Dead Seriousness

Ahanu

Ahanu

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The question was asked,

"What are the best practices for someone who is dead serious?"

Sadhguru answers this question in the video below.

I have two related questions. Sadhguru tells a Sufi story below to illustrate a point about student readiness. Does anybody know where this story comes from?

Also, he says the source of dead seriousness is self-importance. Do you agree? We are specks of dust and the world will continue after we've returned to dust, yet there are serious matters in this world--a lot of serious work to complete. I still remain uncertain about where to draw the line between serious work and dead seriousness. It appears paradoxical. Adults have innumerable responsibilities that tend to cause them to lean toward dead seriousness, whereas the opposite remains true for teenagers (at least from my experience). We're never told "Jesus laughed." We're told the poor shall laugh and those who laugh now shall mourn (Luke 6.21, 25). Some point to humorous exaggeration in his parables, but overall, I have an image of a dead serious Jesus--although I do not rule out the possibility he had a playful nature. This has been my experience of reading accounts of the Báb in the Baha'i Faith too. Quite serious persona. It probably just has to do with the way they are painted by followers, but it raises the question for the need to paint such an image. After all, many other religious figures don't have such a serious image. Rumi and Abdu'l-Baha are two examples that immediately come to mind. The tensions between a spirit of playfulness and dead seriousness walk a tightrope. Just a few incongruous thoughts.

 
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I just had to share these ... some of my favorites. :)

Never say never.jpg Baby Jesus.jpg a2723f171e297bef525677b9a69c495c54d6d0b28ca2030a542e028c3a5e6552.jpg Jesus-face-palm.jpg
 
My favourite are the words of that first Christmas:

"Oh, brilliant! It's late, I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm in labour. We've trekked to your crummy little village in the middle of bloody nowhere, and now you tell me you forgot to book a room... "
 
Glad to make you laugh DA. Love the cranky Mary Thomas, that’s more realistic!

Here’s another one of my favorites. Yup, people loosen up ;)

Mel Brooks - Ten Commandments
 
Ahanu said:
Also, he says the source of dead seriousness is self-importance. Do you agree?
Click to expand...
Yes I do agree. I found a site you may find of interest. It comes from a summary of teachings of the Shamans of ancient Mexican.
http://essential-knowledge.net/becoming-a-warrior/losing-self-importance/

From my own perspective I think it's just that we tend to put too much emphasis on ourselves in the here and now and not enough on the powers that allow us to be and what is yet to come. There are serious matters in life that need tending too, but that doesn't mean we have to stress out over them. The best is yet to come.

You reference Luke 6:21 and Luke 6:25

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

This doesn't mean we must always be solemn. Just the opposite really. It refers to those who cast aside self importance and rejoice in God. Those who don't take themselves too seriously. That's not to say however, that God should not be taken seriously.

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

This refers to those who wallow in self importance, over indulge and cast aside the importance of God. Those who take themselves too seriously.
 
I don't yet know the tact taken in the video of Sadhguru pandit talk.
What I see relevant is the definition of **What is Funny**

Mel Brooks has given a well known definition of Comedy.
Mel Brooks said [as I remember it told to me]:
"When a man slips on a banana, that's not funny; but when a man slips on a banana falls into a hole and dies, that's funny"

America's Home Funniest Videos are chuck full of folks falling [imo 99% of whom went to emergency hospital visits].

TV Show "Two and a half men" has built in laugh track or worse still if live audences' laughs, because each laugh is at expense of the esteem of eachother's pathos. Oh poor playboy's blind date was with a homely girl yada yada yada.

Even Seinfeld's last show [imo terrible] had the main character's being called on to answer in court all their trespasses against others ---even though those trespasses made to show what it is today, famous & classic and of the highest calibre.

So the above is the secular definition of comic theatre mileu. Is real life reflect some else than the above scenarios?
 
God has created too many funny looking things in this world not to have a sense of humor.

Two young boys were walking home from Church where they had just listened to a Fiery sermon on the Devil.
"Tommy, what do you think of that whole Satan thing?"
"Well, Billy, I think Satan is a lot like Santa Clause............ He's probably just your Dad" :)

Always sincere.... sometimes serious,
John B
 
The above was how I remember being told BUT, here is the quote as I found it on line:
Mel Brooks — 'Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.'
 
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