Smell of Shiva

`15 Volume - 13 / Issue-10
Annual Subscription `180 October 2013
Smell of Shiva
The silent Mountains
Stoic but full of eyes
The roaring river-rapid
in a hurry to lose itself
A nameless valley steeped
in occult ways. People as
Earthy as earthworms
Found ways to bend nature
to their will, seeking the
mundane through magic
Food has to be good
Not just for the tongue But for body and being.
The smell of Shiva
makes me set down
for a night, a day and a night
Now how to tell the fools of
His plumbless ways.
Grace & Blessings
Sadhguru recently had a series of new conversations with prominent personalities such as Supreme
Court Justice Jasti Chelameswar and filmmaker, fashion designer, and artist Muzaffar Ali. In this
issue, we carry the first part of Sadhguru’s talk with noted fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani: “Culture
in Flux.”
In our combined excerpt of two Sadhguru Spot posts, Sadhguru explores a less treaded route through
tucked-away valleys in Nepal and the vast Tibetan plains to the South Face of Kailash. Enjoy the
unfading fascination of a space that allows a glimpse beyond space and time.
The Editorial Team
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Isha Forest Flower c/o Isha Yoga Center, Semmedu P.O., Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore – 641114
[email protected]
2
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
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Also in an existential vein, the upcoming Navaratri festival is an opportunity to rise beyond the three
fundamental qualities of existence. Find out how in our article of the same name.
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One life form consumes another to exist. If a plant is as much a life form as an animal, why then,
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Sadhguru presents arguments that go beyond the common line of thought about non-violence.
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The short article “Number Games” elucidates more than a mere quantitative aspect of human
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couple of centuries? Sadhguru’s answer is profound, to say the least.
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The questioner in our Lead Article expresses what many of us may have experienced in some way
at some point in our lives: success in professional life, a wealth of money and material goods, but a
sense of emptiness within. Does each one of us have a God-given purpose to fulfill in life? Read the
article “A Grand Life” to get Sadhguru’s view on the search for meaning.
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Editorial
CONTENTS
Lead Article
A Grand Life
Sadhguru on the Predicament between Purpose and Process
4
Musings
Number Games
Sadhguru on Why Life is No One-to-One Application
6
Why Eat Vegetarian?
7
Navaratri
9
Rising beyond the Three Basic Qualities of Existence
In Conversation with the Mystic
Culture in Flux
Sadhguru in Conversation with Fashion Designer Tarun Tahiliani
11
Leela Series
The path of the playful – part XLVIII:
Don’t Turn a Blind Eye
13
News & Happenings
The Making of a Hata Yogi: Saluting the Sun
15
Sadhguru Spot
Kailash Sacred Walks 2013
Excerpted from Sadhguru Spot of 21 and 28 August 2013
16
Upcoming Programs and Events
Isha Yoga – Program Highlights
20
Isha Recipes
This Month: Ash Gourd Halva
21
Zen Speaks: Words Exceeding Action
23
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
3
A Grand Life
Sadhguru on the
Predicament between
Purpose and Process
SADHGURU
The following is an excerpt from a darshan with
Sadhguru at the Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, India,
on 17 July 2013.
Questioner: I used to live a very high-profile
professional life and hardcore capitalism, which
almost killed me. So I quit my job, sold my house,
gave everything away, and came to India. Earlier, I
had this intimate conviction that I had a purpose, a
contribution to make to humanity. I wonder, was
this just the mythomaniac desire of my ego, or is it
a true inspiration?
Sadhguru: This idea of having a God-given purpose
is a kind of megalomania. Knowing the size of the
cosmos with billions of galaxies, what makes you
think God knows you exist? Do you know how
many grasshoppers exist in the ashram? And
what makes you think you are any more than a
grasshopper? As a piece of life, a grasshopper has
its own purpose, and it is fulfilling it very well.
4
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
A grasshopper is a wonderful creature in its
own right.
You too are a wonderful piece of life, but the
problem you have is that you cannot simply live
your life – you are always looking for some grand
idea. The grasshopper is enjoying the grandeur of
the lawn; you are not enjoying the grandeur of the
lawn on which you are hopping. This essentially
arises from the human inability to handle your
own intelligence. Suppose we scoop out 25% of
your brain, you will have no such problems; you
will be just fine.
This is an evolutionary problem. We have been
smacked with so much intelligence, but we still
want to live like monkeys. Your intelligence has
become the source of all suffering, particularly in
modern societies, because in the stage of growing
up, neither the necessary discipline nor balance is
being brought into you.
October 2013
In terms of intellect, you are definitely on top of
the world, compared to any other creature on the
planet. What a phenomenal thing human intellect
is! But you did not gain the necessary balance and
stability to ensure that your intelligence is not an
impediment in your life. Without this balance, the
more intelligent you are, the more you suffer.
Blessings have turned into curses, simply because
we have not done any grounding work. A six-yearold child is being taught how to extract juice out of
the world. He is not been taught how to sit quietly,
how to be balanced. Tomorrow, if this intelligence
becomes a towering possibility, it is going to crash,
simply because there is no stable base.
This intelligence has come to us in a relatively
short span of time. If you look at the evolutionary
process of all the other creatures, how long a worm
took to become an insect, how long an insect took
to become a reptile, how long a monkey took
to become a human being is too short. On the
evolutionary scale, things happened too rapidly.
This is the reason why a human child has not come
readymade like all the others.
If an elephant delivers a calf, it is quite readymade.
On the first day, it stands up and knows what to do.
Within a few months, it figures out everything that
it needs to do in its life. It just has to eat well and get
strong. Human life is not readymade. You need to
stabilize yourself; otherwise, the very evolutionary
speed is destructive for you.
