Forest Flower

CONTENTS
Lead Article
A Sense of Wonder
Sadhguru on a Fresh Approach to Life
4
Musings Sadhguru on How to Create a Supportive Situation for Growth How to Make This Your Last Lifetime?
7
Information Overrides All Else
Sadhguru on the Thread That Runs from One Lifetime to the Next
9
Leela Series
The path of the playful – part XLVI:
Bhima and the Aghori 11
In Conversation with the Mystic
Youth and Education in India
Sadhguru in Conversation with Actor Siddharth
13
News & Happenings
Sadhguru at the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group 14
First 21-Day Isha Hata Yoga Program Concluded
15
Isha Kriya Meditation Camp for Sanitation Workers
Fourteen Years of Dhyanalinga 16
17
Sadhguru Spot
The Human Calamity in Uttarakhand 18
Upcoming Programs and Events Isha Yoga – Program Highlights
20
Isha Recipes For Healthy Living
Kofta Curry
21
Zen Speaks: A Water Buffalo through a Window
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August 2013
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SADHGURU
A Sense of Wonder
Sadhguru on a Fresh Approach to Life
The following is an excerpt from a talk
by Sadhguru during a 3 ½ Sathsang
for meditators at the iii, McMinnville,
Tennessee, on 25 April 2013.
You should see how men in rural India
squat. One thing is, if you are sitting out in
nature, there are ants, bugs, ticks, snakes,
and other crawling creatures. Any bite
will get more serious when it goes beyond
the limbs. Another thing is, he just sits and
wonders about everything. I would like
you to try this. Just sit outside at sunset and
wonder. Forget about all these things they
told you, that the Earth rotates and that is
why the Sun disappears below the horizon,
what the distance between the Earth and the
Sun is and all that. They say it is 93 million
miles to the Sun. This is just a number. Had
they said it is just a few thousand miles to the
Sun, still you could not have gone there; still
you would have believed it. Whether it is a
few million miles or a few thousand miles
does not make any experiential life impact
on you.
If you just sit there, wondering about
everything, it becomes so apparent that
something beyond you is functioning. Right
now, with all these lights on, music playing
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August 2013
in your ears and the phone screen in front of you
all the time, you think you are the universe. You
are moving away from reality and exploration –
everything is set. If you simply sat there, who could
not wonder what this is all about? Where does it
come from? How does it happen? Even a half-brain
would wonder about it.
When people wonder and wonder, when they strive
to know, a few of them break through. Everyone
looks, but these two eyes show you only that
which is physical, and not even that just the way
it is. These two eyes are largely functioning based
on the memory that you have gathered. If you
wipe out your memory, your ability to see will be
considerably reduced. Let’s say you go out on the
street, a thousand people are standing there and
among them, there is someone you know well; you
will see that one person’s face more clearly than the
rest of the faces. That is because there is memory.
To at least 30–40%, your vision depends on your
memory. In that sense, it is a cultivated vision.
Thought and emotion are constantly playing
through it. People say, and it is true, your eyes are
a window to your thoughts and emotions. If you
want to size up people, you have to look into their
eyes. If you hate them, you have to look into their
eyes. If you fall in love, you must look into their
eyes. Especially if you think you are falling in love
with them, you definitely want to know what is
happening with the other person. You want to see
their thoughts and emotions, so you look into their
eyes because to some extent, these are the windows
to their thoughts and emotions.
An eye that is not glazed by a sheath of memory,
a thoughtless eye – simply able to look at things
without memory – is what is being referred to as
the “Third Eye.” People who look with these two
eyes alone become fearful of existence, because
whichever way they look, they cannot figure out a
thing. I want you to try this – look as hard as you
want with these two eyes – you cannot figure out a
thing. What you read in the science textbook is not
the point. You still do not know whether it is true
or not. How do you know if the whole science is not
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a conspiracy to bullshit you? I am not saying it is
so – suppose it is so.
Modern science exists only for the last few hundred
years, but religion as you know it is at least 2000
years old. With the advent of science, what people
believed for over 1500 years suddenly sounded
ridiculous. What is the guarantee for you that what
you celebrate right now as science will not look
ridiculous in a few hundred years? “Science has
produced technology; we can do so many things.”
People who used to believe what you think is
ridiculous right now also did a lot of things.
The Third Eye is significant because it is a thoughtless
eye, not glazed by the past. Only an eye that is not
glazed by the past can perceive the present and
conjure up the future without delusions. You can
never grapple with the realities of existence with
these two eyes. It is because of this that when people
looked and looked, and they saw these two eyes are
insufficient, they strived inward to evolve another
dimension of seeing.
Wherever that dimension evolved, tools were
created that led people to knowing. Wherever that
dimension did not evolve, wherever only muscle
evolved, force was the way. There, they insisted
that you must believe what they say; to wonder was
a crime. If you wonder, you will question. If you
question, someone must have an answer. If someone
asks a question and the other one doesn’t have an
answer, the questioner – though the question
is coming from ignorance – seems to be more
intelligent than the one who cannot answer it.
A question is not knowledge – a question is an
admittance of ignorance. But one who does not
admit “I do not know” is unwilling to admit that he
is ignorant, which establishes him in his ignorance.
One who questions is ignorant but he has the
possibility of moving out of it. One who refuses
to acknowledge his ignorance is investing in his
ignorance, and he will get a lot of dividend.
