Dear Sadhguru, Can you explain the science behind the mantram/sound NA MA SI VA YA - Nathan M Balakrishnan
The word Shiva literally means one that is not and Shiva has always been described as the destroyer. So the mantra is aimed at destroying the limitations of who you are. The sound SI is a powerful sound and VA has been added to balance the power of SI. If the right environment is created, the way you chant the mantra can create powerful vibrations that will open a whole new dimension and energy level for you. It must however be done with proper preparation and guidance. Modern science now acknowledges that the whole world is just vibration and reverberation of energy, and wherever there is vibration there is sound, and proper arrangement of these sounds can be the key to some amazing expansion for you.
SadhGuru, Sujatha Suresh, and Jayashri Ravi have said that
they are concerned at your comment at different programs that this will be your last visit to the planet. They want to know what they can do to ensure that they don’t return either.
If they continue with their sadhana with commitment, it will be their last birth as well. Many meditators feel this need to be close to me, but
constant and consistent sadhana will wean them from this dependency, and they will feel my presence always, without needing to be physically near.
Sadhguru, I’m currently reading Mystics’ Musings. You have spoken about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda in this book. Was Swami Vivekananda an enlightened soul?
Do all enlightened souls have control over their physical existence and can they leave their physical body whenever they wish to? If so, why did Swami Vivekananda pass away at such a young age though he had a huge responsibility of spreading his Master’s message to the world?-With reverence, Sathya, Manavalan Bangalore
Yes all enlightened souls, once they have mastery over themselves and are in a certain state of realization can leave their bodies when they choose. What can I say about Vivekananda? Maybe he had had enough of the people here and decided to leave!
He was a great influence on millions of youth, especially in India, and an
effective tool for Ramakrishna.
Sadhguru, how do I develop a stronger memory? I have been
greatly inspired by you. Prabhu. G
Come to the ashram and we can teach you how to focus.
Dear Sadhguru, I read the Q&A about motherhood and
its relation with spirituality in Isha News. What is the relation between fatherhood and spirituality?-With Regards, Arulkumar,
Fatherhood is important but fathering children is not. When I talk
about motherhood, it’s neither gender based, nor does it mean delivering
children. Motherhood is a concept which implies nurturing and inclusion of
others in your life. As such even you can be a mother. Be inclusive and
nurturing of others. You don’t have to produce children to accomplish that.
Dear Sadhguru, you say that through the science of yoga one
can become the master of one’s own destiny… but all spiritual masters also say that prarabdha karma has to be experienced by one and all and there is no escape from it…both seem contradictory….kindly clarify.
It is true that Pararabadha is the allotted karma for one’s life
and will have its own effects, but we can give you the spiritual tools to
overcome your pararabadha in a short period of time and rewrite the rest of
your life. It is like using existing software slowly for a long period of time,
or improving upon that software to accomplish the task in a shorter period of
time. Because there is some subtle presence of Pararabhada that is why charts and predictions are made about people and events. When you follow the tools given you will notice acceleration. Many people say things were very slow and comfortable for them before thy embarked upon a spiritual journey-then they noticed that everything was happening at a fevered pace.
Dear sadhguru, enlightened masters like Parashara, Agastya
and Bhrigu have proved beyond doubt that astrology[Indian astrology] is a science par excellence.... even yogis have used the science of astrology forvarious purposes.....various days of the week have an impact on the vibrations emitted from the dhyanalinga.....moon and sun are connected to ida and pingala nadi respectively.........which shows that there is a definite link
between those mundane lifeless[jada] heavenly bodies and human
affairs.........now my question is if the movement of planets are already
programmed as per laws of astronomy..... that means human life and everything on this planet is already programmed....!!! where is the scope for taking destiny into ones hands....??? I am totally confused.
If you are making a journey in the sea and don’t have your
GPS or satellite system on hand how will you reach your destination? In
the old days people looked at the stars and followed them. Today you will look at more sophisticated tools, but you still have to steer the wheel to reach where you want to reach. Otherwise you will crash somewhere else. Astrology is like that GPS system. It gives you a sense of direction but it is up to you to do the rest.
I did shambhavi sincerely for the first 40 days, but after
the class I do not experience anything amazing, but. various participants had very amazing experiences during initiation. I did not have any-.why is that so?
I have answered this question before. Don’t wait for things to
happen to you. Just continue to do the practice and when it has to happen it
will. Everything happens at its own pace. You can’t force it.