Human beings are suffering the freedom that
nature has given them. You can be any way you
want – that is a problem. You are on the peak of
intelligence compared to any other creature on
this planet – that is a problem. You can stand on
two legs – that is a problem. You can eat whenever
you think you can eat. You can copulate whenever
you think you can do it. No season has been set for
you like for other creatures. And look at us, how
we have multiplied and gone crazy. In every way,
nature opened up doors. A new freedom was given
to us, which is not allowed to any other creature.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
But instead of this being a great possibility, this
has unfortunately become a great curse for a vast
majority of human beings. Very few people really
enjoy the freedom and the intelligence that life has
given them.
If you look at people around you and yourself, how
many moments in 24 hours are you walking with a
spring in your step? If you are dragging yourself like
a slug, it is as if you wish that you had not evolved.
A slug is a happy life; you can carry your own
mobile home on top of your shoulders, and curl up
and sit there without any bother. This speed, these
problems, and this corporate life would not have
cracked you.
Our problem is just this – we are not able to handle
the gifts that nature has offered us. Suppose you
were sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, but
suddenly, after 10 years, they decided to release
you. This should be the best thing that can happen
to you, but people will suffer this. That is what is
happening right now: Nature released you quickly,
thinking with this intelligence, you will be able
to deal with it. But without bringing balance and
stability, people will come up with all kinds of
things, and one of the things is, they want to have
a grand purpose to their life. That means you want
to be something other than what life is.
Mysticism means, you have no purpose of your
own. You have no takeaway business. You are not
planning to take anything or go anywhere because
if you look properly, if you have three eyes to see
instead of just two, you will see the process of life
itself is so phenomenally grand, it does not need
a purpose. Only someone who does not see the
grandeur of the process thinks of a grand purpose.
Only because they have missed life, they are
looking for a purpose.
There is no purpose. Becoming a full-fledged life,
knowing life in its entirety, living life to its fullest
is the greatest purpose. Living life to its fullest
does not mean partying every evening. It means
you do not leave any aspect of life unexplored.
October 2013
5
This is not about exploring the same eating,
drinking, copulation business that every other
creature is doing. These simple compulsions are an
evolutionary residue that has stayed in your body.
Somewhere in the future, people may evolve
to a point where eating and sexuality are not a
compulsion anymore, where it is all by choice.
Even now, you can make it by choice. Only if you
make everything by choice in your life, you become
a conscious life. Only if you become a conscious
life, will you know what life is. An unconscious
person, someone who does not know what life is,
tries to invent a purpose for himself. And that too,
the purpose usually comes from elsewhere. People
think an instruction should come from heaven.
It does not need any heavenly intervention to know
what you should do and what you should not do if
you allow the humanity within you to function.
No sensible human being needs a teaching for that.
But because people miss the grandeur of the life
process, they are trying to invent a grand purpose.
The process is the purpose.
It is good you have been defeated by your purpose
and now you are looking at the process.
Number Games
Sadhguru on Why Life is No One-to-One Application
The following is an excerpt from a sathsang with Sadhguru on 16 August 2013,
during the Kailash Sacred Walks.
Questioner: The human population has
dramatically increased in the past few decades. If
there is rebirth, how can the population increase
in numbers? And are human beings reborn only as
human beings or also as other creatures?
Sadhguru: Do you know the insect population
on the planet has come down dramatically?
That means a lot of them got promoted without
deserving it. And a lot of people are buzzing
around, biting like mosquitoes whoever they see,
always wanting to suck somebody’s blood. That’s
because the insect population went down and they
all became human. [Laughter]
6
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
A human being, or any life for that matter, is not
in numbers. You can take one being and make a
million out of it. It does not take a million beings
to make a million. Or you can take a million and
make one. Life does not work in simple arithmetic.
You can take a million buckets of water from
Manasarovar; still Manasarovar will be there,
and the million buckets of water will exist. If you
throw back all the million buckets of water into
Manasarovar, still Manasarovar will be the same;
the million buckets of water will not exist. The
idea that there is an individual being is just an
illusion of your mind. You can count bodies, but
don’t count the beings. That’s not how it works.
October 2013
Why Eat Vegetarian?
Questioner: Sadhguru, can you tell us what kind
of food we are supposed to eat? Why are meat and
meat products not considered the right kind of
food for people on the spiritual path, and how is
seafood different? If this is just about killing or
violence – isn’t a plant also life?
Sadhguru: This is not just about violence. We know
life is violent. The question is just, will you conduct
violence only to the extent that is necessary or
will you overdo it? No one can live here without
violence. Every breath is violence. Whether you
cut a carrot, an apple, a chicken, or a goat – it is
violence. Whether it is an ant, a cockroach, or a
goat – for every life form, its life is the most precious
thing on the planet. You may think, “Just a goat’s
life.” A goat never thinks so. See with how much
pride it walks. It thinks it is the most important life
on the planet. Just like you.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
In the yogic culture, we call the different life
forms jeevarasi. One heap of life – different levels
of evolution. Different levels of sensitivity. What
we are concerned about is that whatever you eat
should be as far away from you as possible in the
evolutionary scheme of things. Plants are furthest
away. If you have to eat an animal, we say it must
be in the water, because that is the first form of
animal life. If you want to look at it in terms of
stationary life and moving life, among the moving
life, fish are the furthest away from us, so we say
it is okay. You don’t eat a mammal because it is
very close to you.
If you think that if you eat a goat, you will
become healthier, why don’t you eat a human
being? Maybe you will become even healthier.
What is the problem in eating another human
being? It is that they are so much like us. A
certain life form is more complex only because of
October 2013
7
a certain volume of memory. Suppose we bring
back your ancestors. If we raise the previous
10 generations, out of these maybe 150 to 500
people, at least 25 people may look startlingly
alike, because the memory continues.
