miscelaneous topic
The Time and Space Illusion
Today, modern science is proving to you beyond any doubt that your ideas of time and space are very illusory. Time and space are both stretchable; you can alter them whichever way you want. You can make what is 1000 light years away right here. You can make what is 10,000 years ago or what will be 10,000 years later right now; because here and now is all there is. I am not talking mysticism. According to modern science, time and space is a big illusion. You can make whatever you want out of it. In fact, today, a certain segment of scientists are beginning to argue, there is no such thing as time, there is no such thing as space. They are right. It is from this understanding that we said your spine is Merudanda; it is the axis of the universe. Or at least, it can be if you reverberate in a certain way.
You know very well that you gathered this body – it is just an accumulation of food. How can you call what you gather as “myself?”
This body is an instrument. Are you going to use it just to gather food and things for yourself? Are you going to use it to perform feats? Or are you going to use it in the highest possible way? If you want to use it like an instrument, the first and foremost thing is you have to dis-identify yourself from this body. You know very well that you gathered this body – it is just an accumulation of food. How can you call what you gather as “myself?” What you gather can be yours for a certain period of time but it cannot be you.
A Miraculous Instrument
The human body is such a miraculous instrument. If you want to explore this in one lifetime, it will take a lot. But one way or the other, people’s entanglement with the body is so deep that they cannot treat the body as an instrument. Their attachment and identification with the body are so deep that they continue to see this as “myself”. The moment you see this body as “me”, there is a whole lot of emotion attached to it. Then we cannot use it as an instrument.
You can either make this body into a Shava or a Shiva. Shava means a corpse. Shiva means the Ultimate. It depends on what you do with it.
The whole process of Bhuta Shuddhi in yoga is just towards this – to become free from the five elements. If you create distance between you and the five elements effectively, then you have a clear space between you and the body.
Once you create a distance between you and the body, you will have the joy of knowing what kind of a machine has been handed over to you. It has all the ingredients of bondage and freedom within it. You can make this divine – you can move your energy system in such a way that the body becomes a deity. Or you can be like a corpse. We say, you can either make this body into a Shava or a Shiva. Shava means a corpse. Shiva means the Ultimate. It depends on what you do with it. It can function in ways you have never believed a human being could function.
Editor’s Note: "Body: The Greatest Gadget" is an introduction to the most sophisticated and incredible gadget on the planet. It is a first step on an intriguing and exciting journey that culminates in total mastery of the system, allowing us to stay rooted in the physical, and yet taste the beyond. Download now.
Sitting Still – Settling the Mind and Body
Questioner: Sadhguru, I wish I could simply sit for long hours, but I am just not able to keep my body still. How can I overcome this limitation? Sadhguru: To sit still, definitely your body needs to be conditioned – hatha yoga is towards that. But even if your body is in a good condition, [...]
Questioner: Sadhguru, I wish I could simply sit for long hours, but I am just not able to keep my body still. How can I overcome this limitation?
Sadhguru: To sit still, definitely your body needs to be conditioned – hatha yoga is towards that. But even if your body is in a good condition, you still will not be able to sit still, unless you settle some other aspects.
There are eight limbs of yoga – yama and niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. They are not steps – they are limbs. If you had eight limbs, which one to move first is your choice, according to your need. Is there a rule which limb to move first? Since you are from India – do not think you must always put your right leg first. There are certain aspects of life where putting your right leg first is better, and there are other aspects where putting your left leg first is better. Which leg to move first depends on the activity. Similarly, which limb of yoga to use first depends on where you are.
If you want to sit still, just working on your body is not good enough – you have to work upon your mind too.
For a long time in the history of humanity, the body was the strongest aspect and the biggest hurdle. Therefore, people were put through hatha yoga first. A few hundred years ago, only 5-10% of people had mental problems. Others only had physical problems. Even today, in the villages, most people only have physical problems, not mental problems. But generally, in the last few generations, people have had more mental problems than physical problems, because they use their mind more than they use their body. This is a big shift for humanity. Until 100 or 200 years ago, human beings used their body much more than their mind.
Since I am a contemporary mystic, I am looking at people who are here now. As their problems are more mental than physical, we generally start off with kriyas and meditation, which mainly work on the level of energies and mind, and only then go into hatha yoga.
If you want to sit still, just working on your body is not good enough – you have to work upon your mind too. Particularly for this generation, focusing on settling the whole system – mind, emotions, body, and energy – is important. It is a wrong perception that people of today are more brilliant than people of the past. It is just that people’s minds are more out of control today because of haphazard use.
The way our education system is structured, it will invariably lead to disturbed minds. A child is going from reading poetry to mathematics – both are connected, but there is no one to make the connection. From mathematics, they go to music – both are connected, but there is no one to make the connection. From music, they go to chemistry – they are connected, but there is no one to make the connection, because the music department and the chemistry department do not get along.
Everything is taught in disjointed ways because after all, no one is studying with a passion to know. Everyone is studying to pass the examination and get a job. This is a very destructive way of educating yourself and a pathetic way to live. But no matter how senseless it is, the majority of people in the world have chosen to live like that.
Recently, I was at a very high profile evening event, where alcohol was being served in a corner. The host said, “Sadhguru is here, let’s not have alcohol served.” But some people could not keep their hands off it. There was a minister who came and said, “I’m sure Sadhguru is a man of the world – he won’t mind.” I said, “When did the whole world get drunk?” Today, it is made out like if you are a man of the world, you must drink, otherwise, you do not belong to this world.
We are culturing human minds in a completely wrong way. Then how can we expect them to be peaceful and blissful? It will not work. Unless you do the right things, right things will not happen to you. If your body is not at ease simply sitting here, obviously, something is not okay with it, even if you are medically certified as normal. I was surprised to know that according to the medical textbooks in the United States, going to the toilet twice a week is considered normal. According to yogic culture, yogis should go to the toilet twice a day, because excreta should not remain in the system. What should go out must go out at the earliest possible time. First thing when you get up in the morning, it should be done. Twice a week means on an average, you keep it in your body for three days, and you expect your mind to be okay? It will not be okay because your colon and your mind are directly connected.
The colon is at the muladhara, which is the foundation of your energy system. Whatever happens at the muladhara, happens to the whole system, one way or the other – and particularly to your mind. Today’s scientists are arriving at such conclusions because they study the human being under a microscope – piece by piece. Therefore, about every bit, they come to a different conclusion. The whole cannot be perceived from outside – it can only be perceived from within.
Do your sadhana, change your diet to include more natural foods, and you will see in a couple of months’ time, you will sit still.
Magnetism and the Human Body
Q: My question is about magnetism. How do magnets impact the human body, and does magnetism have healing properties? Sadhguru: If you wear a magnet on your body, it may bring some changes in your physiological parameters, but that does not really mean anything. This is too simplistic an approach. Human physiology is far more [...]
Q:My question is about magnetism. How do magnets impact the human body, and does magnetism have healing properties?
Sadhguru:If you wear a magnet on your body, it may bring some changes in your physiological parameters, but that does not really mean anything. This is too simplistic an approach. Human physiology is far more complex than that. Even if you stand next to an electrical transmitter, you can measure changes in your body. Even if you stand next to a tree, there will be measurable changes in your physiological system.
It is quite ridiculous that when the very planet we live on is a magnet, some commercial enterprises are selling little magnets which are supposed to change your life! If you live on a magnet, why do you need another one? This planet is a big enough magnet. And the very body that you carry is a part of this magnet.