In your previous life when your guru touched your forehead
with his staff ... you said that every bit of information got transferred to you ....including the science of creating a dhyanalinga.... what can we do to make ourselves capable of receiving such a transfer of energy from you...... is it possible? Name withheld on request
When that happened, lifetimes of sadhana had been done to reach
that point where someone appeared at the right moment and completed the
instruction. If you are ready to stay dedicated you can be where I am too. I
have always said this-I’m the prime example that if I could do this, so can
you. But are you ready to invest what is required? Grace is available to all
but very few are available for that grace. Grace is even more universal than
gravity, but people are too busy being caught up in the web they create around them and it’s hard to escape from that. Spiritual sadhana was created to disentangle you from that mess which you have created. If you are ready to get out of that mess, grace will come to you.
Dear Sadhguru, I love my parents and respect them. I help
poor to the maximum possible extent. Since past 23 years I am helping girls to get married by helping them financially. I help my own sisters and made them happy in life by educating their children and subsequently getting married.
But I don’t believe in God and I don’t go to temple and
worship. What is wrong with me? M Subramanian Malaysia
Nothing is wrong with you. The Gods are also happy that you are
not bothering them. They are more tired of people who show up at the temples asking them to run everything in their life. Keep doing what you are doing.
I am a 31-year-old from Bangalore. I have been following Sadhguru for many years now, I have done the inner engineering program under him & stayed in the ashram in Coimbatore and read his
books. Seeing him in Madras when I did the course under him brought tears to the eye. Another master who’s been a big influence in my life long before Sadhguru has been Osho, so my question relates to both these masters:
Sadhguru, you have spoken about many masters like Krishnamurti, etc., but have remained silent, as far as I know, about Osho. I see so many similarities between Osho and you from the way you dress look and speak to your teachings to having ashrams in the US. Since Osho was murdered, I sometimes think he has entered your body after the making of the Dhyanalingam. Can you please say something about Osho and the way he was persecuted around the world? -Rakesh
When a person is influenced by somebody and is in deep appreciation of someone he can see the same qualities in other people who he
appreciates in a similar way. Many people come up to me and tell me I speak like Vivekananda, some say I speak like Krishnamurti, others think I speak like Rajneesh.
I neither speak nor dress nor live like Rajneesh or anyone else.
It’s the people’s love that makes them see things that way and that is fine.
Its not that I have not spoken about Rajneesh-I have. It’s just that
his approach was different than what we have taken so it is not necessary for me to speak about Rajneesh. I don’t speak of JK also because his approach is very different as well. As for Rajneesh entering my body, he has done no such thing.
With all due respect to Rajneesh and all the phenomenal work he
has done in his own way, some of the things they did was in reaction to the
social situation in the world then. The society was at a certain stage at that
time and he wanted to provoke people to change in a certain way. It is not my way because I don’t think it would produce the kind of result I want. You know my mission is to plant undercover yogis-there is a need to plant people who are at the peak of inner well being to work in society and change the society from within rather than provoking and creating a reaction.
I just came across some shocking stats/stories about women
and child trafficking in India.
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/india.htm
I want to ask Sadhguru: What allows this to happen and how
will this ever end (not only in India, but all over the world)?-Chaital
These things are happening every where-in Europe, in America and
not just in India. It has been the reality in the world that the strong
suppress the weak. If you find someone weak in some way there is a strong
chance they will be exploited in some way or the other. Fundamentally this
instinct of the survival of the fittest has not yielded to the forces of
culture and civilization yet. People continue to exploit those who are in a
position of disadvantage against them. The very basis of my work is to teach
you to see everyone as a part of yourself, and live in a more inclusive way.
Unless that happens, this kind of exploitation will continue to occur.
There is so much literature that is easily accessible to
people these days. It is creating terrorism and turning many people
into terrorists. There is no guru to teach them otherwise and when they are approached they become suspicious of any kind of guru. I’m concerned about the rapidity with which negative elements are rising around us. What should we do to curb their influence especially on the nascent young ones.
The world has always been like this-there are problems and there
are solutions. Some people choose to create the problems, others prefer to be part of the solution. Just as terrorism mechanism and knowledge is on the web, so is yoga, spiritual resources, peace activism. You always access what you are inclined towards and what resonates with you. It is up to you to choose what you want to be-a part of the problem, or part of the solution by helping create an inclusive world.
Dear Sadhguru,
my involvement with ISHA started when I joined Sahaja Sthithi
Yoga in May 1998. From then I have involved myself as a volunteer and had been doing Yoga regularly. Later I attended BSP in June 2002 and had been continuing my practices.
I have involved my self with Isha coming down to Ashram and been in Dhaynalinga where I could see tremendous changes. But I’m getting struck with every single thing that is happening around me. Love and affection towards everyone has rapidly changed to anger, jealousy and expectations and getting stuck, and I’ve
totally been abandoned by everyone.
Even after doing yoga, I have not changed as I shout at everyone and I have lost many friends in life. I am not sure what I ‘m doing and my life is just going on thinking, thinking and thinking rather than living in the moment and enjoy the life.