In the human system, the memory is more intricate
than in any other life form. As life evolved, the
memory became more complex, and the structure
of the system became more sophisticated. If you
eat an animal or any creature that is closer to you,
which has its own very complex memory, do what
you want – you cannot digest it. If you eat a plant,
you can digest almost 100% of it – you eliminate
its memory and impose it with your memory.
Your body started with two cells. Two cells of
memory multiplied into all this – still maintaining
the same characteristics. But if you go on eating
food that has more complex memory, your ability
to superimpose your memory on it becomes less
and less, the closer it is to you. You may think a
goat’s life is nothing, but that is not true in terms
of life. It is so much like you. If you cut open a
goat, you will see its digestive system, its liver,
and its kidneys are very similar to yours.
Your body is just an accumulation of the food
that you have eaten. If you want to impress your
samskara on the food that you have eaten and
make it yours, the complexity of the memory in
the food should be minimal. The more complex it
gets, the more you lose your characteristics. The
inherent qualities that have flown through you,
8
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
25,000 years of culture will go waste on you if you
eat food that has a complex memory structure.
The idea of creating a culture and a civilization is
so that it can be transmitted from one generation
to the next. Transmission is not only in the
school room. It happens in the genes. There are
substantial studies to prove this today. We
have always been saying this is your samskara.
Samskara means a distilled essence of civilization
flowing through you without being taught. You
can see this from one person to another person.
Even if you expose two people to the same kind
of external influences, still one person is different
to the other. This is because of samskara. Your
ability to let this inherent quality flow through
you will become minimal if you eat food with
complex memory structure.
Mahavir said this 2600 years ago – if you eat the
flesh of an animal, you will slowly become like
an animal. This does not mean if you eat goat
today, tomorrow you will look like a goat. Over a
period of time, the kind of food that you consume
will create a kind of memory distraction in your
system. If you eat food with minimal memory,
your body, your memory structure, and your
genes easily imprint themselves on that and make
it “you.” If you eat complex memory and you
reproduce, the next generation will be confused,
because the imprint of memory on them will not
happen as clearly as it would have happened if
you ate food with less complexity of memory.
If you consume animals that have emotions
and thoughts like human beings, it is close to
cannibalism. This is not a religious or moral issue.
It is an existential and scientific issue, a profound
understanding of how the system works. If you
consume meat or any food with complex memory
and strong emotions, you will slowly lose your
fundamental characteristics of being human.
October 2013
Navaratri
Rising beyond the Three Basic Qualities of Existence
The following is an excerpt from a residents’ sathsang with Sadhguru at
Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore, India, on 23 September 2011.
The festival season in India starts with Navaratri
or Dussehra. These nine days are a significant
time at the mid-section towards the southern
solstice, where the Sun’s attention to the Northern
Hemisphere has receded a bit. In this quarter
of the year, the Northern Hemisphere of the
planet becomes gentle because it receives the
least amount of sunlight. The beginning of this
feminine quarter is Navaratri or Dussehra, which is
essentially about the feminine divinity. These nine
days are associated with the three basic qualities
of tamas, rajas, and satva. The first three days are
tamas, where the goddess is fierce, like Durga or
Kali. The next three days are dedicated to Lakshmi
– a gentle, but materially oriented goddess. The
last three days are dedicated to Saraswati, which
is satva; knowledge and enlightenment are her
attributes. The final day is Vijayadashami – that
means you conquer all these three basic qualities.
darkness is bad. For people who are ecstatic, people
who are loving, people who are joyful, darkness is
wonderful.
If you invest in these three qualities, your life will
be in a certain way. If you invest in tamas, you will
be powerful in one way. If you invest in rajas, you
will be powerful in a different way. If you invest in
satva, you will be powerful in a completely different
way. But if you go beyond all this, it is not about
power, it is about liberation. So Vijayadashami is
the day of victory, when you have won over all the
three. You participated in every one of them, but
you did not invest in any one of them.
The science of yoga is about exploring the mysteries
of existence, about bringing it into simple practice.
If you pass the 108 beads of a mala through your
hands, you are taking the steps that the planet
Earth is taking. This is a way of simplifying the
mystical and making it available to everyone. You
can explore existence, you can know existence,
you can be aligned with existence, you can be one
with existence, but you cannot rub knowing into
people. You have to nurture it.
In the yogic culture, Dakshinayana, the southern
run of the Sun, is known as sadhana pada. The
northern run is called gnana pada. Within the
sadhana pada, Navaratri is the Devi pada that
sadhakas can make use of to do a certain type of
sadhana. During this time until the solstice in
December, the Northern Hemisphere receives the
least amount of light. It is a period of darkness.
For people whose mindset is full of fear and dread,
Celebrating something just for the fun of it is one
thing; using the celebration to be a part of existence
is a different thing. In this culture, we calibrated
all the celebrations in such a way that we are part
of existence. We want to wait for that moment,
when the planet is celebrating, when the cosmos
is celebrating, when everything is right. Then, the
celebration, the joy, and the exuberance are in line
with the cosmic exuberance.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
The purpose of your life should be to participate in
existence without distorting the hand of the Creator.
This is what yoga is – learning to participate in a
dynamic manner in everything that is happening,
but never distorting the hand of the Creator. This
means to say, “I want to be in line with the hand
of the Divine. I don’t want my hand to stick out
anywhere. At the same time, I am not withdrawn.
I am not passive. I am dynamically active, but still
let my hand never distort the hand of the Creator.”
Unfortunately, most people at the best understand
not distorting as being ecologically sensitive.
Ecology is only a surface matter. Consciousness is
the core matter. Only because consciousness has
not been handled, you have to fix ecology.