Shankaran Pillai and his wife moved to the United
States and set up their home. His wife is excited
about being in America. She wants to throw away
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everything old and buy everything new. She is
trying to be American. How can you be a citizen of
the United States if you don’t shop at least twice a
week? Even the government encourages everyone
to shop, because otherwise the economy will go
down. So she takes to this policy and wants to spend.
Coming from a traditional Indian background,
Shankaran Pillai wants to save. In India, we always
look at our savings; here you look at your credit
rating. So Shankaran Pillai says, “No, this is not the
way to go. This is it; you cannot spend anymore.
You have shopped enough.” She flared up and said,
“You don’t even have the courage of the bureaucrats
and the politicians.”
of creation, is most important; otherwise, life is
cyclical. There is nothing wrong with that; it is just
a trap. What’s wrong with a trap? Actually, traps are
much safer. If you trap a coon or a coot, he is much
safer than if he crosses the highway. The highway
is not the only thing that could kill him; there are
so many predators. If he steps out into the jungle,
he may not last the night. If you trap him and keep
him here, he is definitely safer. But give him all the
food that he wants, still the first opportunity he gets,
he wants to chew through your cage and get away,
no matter if he puts himself to risk. The coots and
the coons have this much intelligence – what’s the
problem with you?
Once you are infected by memory, you are a slave
of karma. This is what karma means – that the past
is glazing your eyes. You cannot see the present the
way it is. It doesn’t matter how smart you think you
are, once your eyes are glazed with memory, once
they are influenced by the past, when you conjure
up the future, you invariably become delusional.
This delusion leads to what the sages called samsara.
Samsara means your life has become cyclical. When
you are going in circles, you are not going anywhere.
Something goes on, but nothing purposeful.
Only human beings with so-called evolved
intelligence prefer the trap. This evolved intelligence
is like a womb that just aborts. There is no purpose
to it. Human intelligence has been aborted by many
things. One is rigid dogmas; another one is – in
reaction to these dogmas – distrust about everything.
If you want to touch dimensions that are not yet in
your experience, just sit and wonder.
The Third Eye, which is not a window to your
thoughts and emotions but a window to the source
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August 2013
How to Make This Your Last Lifetime?
Sadhguru on Creating a Supportive Situation for Growth
The following is an excerpt from a Q&A session with
Sadhguru during a 3 ½ Sathsang for meditators at
the iii, McMinnville, Tennessee, on 27 April 2013.
Meditator: Sadhguru, you said that if we have a
certain seeking within us, we do not necessarily
have to come to the ashram. How far does your
connection with seekers like us go? And how to
make sure that this is our last birth?
Sadhguru: So the question is, “Will you guarantee
my liberation?”
This brings me to a very nasty joke. A man got a
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notice from the IRS that he has to come to the
office for some enquiry. IRS agents are trained to
turn your brain inside out; it is like an inquisition.
He was very nervous. He went to his accountant and
asked, “What do you think, how should I go?” The
accountant advised him, “Go to the Salvation Army
counter, buy a really old suit that is frayed at the
collar and crumpled, to make you look poor. Also
get a pair of old shoes with different colored laces.
Don’t take your Mercedes; take a taxi; then walk up.
When they see you so poor, they will for sure know
that you are not a rich guy dodging taxes, and let
you go.” He got the frayed suit. He got old shoes and
changed the laces. He prepared everything.
Still he was nervous. So he went to his lawyer and
said, “My accountant gave me this advice. Do you
think this is the appropriate way for me to go?”
The lawyer said, “If you listen to that guy, you are
finished. Get yourself the most expensive suit, and
see that the brand, Armani or something, is visible.
Rent a Ferrari; park it in style, and go there. Only
money begets money, and if you show that you are
really well to do, the wealthiest are the ones who
are freed from taxes. This is the way of the world.
Just do that.”
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Now he got confused. From a frayed coat and worn
out shoes to an Armani suit and a Ferrari. Not
knowing what to do, he went to his rabbi and
said, “I went to my accountant; this is what he told
me. I went to my lawyer; this is what he told me.
I just don’t know how to go now.” The rabbi said,
“Listen to me. There was a nice Catholic girl. Her
name was Mary. Mary was getting married and
her mother advised her that for the wedding night,
she must buy a nighty that is all buttoned up,
full sleeved, puffs on the shoulder, well below the
ankle; because she must present herself as a good
wife to her new husband. But her school time
friend came and gave her a red-colored negligee.
That means it is negligible; the kind of thing where
the neckline is below the navel. Mary got confused
and came to me.”
The man said, “Why are you telling me about this
Catholic girl? I have to go to the IRS; I am not
getting married.” “Just listen. So I told Mary, ‘It
doesn’t matter what the hell you wear; on day one,
anyway you are going to get the works.’” So if you
go to the IRS, anyway you will get the works, no
matter what you wear; whether you drive a Ferrari
or you go there walking.
Liberation does not require physical proximity; it
can be done in so many ways. Physical proximity
is for constant guidance to go deeper. This does
not mean I am sitting with the ashram residents
every day and guiding them to do this or that.
Why people live in a certain energy space is,
what they cannot get with their minds, they want
their epithelial cells to get. Right now, if I ask
you what the temperature is, you will open your
phone and check. But your epithelial cells know
what the temperature is and they are doing what is
necessary for that; even just the surface cells may
be a little more intelligent than you. The cells that
are deeper down know too many things.
