My suggestion is to get out of the extroverted mind – and don’t get into the introverted mind. They are two sides of the same coin. Learn a new secret: the secret of the watcher, who is neither doing something, nor deliberately not doing something. The watcher is just a mirror – he is reflecting whatever is happening. Going beyond mind is the greatest health and the greatest well-being possible to humanity. That does not mean that you cannot use your mind; in fact, only then can you use your mind. Right now the mind is using you; you are a slave of the extroverted mind.

There are many who have gone to the monasteries, to the mountains. They are introverted people – and to them introversion appears like meditation. That is not meditation either – they have just chosen the other side of the coin, and whenever there is a chance, immediately the extroverted mind will start creating desires and passions and longings and all kinds of things – hallucinations.

In all the old Indian scriptures, the sages come to a point…. The story is told about many saints and many sages – and it is not just a story, it is a very significant psychological fact: when a saint comes to the peak of his consciousness, Indian mythology says that the throne of the god Indra, in heaven, starts quivering. He becomes afraid – because if this man succeeds in attaining the highest consciousness, he will become Indra, and Indra will become an ordinary god.

So his strategy is to send beautiful women from heaven to distract the sage, and once he is distracted, he is destroyed. He loses his consciousness; desires start arising, lust overwhelms him – sensuality, sexuality, all raise their heads.

There is no Indra, and there is nobody who is sending things to distract you – it is your own mind. When the introverted mind reaches to its peak, the extroverted mind immediately becomes revengeful – it is being defeated…. Immediately it creates hallucinations – and sitting in the caves of the Himalayas or in a monastery, it is very easy to hallucinate.

All those beautiful women don’t exist; they are just figments of your extroverted mind, which is saying, “What are you doing sitting here when such beautiful women are dancing around you? As far as your saintliness is concerned, you can pick it up again; but who knows whether these women will be there or not…?” This is your own mind playing games.

The extrovert is happy when in action, in a crowd, with people; but soon it becomes exhausted and tired, bored, and starts thinking of relaxing. That is the introverted mind poking its nose into your extroversion…and this game goes on and on. You are neither of them – but you become identified with them.

My suggestion is: this is the place where you can become unidentified with your mind. So when there is need to act, act – but let it not be your obsession; and when there is need to relax, relax – that should not be your obsession either. While acting, remain alert that you are not the mind, and while relaxing, also remember that you are not the mind.

You are the one who is watching.