October 2013
9
Celebrations at
5 to 13 October - Navaratri
The celebrations include special abishekams
for Devi every evening, musical and cultural
offerings, and a Linga Bhairavi Maha arti. A
special Navaratri sadhana will be open for
all devotees in the parikrama to connect and
receive Devi’s grace.
14 October – Vijayadashami
This day is considered as very auspicious for
any commencement of education, especially
in art, dance, and music. Linga Bhairavi offers
an exclusive Vidyarambham ritual on this day,
which introduces young children into the world
of letters and the process of learning to bring
forth the wealth of true knowledge.
For registrations and more details, contact 094438 35000, 094433 65631,
or email us at [email protected]
Visit
Hands of Grace
and experience the unmatched
elegance and refinement of
India’s cultural traditions.
9-13TH OCT
Daily 11AM – 10PM
VENUE:
Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills
A nationwide
initiative to
promote crafts
Tel. 9487895768 / 9873186007
Email: [email protected]
10
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
Culture in Flux
Sadhguru in Conversation with
Fashion Designer Tarun Tahiliani
In a recent edition of the “In Conversation with the Mystic” series, Sadhguru met with noted fashion
designer Tarun Tahiliani on 5 Aug 2013 in Delhi. Here is the first part of their conversation.
Tarun Tahiliani: What I would like to start with….
Though I supposedly went to the best schools, I
was brought up disconnected from my roots, from
my culture, from everything. Why is this great
society or culture so willing to embrace what our
colonizers left behind, and why do we judge our
own if they don’t match up to this? Perhaps you
can help me resolve this constant confusion I have,
why we as a culture have done this to ourselves.
Sadhguru: We need to understand the difference
between conquest and colonization. Conquest is to
beat someone down and sit on top of their heads.
Colonization is to convert people into your way,
so that they will serve you without thinking they
are serving you. Some of the things that were the
strengths of the nation were clearly mocked by
the British. You must see the letters that Mcauley
wrote to the parliament. He said that there are three
things that make India a place which is impossible
to be conquered. One thing is its education system;
another thing is its spiritual process; another thing
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
is its family and cultural strength. “If we don’t
weaken these three things, we will never truly
colonize this land.” In many parts of Africa, North
America, wherever they went, they had absolute
success. You go to Australia, it is another England.
The native cultures of those lands are only archival.
The only place where they did not succeed entirely
is India. One thing is, the spiritual process was so
strong. The ethos of spirituality was not as they
knew it.
This also happened during the Islamic invasions.
They set fire to all the books at the Nalanda
University, where the Buddhist learning was
concentrated. They say the books burned over
three months – such a pile of books they had. But
then, they found there were over 3000 monks who
could recite books by memory, so they burnt the
3000 monks. Once they burnt the books and the
monks, Buddhism just vanished from India.
The Hindu way of life was not a religion per se, it
October 2013
11
was a million-doorway-palace of spiritual processes
– not just one kind of process and one kind of belief.
The only way you could have killed this would
have been to kill every human being that lived in
this country, because there was no one papacy, one
place where all the knowledge was centered. It is
completely decentralized. That’s the only reason
why you still have some India left. Otherwise, 300
years are a long enough time to subjugate people
and change everything about them. Everything
can be wiped out in ten generations.
Tarun Tahiliani: But now there is cultural
imperialism. If people who are privileged do not
withhold the values, other people also want to
follow.
Sadhguru: What the sword and the gun could not
do, MTV is doing now. [Laughter]
This is not a question of Indian culture versus
some other culture. Now we choose to speak
English – that’s perfectly fine. Culture is always
an evolving and exchanging process. You cannot
isolate a culture, say “this is my culture” and try to
preserve it. If a culture needs to be preserved, this
means it has already become archival. A culture
is an evolving, pulsing, growing thing. We don’t
have to be afraid of other influences if only people
consciously pick up what they want. Right now,
they compulsively pick up whatever is thrown at
them because they think it’s superior. That has to
change. I think that will only change when there
is large-scale economic wellbeing in this country.
Right now, economic wellbeing means people
give up all Indian weave and texture and switch to
America’s workmen’s clothes – that is the sign of
prosperity. If everyone wears worn out clothes in
America, everyone wears worn out clothes here.
If someone tears their pants there, everyone tears
their pants here. If someone drinks carbon dioxide
there, everyone drinks carbon dioxide here, which
is not good.
away. Then we will choose something from the
West, something from the East, something from
the South, something from the North – that’s okay.
Tarun Tahiliani: I agree with you. I think we have
seen that in the last decade or so. I think this was
worse during socialism because the standards went
so low that everyone was looking over the wall
and dying to imitate the Westerners. When India
became more prosperous and people had more
freedom, they started choosing what suits them
from the East or the West.
Sadhguru: In the past, even within the country,
the cultures were different from nation to nation,
region to region, because the level of contact and
communication was minimal. But today, the level
of communication and contact is high. Many
people travel around the world or at least there
is communication across the world. Probably, in
another hundred years, there will be no such thing
as your culture and my culture. There will be just
one global mess which we have to accept as our
culture.
Tarun Tahiliani: [Laughs] Well, at least we won’t be
around to watch it – that’s good. [Sadhguru laughs]
Sadhguru: Why are you sending me away so soon?
Tarun Tahiliani: No, I am sending myself. You could
be around. You are doing better work than I am.
This is because of the economic superiority. Until
we become economically capable and competent,
until we feel fine with the way we are, we will
tend to imitate someone else. If you want to have
Indian culture growing and throbbing, we quickly
must achieve economic wellbeing for a maximum
number of people in this country. When that
happens, you will see the need to imitate will go
12
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
To be continued.