Aligning With the Earth
The planet has substantial influence upon the human body. For example, the physiological parameters of your body function in different ways depending on whether you stand up or lie down on the earth. And the direction and impact of the planet’s magnetic forces on your body are the reason why we say you should not sleep with the head to the north (in the northern hemisphere), because that would not be good for you.
There are certain practices through which we could align you to the place you live in. But that only worked well in times when people did not move more than maybe ten miles from where they lived. When people only moved within a small radius around their habitation, their bodies naturally got aligned to that particular place on the planet. If, let’s say, we strongly align you to one place, and then you travel to different places, you would need the necessary knowledge and capability to re-align your body to those places. Otherwise, your body would freak out, one way or the other.
There are ways of getting more involved with the big magnet all of us live on and are made of.
But in a more general sense, there are ways of getting more involved with the big magnet all of us live on and are made of, which would bring much more benefit than wearing small magnets on your wrist. If you have a garden and some privacy, what you could do is, in the morning after you finish your sadhana, dig a hole in your backyard, about two feet deep. Put your feet inside, close the hole up to just above your ankles, and sit there for thirty to forty minutes, simply stuck in the earth.
Your system will align itself very well to the larger magnet, and you will not have to carry magnets anywhere on your body! There are many benefits to this practice. In terms of health you will see that if you attune yourself to the ways of the planet, allergies will vanish. Fundamentally, allergies indicate that something within you is not in rapport with the life-making material of this planet – you are becoming a bit of an alien.
Supernatural!
You may have heard of yogis being buried right up to the neck, as a sadhana. You need not go that far, but being in touch with the earth is very beneficial in terms of health, wellbeing, and certain types of spiritual practices. When people acquire certain capabilities – let’s say they make their bodies like thin air, walk upon water, or do other kinds of things that are considered “supernatural” – in a way, it is all about the ability to align one’s physical existence with the celestial bodies.
Being in touch with the earth is very beneficial in terms of health, wellbeing, and certain types of spiritual practices.
There are nine celestial bodies that play a significant role in making things happen for human beings. Out of these nine, the Earth, Moon, and Sun are the most important ones. If your system is aligned to at least these three, and you are consciously sensitive to the changing relationship of the Earth with the Moon and the Sun on any given day, and you know how to adjust your system, then you will be competent in tantra. This competence and capability arises simply from the alignment with the forces that have shaped your physical body, and that have determined its nature and form.
You could start with burying just the feet, and if it works for you, go up to your neck! Another more cosmetic approach would be having a mud bath. You could try any one of these options, but the feet would be the easiest thing to do.
Editor’s Note:"Body: The Greatest Gadget" e-book is an introduction to the most sophisticated and incredible gadget on the planet. It is a first step on an intriguing and exciting journey that culminates in total mastery of the system.
Use It or Lose It! Keeping The Body Healthy
Sadhguru: There was once a young physician. He had some problems with a diagnosis of a patient, so he went to a senior colleague for advice. The senior colleague said, “Oh! Nerves and vomiting, is it? Hmm…” “Yes,” replied the young man, “but I don’t find any medical reason for him to have nerves and [...]
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
Sadhguru explains that the key to keeping the body healthy is to use it well, and build up our level of activity over a period of time.
Sadhguru:There was once a young physician. He had some problems with a diagnosis of a patient, so he went to a senior colleague for advice. The senior colleague said, “Oh! Nerves and vomiting, is it? Hmm…” “Yes,” replied the young man, “but I don't find any medical reason for him to have nerves and vomiting.” So the senior colleague suggested, “Ask him if he is playing golf. If he does play, tell him to stop. If he says he doesn’t, ask him to play. He'll become ok!” Health is like that!
You can keep this body well only by using it. The more you use it the better it gets.
Some people are over-worked and have ill-health. But most people are under-worked and have ill-health. If you had lived 200 years ago, you would be doing at least 20 times more physical activity than what you are doing right now. You would have walked everywhere and would have done everything with your hands. If you were doing that much activity, I would have told you to take a break and get some rest. But for most people today, the body has not been used enough. In terms of physical activity, many 20-year-olds would not be able to do what a 60-year-old was doing 100 years ago. That means we are just weakening humanity. You can keep this body well only by using it. The more you use it the better it gets.
Walk-Kings!
Many years ago, I took a bunch of people and went trekking in the Western Ghats. These are areas in the Hassan-Mangalore segment that I had trekked extensively, so I know the beauty and charm of these places. They are absolutely magical – full of wildlife and thick vegetation. A few weeks before that, a naval helicopter going to Bangalore had crashed in the area somewhere in the forest. The search teams did all kinds of aerial stuff but couldn’t find it. Then they brought in a battalion of over 200 army personnel who began combing the forest, and they could not locate the helicopter even after a few weeks. That’s how thick the vegetation is!
One of the simplest things about health is just to use the body. If you use the body sufficiently, it has everything to create health for itself.
There were about 35-40 of us walking through this area. We were having problems cooking and everything because it was pouring rain and we had walked for a whole day. Then we walked into this army camp and made ourselves uninvited guests because the food smelt good! You really know the value of food only when you have used your body like that. We walked in and the commanding officer was very generous – he welcomed us and was very happy to have us join them.
One of the sergeants of the battalion asked us why we were walking, and when we said we were doing it because we wanted to, he couldn't believe it. “Just like that?” he asked. “We are here for so many weeks just waiting when this damn thing will be over. Every day we have to walk 20-30 kilometers searching for this damn helicopter which we can't find and you are just walking for fun?!” He just wouldn't believe us, “Is it possible that somebody could just walk for fun? With all the blisters in your legs and everything!” He didn't understand that what he was doing as a forced exercise was keeping him so healthy and well.
Allow Life to Function Fully
One of the simplest things about health is just to use the body. If you use the body sufficiently, it has everything to create health for itself. I would say, if we physically used our bodies as much as we should, 80% of the ailments on this planet would just disappear. Of the remaining 20%, another 10% is because of the type of foods people are eating. If you change that, another 10% would disappear. That means only 10% of the ailments would remain. That has happened because of a variety of reasons. One is karmic, another could be atmospheric and there are other aspects that could have happened in the system, which can be looked at. Out of all the sick people, if 90% of them become healthy just by using the body and eating the right food, 10% could be easily handled. But now, the volume of ailment is so big because we don't eat properly or we eat very properly and we don't use the body properly.
You just have to use your body, your head and your energies. If these three things are well-exercised and balanced, you will be healthy.
People are acting as if health is our idea and we created health. Health is not something that you invent. It is not your idea. When the life process is happening well, that's health. If you allow life to function fully, it is healthy.
So you just have to use your body, your head and your energies. If these three things are well-exercised and balanced, you will be healthy. This happened to me once. This was way back during the second or third Bhava Spandana program. I was conducting it in one of those little places where I had to run up and down the staircase any number of times because the arrangement was like that. I just counted on one particular day when I was conducting the program and I had to manage the kitchen too, I went up and down the staircase 125 times, and I felt very healthy at the end of the program.
A sudden burst of activity may lay you down, but if you build activity – physical, mental and energy – into your life, health will come. Your body is working well, your mind is working well and your energy is supporting the two making sure nothing goes wrong – that’s health. Life is happening in full flow, that's health.