Internal Revenue Service: U.S. government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement
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People who live in such energy spaces are trying to
mature into a situation where they don’t have to be
anxious about what will happen, because that is not
the way to approach it. Even if the end is assured,
don’t you want the journey to be beautiful and
miraculous? If you want the journey to be magical,
you have to be in a certain space that allows magic –
in terms of social structures, energy structures, and
people around. Unfortunately, most places were not
created for something beyond the logical to happen.
If you do something which is not logical, you will
have flashing lights and sirens in front of your house –
this is generally the situation in today’s world. But
if you go to places like Nepal, Bali, or Kashi, the
whole space is geared for the magical. If you walk
in Bhaktapur, every two steps, there is a temple;
every two steps, there is a deity reminding you of
something of the beyond.
Today, people are walking around there like tourists,
but there was a time where for every step, there
was a mantra; there was a certain kind of worship;
there was a certain attitude. In India, inside a temple
complex, apart from the main temple, there will be
ten other temples. When people go to the main
deity – let’s say it is Shiva – they will be one way.
Outside, there is Ganapati; they will be in a different
way. Their mantra is different; their attitude is
different; their emotions are different. When they
move on, there is Devi, and for her again, everything
is different. It is incredible to see how these simple
people come and change from place to place, from
god to god. How they approach them is so inbuilt
into their systems that it simply happens.
This malleability is needed within a human being.
This is the reason why all these things were
created – so that you become a completely different
person from place to place. When you are able to
consciously become a different person within a
few minutes, when everything is changing within
you for a particular purpose, when you can alter
from this to that, from that to this, you become
emotionally very stable. When your emotions are
stable, you are always looking for the magical, the
unfamiliar. Magical means unfamiliar. But now
you are only looking for the logical, because the
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society is structured based on the familiar. If there is
anything unfamiliar, they want to shoot it.
In that context, living in a space that supports you
is good. But you do not necessarily have to go to a
certain place; you can create such a space in your
home. You can be a little unreasonable. You can
create a situation in your home that is not based on
the familiar, where people need not be the way you
expect them to be. They can be whichever way, but
you go about your way. If anyone in my home –
either my parents or later on my wife and my
daughter – had expected the familiar, they would
have gone bonkers. I could be completely different
from moment to moment, from day to day. It is very
difficult to live with a person who is wonderful at
one moment; next moment, you don’t even know
who the hell he is. But if they had tried to restrict
the unfamiliar, I wouldn’t have been there – as
simple as that. It is simply not possible for me to be
just one way.
It is not that intentionally, you are being
unreasonable. It is like the weather. It depends on
what I am doing within myself on that day. It is
not that I ever announce, “Today, I am in silence.
Today, I am doing mantra. Today, I am preparing
for something. Today, I am working something up
within me.” There are days when I am extremely
talkative; we talk, we discuss, we do things, we play,
we dance, we sing. Next day, you may expect the
same thing, but that is not going to happen. Not that
I am trying to freak you out. If I am doing something
else within myself, I may not utter a word for the
next three days. I may not look at you. I may not
be interested in you. I may not even recognize your
existence. Hats off to my wife who managed all this.
Without that support, either I would have walked
out, or I should have given up what I was doing,
which was simply not possible.
So create a home where the familiar is not the basis
of your family. Create a home where people can be
the way they want to be and it is not considered
wrong. Just try and see. It’s a challenge.
August 2013
Information Overrides All Else
Sadhguru on the Thread That Runs from One Lifetime to the Next
The following is an excerpt from a Q&A session with
Sadhguru during a 3 ½ Sathsang for meditators at
the iii, McMinnville, Tennessee, on 27 April 2013.
Meditator: I’ve been hearing people say things like,
“I want this to be my last lifetime.” Can you explain
the concept of lifetimes?
Sadhguru: This is an Indian problem. They have
all been around for 100,000 years. [Laughter] They
talk about having lived for many lifetimes without
having any experience of it. We are seeing if we
can get them into the experience, because at least
psychologically, they are a little prepared. Where do
you come from?
Meditator: New York.
Sadhguru: Do you want one more life in New York
City? If you live this life fully, would you like to
see what’s beyond it, or would you like to walk the
New York streets once again? If you have lived a
complete life, you have seen everything; there is
nothing more to see. You can go on getting involved
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in small intricacies, but you know it’s generally the
same thing. You would like to see what’s next.
To put it simply: you know you are alive right now
and you are going to die one day. Essentially, the
body is something that you gathered. Though you
have eaten food from American soil, you still look
African. If I eat American food for 50 years, I will
still look Indian. Why?
Meditator: Genetics?
Sadhguru: That’s just a word. I want you to look at
it in a more fundamental way. If I build a building
from local material, it will look in a certain way. But
if I build different human bodies with the same local
material, they will still look Indian or African or
whatever else. By eating American soil, slowly, we
should become like Native Americans, but we don’t.
If you live here for hundreds of years and don’t mix,
people who come out of you will still look the same.
Look at it mechanically. Why is it that if you put the
same material into different human bodies, each one
of them will continue to look in a particular way?
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It is a certain type of memory structure. Food and
all other inputs may come from New York City,
but your skin, your nose, your eyes, and your
body are still African. There is a certain element
of information in you before you are born. That
information determines how you look, how you
think, how you walk, how you move – everything.
Do you think there is only information that is
connected with the body, no other information?
If you go into a maternity hospital and look at the
just born, each one of them behaves differently. The
information is not just about the body; there is other
information that goes beyond that.
