By Sage ViGo
Table of Contents
The confusion of difference
If another person is quite different from you, there is a chance to grow. But how to be then? How to deal with situations you are confronted with? This question holds within it a state of confusion. “If another person is quite different from you.” From you. What is that “you” from which this comparison arises? What reference are you taking to create a boundary about yourself? Why is that needed?
Every human being fails because of their own framed structure about themselves, their framed beliefs, their framed conditionings. That’s why this question comes up. Somebody can be different only when you are holding on to your own difference.
Being different physically is the nature of existence, but is there any difference in love? Is there any difference in affection? Any difference in joy?
The root of separation
Look at how you are seeing life. This attitude of “I am different” is the root of separation. Observe people: everyone will have at least one or two things they don’t like about others. Why? Because they believe they are different. You may be different in language, in experience, in nationality, in body. But why should the difference separate?
You are completely different from a tree. Yet the tree gives you a sweet mango. Why do you go and pluck it? Who gave that authority to take from something so different? But if you look closely, it is only through difference that you are nourished. A mango is different from you. That difference brings nourishment.
In creation, observe this: no animal eats its own species. A lion doesn’t eat a lion. A tiger doesn’t eat a tiger. A human doesn’t eat a human. They eat what is different. So your nourishment arises from differences. In the same way, your psychological nourishment also arises from difference. Your experiences are shaped by difference.
Life evolves through difference
Now, you are in your home. Suppose I invite you to our Ashram near Mysore. But imagine that this new place is exactly like where you already are, same buildings, same street, same language. Would you come? No. Why do people travel? To experience something different. The more different it is, the more you’re drawn.
A mountain is so different from the ocean. That’s why people living near the ocean want to go to the mountains, and mountain dwellers wish to visit the plains. When I was in the Himalayas, the locals told me, “You are so lucky to live on the plains. We must climb thousands of steps just to go home. If I could, I’d visit your place.” See the value of difference?
We evolve through difference. If only rabbits existed, no evolution is possible. Only pigs? No evolution. Only plants? Still, no evolution. It is through diversity that life evolves. It’s a programme of evolving through difference, because only difference can create experience. If everything were the same, that would be the state of pure consciousness where experience isn’t required.
Consciousness manifests into nature to be different. That oneness, Atma, manifests beautifully into so many differences. And is there an end to the difference? No. In the outer world, you seek difference. But in your mind, why do you resist it?
The cost of resistance
We often sideline people who are different. Your parents may be different than you. That doesn’t mean you neglect them. A person from another country doesn’t deserve hatred. Why should Indians hate Pakistanis? Without knowing their name, their education, their family, just because they are “from Pakistan”, people hate. It expresses itself as hatred, neglect, suppression, fear. It is all due to not valuing differences.
The more different people you encounter, the more you grow. Even if your neighbour is aggressive and constantly arguing, that’s an opportunity creation gives you, to grow. You should be thankful for the person who triggers your registered difference.
Understanding registered difference
Understand this term: registered difference. On any street, you encounter countless differences, trees, birds, cars, people. But only certain things get registered in you. Why? Because you have some relationship with them. “Oh, there’s a dog, I don’t like dogs.” “Oh, I love that colour.” “I like mango trees, not coconut trees.” Your interaction with differences determines what gets imprinted in you. These impressions create memory.
And here is the key: memory that arises from difference creates conditionings. The memory born of oneness creates wisdom.
This is what Patanjali calls Smṛtti. When memory is nourished by difference, it traps you in Karma, in cycles. But memory from oneness supports a conscious life. And ultimately, no memory is even required. Life happens spontaneously. Memory becomes a burden only in duality.
Yoga: the practice of merging difference
That’s why the skill of handling differences should be part of our education. In Yoga postures, this is what we practice. Your hands are different from your legs. Your head is different from your shoulders. Yet you feel them all as one. This is Shtira Sukham, non-duality expressed through the body.
When posture practice moves in this direction, merging differences, creating oneness, it gives Jñāna Dīpti (shining of wisdom). That’s why Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutra, says: to reach the light of wisdom, practice the eight limbs of Yoga. Every Aṅga, every limb, is to merge differences. But the real challenge begins when you face another human being. That’s where people fail.
Merging differences with another human being will come at the cost of your ego. And that’s good. It will challenge your prestige, your beliefs, your attitudes, your conditioned approach to life. But once you begin moving towards oneness, you’ll feel thankful for each person, however they are, in whatever form or attitude they appear. It’s an opportunity.
Becoming a Guru to yourself
A Guru, a teacher, is not just someone outside. You should become a Guru to yourself. Only then can you touch the true Guru. This is important to understand.
Think about how a human interacts with a dog, a horse, or a bird. But how a human interacts with another human, that’s different. That interaction holds the greatest opportunity to evolve.
When you know how to see, when you know how to listen, your journey to becoming a Guru to yourself begins. Then only can you understand the master. Then only can you touch the Guru. It’s not about physically touching the Guru’s feet. You must touch from the same frequency. A Guru can only touch a Guru.
And what is the character of a Guru? One who learns from everything seen, everything heard, everything experienced. You can’t say, “I’m 50% there.” No. You are either on the circle or off it. Not 90%, not 99.999%. Just on or off. The character of being on the circle is different.
The path of Yoga: a journey of removal
That’s why, before naming yourself as different, develop the sense of oneness.
Once this dimension is understood, every moment becomes growth. Otherwise, you just follow your old programmes, your old attitudes. You may read a thousand books, meet hundreds of Masters, nothing will work. Your eyes are not open to receive, only to throw your conditionings. You like to hear what confirms your beliefs. You manipulate the outside world to fit your inner programming.
This creates such a question. That’s why, whoever is different from you, be thankful.
Especially when you come to a true Master, they will approach you in completely different and unexpected ways, to break your patterns, your conditioning. Know this: you create your reality. Whatever appears in front of you, financially, culturally, linguistically, is your own Self-expression.
In the same way, whoever comes into your life is your reality. How you treat others through difference reveals how you treat yourself. The creation is sculpting you like a sculpture. With every interaction, it chisels and removes. Life is constantly removing. It’s all about removing.
That is the path of Yoga
