Observation will fail without love

Questioner: Acharya Ji, is observation a function of self-knowledge?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Observation is not a function of anything. Observation happens when grace strikes you. You cannot bring about observation. You are forced to observe, you are shelled-shocked into observation. You have to observe, something’s at stake you must observe. Self-knowledge and such things don’t help there. Just the immensity of the thing that is at stake, at function helps there.

Take a very mundane example, a very mundane example. Forget about the subtle observation of life and thought. Look at the gross observation of a ball, you are playing tennis, don’t you observe the ball? Don’t you? We aren’t even talking of watching thoughts in a subtle way, we are talking of watching a material object outside of your body. Why do you observe the ball? And you need to be spiritual for that? Are all the tennis players or football players or squash players or golf players spiritual? Why do they observe the ball? Something is at stake. You’ll be forced to watch.

You know, in squash when you serve, the opponent is often behind your line of sight. You serve from the box and with one foot in the box, you try to come close to the wall so that the serve has the maximum impact, and the opponent is standing in his half, behind the box, a little behind the box at least…