Don’t believe all this talk about lifetimes, but
this much is very clear: you gathered your body
from American soil, but the information is from
somewhere else. You build this kind of body
because the information is overriding the material
that you gather.
This body is an accumulation of the food that you
have eaten. If the food is grown in Tennessee and
eaten by you, you are in some way consuming the
Tennessee soil. This area used to be Cherokee land.
The Cherokees lived here for thousands of years;
they ate from this land and looked a particular way.
People who lived in Africa for many thousands
of years looked a certain way. Before people
could travel, intermingle, and mix, people looked
distinctly different in different parts of the world.
It is an anthropological fact that the weather, the
land, the atmosphere – everything shaped people
in a particular way. Now, even if I shift from India
to Tennessee and eat as much Tennessee food as I
want, I will still not resemble a Native American
person. The information that I carry within me is
overriding the material.
This information that overrides everything else here
right now is not the memory that I have gathered in
this lifetime, but the information that comes from
before my birth. This is what we are referring to
as karma. There is a huge volume of information.
The information that you carry right now is not
concerned with the physical body alone. There are
other dimensions of information. With the physical,
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it is very obvious – we can see what kind of skin
you have, what kind of nose you have and things
like that. The other information is not so obvious,
but it is definitely there. Even in a just born child,
you can see from one child to another, they carry
different information that makes them behave
differently. Mothers who have more than one child
clearly know their children don’t behave the same
way, though the genetics are the same.
From the day they were born, even children of
the same parents display completely different
characteristics. Obviously, they are carrying
information that is beyond what you transmitted in
the form of body. Genetic information is being passed
on in the form of body, but the other information is
way bigger than that. To realize that takes a little
more attention. To understand the nature of it, how
it is stacked up, what we can do with it, is a different
aspect altogether.
Spiritual process is interested in this information
because if it has such an overriding power, you better
look at it. It has the power to override whatever
atmosphere you live in. It may be overriding all
your intentions. You are sitting here and trying to
meditate, but it may be doing its own thing. It is.
If you do not look at how to in some way loosen
this information, if you do not look at how to keep
this information aside, if you do not look at how to
transcend this information, transformation is just
empty talk. It is not going to happen because this
information will override everything. Unless you
distance yourself from that information, do what
you want, it keeps on making you do the same things
over and over again. In the yogic system, everything
that we do is towards cultivating a body, cultivating
a mind, cultivating an emotional system that will
slowly distance itself from this information.
August 2013
Youth and Education in India
Sadhguru in Conversation with Actor Siddharth
In another edition of the “In Conversation with the Mystic” series, Sadhguru met with young
actor Siddharth on 10 January 2013 in Hyderabad under the theme “Youth and Truth.” Here
is the fifth part of their conversation.
Siddharth: You said something like, “If you are
out of rage, you are one of us.” At the same time
you said, if the police fail to protect people, people
need to get a gun to protect themselves. If someone
is out of rage, how can he own a weapon that can
potentially harm people?
Sadhguru: One basic test that is supposed to be
required to get a weapon license in India is, you
must be psychologically balanced. When you are in
rage, are you in psychological balance? No. When
you get angry, you say, “I am mad.” That’s the
correct expression – you are mad. If you are mad,
you shouldn’t have a gun. Only if you are calm and
alert, and you will use it with absolute discretion,
only when it’s absolutely necessary, then it’s all
right for you to carry a gun. I am not saying you
must carry a gun; there should be people to protect
the society. If there are no people to protect the
society, people will have to protect themselves, one
way or the other; whether you like it, whether you
pass a law or not.
The most important thing is to create sufficient
mechanisms in the society so that people are
protected. If once in a way, somewhere something
happens, you cannot blame the law. Things can
happen; you cannot police every human being in
the country. But if it happens too often, we have
to look at what we have done wrong. You do not
have the right to livelihood; you do not have the
right to education – they exist only on paper; you
do not have a right to food or comfort or whatever
– at least the right to life is a must for a human
being, isn’t it?
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Siddharth: To take the discussion to a different
subject, I’ve heard wonderful things about Isha
Home School and I am looking forward to coming
and seeing the school. Education is a very important
concern for a lot of my friends and me, and we’ve
constantly been debating where the next revelation
in education is going to happen in this country…
Sadhguru: The Home School is at the foothills of a
mountain.
Siddharth: I hope to have a revelation when I visit.
But where do you see the next sea change or the next
quantum leap or the next revelation that is required
to take education in India, especially primary
education, to a level that is more respectable and
representative for the kind of country that we are?
Sadhguru: If we want to educate 1.2 billion people,
our idea of education has to change. Over 50% of
the population are below 30 years of age. Youth
means humanity in the making. A country full of
youth means a nation in the making. If you do not
skill India, you will kill India. Skilling India needs to
happen urgently; not over the next hundred years,
but in the next five to ten years.
Now, we pass laws without knowing the reality
of the nation. Just one example – there are many,
many others too. We have a “Right to Education
Bill,” which says child labor is banned; everyone
goes to school from first to eighth standard.
The reality is different. When they come to ninth
standard, at least 60% of them cannot even write
a full sentence in the local language like Tamil or
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Telugu; I’m not even talking about English. They
cannot add up five plus four. At about 14 or 15 years
of age, the only thing they got to do is wear pants
unlike their father’s. They never went to the farm,
nor did they learn carpentry or blacksmithing or
whatever else their father’s profession is. At age 15,
they have no education; they have no physical body
to go back to the farm.