October 2013
Leela Series
The path of the playful – Part XLVIII
Don’t Turn a Blind Eye
The following is an excerpt from Leela, the path of the playful, a unique
exploration with Sadhguru into the mystical realm of Krishna, which
took place at the Isha Yoga Center in September 2005.
Questioner: Sadhguru, Dhritarashtra’s wife
Gandhari knew right from wrong – why did she
choose to close the eyes to all the evil deeds that
were happening in Hastinapur? Should she not
have tried to influence Dhritarashtra to some
extent? And even today, women do not have much
say in the household, but if they could just make
5% difference, should they not strive for it, even at
the cost of disturbing the peace within the family?
Sadhguru: Since Dhritarashtra was blind,
Gandhari did not want to enjoy the vision that
he did not have. So when they got married, she
took a vow to blindfold her eyes for the rest of
her life. Only once, when Krishna showed his
Universal Form in the Hastinapur court, she
broke the vow, took off the blindfold and saw.
Not just visually but even otherwise, both, but
especially Dhritarashtra, became blind to many
things. And the code in the royal court was such
that when the king decided something, even if
he was walking into a pit, no one had any right
to say anything. The final word was his.
Many times, Gandhari showed some sense,
but only in small measure. When the real
issues came up, she did not do much. We have
to acknowledge that she could not do much,
because the people who were working on
Dhritarashtra were quite efficient. You cannot
find a better man than Shakuni to create such
intrigue, such cunning and deception. And
whenever Gandhari or Dhritarashtra tried to put
their foot down about something, Dhuryodhana
threatened to commit suicide. He kept doing
this throughout his life whenever he didn’t
have his way. Immediately, Dhritarashtra would
give in, no matter how stupid or evil the thing
was, because his eldest son meant everything
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
to him. “If he commits suicide, how can I live?”
Sometimes, Gandhari tried to interfere, but once
Dhritarashtra made up his mind or had been
compelled to do something, he would not step
back. She really didn’t have much say.
To the last part of your question, “Should they
not strive for it, even at the cost of disturbing
the peace within the family?” This is something
most people are unwilling to do, even if they
know 100% that this would be the right thing.
If they stand up for a certain cause or truth or
whatever, they have to face a certain amount of
unpleasantness. A lot of people are not willing
to go through that little bit of unpleasantness in
the relationships and families and stand up for
something, but they are willing to live a lie for
the rest of their life. If you believe something
is truly valuable, you must stand for it at the
cost of any discomfort. Otherwise, your life will
not be worth anything. If you simply somehow
try to maintain some pleasantness around you,
that same pleasantness will drown you one day.
To stand up and create what you feel is really
worthwhile, it is alright to go through a bit of
unpleasantness in the atmosphere.
When people have established themselves in
certain limitations, in certain lies, in certain
conveniences, and you do not strive to break their
limitations, even at the cost of being unpopular
with them, it simply means you don’t care for
them; you are only concerned about your comfort.
What is too little or too much depends on many
factors, like your tact and your ability to handle
the situation, and on how obstinate the person
is. You can’t stand up and fight for every little
thing, and the ability to turn around situations
may be different from person to person, but
October 2013
13
there is definitely some scope in everyone’s life to
create some sense of righteousness and to not let
situations stagnate or go in evil ways. The evil can
mean a little corruption within the family, within
relationships, within social situations, which can
snowball into something big one day.
This is the reason why I am trying to bring
Mahabharat down to your life. People have always
imagined Dhuryodhana as a horrible demon and
Krishna as a god from heaven, which is not how
it is. Both are human beings – one uses his sense
and humanity, another one does not. This makes
a world of a difference. This makes one divine and
another one a demon. It is not that one fell from
heaven, another one jumped up from hell. It is
just that every human being, every moment, has
the opportunity to either exercise his humanity or
to leave it and fall into the trap of situations that
exist around us.
This does not mean you have to become an activist
and fight with everyone around you. It can be
done sensibly. One can use one’s intelligence
and see what can be done to evolve situations for
the better. Whether it is going to happen or not
is not the issue. You are constantly striving for
it – that makes your life beautiful. Repeatedly,
Krishna says, “Do your dharma. The end result is
not your business,” because the end result is never
100% in your hands, no matter who you are, or
how powerful you are. When it comes to outside
situations, we can make all kinds of calculations
to see that the end result happens well – still there
is no guarantee for anyone. Even Shiva strived
14
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
and struggled with the world. And you know how
Krishna strived and struggled at every point.
When Krishna talks about not being attached to
the fruit of action, he is not trying to teach you
philosophy – he is revealing a reality. If you are
attached to the fruit of action, you are bound
to become frustrated. No matter what you do,
external situations are never 100% in our control.
If anyone thinks so, he is living in a fool’s paradise
– it will crash. In every situation, a million
different forces are functioning. One who sees
that will never ever think that everything is in
his hands.
Only a fool who does not realize how many things
make a situation happen thinks everything is in
his hands. Just because I have a microphone in my
hands right now does not mean I have this whole
situation in my hands. There are a million other
forces – all of them are not in our hands. We try
to control and direct and make things happen to
the extent that we can, which depends on our
ability and skill. But still, no matter how able
and skilled you are, external situations are never
100% in your hands. And that is what is beautiful
about life.
If you tried something and it didn’t work – so
what. Your life is not beautiful because something
happens or does not happen. Your life is beautiful
because you are striving for what you believe
is right and just. So definitely, whether you are
a man or a woman, you must strive for that.
Otherwise, what is your life worth?