Sadhguru, I just have a photo of yours and my practice is going on with breaks due to above said happenings. I need your blessings and I need the liberation from the above said. Please help me out.-Jagadeesh
I was recently talking to a group about the fact that the US economy is growing at a 2 ½-3 percent rate while the Indian economy is looking at a 8-10 percent growth rate and in all this boom and super boom and speed, more and more people will crack up. It is an inevitable happening. In USA it’s already evident; 40 percent of the people are on anti-depressants. People there need medication to maintain the inner balance. It’s mostly because of non stop unbridled economic activity. So India is not far away and we are also going in that direction. Bangalore city is very much a part of that hectic activity.
That is why there is a deep need to create a world wide spiritual network where there will be something for people to turn to, to create the strength to sustain this hectic pace. Jagadeesh needs to take a break. I would like him to spend one or two weeks at the centre to rejuvenate his system both physically and mentally. When you are working at a tough pace, it’s important that your body and mind gets the needed rest, or both will start breaking down.
Why is that this entire world is running behind money, and is there any other purpose that a human is created in this world. Can we live in this world only by doing sadhana to have peace of mind?
Good times and bad times come and go and create happiness and sufferings alternately. Why is this process of life undergone by humans? Does God(supreme power) want all this drama on earth to happen? –Senthil Sentoe
All the drama happens because human beings are melodramatic by
nature. They live the drama, suffer the drama and go to see Shakespearean plays to watch drama, because tragedy can be engaging. God has done a magnificent job when it comes to creation, but we have been mismanaging the world in such a way that everything becomes melodramatic. It is not correct that the entire world is running after money. It’s just that we have made a monetary system where money is the means to everything that people want, and because of that they are trying to acquire money. People run after different things and use money to acquire some of them because that is the only way to do so. There are some who chase money, then get
into a rut and don’t know how to get out of it. They don’t know what to do with their life.
When we use the word “ sadhana” it means a certain way of life.
The way you sit, breathe, eat and conduct yourself in both body and mind is all part of sadhana if you are aware and alive. However we have directed sadhna towards spirituality today because the inner being has been neglected. Sadhana does not mean a specific kind of activity-it means a device you use towards achieving inner and outer well being
Sadhguru is it true that Gautam Buddha was naked most of his life time of his Sadhana. Why are most of the Yogis in the
ancient Indian culture without any clothes? Is nakedness a way to attain a certain Sadhana or being meditative? –Meena Iyer
Gautam Buddha was not naked throughout his life, because he had to deal with society. So he did cover himself. Many yogis are naked because they are meditating deep in the jungles and mountains. The clothes won’t last long and because they don’t have to deal with society since they don’t have a desire to go back, they really don’t care if they are not clothed. In the Himalayas how long will your clothes last when you are meditating for years? Your only recourse then would be to kill and animal and wear its skin if you desire to be covered.
The main thing that comes in the way of the spiritual path for any Yogi is the physical body-wanting to be spiritual is transcending back to paying the least attention to the body. Just like you minimize whatever it is you don’t want on your computer screen, similarly many yogis on the spiritual path put their bodies on “Minimize”. The body gets the bare minimum essential needed to keep it alive.
The yogi appears naked only to the outsiders-his own attention is not on his
body.
Sadhguru I have been an ISHA meditator for more than 2 years and somehow your vibrations have penetrated me and in certain
meditative state I feel intense like a Tiger. Now I want to maintain this experience, otherwise I feel like I am an ASS with the Tiger Skin. If I meditate regularly and continue your prescribed Sadhana can I always prowl in meditation like a Tiger? Murali.
Never aim the meditation towards anything. Let the meditation lead you-you don’t try to lead the meditation in some direction that you want. The idea of meditation is to go to a space you do not know, to enter a dimension that is not in your experience, understanding or perception. Simply seek to meditate. Whatever happens happens.
Dear Sathguru,
I have always grown up with the value that we need to help people.
There are times I see myself enjoying what I’m doing for others but other times it has been because of a compulsion. I feel very unhappy when I have to help people and I don’t feel happy at the end of it. Is it wrong for me to feel like that? I don’t want to do anything that is not 100% within me. Not that I’m guilty, but most of the time people get a bad opinion about me when I tell them that they need to do things on their own and not always look for someone else
to help them! But more than that I guess it’s more of the feeling that not many people have bothered, and even left me when I was going through a bad situation... so why should I do anything for them when they just have materialistic needs from me. I want to get out of this and see if I could truly reach out to people
with whatever I do. Warm regards, Kirthi
There is no need to make an effort to help people in your life. If
you have love in your heart, you will any ways do what is needed at any given time. If there is no love then you better not do it. When you have love in your heart and compassion for others, instead of feeling resentment whatever you do will become a privilege and you will feel happy that you got an opportunity to help others. Let it not be about what we have done and what we should get in return for that. Let us nurture love in our heart, let us develop a sense of inclusion which is a basic reality. The more inclusive you become, the more you act naturally without there being any unnecessary calculation.