We are producing millions of youth like this across
the country, who have no skill, but they have the
attitude of the educated. They are looking for a
white-collar job, but they don’t have the skills. Even
out of those who passed twelfth standard, even after
graduation, many are completely unemployable
because we are trying to educate a mass of 1.2 billion
people with the measly infrastructure that we have.
Why can we not look at this? When a five-year-old
boy went to the farm with his father, it was not child
labor alone; it was education. This is the way skills
were transferred. Or if the father was a carpenter,
the boy hung around his father’s carpentry shop and
learned carpentry. By the time he was 15, he had a
skill.
What has happened now is, you destroyed the
traditional system and you didn’t establish a modern
system to compensate for that. We are producing
millions of youth without any skill. The way many
of them even pass exams is, the teacher is reading
the answers and the students are writing them
down. That way, it doesn’t take much to get 35 or
40. A very meager kind of education.
Siddharth: How to change this systemic problem of
unnecessary higher education and lack of primary
education?
Sadhguru: One billion people is a big number for
any nation. You are not going to change the quality,
the skill level, the sophistication, and other things
overnight. We must have the patience to do that.
These laws are passed according to Western values –
“No child labor.” When a father took his son to the
farm, he didn’t treat him as a laborer. He wanted
him to learn everything, to become a master of what
he is doing, so that the son will do better than him.
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This was the aspiration; this was education. In the
education process, the boy also worked, which is
not a wrong thing.
Now we think all the farmers have to go to
Agricultural University. Are there enough
universities for all of them? Can they leave farming
for three years and become great farmers after
they get their degree? We have no practical sense
about what is needed. What we need is skills, not
only education. In any society, only 15–20% of the
people are actually suitable for academic pursuit.
Others need skills to earn a living. The nation will
throb with economic prosperity only when there
are skills. Today in India, you can find a nuclear
scientist, but you cannot find a carpenter, because
the traditional skill transfer has been destroyed.
The idea of doing things in a more organized way
is perfectly fine. But just making an idea into a law
without knowing how to execute it is not going to
work. I’m not saying it’s a wrong idea – it’s a good
idea gone bad. For a good idea to work, you must
give it legs so that it can walk. Now it is up there;
everyone is aspiring for it; no one can touch it.
With the present infrastructure of education, even
in another 25 to 30 years, we are still not going to
educate the whole mass.
It’s very important that some barefoot teachers are
left loose who will go to the villages. Half a day, you
teach the child about farming; another half a day, he
works with his father. That way, you will produce
good farmers. Bring in some scientific knowledge
about farming; improve the implements that are
available – all this can be brought forth. But instead,
you just send him to school; till ninth standard,
every day, he’s a truant, escaping not school but
home, farm, and work; just going and sitting in the
school, not learning anything. All he gets to do is he
wears pants; he feels superior to his father. He has
the attitude of the educated without any education.
This needs to change. What are you going to do
with a billion people with degrees? You need people
who know how to work the land; you need people
who know how to work with things and material.
August 2013
Leela Series
The path of the playful –
Part XLVI
Bhima and the Aghori
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.
What happened so far: Duryodhana was upset about losing at Draupadi’s Swayamvara and pondered
on what to do next. When his wife Banumathi suggested asking Krishna, he flew into a rage and
banned her from contacting or meeting Krishna ever again. Deeply distressed about this because she
wanted to get Krishna’s blessings for her soon-to-be-born child, she asked her sister Jalandhara for
help. Jalandhara arranged a secret meeting with Bhima to get access to Krishna.
Jalandhara told Bhima that Banumathi wanted
to meet Krishna, but Duryodhana had barred
her from doing so. She was also quick to express
that she [Jalandhara] appreciates the attention
that Bhima had been paying her. He softened up.
She continued to say, “If you are there on my
Swayamvara, I will only garland you and no one
else but you.” He melted completely and said, “I
will do anything for you. I will meet Krishna
and arrange this for you.” Jalandhara and her
maid came out. If people came to know that she,
a princess, had come to the gymnasium to meet
a man in secrecy, her position would be ruined.
Therefore, Bhima let them go first and walked
at a distance behind them, along with a friend.
Then he noticed that a man was standing behind a
tree, and after Jalandhara and her maid had walked
by, giving a little time, this man followed them.
Bhima immediately thought the princess was in
danger. Heroic as he was, he went and caught hold
of the man and asked him who he was. The man did
not say anything until Bhima thrashed him. After
some thrashing and a few knocked-out teeth, he
finally admitted that he was a spy sent by Shakuni.
Since Shakuni was a master of deception, Bhima was
concerned about what his spy knew. He asked, “Do
you know whom you were following?” The man
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said, “I don’t know who she is, but from the way she
is dressed and her bearing, and the fact that there
is a maid with her, she must be someone from the
palace. That’s why I was following her.”
Bhima continued thrashing him. “What else do
you know?” Fearing for his life, the man said,
“Shakuni and Dhushasana are planning to kill
Bhishma, you, and Krishna. By next Amavasya,
all three of you will be dead.” Bhima thrashed
him a little more. “Details.” The man said, “Across
the river, there is a sage whose name is Maha
Aghori.” Aghora is an extreme, occult system of
yoga. “Shakuni and Dhushasana are sitting with
Maha Aghori right now and are performing black
magic to kill the three of you.”