October 2013
The Making of a Hata Yogi:
Saluting the Sun
The second 21-week Isha Hata Yoga Teacher Training Program began on the auspicious Guru
Pournami (22 July) in the presence of Sadhguru. Eighty-four aspiring Hata Yoga teachers from 18
countries embarked upon a unique and privileged journey – to acquire a profound understanding of
the yogic system and the proficiency to teach Hata Yoga, and to carry the true essence of Hata Yoga to
the world. Here is a behind-the-scenes peek into the making of an Isha Hata Yoga teacher.
should not be eager to teach. You must be eager
to imbibe. If you imbibe something, if something
truly worthwhile is with you, teaching will come
naturally. ‘If I know it’s valuable, I will teach. If no
one values it, I’ll close my eyes and sit.’ This is the
way to approach it. It’s not about doing something.
It’s about becoming a certain way.”
Sadhguru has often talked about the immense
significance of the sun: “When we say ‘Surya,’ we
are talking about the sun, the basic powerhouse for
this planet. All life on this planet is solar-powered,
including yourself.”
Surya Namaskar is a familiar process to many yoga
practitioners, but about two years ago, Sadhguru
introduced Surya Kriya. He says, “Surya Kriya is
different from Surya Namaskar in that the original
practice is Surya Kriya. It is a way of aligning yourself
with the sun and it is a much more refined process,
which needs enormous attention in terms of the
geometry of the body. It involves a certain level
of breath and powerful activation of energy. It is a
tremendous possibility if you know how to use it.”
And indeed, our participants have been
experiencing this. Vijay Gedia of Mumbai says,
“While learning Surya Kriya, I felt I was the most
fortunate one on the planet. Such a profound and
subtle kriya! I could sense a surge of energy in my
body.” Francesco Marelli from the Netherlands
tells us, “The kriya takes a phenomenal amount of
concentration. When you nail the breath cycles, it
flows and flows and flows.”
The group has been learning so much on various
levels, but when do they learn how to teach? The
message from Sadhguru was unequivocal: “You
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
Sadhguru elaborates on the process of imbibing:
“To imbibe this is not to take it as a mental memory
but as a physical memory. In terms of memory,
your body is much more reliable than your mind.
If I ask you to meticulously remember every
moment of what happened in the last 24 hours, you
will see your mind will not even remember one
percent. But in a very unconscious way, your body
remembers everything – every smell, every taste,
every sight, every touch, every sound. It is just that
you do not know how to consciously make that
memory yield into wisdom or knowledge. Hata
Yoga is working your system in such a way that
everything that your body remembers works to
your advantage, not against you, so that it becomes
a powerful instrument of perception. If you walk
into a place, you should know what’s happening,
with your hand, not with your eyes. This body can
become that sensitive.”
Imbibing is a process that the group is becoming
increasingly open to. Marina Kurtzberg from
the USA speaks for many when she says, “Going
through the program this week brought down this
mental picture I had of training to teach others. I
realized the first pupil I have is myself – I need to
learn before even dreaming about teaching others.
It took me so long to realize: I am my first pupil.”
Next Isha Hata Yoga Teacher
Program: 12 July to 6 December 2014
Training
For more information: www.ishahatayoga.com,
[email protected].
October 2013
15
Sadhguru Spot
Musings from the Master
Kailash Sacred Walks 2013
Excerpted from Sadhguru Spot of 21 and 28 August 2013
LUMBINI – KATHMANDU – NEPALGUNJ – SIMIKOT – DHARAPANI – KERMI
It is almost a norm that I jump into various types
of activities completely unprepared. A long
and hard trek definitely needs a certain level
of preparation in terms of toning up the limbs
and getting the harmonica of the lungs tuned
for hard, forced marches and high altitudes.
But the last two months have been a relentless
and cruel schedule and I land up here without
any preparation in terms of walking or diet. A
couple of days of golf in a mountainous terrain
were all that I got. Thanks to golf here and there,
I am using my lower limbs; otherwise a busy day
means 12 to 14 hours of sitting in one place.
Kathmandu was good for all the participants to get
together and know each other after a long ride from Lumbini through the spectacular mountains
and challenging traffic situations. Lumbini was a pending place to visit for over 35 years. In the
year 1979, I reached the Nepal border alone upon my motorcycle – they didn’t let me pass as I
did not possess a passport. I knew that just across the border was the place where Gautama (the
Buddha) was born. It took so long to get to Lumbini.
The flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj was uneventful, except that the pilot, for some strange
reason, chose to land on a short strip downwind and had to do some panic braking and stuff.
Nepalgunj has a meteorological reputation of holding up groups of people for days and sometimes
weeks. We took off from Nepalgunj in less than an hour in an 18-feet Dornier – these work horses
have served in most difficult terrains; quite ancient in design and fitting, but reliable as a dog.
Simikot has a wonderfully located 100 to 280
degrees landing strip. It is considered a miracle in
the region that you take off from Kathmandu and
reach Simikot in less than three hours – the weather
usually never allows that. Well, the weather gods
are well-disposed towards us! After a quick grub,
we set off trekking towards Dharapani; only nine
kilometers but a steep and rocky descent – a true
knee breaker. Took the last of the group over nine
hours to get to the campsite. As usual, pain and
panic takes its toll and a few wanted to turn back,
and of course, I won’t let them. They have done
fine on day two from Dharapani to Kermi, 10 km
with some killer steeps to climb but not much of
downhill and not much of rock.
16
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
Here we are at Kermi, the camp overlooking a
valley which befits the attention of more than
two eyes. Not much spiritual activity as yet; just
conditioning legs and lungs. From tomorrow,
we will set the pitch for making the group more
receptive to what the region is in general, and to
what Manasarovar and Kailash in particular have
to offer. This hard trek is a good tool to make
one more perceptive, unless one is too stuck
in macho stuff and a sense of achievement that
people are generally messed up about. Hope these
mountains and I together will break open their
doors for Mahadeva.