Dear Sadhguru, after my BhavaSpandana program, last month at the IIIS Center in Tennessee, I am not the same anymore. Now all I feel or sense is love and life around me and I want everyone else to realize what life is all about including my husband. I want everyone to look deep inside and change their way of living. When we have a
guru like you, I know it’s possible. But people are not always willing to listen. What can I do to make people spiritual, especially the ones like my husband; he thinks that he has control over his mind and doesn’t need ISHA. Jayashree, NJ-USA
Do not go about preaching whatever you experienced in BSP. Just
keep the experience alive within yourself and transformation around you will
naturally happen. Everyone in the world need not come to the program. If one person does BSP, they must be able to transform the lives of 1000 people around them without uttering a word about it. So your husband is a good test for you to see how strong your BSP is since he is a man with a strong mind according to you.
Dear Sadhguru,
If a person wants to follow spiritual path, is it due to his prarabtha
karma? If yes, those who do not have their prarabtha karma to go into spiritual path, what is the best thing for them? Does a Guru instigate them?
In my opinion for a normal person (married with children) to follow the spiritual path, he should have enough for his basic needs(job or money to carry the family) and good health. If he lacks any one of these, he has to fight for his survival. Then how can he go into spiritual path?
You said in one of your replies that if we follow the spiritual tools
(Shambhavi) given by you, prarabtha karma can be overcome in a short period of time. Does this short period vary for each person, if he does regular shambhavi? How fast can I get rid of prarabtha karma if my age is 45? How do we know that we have completed prarabtha karma? Thanks, Omprakash, Atlanta
Spirituality is so fundamental in a human being, it is not associated with any Karma. True spirituality does not mean give up on life, go naked or stand on your head. Turning spiritual means you go deeper into the process of life from the surface to a deeper core. That is something every human being must do irrespective of your prarabda karma. If all the Prarabda karma goes, you will go with it. Karma binds you to the body. What is needed right now is that you create a distance between you and the karma making
machine which is your mind.
Shambhavi creates that tool to help you, and then whatever the Karma may be, it will not have any impact on you. You can either make your karma your friend or your enemy. A human being has the discretion and
the choice to do whatever he wants to do no matter what his past influences
were or whatever tendencies he brings. Your focus must be to go beyond whatever limitations you have, and if you consciously do that it’s a spiritual process by itself. If you don’t then spirituality is far away from you. All human beings are spiritual beings, so spiritual process is not something you do-its how you naturally are. As far as basic needs are concerned-it’s an excuse that should not stand in the way of spiritual process. Come to the Ashram and I will take care of your basic needs. Let me see how much you progress spiritually!
Sadhguru, I had asked you a question that how do people who are mentally retarded attain enlightenment.
We have a mind to think and to understand what is spirituality, how will they understand this? To this you had replied that they cannot help it and they cannot become enlightened. I did not find the answer satisfactory so I am asking you again. If enlightenment is the only truth which you and many other great saints felt than why do some people in the world exist who cannot experience it for no fault of theirs. - Shyam Balakrishnan
Asking a mentally retarded person to become enlightened is like asking a man without legs to climb Mount Everest. So far I have not found a way to guide the mentally handicapped. Getting those who are in their senses to become enlightened is a tough task as it is. But what we can do for the handicapped is to reach out and help them, to expose them to whatever we can to make their world harmonious. That blessing it self opens up new possibilities for them.
But first I would like to see Shyam Balakrishnan to become truly enlightened
and understand all the intricacies and who knows he may be able to find a way to enlighten the mentally handicapped.
It was said in INNER ENGINEERING class that awareness of "This
moment is inevitable" but I am confused about what awareness is. Physical actions happen through body and thinking happens in mind. Similarly where does awareness take place? Sadhguru, please tell how I can be aware of this truth when it is not the mind or body that is to work here? How do I be aware?
Avinash Eswaramangalam
By “trying” to be aware you’ll never be aware. But if you increase the “ aliveness” in you, you will become aware as well, How do we know we are alive? It’s because we are ‘aware” that we are alive. ‘ Awareness” is not mental alertness. It is not the function of a mind. It is a function of life. So don’t confuse the two. All practices including Shambhavi are there just to enhance that aliveness’ in you.
Sadhguru, what are your views about the death penalty as
handed out by legal courts in our modern day societies?" Abhimanyu
Saagar Patiala, India
Recently 12 people who were involved in the Bombay riots were
given the death penalty. Over 300 people had been killed and again another
100-150 in the aftermath lost their lives. When you saw the relatives of these 12, you feel bad, but you cannot forget the hundreds who were put to death by these twelve people for no rhyme or reason. If you gave them a second chance there is a high possibility that they would repeat the same thing in another place. So if the law does not take secular stringent measures, no human being will be safe on the planet.
