Alan Watts
Playing At Being You
This you see is not a pessimistic attitude
Therefore, at all to be able to realize that this world is simply a dream
A dancing play of smoke
Fascinating, yes
But don't lean on it

“Life is a bridge.” Says one of the Hindu sayings
“Pass over it but build no house upon it.”
And so immediately you see that
This is responsible for the enormous gaiety of certain Hindu sages
This a thing that often puzzles Westerners
They expected that anybody who's an ascetic or a sage or something
To be rather miserable
With a glum face
But on the contrary
You take this
Character who's going around these days
Maharshi Mahesh
He's always laughing
Because
He sees through it
He looks on every side
And there is the face of the beloved
Of the divinity in everybody in every direction in everything
Playing at being you
Playing at being you
And you can look down into a person's eyes
Way-way in
And you see the self
The eternal divine
And what is so funny when it puts on an expression
Saying; “What me?”

And the Guru, the teacher
When people go to a Guru
They get all sorts of funny ideas
They think oh he's looking right through me
He sees me through and through
He knows how awful I am
Reads my most secret thoughts
Cause he has a funny look in his face
He isn't even interested in your secret thoughts
He's looking straight at the Godhead in you
With a funny expression on his face that is saying
Why are you trying to kid me [laughs]
Come off it Shiva, I know who you are

And therefore, you see his role
Is to gently
Humor you
Into waking up
As to your true nature