The sun has just gone hiding behind the mountain peaks. Oh, of course he has other
appointments, to light and heat other parts of the earth, where multifarious forms of life
are awaiting his warm charm. This twilight is magical at the least. The greens turning into
darker green; the rocky sheer beginning to brood about an ancient something, smells, sounds
of animals returning home, and cooking fires from a tiny village close by. And above all,
a steady roar of the river down below. All will
change by the moment except the roar of this
precious element hurtling down to the plains to
nourish millions of people of various kinds. But
the aching muscles are awaiting nightfall and
will take one into slumber world, turning the
roar into a lullaby.
A NAMELESS VALLEY – TUMKOT –
MANASAROVAR – KAILASH –
XIGAZÊ – LHASA
After a nearly 10 km trek, we decided to settle
down in a nameless valley steeped in occult ways.
These people are as earthy as earthworms and
found ways to bend nature to their will, seeking the mundane through magic.
For me it is like the smell of Shiva, and no wonder the valley is a forest of Marijuana. If I was not
already so stoned with Shiva, this would be the place for one who is seeking intoxication.
Tented at the very edge of a roaring river-rapid, overlooked by a brooding mountain full of eyes.
A pack of bats take off for their nightly sojourn – no vampires these.
But their silent flight and sightless eyes
make them seem like creatures from another
realm. How strange the ways of ignorance
are – these creatures are mammals, our very
close relatives. Blind as a Bat, aren’t we.
The Trek to Tumkot was 14.5 km through
some wonderful terrain, pristine and
beautiful. There was an hour and a half of
knee-breaking and lung-busting stretches.
In spite of painful stretches, we did this
grueling stretch in record time. Everyone
was in a buoyant and charged state after the
day-long Sathsang and Bhuta Shuddhi process
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
17
initiation. Walking through these deep valleys
and crossing over some hills is dreamlike. It
has been over 15 years since I’ve been outdoors
for more than three nights – incredible and
invigorating.
The rocky steeps truly tested not only our lungs
and legs but our mental resolve. After a hard
trek, camping for a day by the gushing brook
at Tumkot was a much needed break for the
aching limbs, and the enthusiasm of the
participants led to an almost full-day Sathsang.
Except that one of us had to be airlifted due to
health issues from the valley of Tumkot to be hospitalized
at Kathmandu. In a day, she recovered and is doing fine now.
The last stretch from Tumkot was the hardest climb we had encountered. The rocky steeps truly
tested not only our lungs and legs but our mental resolve. When we finally reached and saw the
automobiles after six days of roughing it in the mountain, there was celebration in every cell of
the body. The drive through the Narola pass was precarious and breathtaking. The terrain rapidly
transformed utterly from green valleys with copious water bodies to a bone dry, dusty, and stark
looking mountain reaching out to the sky. That is “Welcome to Tibetan plateau,” a truly unique
landscape.
The magic of Manasarovar is refusing to fade. It
doesn’t matter how many times one has come –
it still enthralls. Two nights at the banks of this
Mystical lake and a series of Sathsangs with the
other groups arriving by the regular route. The
fervor and devotion of the pilgrims is overwhelming
to say the least.
This time around, we decided to camp at the base
of the South Face of Kailash, known as Ashtapadi.
This is the very home of Mysticism. I have been
here a few times but never stayed there for the
night. The track being considered too dangerous,
vehicles were not permitted. Our trek to Ashtapadi
was phenomenal in experience, and the weather was testing our resolve to make it to 5200 m flat
for camping. Only 12 of us could manage to stay there as it started snowing heavily by 6.30 p.m.
In weather like that, with very heavy clouds and mist screening Kailash, in a sweeping wave of
compassion, the heavy veil lifted to reveal his magnificent form and grace. All pain and difficulty
of the trek and the vagaries of the weather and temperature just vanished in our experience. Only
Kailash. That is all. The magical power of this tremendous space is indescribable.
The night was unique and eventful. I’ve spent many a night on mountain sides and jungles. Being
hungry, cold and alone is not new; it has had its presence from my childhood. Those days and
nights have always been very powerful times, but never of suffering or fear or loneliness. Those
blessed days and nights were the times Shiva invaded me without invite or permission. But this
night at Ashtapadi was unique. One – being so close to Kailash. Two – good to be protected by
an all-weather tent. And three – eight inches of snow turned the tent into an igloo. Never been
outdoors for a whole night full of snow. It was snowing till 7 a.m., gave an hour’s break for us to
pack up our tents and descend to the Serlung Monastery where the rest of the team were, and
started off in right earnest. Giving him a fabulous white veil as if the eyes of the unclean should
18
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
not find him. O’ Mother Nature, He needs no
protection. There is no clean or unclean for
Him; there is no sinner or virtuous one for
Him. He views a sage and a sorcerer with the
same eye; Devil and Divine with the same eye.
The taintless, thoughtless, Third Eye.
After the descent from Ashtapadi, an overnight
stay at Manasarovar and a brief Sathsang with
the last group to arrive. Off we are early for a
1000 km drive to Xigazê to avoid an overnight
at the shanty town of Saga. At the junction
of 3 main arterial roads of Tibet and with a
military station, it is gaining in importance and
clamor. The great Saga Hotel is still continuing
to celebrate my birthday with a very colorful birthday sign that was put up 5 years ago.
With a brief stopover at Saga, we drove on to Xigazê. After doing 700 km, my Land Cruiser started
making not so pleasant noises that suggested some serious friction. After a few stops and checks, I
kind of diagnosed a steering bearing breakdown. With a stiff steering, we reached Xigazê after 10
p.m., with a little over 14 hours of driving. The terrain through which we drove the whole day
would leave anyone wordless and dazed.
