"Ignite the hunger for knowledge "

 There are so many things that one can do in this world — walk, swim, dance, gossip, love, drink, have drugs… And yet, for ages why is it that human beings have longed for something beyond all these? When you are struggling for survival this longing fades, but the moment your stomach is full, once again it starts. If you and your body were indestructible, this longing would not have risen.
Every day, you may not be conscious about death, but with a slightest provocation you become conscious of it. For example, someone you love went out and did not come back at the appointed time. You would start thinking “What could’ve happened?” Did s/he fall dead somewhere? That’s the last thing. In between, there is injury, pain, disease. “What could have happened?” is just a reminder. Somewhere you know that this can be terminated. We often think that we have a wonderful life. We live with so many thoughts and emotions, but little do we realise that one day it’s going to wane. The human nature is unwilling to accept this truth. So, there are all kinds of arguments. Some people say there is something beyond death. Others say there is nothing while some say that you will land up in the lap of God, that’s where you came from. Since time immemorial, people have been arguing but without any conclusion. Well, if you have a single-track mind where you “don’t want to look at anything else”, then you have an answer. But, if you have more than one track in your mind, you won’t have an answer. You will only have more and more questions.
People have propounded every kind of answer they could think of, yet it has not solved anything because this is the trick. Are you simply in search of solace, where you need someone to tell you, “Everything will be okay; there is a party waiting on the other side?” or have you become insane and can’t live without knowing? Longing for knowing will not happen unless there is hunger for knowing. For example, many mothers approach me, complaining, that their child does not eat. I tell them, “Just leave him with me, he will eat. Because we will make him run, we will make him walk. And after that, whatever food is given to him, he will gobble up!
If you want to eat well, you don’t need encouragement or coaxing, you need hunger. If you want to know, you must know the pain of ignorance, not somebody’s lecture. If the pain of not knowing is burning within you, you will know. Aren’t all creatures on this planet finding their food somehow? In the middle of the desert, they are finding something because they are hungry. So, people have always tried to kill your hunger with false food, with their own ideas which give solace for a certain period of time and only slow you down. It doesn’t matter for how long you slow down, but when the moment of death comes, suddenly you know that you know nothing about life or death.

Sadhguru
— Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a yogi, is a visionary, humanitarian and a prominent spiritual leader. An author, poet, and internationally-renowned speaker, Sadhguru’s wit and piercing logic provoke and widen our perception of life. He can be contacted at  www.ishafoundation.org
SOURCE : THE ASIAN AGE
LINK :http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4936:ignite-the-hunger-for-knowledge&catid=42:op-ed&Itemid=67