Bhima took the spy along with him. They took a
boat and crossed the river. They went to where
Maha Aghori was and hid behind a tree. Shakuni
and Dhushasana were sitting with Maha Aghori at a
fire outside a little thatched-roof hut. Maha Aghori
was about 75–80 years of age and totally naked, as
most aghoris. While he was mumbling and chanting
something, Dhushasana and Shakuni sat there
captivated, with eyes wide open. Bhima listened
from behind the tree. Then the aghori asked, “So
who are the people whom you want to eliminate?”
Dhushasana said, “First, we want Bhishma to go. He
August 2013
13
has always been standing in our way. Krishna also
has to go, and then Bhima. He is their main strength.
If we destroy him, we will break the Pandavas.”
Maha Aghori did a process to call in the Mother
Goddess. Suddenly, a terrifying voice started to
speak and referred to Maha Aghori as “my child.”
Maha Aghori said, ‘These people want Bhishma, the
son of Ganga, to be dead by next Amavasya.” The
voice said, “Bhishma was given the boon to choose
the time of his death, so I cannot do anything about
him. What else?” He said, “Krishna Vasudeva must
go.” The Mother Goddess laughed and said, “He’s
divine. We cannot touch him.” Then they said,
“Bhima, the son of Pandu, should go.” The Mother
replied, “Do the necessary offering. We will see.”
Maha Aghori was about to conduct the next part of
the ritual to have Bhima dead within one month’s
time. This definitely would have happened if things
had been done right. But just at that moment, Bhima
pushed the thatched roof into the fire. The whole
hut caught fire, Maha Aghori’s long beard and
hair too, and then his whole body. He simply sat
there without uttering a sound. When his body was
totally on fire, he just said, “Mother, I am coming.”
No screams, no pain, nothing. Aghoris go through
a whole lot of discipline. Maha Aghori, whom the
Mother Goddess treated as her own child, went
into a fury of energy, an energy that was crackling
with tremendous sound and vibrance. Terrified,
Dhushasana and Shakuni ran to the river, jumped
into the water, and swam across. Bhima withdrew.
His job was done. He broke the spy’s neck because
otherwise, he would have talked.
People who are on the Atharva marg [the path of
the occult] see, hear, smell, and taste things that you
have never imagined. In terms of life, so much is
happening. These mountains here [Velliangiri] have
seen many siddhas, yogis, and seers. The energies
they left can never be killed; they are always on.
If you create the right situation, they will become
full force. Otherwise, they are simply there. It was
Krishna Dvaipayana in collaboration with Maha
Atharvan who made the Atharva Veda a part of the
Vedas, saying that it is fit to be included. Though
people tend to misuse it, there is nothing wrong
with the science itself. It’s the way you use it. You
don’t have to ban the science because a few people
misused it. With that understanding, Krishna
Dvaipayana or Vyasa [as he is also known], along
with Parashara, made sure that the Atharva Veda
was given the same status as the other three Vedas,
which were already established as sacred books.
To be continued…
Sadhguru at the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group
The Aditya Birla Financial Service Group (ABFSG)
(which includes nine businesses and 16,000+
employees) celebrated its 5th Annual Day on
15 June. ABFSG had decided that its employees
would benefit from a strong dose of spirituality
to help them put life in the right perspective and
invited Sadhguru to take a session at the event.
Three CEOs and the Investment Director of
ABFSG extended Sadhguru a warm welcome at the
airport. Sadhguru’s session was attended by around
600 people, mainly from the middle and senior
management, and some other senior members of the
business conglomerate.
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Pranav Sharma and Amit Vikram Sharma of the
Aditya Birla Group recount their experience of the
event:
Sadhguru kept the large audience on the edge of their
seats with his riveting yet simple-to-understand
talk. He busted the myth about work-life balance by
explaining how everything we do is in fact just “life,”
and we should learn to live it with full involvement
and intensity. What stood out loud and clear as a
central theme was to look inward. When he wound
down, people were left yearning for more. We feel
blessed with his presence and grace.
August 2013
First
21 -Day
Isha Hata Yoga Program Concluded
The first 21-day Isha Hata Yoga program, conducted
within the powerful space of the Adiyogi Alayam
at the Isha Yoga Center, concluded on 1 June 2013.
The 315 participants were initiated into several
practices including Bhuta Shuddhi, Surya Kriya,
Angamardana, Asanas, and Upayoga. Many of the
participants shared that they were deeply touched
by the way the practices were taught and that they
never knew that Hata Yoga is such a profound and
intense process.
ten years, disappeared as if by magic, telling me that
there was much more to yield from this program.
The gentleness of the teachers’ instructions helped
to open a great sense of willingness within me and
changed my mindset from “I’ll do it only if I think
I can” to “Let’s try everything.” I was able to break
my limitations so easily that a feeling of joy has
blossomed from within.
Marie, one of the participants, describes how these
21 days brought about a dramatic improvement in
her health and a shift in her experience of yoga:
Through these 21 days, I became so receptive that
this program is without any doubt the deepest
experience I have had since I have been with Isha.
I am well aware of having received a wonderful gift
and I am committed to explore it in depth.