Personally I’m against the death penalty, but considering the
reality of society and the world in which we exist today, I don’t think we can
completely do away with it.
Can you please give me link to any article where sadhguru has
spoken about benefits of rudraksha’s having different faces. There seems to be some confusion when people talk about rare ones like one face etc. So if you could guide me. Siva
Irrespective of what type of lifestyle you have, the safest
rudraksha to wear is the Panchmukhi. Children below the age of twelve can wear the six faced one. For all others you must go to someone who is learned about the effects, and knows how it will reverberate with your system, and not someone who wants to sell it to you or look at an article. If you are not geared towards wearing a certain rudraksha, it will be just like something special coming into your life which you are neither prepared for nor ready for.
What is the surest way to destroy age-old Vasanas. I have been performing spiritual practices for over 13
years now (Gayathri mantra, Master given mantra, charity as advised by my Guru, built Shiva temple, yoga, seva, chanted sahasaranamas etc). Nothing seems to have moved my Vasanas (Kama and Krodha) a wee-bit. I am absolutely clueless!!!
I even feel that I have wasted 90 minutes of my time everyday for the past 13 years. Please guide me SadGuruji- Raman, Fremont, California.
You can be doing spiritual sadhna for 90 minutes but if for the rest of the 22 and half hours you are not aware then you are wasting your time. It’s not necessary to build or do anything unless you are doing it with spiritual consciousness. You don’t have to change the content of
your life-just change the context of your life. Most people become what they
have gathered over the years. Your practice should be to create a distance
between what you are and what you have gathered as unnecessary baggage. You don’t have to build a temple or call out to Siva-it’s not needed. If you just change the context of your life, your intellect will not be changed by all the baggage you have accumulated and so naturally you will become spiritual-there is no other way to be.
Quote from Sadhguru "True spirituality will only happen
when people are peaceful and happy and you would think that would be a state in all affluent nations, but that is not so. Instead all economic activity you see in the world is desperate action. People have no concept of what they really need-from a simple matter like how much food they should put in their mouths to how much money or property do they really need. People just do not seem to know when to stop. They are running endlessly in pursuit of happiness ."
Namaskaram, Sadhguru, from the above quote I infer that people
should show restraint and moderation towards material pursuits to get spiritually inclined as achieving success in economic conditions mean nothing to a human being as he/she is not going to be liberated by that success. I have heard you many times using this word "liberated" and I assumed it meant avoiding rebirth, please correct me if I am wrong. Are you suggesting that everyone in their current lifetime should strive for spiritual progress with intensity to achieve enlightenment & avoid rebirth rather than going for other pursuits. Your thoughts please.
2. Sadhguru, over the last 100 years, India has seen the birth
& life of so may Jivanmukathars like Ramana, Maharishi, Kanchi
Sankaracharya Chandrasekhar, Saraswathi (68th pontiff) Nicaragua Datta Maharaja, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Yogananda Paramahamsa, Matha Amrithananda Mai, Yogi Surath Kumar, yourself and many more. How come so many Gurus are born
in India than other places and are there such Gurus currently living outside India, if yes where please ? Respectful
Regards S Subramanaian (Subbu) Chennai, India
Enlightenment does not come because of the volume of involvement
in the world. There is a beautiful story about King Janaka and his guru
Ashtavakra. Janaka was fully enlightened and did not want to remain King. He wanted to spend all his time with his guru, but had to continue his kingly
duties because his guru wanted him to do his duty towards his people. The bond between the guru and his royal disciple was very strong and the cause of deep jealousy among the monks who resided with Astavakra in his ashram. “The man lives in a palace, has a wife and kids-and enjoys all the worldly pleasures.
What kind of spirituality is that? “ they would say among themselves.
One day as Ashtavakra sat talking to King Janaka, a soldier came running in to tell the king that his palace was on fire. The King was very angry at his guru being interrupted without permission, and sent the emissary packing, apologizing to the guru and asking him to continue. A few days later, when Astavakra was talking to the monks, a man in charge of the ashram came running and said the monkeys were playing havoc with the monks’ clothing that had been left outside to dry.
The monks left the guru in mid sentence and ran out to rescue
their clothes. When they returned, Ashtavakra said-“Many of you feel that I am partial towards Janaka. Do you see the difference between Janaka and you? His palace was being burnt and his only concern was that the soldier entered without permission and interrupted me. You are all monks-all you wear is a loin cloth that no one would even use to mop their floor, but you forgot my presence and ran to save that useless piece of cloth.”
