was up to. Baba reached his place, put some water into the diya, and lit them. This group of mockers fell at his feet and asked for forgiveness. Sai Baba did not need their oil; he needed absolutely nothing from this world. But that is how He or His kinds, I mean yogis, worry. He worries for you to elevate you. His way of thinking is not about his body, as was with me when my ear got an issue. Yogi is not a body. He lives near his body but as a body. It's wrong to say he worries. His brain doesn't need any thoughts to know the future.
*Worry*
It's wrong to say that people like Sai Baba worry—absolutely wrong that they don't. In fact, they don't even need to think much. Their minds have developed beyond the need to use memories and brooding to live daily life and respond to people around. Even then, they live among us and think about the people around them. They are not naive to be doing this as social service, neither do they need to do something good to make the Almighty happy and get something in return. To see and respond in the highest and deepest way is their mind. We worry 24 hours about our body and the changes it has to endure. A yogi worries 24 hours about how you can be connected to the divine. And let me leave you a secret weapon; both succeed. Any guesses why?