Editor’s Note:If you’re looking for tips on how food and health connect, try out our very popular ebooklet Food Body. Pay what you want and download it. (Set 0 for free).
3 Fundamentals For Good Health
To create health for yourself, there are three fundamentals you need to take care of – food, activity, and rest.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
To create health for yourself, there are three fundamentals you need to take care of – food, activity, and rest.
#1 Eating Right
Sadhguru:When it comes to food, one of the most important aspects that you must be conscious of is how quickly a certain type of food digests and becomes a part of yourself. If you eat something and it does not digest within three hours, it means you have eaten food that should either be avoided or reduced in quantity. If the food moves out of your stomach within three hours, it means that even if it is not the best food, it is still something your system is able to handle.
If you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues.
If you maintain a clear gap of five to six hours between one meal and the other without having anything in between, cleansing will happen on the cellular level. This cleansing on the cellular level is most important for a healthful life. If you are over 30 years of age, two good meals a day will suffice – one in the morning and one in the evening. There must be three hours after the evening meal, before you go to bed. If this includes at least 20 to 30 minutes of light physical activity – such as simple walking – your system will largely be healthy. If you go to bed with food still inside the stomach, it generates a certain level of inertia in the system. Physiologically, this inertia is like an acceleration towards death. Death is ultimate inertia. Another dimension is that if you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues. For that reason too, it is very important that before you go to bed, the food you have eaten has moved out of the stomach. As you sleep in different postures, the stomach should not put pressure on other organs at any point.
#2 Use Your Body
When it comes to activity, one simple thing that we need to consider is that our body is capable of bending forward, bending backward, and twisting to both sides. This much activity must happen in some kind of form. Classical hatha Yoga is the best way to do it, and a scientific one. If classical hatha Yoga is not yet part of your life, you must somehow make sure that every day, you bend forward, backward, twist to both sides, and squat so that the spinal column is stretched. This is a must for everybody on a daily basis if you want to keep the entire system healthy – particularly the neurological system, which will otherwise be an issue as one ages.
#3 Get enough rest… but not too much!
The volume of rest that an individual person needs is determined by various factors. One important factor is the type and the volume of food that you consume. You must experiment with different types of foods and see which ones make you feel heavy, and which ones leave you light and agile. If you make sure that at least 40% of your diet consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, there will be lightness in the body. What the body needs is restfulness, not necessarily sleep. It is a misunderstanding to think that sleep is the only way to rest. Even as you sit or stand, you can either be in a state of restfulness, in a state of agitation, or in a state of inertia. If you are in a lively state of restfulness, every moment of your life, the volume of sleep you require will decrease.
The Five Sheaths of the Body
In Yoga, we look at the human system as five sheaths or layers. Every aspect of the human system, including the mind, is seen as body, and Yoga is a technology to transform it. These five layers of the body are called Annamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Vignanamaya Kosha, and Anandamaya Kosha. Anna means food. Your physical body or Annamaya Kosha is basically the food that you have eaten – small or big is your choice, but it is a heap of food nonetheless. As there is a physical body that you have gathered from outside, there is a mental body. The mind is not in one particular part of the body – every cell in the body has its own memory and intelligence. This mental body is known as Manomaya Kosha. The physical body is the hardware – the mental body is the software.
If you bring the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body into proper alignment and balance, you will not have any physical or psychological ailments.
Hardware and software cannot do much unless you plug them into quality power. The third layer of the body is called Pranamaya Kosha or energy body. Physical body, mental body, and energy body are all in the realm of physicality, but on different levels of subtlety. To use an analogy – you can clearly see that a light bulb is physical. But the light it diffuses is also physical. And the electricity behind it is physical as well. Light bulb, light, and electricity: all are physical but differ in subtlety. Similarly, the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body are all physical but differ in subtlety. The next layer of the body is a transitory body that is known as Vignanamaya Kosha. It facilitates the transition from the physical to the non-physical. It does not ascribe to any of the physical qualities, but at the same time, it is not yet completely nonphysical either. The fifth layer is called Anandamaya Kosha, which in English translates as “bliss body”. This does not mean there is a bubble of bliss in you. We call it bliss body because in our experience, whenever we touch it, we become blissful. Bliss is not its nature, bliss is what it causes for us. Anandamaya Kosha is a nonphysical dimension which is the source of everything that is physical. If you bring the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body into proper alignment and balance, you will not have any physical or psychological ailments. I could show you hundreds and thousands of people who have come out of their health issues – particularly chronic ailments and psychological problems – simply by creating the necessary alignment within themselves. It is misalignment that causes all kinds of problems. When the body is at ease, there is no disease. Only if you bring the first three layers of the body into alignment, there will be a passage and a possibility of touching Anandamaya Kosha, where blissfulness becomes a natural state of being. Not blissful about something in particular – simply blissful because that is the nature of life.
Editor's Note:
In a world of hectic lifestyles, desk-jobs and pollution, health seems a faraway thing. In this video, Sadhguru gives us the unique yogic perspective on health. By paying attention to a few simple fundamentals, you can ensure good health for yourself.
Editor’s Note:
A version of this article was originally published in Isha Forest Flower August 2015. Download as PDF on a “name your price, no minimum” basis or subscribe to the print version.
Exploring How the Body and Mind Work
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. Whenever I try to stop any negative emotion like anger, it only becomes stronger. How can I get a grip on how my mind works? Sadhguru: If you try to stop what you don’t want, only that will happen. This has always been the nature of your mind and the human mind […]
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
Sadhguru answers a question on getting a grip on the mind, and looks at how asanas are a process of exploring how the body and mind work.
Questioner:
Namaskaram, Sadhguru. Whenever I try to stop any negative emotion like anger, it only becomes stronger. How can I get a grip on how my mind works?
Sadhguru:
If you try to stop what you don’t want, only that will happen. This has always been the nature of your mind and the human mind as such. The whole system of yoga is about experientially exploring the nature of your body and your mind. When you get up in the morning and do your asanas, it is not because it is a stretching exercise, as a whole lot of idiots across the planet describe it. Yes, you have to stretch to do it, but fundamentally, it is an exploration of your body and your mind. Because the biggest problem in your life is, you are trying to live here without having a grasp of the two basic vehicles without which you cannot go through this life – the physical body and the mind. How comfortably you travel through life depends on how deeply you have grasped your body and your mind. For the journey to be comfortable, the vehicle has to be good, and you must understand the vehicle – how it behaves, what it does, and why it does what it does. This is not enlightenment – this is necessary even if you only want to live an ignorant life. They used to say, “Ignorance is bliss” – if that was true, the world should be blissed out by now. Even if you have chosen to be ignorant because you think it is blissful, to walk through this world, you must have a grasp of this body and this mind. Otherwise, doing anything is a problem. I will not go into this further intellectually, because then you would get all wound up. That is why the yogic system is an experiential exploration without trying to go into it intellectually.