The symptoms of lupus, an auto-immune disease
that results in severe joint inflammations and
extreme tiredness, which have tormented me for
For more information about Isha Hata Yoga,
visit www.ishahatayoga.com
Fourteen Years of Dhyanalinga
Consecration Anniversary and Interfaith Deliberations
The 14th anniversary of the Dhyanalinga consecration
was celebrated on 23 June at the Isha Yoga Center,
with thousands of people visiting Dhyanalinga. The
multi-religious character of the celebrations not
only found expression through the offering of chants
from various faiths at Dhyanalinga; this year, for the
first time, there was also a public conference with
leading representatives of different religious and
spiritual traditions themed “Interfaith Deliberations
on the Universality of Religions.” Events of the day
were webstreamed live.
Offering of Chants
The daylong chanting at Dhyanalinga began at
6 a.m. in the morning with Aum Namah Shivaya
by Isha Brahmacharis and concluded around 6 p.m.
in the presence of Sadhguru with a Mahakali Pooja
by Buddhist nuns, “Yogeshwaraya” chanting by
residents, and Guru Pooja. Throughout the day, the
Dhyanalinga dome resounded with Gurbani kirtans,
Buddhist chants, Muslim and Sufi songs, Christian
hymns, and Vedic chants. A grand procession of
Linga Bhairavi’s Utsav Murti and a Maha Arati
in front of Dhyanalinga crowned the festivities.
Dhyanalinga remained open until 1 a.m. at night for
devotees to meditate.
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Interfaith Deliberations
The celebrations included a session of Interfaith
Deliberations on the “Universality of Religions”
where eminent speakers from various faiths and
traditions addressed the gathering. The dignitaries
included the Gyalwang Drukpa – Drukpa Order,
Ladakh; Fr. Dr. Dominic Emmanuel – Director and
Spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Arch Diocese, New
Delhi; Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi – President, All
India Organization of Imams and Mosques; Illaya
Pattam Thava Thiru Maruthachala Adigalar – Perur
Adheenam, Perur; Thava Thiru Kumaraguru Para
Swamigal – Sri Kaumara Mutt, Coimbatore; Swami
Muktidananda – Ramakrishna Mutt, Mysore; Geshe
Ngawang Jugney – Sera Lachi Buddhist Monastery,
Bylakuppe; Swami Sivayogananda – Chinmaya
Mission, Madurai; Sister Rajeshwari – Brahma
Kumaris; Harjeet Singh Wahan – Gurdwara Singh
Sabha, Coimbatore, and representatives from
ISKCON.
The different speakers outlined the universality
of religion and spirituality according to their
understanding. About the Isha Yoga Center,
Gyalwang Drukpa said, “This place has an enormous
energy to evoke inner blessing.” He went on to define
spirituality: “To my understanding, spirituality
August 2013
is nothing but energy. More specially, we can say
spirituality is a balance of male and female energy.”
Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi’s spokesperson quoted
the Imam as follows: “The Lord is not the Lord of
Muslims or Hindus or Christians or Jains or Jews.
The Lord is Divinity and Divinity belongs to all.”
Harjeet Singh Wahan opened with the traditional
Sikh greeting, “Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru
Ji Ki Fateh,” which he interpreted as “We are
all children of God, and we must greet God.” He
recounted how his little grandson asked him, “You
keep on telling me that there is only one God. Then
why are there so many religions?”
this, we say he is in yoga,” Sadhguru said. He spoke
of the importance of moving from dogma and
beliefs to experience. “The Divine should not be an
aspiration; it should be your companion,” he said.
Sadhguru rounded up the event with a pointed
talk, saying that all our differences come only from
our beliefs and opinions; in actuality, there are no
differences. He mentioned that even modern science
says that the universe is just one energy manifesting
in different ways. “When one experientially sees
Isha Kriya Meditation Camps for Sanitation Workers
Over 600 sanitation department workers participated
in a five-day Isha Kriya meditation camp from 25 to
29 June in Erode, organized by Isha Outreach upon
request of the Erode Corporation to help workers
relax and improve work efficiency.
had not experienced since childhood. At the end
of the program, participants expressed how in just
those few days, Isha Kriya had already made a
difference in their lives, and that they wanted to
continue the practice.
The Mayor of Erode, Mallika Paramsivam, and
Corporation Commissioner, M. Vijayalakshmi,
inaugurated the event. After the daily meditation
sessions, everyone was encouraged to participate in
various kinds of games, which allowed for moments
of carefreeness, joy, and elation that most of them
The Isha Outreach team had conducted a similar
10-day program for 3000 sanitation department
workers of the Coimbatore City Municipal
Corporation in May.
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August 2013
17
Sadhguru Spot
Musings from the Master
The Human Calamity in Uttarakhand
Excerpted from Sadhguru Spot of 3 July 2013
In Uttarakhand, people are yet to realize the
immensity of what has happened. At one time,
continuously every year, I was in the Himalayas.
It has only been the last four to six years that I
have stopped my trips to this region, which is one
of the most fantastic parts of India. One thing is,
the Himalayas are the youngest mountains on the
planet. If you have traveled in the Himalayas, you
will see, the mountain is almost like piled-up debris.
Once you cut roads into it – the rivers themselves
are cutting enough – naturally, landslips keep
happening. I have probably not been there once
without being stuck at some point in a landslip and
walking miles to get across, in over 27 trips to this
region; this is a normal process of traveling in the
Himalayas.
Because the mountain is so fresh and fragile, like
naturally piled-up debris, it will fall off very easily
unless it is very carefully handled. The Border
Roads Organisation has done a fantastic job in the
last few years. All this said, you cannot squarely
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blame this tragedy on any particular organization
or government because in one day, they received
340mm of rain. In the local parlance they said,
“Aasman gir gaya” – the sky fell on them, literally.