Xigazê has one of the largest monasteries in Tibet, controlled by Panchen Lama XI who now
lives in Beijing. This 650 year-old monastery is quite a fascinating place to spend a day at. Its
architecture and art are rustic and the homogeneity of its making has an appeal beyond laws of
aesthetics.
Ah, Lhasa is a transformed place. The Chinese architects and administration have done a
remarkable job of making a tinny little town a few years aged into a bustling, beautiful city.
A fabulous job of merging the traditional Tibetan architecture with modern glass and steel
contraptions. The infrastructure in and around Lhasa rivals any European or North American
city of its size. My full marks for Chinese planners and engineers.
The group, though from various backgrounds, has melted into one and the closing dinner at Hotel
Brahmaputra was a joyful conclusion to this three-week – what shall I call it? An adventure? A
jaunt? Trek? Pilgrimage? Yes to all of them and more, which is beyond articulation. The mountain,
the Mysticism and the sheer magic of all that has become a rare bond among all who have been
through this sacred walk.
Love and Grace,
Visit: Sadhguru.org/spot for weekly updated
“Musings from the Master”
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
19
Program Highlights
Date
Program
Place
Contact
3–6 Oct 2013
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
3–6 Oct 2013
Inner Engineering
with Sadhguru
Residential Retreat
Isha Institute of
Inner-sciences
McMinnville, TN – USA
+1-931-622-9437
[email protected]
11–13 Oct 2013
Inner Engineering
with Sadhguru
San Mateo, CA – USA
+1-408-409-6436
[email protected]
17–20 Oct 2013
Shoonya Intensive
Bilingual Residential
Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
17–20 Oct 2013
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
23–29 Oct 2013
Inner Engineering
Trivandrum, India
9846017776
[email protected]
9–12 Nov 2013
Guru Pooja Training
Bilingual Residential
Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
9–13 Nov 2013
Samyama Sadhana
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
14–17 Nov 2013
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
23–26 Nov 2013
INSIGHT –
The DNA of Success
Residential Program
with Sadhguru and
Dr. Ram Charan
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
83000 84888
[email protected]
12–19 Feb 2014
Samyama
Residential Program
conducted by
Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
These programs are conducted in English, unless indicated otherwise. Current at the time of print, however subject to
change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our website: www.ishafoundation.org.
20
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
Isha Recipes
For Healthy Living
Ash Gourd Halva
INGREDIENTS
300–400 g
1 cup
10
1 cup
1 teaspoon
Ash gourd
(white pumpkin/winter melon)
Ghee
Cashew nuts
Sugar
Green cardamom powder
PREPARATION METHOD
1. Peel and deseed the ash gourd and grate it. Squeeze the grated pulp by hand to remove excess
liquid or alternatively allow the pulp to sit in a sieve/colander for some time until juice runs out.
2. Heat the ghee in a frying pan and sauté the cashew nuts in it until golden brown. Then remove
the cashew nuts with a slotted spoon and keep aside until needed.
3. To the same ghee, add the grated ash gourd and sauté for 3–4 minutes. Add the sugar and
cardamom powder.
4. Cook, stirring continuously, until the halva begins to leave the sides of the pan and becomes a
homogenous mass. Add the fried cashew nuts and mix well.
TIP: Tastes best warm!
Did you know?
The term halva in English language use originates from the Arabic helweh, which simply
means “sweet.” Halva in its many forms is served in many parts of the world, from the Middle
East and North Africa to Europe and Asia. These confections may be flour-based or nutbutter-based, and there is a wide range of other ingredients from seeds and nuts to fruits and
vegetables, depending on region and recipe, but the many varieties have one thing in common:
a dense texture and intense sweetness.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
21
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The questioner in our Lead Article expresses what many of us may have experienced in some way
at some point in our lives: success in professional life, a wealth of money and material goods, but a
sense of emptiness within. Does each one of us have a God-given purpose to fulfill in life? Read the
article “A Grand Life” to get Sadhguru’s view on the search for meaning.
The short article “Number Games” elucidates more than a mere quantitative aspect of human
existence. If there is such a thing as rebirth, how can the world population multiply as it did in the past
couple of centuries? Sadhguru’s answer is profound, to say the least.
One life form consumes another to exist. If a plant is as much a life form as an animal, why then,
on the spiritual path, do we emphasize on a plant-based diet? In the article “Why Eat Vegetarian?”
Sadhguru presents arguments that go beyond the common line of thought about non-violence.
Also in an existential vein, the upcoming Navaratri festival is an opportunity to rise beyond the three
fundamental qualities of existence. Find out how in our article of the same name.
Sadhguru recently had a series of new conversations with prominent personalities such as Supreme
Court Justice Jasti Chelameswar and filmmaker, fashion designer, and artist Muzaffar Ali. In this
issue, we carry the first part of Sadhguru’s talk with noted fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani: “Culture
in Flux.”
In our combined excerpt of two Sadhguru Spot posts, Sadhguru explores a less treaded route through
tucked-away valleys in Nepal and the vast Tibetan plains to the South Face of Kailash. Enjoy the
unfading fascination of a space that allows a glimpse beyond space and time.
The Editorial Team
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ISHA FOREST FLOWER
October 2013
Isha Forest Flower c/o Isha Yoga Center, Semmedu P.O., Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore – 641114
Editorial Team:
2
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Food has to be good
Not just for the tongue
But for body and being.
`15 Volume - 13 / Issue-10
Grace & Blessings
The smell of Shiva
makes me set down
for a night, a day and a night
Now how to tell the fools of
His plumbless ways.
A nameless valley steeped
in occult ways. People as
Earthy as earthworms
Found ways to bend nature
to their will, seeking the
mundane through magic
The silent Mountains
Stoic but full of eyes
The roaring river-rapid
in a hurry to lose itself
Smell of Shiva
Annual Subscription `180 October 2013