Asanas – Exploring how the body and mind work
When you do your asanas, you explore the nature of your body and your mind. If you move your fingers in a certain way, your mind will function accordingly. Everything that you do with your body does something with your mind. You will not come to this understanding by reading a book. It will come to you only by exploration. If you close your eyes and try to forcefully remove something from your mind, you will never be successful. This is the most basic and at the same time the most important realization that everyone needs to come to. Without this realization, you will make a complete mess out of yourself. If you are not so sharp in your head, it will be okay. But if you are sharp, you will cut yourself all over, and before anyone can save you, you will be mutilated. Every day, such mutilated human beings come to me and say, “Sadhguru, I’m interested in enlightenment.” First fix the wounds, or at least stop causing further wounds, because you have a very sharp knife. Even to shave themselves, a whole lot of men cut their faces. I have seen people bleeding in the face because they want to cut themselves close and it gets closer than planned. Understanding the fundamentals, grasping as to how your mind functions, does not come from an intellectual analysis – it is an exploration. What you need to do is, hold your body in one posture, and see your mind functions in a certain way. Hold your body in another posture, and see your mind functions in a different way.
When you do your asanas, you explore the nature of your body and your mind.
If you stay in an asana and breathe properly, as you go through this process, the mind will go into various states. This exploration is the most fundamental aspect of yoga. Hatha Yoga is not the peak – it is preparatory. If you try to go to the peak without that preparatory step, you will probably crash. At least 80% of humanity will not be able to do any kind of meditation in their life unless they do some kind of physical preparation. The very way they sit, the very way they move their body, it is clear that they cannot meditate, no matter how hard they try. Some amount of physical preparation is needed, because body and mind are not two separate things – or is your brain outside your body? What happens to your little finger happens to the brain. What happens to the brain happens to the little finger. It works both ways. The brain is not a separate entity by itself. Doctors have learned about the body by dissecting dead bodies – if you open a dead body and cut out different organs and keep them in different places, it is all separate. But that is not how your body is – it is all one. Only to a discriminating scalpel it is separate, but for a living human being, it is all one. That is why the yogic system is designed the way it is. As an experiment, try to resist the things that you want. You will see they will manifest strongly within you. If you want something to happen, try to not make it happen. It will definitely happen. That is because you are in a state where when you want to put your mind in first gear, it goes into reverse gear. This is not the best way to do things, but you could try this to understand that this is how it is right now – if you resist something, only that will happen.
Doing your sadhana – It works!
From tomorrow, get up at five o’ clock in the morning, have a cold shower, and start your sadhana at 5:30, every day. After some time, so many things which were a problem in your mind will be gone. Just do your hatha yoga for an hour a day – it works. But if you want to understand how it works, what the mechanism and the process are, it takes a lot of effort and time. To make it work does not take much. But if you want to know the whole intricacy of what makes it happen, why it happens the way it happens, why a particular asana has a particular effect, then it is lifetimes of study. Those who want to benefit from the technology should simply learn to use it. For those who want to know the basis and the science behind the technology, it is lifetimes of work. It took me three lifetimes to understand how it works. I am assuming you are smarter than me because you have come to me, and after all the things I do – no sweetness, no promise of heaven, no miracles, not even a pleasant word, no hug – you are still here. So, assuming you are smart, it is a lifetime of work.
Editor’s Note:
"Body – The Greatest Gadget” includes more of Sadhguru’s insights into the mechanism and construction of the human body. The ebook can be purchased at Isha Downloads. This article is based on an excerpt from the December 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Pay what you want and download. (set ‘0’ for free). Print subscriptions are also available.
The Key To Health is Within
Dr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo Hospitals Group, asks Sadhguru if there is a key to good health. Prathap Reddy: I have seen some of the impossible things you’ve done for people when they weren’t well. Is there something else to staying well beyond doctors and medicine? Sadhguru: If we look at our body, we [...]
Dr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo Hospitals Group, asks Sadhguru if there is a key to good health.
Prathap Reddy:I have seen some of the impossible things you’ve done for people when they weren’t well. Is there something else to staying well beyond doctors and medicine?
Sadhguru:If we look at our body, we were not born the way we are right now. In your mother’s womb you started as two cells, then you came out as a baby and now you have become so big. How did all this happen? Whatever is the fundamental force that is creating this body – the basis of creation, which you refer to as the Creator – is functioning within the body every moment. The manufacturer of this body is inside. If you have a repair job to be done, would you like to go to the manufacturer or the local mechanic? If you had access, you would go to the manufacturer. If you’ve lost access, you go to the local tinker. I am not trying to belittle medical science, but if you had access to the source of that which creates this body, definitely every problem that you generate within the body could be handled.
If people are willing to do a certain amount of sadhana to balance and activate their energy body, they can definitely be free of all chronic ailments.
There are two kinds of ailments: infectious and chronic. Infectious ailments happen because of an external invasion. You must go to the doctor. Don’t meditate on it! But 70% of ailments on the planet are self-created. Why I say self-created is because it happened from within you.
This body is essentially programmed for health. So why would it turn against you? Because somewhere, you are not keeping it happy. You must pay a little more attention. There is a systematic way of paying attention to this, because everything in this body was created from within. When that is so, you can also easily fix it from within.
For the things you create from within, running to the doctor is of no use. The medical profession can only help you manage chronic ailments, they can never rid you of them. When you are creating it, how can they rid you of it? Every day, they will put more chemicals into you but every day you will doggedly create more disease within yourself. Unless you change that basic pattern, health will not happen.
When it comes to a chronic ailment, the root cause for it is always on the energy level. As you have a physical body, you also have an energy body or Pranamayakosha. This is the energy infrastructure over which the physical substance comes together as a human body. If your energy body is disturbed – whether because of the atmospheres you live in, the food you eat, the relationships you hold or because of your emotions, attitudes, thoughts and opinions – this naturally manifests physiologically and psychologically.
The basic premise in yoga is that if your energy body is in full flow and properly balanced, there can be no chronic disease. If people are willing to do a certain amount of sadhana to balance and activate their energy body, they can definitely be free of all chronic ailments. Yoga is a means to build a pathway to the manufacturer so that health is not your business, it is his business.
Editor's Note:In a world of hectic lifestyles, desk-jobs and pollution, health seems a faraway thing. In this video, Sadhguru gives us the unique yogic perspective on health. By paying attention to a few simple fundamentals, you can ensure good health for yourself.
Living Healthy and Well
Sadhguru explains how a person can be truly healthy in every aspect of life, not just free from disease. Sadhguru: The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. [...]
Sadhguru explains how a person can be truly healthy in every aspect of life, not just free from disease.
Sadhguru: The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. A large number of people in the world, including many who considered medically healthy, are unhealthy. They may not need any medication but their system does not know any wholesomeness. There is no sense of peace or joy in them. You think you are unhealthy only when you get depressed beyond a certain point, but you are unhealthy if you are not bubbling with joy. There is no wholesomeness in terms of the internal composition of who you are.
This has happened because you never paid any attention to it. This whole attitude of trying to fix everything from the outside has to go. No doctor or medicine can ever give you health. They can assist you when you have fallen into ill health and help you out of it a little bit, but health has to happen within yourself.
If health has to come from within, we definitely have to do some inner engineering.
Health is not just a physical aspect. Today modern medicine says that man is psychosomatic. What happens in the mind naturally happens in the body. What happens in the body in turn happens in the mind. So the way we are living here, our attitude, our emotion, the basic mental state, the level of activity we are going through, how streamlined our minds are, all these are very much a part of your health.
If health has to come from within, we definitely have to do some inner engineering. We definitely have to create an atmosphere where our body, mind, emotion & energy are in good harmony.
If people invest about twenty-five to thirty minutes a day in the morning towards their inner wellbeing, towards certain simple processes with which they can engineer their body and mind to experience full health and wellbeing, then every human being is capable of living healthy and well.