The question is not what you are doing but how you are within
yourself. Everyone is just dying to see and know what someone else is eating, what they are doing, what they are wearing, as if any of these things will make any difference in how you are spiritually. Many people think you have to dress shabbily to be spiritual. Being spiritual isn’t going away from life-it means going deeper into life.
Yes there are more gurus in India, and other cultures where a
tradition of spirituality was created. It was very natural to take up
spirituality as a full time process. Wherever there is more investment in
something, the dividend too is more.
Hi Kavita
First, some feedback on your article..It was open and
unbiased - and gave a refreshing view of a new guru - Jaggi Vasudev – almost made me want to see him - but ..Comments first!
Just for your info I had heard about him - from another
vehicle - please check - does he have a daughter who goes to Krishnamurti school in mudenhalli - because one of my nephews goes to school there and said - Sadhguru comes to visit his daughter - and comes laden with gifts but the daughter does not like her father at all -maybe school gossip - or is the old
cliché - that all great beings have households that don’t like them and definitely do not find them DIVINE!!...anyway -
Second, please ask Sadhguru clearly:
1) are all chronic diseases emanating from a distorted frame
of mind-and therefore if the mind is calm - the disease should
completely disappear? - if that is 100% true then why did so many great beings have horrible diseases till their death - Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Anandamayi, Ramana maharishi, Nisargadatta - all had cancer - Neem Karoli Baba died of heart failure- and had an ongoing heart condition...
2)Claims may be many - but fact remains - they are unable to
make their own families like them, forget about healing relations between countries
3) what part does destiny play -isn’t everything pre-decided
anyway? most gurus hesitate to tell this truth, lest people leave them - because - if its all pre-destined why go to a guru - whatever will happen will happen anyway (Ramesh Balsekar says that and see how few devotees he has - isn’t the guru "business" also one of making (false) promises and then never delivering or delivering a glimmer - so hope keeps you going forever?
Forgive, me for these scathing remarks, I left the US 10 years ago - a very successful career and money and comforts – in search for a deeper truth- but after 10 years in India and seeing the INNER
functioning of all the MAIN BIG ashrams (and small) of this country , having lived full time in one - talked and met with the GREAT BEINGS - I have found out too much unpleasant stuff - that no one wants to hear about and even if they do - they wont believe it!!
hoping to see Sadhguru's answers in detail on your website.
with Regards,
Janet Eddie
(Sadhguru laughs and responds cheerfully)Please let Janet knows
that her nephew is very ill informed. I have brought up my daughter in a way that she has the freedom to speak her mind. I have a very positive and close relationship with her. So my question is-is Janet in search for truth or in search of a scandal?
If in ten years Janet has not been able to find one good teacher,
then isn’t it time she took a look at herself? Whenever you meet people, or
gurus, you will see both positive and negative energies surrounding them. You see what you want to see. Eventually every one must take what works for them and disregard the rest. Let me give you an example. A doctor gives you a pill for an ailment. The only thing you should be concerned about is whether that pill works for you or not. What the doctor does in his private life, how he relates to someone else is immaterial for you. That is none of your business, because it does not affect you in any way. What is most important is to decide whether the medicine heals you or not. If it does not go to another doctor.
Regarding gurus being unable to please their families-it is not
just limited to gurus but any one who undertakes something on a large scale, at a public level. Mahatma Gandhi had many family members who resented him, but can you take away his contribution to India? Obviously the gurus will not have the time to focus on their family because they are involved for the betterment of mankind and helping others beyond their families. My family also complains some times that I don’t devote enough time to them because of my hectic schedule, but the family too has to grow and mature and understand.
As for cancer, most saints are exposed to an intense interaction
with others, beyond the mind and body and the very nature of their work takes its toll on their body. Their own well being is the last thing they are
concerned about. While the state of mind has a lot to do with disease, it’s not the only factor that causes it.
Finally, there is no such thing as destiny. Life happens the way
you steer it. Janet searching and finding only wrong people is her own creation not destiny. Since a large part of what happens to you is on an unconscious level, you think some other force is creating it. Some people may have made false promises to you, I do not know, but by and large the promise is genuine, but you are not able to cross the distance between the possibility and reality. If you don’t walk that distance you won’t reach your destination and will call it a false promise.
Dear
Sadhguru,
I love to do my practices and meditate. I regularly do the shakthi chelan kriyas, shoonya meditation and the Asanas. I also like to eat non-veg and consume beer and alcohol. How important is it for me to give the things I enjoy so much for my spiritual advancement?-
Thanks, Rajesh
Every one must ask themselves this question - do you eat meat and
consume alcohol for nutrition or pleasure? If its for nutrition then there are
so many other healthier alternatives. If its for pleasure then I will not ask
you to give it up. I can only tell you that what you eat affects your system in
a particular way. The wrong foods will make you toil that much harder to make your practices more effective. I can give you the tools that will make your pleasure much higher than what you get from eating meat and drinking alcohol. I won’t say give up something you like but do take some time to look at the possibilities beyond the obstructions you are setting up for yourself to evolve to a higher level. Meat makes the system sluggish as does alcohol.
