August 17, 2026
When I go to a holy man must I ask him what he is going to give me? Why shouldn't I ask what I am going to give him? It is easy to offer a flower, it is easy to offer a fruit, and it is probably easy to offer some money, but what is most difficult to offer is yourself. Instead of asking what he is going to give me, why should I not approach the holy man with this feeling "I am going to offer myself to him." If I do this for one single moment, all my problems are solved, all my problems are over. If I feel that my clothes are getting dirty and I have no one to wash them, what must I do? Throw away the clothes and walk around naked - the root of the problem is destroyed.
So I see that all my troubles are created by me. "I want this - I want that." I have all these problems, but all these problems are basically selfishness. Is there any problem in our life that cannot ultimately be traced to this single thing - selfishness?
If I give that away, I am free. When a sincere man goes to a guru, he never asks, "What are You going to give me?" All that he wants is to give himself away to the guru, so that negatively the problem is solved. Negatively, in the sense that I have rid myself of this big problem, selfishness. It is over, that is all, the end of it.