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Today, modern science is proving to you beyond any doubt that your ideas of time and space are very illusory. Time and space are both stretchable; you can alter them whichever way you want. You can make what is 1000 light years away right here. You can make what is 10,000 years ago or what will be 10,000 years later right now; because here and now is all there is. I am not talking mysticism. According to modern science, time and space is a big illusion. You can make whatever you want out of it. In fact, today, a certain segment of scientists are beginning to argue, there is no such thing as time, there is no such thing as space. They are right. It is from this understanding that we said your spine is Merudanda; it is the axis of the universe. Or at least, it can be if you reverberate in a certain way.
You know very well that you gathered this body – it is just an accumulation of food. How can you call what you gather as “myself?”
This body is an instrument. Are you going to use it just to gather food and things for yourself? Are you going to use it to perform feats? Or are you going to use it in the highest possible way? If you want to use it like an instrument, the first and foremost thing is you have to dis-identify yourself from this body. You know very well that you gathered this body – it is just an accumulation of food. How can you call what you gather as “myself?” What you gather can be yours for a certain period of time but it cannot be you.
A Miraculous Instrument
The human body is such a miraculous instrument. If you want to explore this in one lifetime, it will take a lot. But one way or the other, people’s entanglement with the body is so deep that they cannot treat the body as an instrument. Their attachment and identification with the body are so deep that they continue to see this as “myself”. The moment you see this body as “me”, there is a whole lot of emotion attached to it. Then we cannot use it as an instrument.
You can either make this body into a Shava or a Shiva. Shava means a corpse. Shiva means the Ultimate. It depends on what you do with it.
The whole process of Bhuta Shuddhi in yoga is just towards this – to become free from the five elements. If you create distance between you and the five elements effectively, then you have a clear space between you and the body.
Once you create a distance between you and the body, you will have the joy of knowing what kind of a machine has been handed over to you. It has all the ingredients of bondage and freedom within it. You can make this divine – you can move your energy system in such a way that the body becomes a deity. Or you can be like a corpse. We say, you can either make this body into a Shava or a Shiva. Shava means a corpse. Shiva means the Ultimate. It depends on what you do with it. It can function in ways you have never believed a human being could function.
Editor’s Note: "Body: The Greatest Gadget" is an introduction to the most sophisticated and incredible gadget on the planet. It is a first step on an intriguing and exciting journey that culminates in total mastery of the system, allowing us to stay rooted in the physical, and yet taste the beyond. Download now.
Sitting Still – Settling the Mind and Body
Questioner: Sadhguru, I wish I could simply sit for long hours, but I am just not able to keep my body still. How can I overcome this limitation? Sadhguru: To sit still, definitely your body needs to be conditioned – hatha yoga is towards that. But even if your body is in a good condition, [...]
Questioner: Sadhguru, I wish I could simply sit for long hours, but I am just not able to keep my body still. How can I overcome this limitation?
Sadhguru: To sit still, definitely your body needs to be conditioned – hatha yoga is towards that. But even if your body is in a good condition, you still will not be able to sit still, unless you settle some other aspects.
There are eight limbs of yoga – yama and niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. They are not steps – they are limbs. If you had eight limbs, which one to move first is your choice, according to your need. Is there a rule which limb to move first? Since you are from India – do not think you must always put your right leg first. There are certain aspects of life where putting your right leg first is better, and there are other aspects where putting your left leg first is better. Which leg to move first depends on the activity. Similarly, which limb of yoga to use first depends on where you are.
If you want to sit still, just working on your body is not good enough – you have to work upon your mind too.
For a long time in the history of humanity, the body was the strongest aspect and the biggest hurdle. Therefore, people were put through hatha yoga first. A few hundred years ago, only 5-10% of people had mental problems. Others only had physical problems. Even today, in the villages, most people only have physical problems, not mental problems. But generally, in the last few generations, people have had more mental problems than physical problems, because they use their mind more than they use their body. This is a big shift for humanity. Until 100 or 200 years ago, human beings used their body much more than their mind.
Since I am a contemporary mystic, I am looking at people who are here now. As their problems are more mental than physical, we generally start off with kriyas and meditation, which mainly work on the level of energies and mind, and only then go into hatha yoga.
If you want to sit still, just working on your body is not good enough – you have to work upon your mind too. Particularly for this generation, focusing on settling the whole system – mind, emotions, body, and energy – is important. It is a wrong perception that people of today are more brilliant than people of the past. It is just that people’s minds are more out of control today because of haphazard use.
The way our education system is structured, it will invariably lead to disturbed minds. A child is going from reading poetry to mathematics – both are connected, but there is no one to make the connection. From mathematics, they go to music – both are connected, but there is no one to make the connection. From music, they go to chemistry – they are connected, but there is no one to make the connection, because the music department and the chemistry department do not get along.
Everything is taught in disjointed ways because after all, no one is studying with a passion to know. Everyone is studying to pass the examination and get a job. This is a very destructive way of educating yourself and a pathetic way to live. But no matter how senseless it is, the majority of people in the world have chosen to live like that.
Recently, I was at a very high profile evening event, where alcohol was being served in a corner. The host said, “Sadhguru is here, let’s not have alcohol served.” But some people could not keep their hands off it. There was a minister who came and said, “I’m sure Sadhguru is a man of the world – he won’t mind.” I said, “When did the whole world get drunk?” Today, it is made out like if you are a man of the world, you must drink, otherwise, you do not belong to this world.
We are culturing human minds in a completely wrong way. Then how can we expect them to be peaceful and blissful? It will not work. Unless you do the right things, right things will not happen to you. If your body is not at ease simply sitting here, obviously, something is not okay with it, even if you are medically certified as normal. I was surprised to know that according to the medical textbooks in the United States, going to the toilet twice a week is considered normal. According to yogic culture, yogis should go to the toilet twice a day, because excreta should not remain in the system. What should go out must go out at the earliest possible time. First thing when you get up in the morning, it should be done. Twice a week means on an average, you keep it in your body for three days, and you expect your mind to be okay? It will not be okay because your colon and your mind are directly connected.
The colon is at the muladhara, which is the foundation of your energy system. Whatever happens at the muladhara, happens to the whole system, one way or the other – and particularly to your mind. Today’s scientists are arriving at such conclusions because they study the human being under a microscope – piece by piece. Therefore, about every bit, they come to a different conclusion. The whole cannot be perceived from outside – it can only be perceived from within.
Do your sadhana, change your diet to include more natural foods, and you will see in a couple of months’ time, you will sit still.
Magnetism and the Human Body
Q: My question is about magnetism. How do magnets impact the human body, and does magnetism have healing properties? Sadhguru: If you wear a magnet on your body, it may bring some changes in your physiological parameters, but that does not really mean anything. This is too simplistic an approach. Human physiology is far more [...]
Q:My question is about magnetism. How do magnets impact the human body, and does magnetism have healing properties?
Sadhguru:If you wear a magnet on your body, it may bring some changes in your physiological parameters, but that does not really mean anything. This is too simplistic an approach. Human physiology is far more complex than that. Even if you stand next to an electrical transmitter, you can measure changes in your body. Even if you stand next to a tree, there will be measurable changes in your physiological system.
It is quite ridiculous that when the very planet we live on is a magnet, some commercial enterprises are selling little magnets which are supposed to change your life! If you live on a magnet, why do you need another one? This planet is a big enough magnet. And the very body that you carry is a part of this magnet.