So remember I can give you a method where your level of pleasure
will be a lot higher than what you derive by eating meat and alcohol. Focus on that than the idea of giving up something.
Dear Sadhguru, in your book Mystic’s Musings you had
told that before you leave the earth you will construct a devi temple. Now that the Devi temple is going to be consecrated soon does that mean you are going to leave us and go ?
I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere. Enjoy my presence and make full
use of it right now than worrying about my departure.
Is the Dhyanalinga as effective a guru as you are?
The Dhyanalinga is as effective- only most people may not be able
to relate to it as well as they relate to a guru in human form, but in terms of
making things happen it is as effective.
In your book you have mentioned about occult practices and
negative energies ... you have also said that by going to the dhyanalinga shrine one can get rid of such things and by wearing a rudraksha one can shield oneself from such energies.... but what if someone is bent upon causing harm to someone using occult practices and abhichara mantras..... a person can not be
going to the dhyanalinga shrine so frequently ... and I think a rudraksha might not protect oneself from severe forms of occult and abhichara..... in that case can what should a person do to save oneself ? can one go in for tantric rituals as given in the atharva veda to protect oneself ... if performed by a competent and learned tantric ?
If you have been badly affected you can resort to other means but
the best way is to become more meditative. That is the best insurance.
When you say that the dhyanalinga is beyond space and
time... we can understand that its energies are not bound by space but when you say its beyond time what do you exactly mean ?
That which is not bound by space is not bound by time either.
When you say that you bow down to other enlightened masters
slightly less than your guru .. its very difficult for me to understand
why should you bow down to other masters a little less ... all of
them have attained enlightenment so I think all should be revered
equally then why do you say so ? Is it just out of devotion to your
guru ?Is one enlightened master different from another in any way ?
That is because the rest of them are like me, and I see no reason
to revere them. I bow to my guru because he made it happen for me. In basic ways most gurus are the same but in all other ways they are never the same.
The importance of ring finger has often been stressed by
you... for applying vibhuti we use only right hand ring
finger ... but the copper snake rings are always worn on the left
hand ring finger ...... what’s the exact reason we wear the copper rings on left hand ring finger ?
It stabilizes your system and also if you are doing some
sadhana it assists in that.
Dear Jaggi,
My family has recently taken part in the satsang held in Anna University. You have asked everyone to meditate for few minutes. During the course of meditation I heard lot of different sounds made by the people that was scary and confusing. why do people make such noises during meditation? There were lot
of small children also in the satsang and I heard few kids crying hearing the scary sounds made by people. Can you please clear my and as well lot others’ confusion on this? with Love, Anandhi.
Firstly young children should not be taken to a satsang. People
will make different sounds but they are not scary sounds-they happen as people break certain limitations within themselves and move to a more intense experience. You got scared because it was something new and you had not heard it before. We always fear anything new that we do not know. By closing your mind to new experiences you shut yourself off from so many possibilities and ensure that nothing novel or new will happen to you. If you wish to be true to your name of Anandhi, it is very important for you to be open to new dimensions of life.
Namaskaram Sadhguru
Sadhguru, in your article in the Tamil magazine " Ananda
Vikadan" dated 26th Sep 2007, you have almost justified that success attained even with wrong methods is OK and in the later part of the article you have said one gets back what he sows ( did not say when one gets it back) it appears to me there is a contradiction. Please help me understand.
I’m not sure which article it was, or what the context was, but I
have always said this- if you do not fear the consequences of your actions then do what you want. If you are scared about what will happen if you act a certain way, then regulate those actions. If you do something bad and accept the consequences joyfully then do as you please.
In an interview ( given to Anil Dharker) you have said
that contentment does not lead to joyfulness, can you explain that please.
Regards- S Subramanian (Subbu)
People who are not joyful seek contentment as a substitute.
Otherwise a human being naturally continues to explore different dimensions of life constantly. Contentment means to contain yourself within a certain boundary because you want to maintain a certain level of pleasantness that you have reached. Contentment is an ideal created by those people who have decided they are incapable of being joyful.
