The Real Laughter
If you ever happened to meet God, do you know what you are going to find out? You are going to tell him, “Oh, I have met You inside!” God will dance in your life when your day dawns in laughter and love. The true prayer is laughing in the morning. Don’t just be laughing outside, but from deep inside. The laughter comes from the centre of our Being, from the core of our heart. True laughter is true prayer. When you laugh, the whole of nature laughs with you. It echoes and resounds, and that is really the worth of life.
When things go all right, everybody can laugh. But when everything falls apart, and then if you can laugh, that is evolution and growth. So there is nothing in life that is more worthy than your laughter. Never lose it for anything whatsoever. Events come and go. Some are a little pleasant, some are unpleasant, but whatever happens, they all leave you untouched. There is some area deep in you that is left untouched. Hold on to that something that is untouched. Then you will be able to keep laughing.
There are differences even in laughter. Sometimes you laugh just to avoid thinking or to avoid looking at yourself. But when you see and feel within yourself that life is so present every moment, so intense every moment, and it is invincible every moment, then nothing can bother you. Nothing can touch you. Then laughter is very authentic. It is real laughter. You might have observed babies, six months old or one year old. When they laugh, their whole body is jumping and bouncing. The laughter is not just coming out of their mouths. Every cell in the body is laughing. That is enlightenment. That laughter is innocent, pure, without inhibitions, without any strain. Laughter opens us up, opens the heart. And anytime we don’t feel up to that innocence, what do we do?
We can attend to all layers of our own existence. First, the body. See if you have had good rest, proper food, and some exercise. Then attend to the breath. Breath has its own rhythm. Every mood of the mind has a definite rhythm in the breath. By attending to the rhythm in the breath, the mind and body can be elevated. Then look at the concepts and opinions that hover in the mind. Good, bad, right, wrong, should do, shouldn’t do-all these could bind you. Every thought is associated with some sensation, some feeling. Observe the sensation and feeling in the body. Observe the rhythm in the emotions. If you observe, you never make new mistakes. You have the same pattern of emotions, but you hang it on different causes, different things, people, circumstances, and situations. Attend to this rhythm of the emotions. Observing thoughts as thoughts, emotions as emotions, opens us to our true Self, the godliness within us. The very observation changes it. When you observe, all that is negative falls away. And the nature of positive emotions is that they grow. If you observe when you are angry, the anger will fall away. And if you observe love, love grows. That is the best and only way.
Observe that thoughts come and they pass. A negative thought comes because of stress. If you are put under great stress, on that day, or the next day, you will get negative thoughts and become frustrated. Instead of trying to do something with those thoughts that have already arisen, which are of no use, attend to the source from which they bubble up. If the source is clear, only positive thoughts come. And if you observe negative thoughts come, so what! They come, and they vanish in no time.
We need to be able to see things as they are, objectively or totally subjectively. That is the essence of life, when it blooms from within and allows true laughter in life. And this is where humour has a very important role to play. Humour is the buffer that saves you from humiliation. If you have a good sense of humour, you can never be humiliated. And if you refuse to be humiliated, you become invincible.
Humour brings everyone together, while humiliation tears them apart. In a society torn with humiliation and insult, humour is like a breath of fresh air. A good sense of humour relieves you from fear and anxiety.
But humour should be coupled with care and concern. Mere humour without care and concern or appropriate action often irritates and discourages those who come to you with serious problems.
Humour can keep the spirit high, yet if overdone, it leaves a bad taste; humour without wisdom is shallow; humour with wisdom creates an atmosphere of celebration. Humour without sensitivity can come back to you with more problems. The wise use humour to bring wisdom and to lighten every situation. The intelligent use humour as a shield against humiliation. The cruel use humour as a sword to insult others. The irresponsible ones use humour to escape from responsibility. And fools take humour too seriously! To make an effort to be humorous is nonsensical. So how does one cultivate a sense of humour? Humour is not just words; it is the lightness of your Being. You do not have to read and repeat jokes. Just being cordial and light-hearted brings out authentic humour. You cannot take life itself too seriously, because you will never come out of it alive! Have a sense of belongingness with everybody, including those who are not friendly. Practise some yogasanas, breathing techniques, and meditation. Have unshakable faith in the Divine, and in the laws of karma. Be in the company of those who live in knowledge and are humorous. And have a willingness to be a clown.
Just look at a baby, the way it breathes, the way it smiles, the way it connects, and it will teach you everything. A baby is crying one moment and the very next, it is laughing, from every cell of its body. There is no effort in its laughter. There is no inhibition. It is simply there. Each one of us has these childlike qualities in us. Not childish, but childlike. Babies, who have not yet accumulated stress, express such abundance of energy, enthusiasm, joy, and unconditional love. These qualities that manifest spontaneously in an innocent child reflect the most unadulterated essence of humanness.
As we grow up, these qualities begin to fade. It is not that they are not present; they simply get covered in stress, tension, and too many impressions. We accumulate so much on the way-opinions, fears, concepts, and anxieties-that we forget the lightness with which we came into the world.
Enlightenment is the fully blossomed human potential. It is becoming a child again, and coming back to our original nature, which is pure joy and pure happiness. To find happiness within, you need to have a calm and centred mind. For that, you must first get rid of the stress. How can you be happy when your mind is so stressed? Once the stress is removed, you find there is purity in your heart, and your actions are sincere. Then you find that laughter is not something that you have to manufacture. You do not have to make an effort to be humorous. It is already there. It is the natural expression of a mind that is free and a heart that is open.
It comes from the centre of your Being, from the core of your heart. And when that laughter comes, the whole of nature laughs with you. It echoes and resounds.
That is the real laughter.