Cloudbursts, landslips, these are all natural processes
in the mountain. It is a tragedy only because we are
in the way; otherwise, it is just a natural process
of the mountain growing. What is unstable has to
come down and stabilize itself; this is a millions-ofyears’ process. So it is not a natural calamity, it is a
natural process, but it is a human calamity. How to
avoid the human calamity is human business.
Above all, we need to understand that a successful
nation is a successful enterprise too. What is our
strength? What is limited in us? Has something not
been taken care of? It is time we look at a nation
as an enterprise, and we need somebody who is
enterprising enough and who will handle it as an
enterprise to make it successful. The thing is, we get
lost in the history, tradition, and so many things. We
have to value those things, but we have to see them
August 2013
as traditional strengths and traditional weaknesses.
You will only see this if success is the benchmark.
Right now, success is not the benchmark. Somehow
keeping it going for five years is the benchmark. So
we have to set this – success is a benchmark.
70 dams across the Ganga. Even if a man is dying in
this country, he wants two drops of Ganga water,
but we have to tell him now the two drops that he
is taking in have gone through some 150 turbines
before they fall into his mouth.
What is this, Sadhguru? This is a very emotional,
ecological disaster and you are answering this way?
Yes, I am telling you this because now they will
pass some absurd ecological laws. That is not the
way to go about it. Emotional reactions to disasters
that happen are not the answer. Already people are
talking on the news channels, “It must be declared
an eco-sensitive zone; no pilgrim should be allowed.
Why are all these people going there? Can’t they go
to the local temple?” You will come out with absurd
laws in reaction, and anyway after a few years,
nobody is going to follow those laws. Once all this
is forgotten, things will be back to normal. We have
to look at ourselves as an enterprise and we want
to be a successful enterprise, not a flop. Managing
our land, our natural resources, and our human
resources is very much a part of the enterprise. It is
time we address it like that.
It is a certain human emotion which holds a nation
together. Different nations have a different ethos.
For India, Ganga, Himalayas, are very important
binding factors. If you destroy them, you will have
great difficulty holding this diverse population
together as a nation after some time. People are
already pulling in different directions. Gradually,
over a period of time, everybody starts thinking
separately, and one day, they will wonder, “Why
are we together?” It is not far away. When I say
“not far away,” in the life of a nation, 50 years is
not too much time.
We need to understand the Himalayas and what
the Himalayas have to offer. It is not the economic
prospect of the Himalayas which is important for us.
It is the spiritual dimension of it which has always
been an inspiration for people. Your economics
you could do elsewhere; you do not have to build
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Do not look at this as one single tragedy or one
incident that once the cameras are off, we will
forget about and go about our business. We have to
see India as an enterprise and we want a successful
enterprise on all levels.
Love & Grace
Visit: Sadhguru.org/spot for weekly updated
“Musings from the Master”
August 2013
19
Program Highlights
Date
Program
1–4 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Place
Contact
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
7–13 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
Andheri (West),
Mumbai – India
9930576725
[email protected]
7–13 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
Vashi,
Mumbai – India
9920194750
[email protected]
7–13 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
Jayalakshmipuram,
Mysore – India
9743667878
[email protected]
7–13 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
New Delhi,
Delhi – India
9818036205
[email protected]
15–18 Aug 2013
Guru Pooja Training
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
15–18 Aug 2013
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
[email protected]
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
Meenambakkam,
Chennai – India
94449 22290, 97899 83260
[email protected]
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
94430 09000
[email protected]
Residential Program
26–28 Aug 2013
26–29 Aug 2013
Hata Yoga
Residential Program
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
30 Aug – 2 Sep
2013
Bhava Spandana
(Gents/English)
Residential Program
In the Lap of the Master
7–8 Sep 2013
13–15 Sep 2013
Residential Program
Conducted by Sadhguru
Sadhguruvudan
Isha Yoga (Tamil)
Conducted by Sadhguru
INSIGHT –
The DNA of Success
23–26 Nov 2013
Residential Program
with Sadhguru and
Dr. Ram Charan
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.
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August 2013
Isha Recipes
For Healthy Living
Kofta Curry
Ingredients
4 medium 1 tablespoon + to fry
2 teaspoons
½ teaspoon Salt 2 medium ¼ cup 2–3 sprigs Tomatoes
Sesame oil
Pav bhaji masala
Sugar
to taste
Potatoes
Fresh mint leaves
Fresh coriander leaves
Preparation Method
1.
Place the tomatoes in a pan and pour just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook
for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain off water; cool the tomatoes, remove the skin, and chop them. Place in
the jar of a blender and blend to a smooth paste.
2.
Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a pan.
3.
Add the tomato puree and sauté till it thickens a little.
4.
Add the pav bhaji masala powder, sugar, and salt. Sauté until the oil separates from the mixture.
Add about 3/4 of a cup of water and bring to a boil.
5.
Boil the potatoes separately, cool and peel them. Mash them well. Chop the fresh mint and add.
Add the salt. Mix well and divide into small portions. Roll into balls.
6.
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai or wok and deep fry the balls until golden brown. Remove with a
slotted spoon. Put these koftas in the tomato gravy 5 minutes before serving.
7.
Chop fresh coriander leaves and sprinkle on the dish.
8.
Serve hot.
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August
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2013
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