In one of your speeches you said FEAR is all about imagining
about and suffering that which in nonexistent. Is not fear a kind of
intelligence? One sees a snake and suddenly jumps away. Is that not
intelligence? My experience with fear is like this. Fear is because one has made some plan and if something happens in between, one cannot work towards that plan. Suppose one is studying for an exam and he becomes involved in some painful circumstances, he will not be able to study and pass the exam. One has learned this from his previous experience. So one tries to avoid such painful circumstances to achieve what he strives for. Fear is being alert to avoid such circumstances.. At the same time fear is a disturbance since we cannot do anything when fear is there. How can we keep on working towards a goal without any interference of fear? Avinash Eswaramangalam
If you have too much fear you may end up not jumping far enough
but on the snake itself and getting bitten in the process. Jumping can be done with sense and not senselessly. Fear makes you senseless and when you lack sense you do stupid things.
Sadhguru,
What is the difference between karmic body and etheric body? I understand from your past conversation that our human body is made up of physical body, Mind, formless Karmic Body with Karmic mind which are various impressions from past life. Please explain what etheric body means.
Karmic body is an accumulation of the physical, mental and pranic
body. Etheric body does not carry any karmic weight-it is free.
Sadhguru,
I am confused by the masculine and feminine energies of Shiva. As I understand Shiva, Shiva is the vast non-dual oneness or emptiness or nothingness and the mantra Shiva itself signifies the vast feminine energies expanding inunboundedness. Shiva in the Vedic literature has been referred to as Masculine and Parvati or the nature as feminine. Could you please clarify on my Gender
ambiguity about Shiva?-Meena
There is no gender ambiguity as far as Shiva is concerned. Shiva
chooses not to belong to any gender when we talk of Shiva as the ultimate
dimension. As Adi-yogi Shiva chooses to be any gender masculine or feminine as is chosen in that moment.
Sadhguru, how strong a role does 'encouragement' play in a
person's spiritual growth? How far can somebody be 'encouraged' to become a seeker? Or do people always have to experience sufficient suffering outside to make them turn inwards? How far would it be correct to say that a person can be encouraged to some extent to go and do Isha wholeness program, come back and be regular with the practices BUT to encourage someone to develop a longing and become a seeker is not in someone else's hands? If seeking happens, it happens, if it doesn’t then there is hardly anything someone else can do except wait,perhaps? Is the whole spiritual 'thing' dependent on a person's innate
nature? -Abhimanyu Saagar Patiala
If you have functional intelligence you will always seek beyond
where you are right now. At Isha we only give you the tools to make that
intelligence functional. As long as you are aware of that you will be a natural
spiritual seeker.
Q: At times I have this inner struggle that I am still missing out
on many things in life by walking the spiritual path. How can I cope with this?
If you fix the goal of your life, you will not miss anything. All these tendencies are there within everybody. The past karmas have influences over you, they push you this way and that way. All your passions, all your desires, you cannot fight with them. Don’t ever try to fight with your passions and desires. Fighting with them is like fighting the demon, Mahishasura. If one drop of his blood falls, a thousand Mahishasuras will rise up. Your desires and passions are just like that. If you try and fight with them, if you chop them, they will spill blood, and with every drop, a hundred or a thousand will come up. There is no point fighting them. Just educate your passions, educate your desires to flow in the right direction that is all.
Desire the highest in life. All your passions, direct them to the highest. Even
if you get angry, direct it only toward the highest. Even with your passion,
that is the way to do it. Right now, every bit of energy that you have, you
expend it by making it into desire, passion, fear, anger, and many other
things. Maybe these emotions are not in your hands for now, but channeling them in one direction is in your hands. Maybe when you are angry you cannot be loving, you cannot suddenly turn your anger into love, but the anger itself can be directed. Anger is tremendous energy, isn’t it? Direct it in the right way; that is all. Every ounce of energy that you have, every passion, emotion, thought, if focused in one direction, the results can be very, very quick. Things will happen. Once you know there is something higher and you want to be there, there should be no other question about it.
Now, for you, again and again, this spirituality, this enlightenment, this
God-realization looks so far away. It appears to be close this moment, the next moment it appears to be light years away, so certain complacency will come.
They have always told you: “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” What is there now is better than something somewhere else. What you need to understand is: it is not somewhere else, it is all here and now. Only because you are not, it looks like that for you. God is not somewhere, he is here and now. It is you who is not. That is the only problem. It is not difficult, but definitely it’s not easy. It is extremely simple. Moving from here, from wherever you are right now, to the infinite is very simple, because it is right here. Do know, ‘simple’ need not necessarily be easy. It is just subtle and delicate. Unless you put your whole life energy into it, it will not open up.
With half-hearted appeals, God never comes. With half-hearted appeals,
realization never happens. It has to be everything, only then it can happen in one moment. It need not take twelve years. Probably a fool takes twelve years to become intense enough; that is different. If you make yourself intense enough, it is just one moment. After that, life is just blessed. You simply live on, whichever way you want, whatever way you choose. But without creating that one moment, going on doing all kinds of nonsense, what is the use?