Aligning With the Earth
The planet has substantial influence upon the human body. For example, the physiological parameters of your body function in different ways depending on whether you stand up or lie down on the earth. And the direction and impact of the planet’s magnetic forces on your body are the reason why we say you should not sleep with the head to the north (in the northern hemisphere), because that would not be good for you.
There are certain practices through which we could align you to the place you live in. But that only worked well in times when people did not move more than maybe ten miles from where they lived. When people only moved within a small radius around their habitation, their bodies naturally got aligned to that particular place on the planet. If, let’s say, we strongly align you to one place, and then you travel to different places, you would need the necessary knowledge and capability to re-align your body to those places. Otherwise, your body would freak out, one way or the other.
There are ways of getting more involved with the big magnet all of us live on and are made of.
But in a more general sense, there are ways of getting more involved with the big magnet all of us live on and are made of, which would bring much more benefit than wearing small magnets on your wrist. If you have a garden and some privacy, what you could do is, in the morning after you finish your sadhana, dig a hole in your backyard, about two feet deep. Put your feet inside, close the hole up to just above your ankles, and sit there for thirty to forty minutes, simply stuck in the earth.
Your system will align itself very well to the larger magnet, and you will not have to carry magnets anywhere on your body! There are many benefits to this practice. In terms of health you will see that if you attune yourself to the ways of the planet, allergies will vanish. Fundamentally, allergies indicate that something within you is not in rapport with the life-making material of this planet – you are becoming a bit of an alien.
Supernatural!
You may have heard of yogis being buried right up to the neck, as a sadhana. You need not go that far, but being in touch with the earth is very beneficial in terms of health, wellbeing, and certain types of spiritual practices. When people acquire certain capabilities – let’s say they make their bodies like thin air, walk upon water, or do other kinds of things that are considered “supernatural” – in a way, it is all about the ability to align one’s physical existence with the celestial bodies.
Being in touch with the earth is very beneficial in terms of health, wellbeing, and certain types of spiritual practices.
There are nine celestial bodies that play a significant role in making things happen for human beings. Out of these nine, the Earth, Moon, and Sun are the most important ones. If your system is aligned to at least these three, and you are consciously sensitive to the changing relationship of the Earth with the Moon and the Sun on any given day, and you know how to adjust your system, then you will be competent in tantra. This competence and capability arises simply from the alignment with the forces that have shaped your physical body, and that have determined its nature and form.
You could start with burying just the feet, and if it works for you, go up to your neck! Another more cosmetic approach would be having a mud bath. You could try any one of these options, but the feet would be the easiest thing to do.
Editor’s Note:"Body: The Greatest Gadget" e-book is an introduction to the most sophisticated and incredible gadget on the planet. It is a first step on an intriguing and exciting journey that culminates in total mastery of the system.
Use It or Lose It! Keeping The Body Healthy
Sadhguru: There was once a young physician. He had some problems with a diagnosis of a patient, so he went to a senior colleague for advice. The senior colleague said, “Oh! Nerves and vomiting, is it? Hmm…” “Yes,” replied the young man, “but I don’t find any medical reason for him to have nerves and [...]
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
Sadhguru explains that the key to keeping the body healthy is to use it well, and build up our level of activity over a period of time.
Sadhguru:There was once a young physician. He had some problems with a diagnosis of a patient, so he went to a senior colleague for advice. The senior colleague said, “Oh! Nerves and vomiting, is it? Hmm…” “Yes,” replied the young man, “but I don't find any medical reason for him to have nerves and vomiting.” So the senior colleague suggested, “Ask him if he is playing golf. If he does play, tell him to stop. If he says he doesn’t, ask him to play. He'll become ok!” Health is like that!
You can keep this body well only by using it. The more you use it the better it gets.
Some people are over-worked and have ill-health. But most people are under-worked and have ill-health. If you had lived 200 years ago, you would be doing at least 20 times more physical activity than what you are doing right now. You would have walked everywhere and would have done everything with your hands. If you were doing that much activity, I would have told you to take a break and get some rest. But for most people today, the body has not been used enough. In terms of physical activity, many 20-year-olds would not be able to do what a 60-year-old was doing 100 years ago. That means we are just weakening humanity. You can keep this body well only by using it. The more you use it the better it gets.
Walk-Kings!
Many years ago, I took a bunch of people and went trekking in the Western Ghats. These are areas in the Hassan-Mangalore segment that I had trekked extensively, so I know the beauty and charm of these places. They are absolutely magical – full of wildlife and thick vegetation. A few weeks before that, a naval helicopter going to Bangalore had crashed in the area somewhere in the forest. The search teams did all kinds of aerial stuff but couldn’t find it. Then they brought in a battalion of over 200 army personnel who began combing the forest, and they could not locate the helicopter even after a few weeks. That’s how thick the vegetation is!
One of the simplest things about health is just to use the body. If you use the body sufficiently, it has everything to create health for itself.
There were about 35-40 of us walking through this area. We were having problems cooking and everything because it was pouring rain and we had walked for a whole day. Then we walked into this army camp and made ourselves uninvited guests because the food smelt good! You really know the value of food only when you have used your body like that. We walked in and the commanding officer was very generous – he welcomed us and was very happy to have us join them.
One of the sergeants of the battalion asked us why we were walking, and when we said we were doing it because we wanted to, he couldn't believe it. “Just like that?” he asked. “We are here for so many weeks just waiting when this damn thing will be over. Every day we have to walk 20-30 kilometers searching for this damn helicopter which we can't find and you are just walking for fun?!” He just wouldn't believe us, “Is it possible that somebody could just walk for fun? With all the blisters in your legs and everything!” He didn't understand that what he was doing as a forced exercise was keeping him so healthy and well.
Allow Life to Function Fully
One of the simplest things about health is just to use the body. If you use the body sufficiently, it has everything to create health for itself. I would say, if we physically used our bodies as much as we should, 80% of the ailments on this planet would just disappear. Of the remaining 20%, another 10% is because of the type of foods people are eating. If you change that, another 10% would disappear. That means only 10% of the ailments would remain. That has happened because of a variety of reasons. One is karmic, another could be atmospheric and there are other aspects that could have happened in the system, which can be looked at. Out of all the sick people, if 90% of them become healthy just by using the body and eating the right food, 10% could be easily handled. But now, the volume of ailment is so big because we don't eat properly or we eat very properly and we don't use the body properly.
You just have to use your body, your head and your energies. If these three things are well-exercised and balanced, you will be healthy.
People are acting as if health is our idea and we created health. Health is not something that you invent. It is not your idea. When the life process is happening well, that's health. If you allow life to function fully, it is healthy.
So you just have to use your body, your head and your energies. If these three things are well-exercised and balanced, you will be healthy. This happened to me once. This was way back during the second or third Bhava Spandana program. I was conducting it in one of those little places where I had to run up and down the staircase any number of times because the arrangement was like that. I just counted on one particular day when I was conducting the program and I had to manage the kitchen too, I went up and down the staircase 125 times, and I felt very healthy at the end of the program.
A sudden burst of activity may lay you down, but if you build activity – physical, mental and energy – into your life, health will come. Your body is working well, your mind is working well and your energy is supporting the two making sure nothing goes wrong – that’s health. Life is happening in full flow, that's health.
Editor’s Note:If you’re looking for tips on how food and health connect, try out our very popular ebooklet Food Body. Pay what you want and download it. (Set 0 for free).
3 Fundamentals For Good Health
To create health for yourself, there are three fundamentals you need to take care of – food, activity, and rest.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
To create health for yourself, there are three fundamentals you need to take care of – food, activity, and rest.
#1 Eating Right
Sadhguru:When it comes to food, one of the most important aspects that you must be conscious of is how quickly a certain type of food digests and becomes a part of yourself. If you eat something and it does not digest within three hours, it means you have eaten food that should either be avoided or reduced in quantity. If the food moves out of your stomach within three hours, it means that even if it is not the best food, it is still something your system is able to handle.
If you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues.
If you maintain a clear gap of five to six hours between one meal and the other without having anything in between, cleansing will happen on the cellular level. This cleansing on the cellular level is most important for a healthful life. If you are over 30 years of age, two good meals a day will suffice – one in the morning and one in the evening. There must be three hours after the evening meal, before you go to bed. If this includes at least 20 to 30 minutes of light physical activity – such as simple walking – your system will largely be healthy. If you go to bed with food still inside the stomach, it generates a certain level of inertia in the system. Physiologically, this inertia is like an acceleration towards death. Death is ultimate inertia. Another dimension is that if you go to bed with a full stomach, it puts pressure on other organs in the abdomen. This will also lead to various kinds of health issues. For that reason too, it is very important that before you go to bed, the food you have eaten has moved out of the stomach. As you sleep in different postures, the stomach should not put pressure on other organs at any point.
#2 Use Your Body
When it comes to activity, one simple thing that we need to consider is that our body is capable of bending forward, bending backward, and twisting to both sides. This much activity must happen in some kind of form. Classical hatha Yoga is the best way to do it, and a scientific one. If classical hatha Yoga is not yet part of your life, you must somehow make sure that every day, you bend forward, backward, twist to both sides, and squat so that the spinal column is stretched. This is a must for everybody on a daily basis if you want to keep the entire system healthy – particularly the neurological system, which will otherwise be an issue as one ages.
#3 Get enough rest… but not too much!
The volume of rest that an individual person needs is determined by various factors. One important factor is the type and the volume of food that you consume. You must experiment with different types of foods and see which ones make you feel heavy, and which ones leave you light and agile. If you make sure that at least 40% of your diet consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, there will be lightness in the body. What the body needs is restfulness, not necessarily sleep. It is a misunderstanding to think that sleep is the only way to rest. Even as you sit or stand, you can either be in a state of restfulness, in a state of agitation, or in a state of inertia. If you are in a lively state of restfulness, every moment of your life, the volume of sleep you require will decrease.
The Five Sheaths of the Body
In Yoga, we look at the human system as five sheaths or layers. Every aspect of the human system, including the mind, is seen as body, and Yoga is a technology to transform it. These five layers of the body are called Annamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Vignanamaya Kosha, and Anandamaya Kosha. Anna means food. Your physical body or Annamaya Kosha is basically the food that you have eaten – small or big is your choice, but it is a heap of food nonetheless. As there is a physical body that you have gathered from outside, there is a mental body. The mind is not in one particular part of the body – every cell in the body has its own memory and intelligence. This mental body is known as Manomaya Kosha. The physical body is the hardware – the mental body is the software.
If you bring the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body into proper alignment and balance, you will not have any physical or psychological ailments.
Hardware and software cannot do much unless you plug them into quality power. The third layer of the body is called Pranamaya Kosha or energy body. Physical body, mental body, and energy body are all in the realm of physicality, but on different levels of subtlety. To use an analogy – you can clearly see that a light bulb is physical. But the light it diffuses is also physical. And the electricity behind it is physical as well. Light bulb, light, and electricity: all are physical but differ in subtlety. Similarly, the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body are all physical but differ in subtlety. The next layer of the body is a transitory body that is known as Vignanamaya Kosha. It facilitates the transition from the physical to the non-physical. It does not ascribe to any of the physical qualities, but at the same time, it is not yet completely nonphysical either. The fifth layer is called Anandamaya Kosha, which in English translates as “bliss body”. This does not mean there is a bubble of bliss in you. We call it bliss body because in our experience, whenever we touch it, we become blissful. Bliss is not its nature, bliss is what it causes for us. Anandamaya Kosha is a nonphysical dimension which is the source of everything that is physical. If you bring the physical body, the mental body, and the energy body into proper alignment and balance, you will not have any physical or psychological ailments. I could show you hundreds and thousands of people who have come out of their health issues – particularly chronic ailments and psychological problems – simply by creating the necessary alignment within themselves. It is misalignment that causes all kinds of problems. When the body is at ease, there is no disease. Only if you bring the first three layers of the body into alignment, there will be a passage and a possibility of touching Anandamaya Kosha, where blissfulness becomes a natural state of being. Not blissful about something in particular – simply blissful because that is the nature of life.
Editor's Note:
In a world of hectic lifestyles, desk-jobs and pollution, health seems a faraway thing. In this video, Sadhguru gives us the unique yogic perspective on health. By paying attention to a few simple fundamentals, you can ensure good health for yourself.
Editor’s Note:
A version of this article was originally published in Isha Forest Flower August 2015. Download as PDF on a “name your price, no minimum” basis or subscribe to the print version.
Exploring How the Body and Mind Work
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. Whenever I try to stop any negative emotion like anger, it only becomes stronger. How can I get a grip on how my mind works? Sadhguru: If you try to stop what you don’t want, only that will happen. This has always been the nature of your mind and the human mind […]
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
Sadhguru answers a question on getting a grip on the mind, and looks at how asanas are a process of exploring how the body and mind work.
Questioner:
Namaskaram, Sadhguru. Whenever I try to stop any negative emotion like anger, it only becomes stronger. How can I get a grip on how my mind works?
Sadhguru:
If you try to stop what you don’t want, only that will happen. This has always been the nature of your mind and the human mind as such. The whole system of yoga is about experientially exploring the nature of your body and your mind. When you get up in the morning and do your asanas, it is not because it is a stretching exercise, as a whole lot of idiots across the planet describe it. Yes, you have to stretch to do it, but fundamentally, it is an exploration of your body and your mind. Because the biggest problem in your life is, you are trying to live here without having a grasp of the two basic vehicles without which you cannot go through this life – the physical body and the mind. How comfortably you travel through life depends on how deeply you have grasped your body and your mind. For the journey to be comfortable, the vehicle has to be good, and you must understand the vehicle – how it behaves, what it does, and why it does what it does. This is not enlightenment – this is necessary even if you only want to live an ignorant life. They used to say, “Ignorance is bliss” – if that was true, the world should be blissed out by now. Even if you have chosen to be ignorant because you think it is blissful, to walk through this world, you must have a grasp of this body and this mind. Otherwise, doing anything is a problem. I will not go into this further intellectually, because then you would get all wound up. That is why the yogic system is an experiential exploration without trying to go into it intellectually.
Asanas – Exploring how the body and mind work
When you do your asanas, you explore the nature of your body and your mind. If you move your fingers in a certain way, your mind will function accordingly. Everything that you do with your body does something with your mind. You will not come to this understanding by reading a book. It will come to you only by exploration. If you close your eyes and try to forcefully remove something from your mind, you will never be successful. This is the most basic and at the same time the most important realization that everyone needs to come to. Without this realization, you will make a complete mess out of yourself. If you are not so sharp in your head, it will be okay. But if you are sharp, you will cut yourself all over, and before anyone can save you, you will be mutilated. Every day, such mutilated human beings come to me and say, “Sadhguru, I’m interested in enlightenment.” First fix the wounds, or at least stop causing further wounds, because you have a very sharp knife. Even to shave themselves, a whole lot of men cut their faces. I have seen people bleeding in the face because they want to cut themselves close and it gets closer than planned. Understanding the fundamentals, grasping as to how your mind functions, does not come from an intellectual analysis – it is an exploration. What you need to do is, hold your body in one posture, and see your mind functions in a certain way. Hold your body in another posture, and see your mind functions in a different way.
When you do your asanas, you explore the nature of your body and your mind.
If you stay in an asana and breathe properly, as you go through this process, the mind will go into various states. This exploration is the most fundamental aspect of yoga. Hatha Yoga is not the peak – it is preparatory. If you try to go to the peak without that preparatory step, you will probably crash. At least 80% of humanity will not be able to do any kind of meditation in their life unless they do some kind of physical preparation. The very way they sit, the very way they move their body, it is clear that they cannot meditate, no matter how hard they try. Some amount of physical preparation is needed, because body and mind are not two separate things – or is your brain outside your body? What happens to your little finger happens to the brain. What happens to the brain happens to the little finger. It works both ways. The brain is not a separate entity by itself. Doctors have learned about the body by dissecting dead bodies – if you open a dead body and cut out different organs and keep them in different places, it is all separate. But that is not how your body is – it is all one. Only to a discriminating scalpel it is separate, but for a living human being, it is all one. That is why the yogic system is designed the way it is. As an experiment, try to resist the things that you want. You will see they will manifest strongly within you. If you want something to happen, try to not make it happen. It will definitely happen. That is because you are in a state where when you want to put your mind in first gear, it goes into reverse gear. This is not the best way to do things, but you could try this to understand that this is how it is right now – if you resist something, only that will happen.
Doing your sadhana – It works!
From tomorrow, get up at five o’ clock in the morning, have a cold shower, and start your sadhana at 5:30, every day. After some time, so many things which were a problem in your mind will be gone. Just do your hatha yoga for an hour a day – it works. But if you want to understand how it works, what the mechanism and the process are, it takes a lot of effort and time. To make it work does not take much. But if you want to know the whole intricacy of what makes it happen, why it happens the way it happens, why a particular asana has a particular effect, then it is lifetimes of study. Those who want to benefit from the technology should simply learn to use it. For those who want to know the basis and the science behind the technology, it is lifetimes of work. It took me three lifetimes to understand how it works. I am assuming you are smarter than me because you have come to me, and after all the things I do – no sweetness, no promise of heaven, no miracles, not even a pleasant word, no hug – you are still here. So, assuming you are smart, it is a lifetime of work.
Editor’s Note:
"Body – The Greatest Gadget” includes more of Sadhguru’s insights into the mechanism and construction of the human body. The ebook can be purchased at Isha Downloads. This article is based on an excerpt from the December 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Pay what you want and download. (set ‘0’ for free). Print subscriptions are also available.
The Key To Health is Within
Dr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo Hospitals Group, asks Sadhguru if there is a key to good health. Prathap Reddy: I have seen some of the impossible things you’ve done for people when they weren’t well. Is there something else to staying well beyond doctors and medicine? Sadhguru: If we look at our body, we [...]
Dr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo Hospitals Group, asks Sadhguru if there is a key to good health.
Prathap Reddy:I have seen some of the impossible things you’ve done for people when they weren’t well. Is there something else to staying well beyond doctors and medicine?
Sadhguru:If we look at our body, we were not born the way we are right now. In your mother’s womb you started as two cells, then you came out as a baby and now you have become so big. How did all this happen? Whatever is the fundamental force that is creating this body – the basis of creation, which you refer to as the Creator – is functioning within the body every moment. The manufacturer of this body is inside. If you have a repair job to be done, would you like to go to the manufacturer or the local mechanic? If you had access, you would go to the manufacturer. If you’ve lost access, you go to the local tinker. I am not trying to belittle medical science, but if you had access to the source of that which creates this body, definitely every problem that you generate within the body could be handled.
If people are willing to do a certain amount of sadhana to balance and activate their energy body, they can definitely be free of all chronic ailments.
There are two kinds of ailments: infectious and chronic. Infectious ailments happen because of an external invasion. You must go to the doctor. Don’t meditate on it! But 70% of ailments on the planet are self-created. Why I say self-created is because it happened from within you.
This body is essentially programmed for health. So why would it turn against you? Because somewhere, you are not keeping it happy. You must pay a little more attention. There is a systematic way of paying attention to this, because everything in this body was created from within. When that is so, you can also easily fix it from within.
For the things you create from within, running to the doctor is of no use. The medical profession can only help you manage chronic ailments, they can never rid you of them. When you are creating it, how can they rid you of it? Every day, they will put more chemicals into you but every day you will doggedly create more disease within yourself. Unless you change that basic pattern, health will not happen.
When it comes to a chronic ailment, the root cause for it is always on the energy level. As you have a physical body, you also have an energy body or Pranamayakosha. This is the energy infrastructure over which the physical substance comes together as a human body. If your energy body is disturbed – whether because of the atmospheres you live in, the food you eat, the relationships you hold or because of your emotions, attitudes, thoughts and opinions – this naturally manifests physiologically and psychologically.
The basic premise in yoga is that if your energy body is in full flow and properly balanced, there can be no chronic disease. If people are willing to do a certain amount of sadhana to balance and activate their energy body, they can definitely be free of all chronic ailments. Yoga is a means to build a pathway to the manufacturer so that health is not your business, it is his business.
Editor's Note:In a world of hectic lifestyles, desk-jobs and pollution, health seems a faraway thing. In this video, Sadhguru gives us the unique yogic perspective on health. By paying attention to a few simple fundamentals, you can ensure good health for yourself.
Living Healthy and Well
Sadhguru explains how a person can be truly healthy in every aspect of life, not just free from disease. Sadhguru: The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. [...]
Sadhguru explains how a person can be truly healthy in every aspect of life, not just free from disease.
Sadhguru: The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. A large number of people in the world, including many who considered medically healthy, are unhealthy. They may not need any medication but their system does not know any wholesomeness. There is no sense of peace or joy in them. You think you are unhealthy only when you get depressed beyond a certain point, but you are unhealthy if you are not bubbling with joy. There is no wholesomeness in terms of the internal composition of who you are.
This has happened because you never paid any attention to it. This whole attitude of trying to fix everything from the outside has to go. No doctor or medicine can ever give you health. They can assist you when you have fallen into ill health and help you out of it a little bit, but health has to happen within yourself.
If health has to come from within, we definitely have to do some inner engineering.
Health is not just a physical aspect. Today modern medicine says that man is psychosomatic. What happens in the mind naturally happens in the body. What happens in the body in turn happens in the mind. So the way we are living here, our attitude, our emotion, the basic mental state, the level of activity we are going through, how streamlined our minds are, all these are very much a part of your health.
If health has to come from within, we definitely have to do some inner engineering. We definitely have to create an atmosphere where our body, mind, emotion & energy are in good harmony.
If people invest about twenty-five to thirty minutes a day in the morning towards their inner wellbeing, towards certain simple processes with which they can engineer their body and mind to experience full health and wellbeing, then every human being is capable of living healthy and well.
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