Yogi Re!

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗶 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘆𝗮 – 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮

It takes a certain level of attention and awareness to know how the five pranas are functioning. The Shakti Chalana Kriya is a fabulous process, but you need to be attentive. It requires you to keep yourself focused for forty to sixty minutes. Most people can’t keep their mind on a full inhalation. Midway, their thoughts wander off, or they lose count or track. It takes months and years of practice to come to a point where you can keep your focus on the breath for the full set of cycles.

That is why Shakti Chalana is always taught in tandem with Shoonya. The Shoonya meditation is to bring yourself to a place where, if you close your eyes, the world is gone in your experience. This is a blessing all of you should earn at some point. Only if you make yourself like this, are you capable of staying focused on something. Forceful concentration is not going to achieve anything.

If you close your eyes, the only things that should exist for you are your breath, your heartbeat, processes in your body, and the workings of your prana. Only what is happening inside is life. What is happening on the outside is just imagery.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝘆

Shoonya and other sadhana are towards that. How far you go is a different question, especially in today’s world. I am not against what is happening today in terms of life around. But unfortunately, to be flaky has become fashionable – profound is out. With such an attitude, there is no way you can move your attention to how life works within you. This does not mean that it is not possible for every human being – it is. It all depends on what importance you ascribe to it. If you make it your number one priority, everything within you will organize itself accordingly.

If your priorities are in different directions, you will go all over the place, not getting anywhere, in terms of life on a fundamental level. On a social level, you may be getting somewhere. On a physical level, your body is going straight towards the grave – at the most, you can extend the route a little. As far as your mind is concerned, it is going round and round. Only if you focus on the fundamental nature of life will you really get somewhere. The life within you is the only real thing – the rest are just projections. But right now, most of the attention is on projections, not the real thing.

With the Shakti Chalana Kriya, the transformation happens gradually. Taking charge of your prana and its different activities in your system is a fantastic process. The Shakti Chalana Kriya works on that level. If you practice it, you are strengthening the very foundations of your system. 

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗮 – 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮

The Shambhavi Mahamudra has the potential to let you touch the dimension that is the basis of all that is. But you cannot actively make it happen. You can only set the ambience. We always refer to Shambhavi as “she.” There has to be devotion for Shambhavi to yield. You can only come in touch with the source of creation – there is nothing for you to do with it. Shambhavi also has an element of pranayama in it, which brings many benefits.

The important thing about the Shambhavi Mahamudra is that it is a tool to touch the source of creation, which is beyond prana. This could happen on the first day, or you could be doing it for six months and nothing happens. But if you keep it up, the day will come when you touch this dimension. If you touch it, suddenly everything is transformed.

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𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆

Sadhguru: When I say pranayama, people tend to translate it in English as a breathing technique or a breathing exercise, which it is not. “Prana” means “the vital energy”, “yama” means to gain control over that. So, it is a subtle process through which one can gain control over his inner energies. These processes are taught in their depth because transforming inner energies are very important to stabilize the body and the mind.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮?

Whatever you do in life, how your body, your mind, and your whole system function is ultimately determined by your prana. Prana is an intelligent energy. Since prana has the karmic memory of the individual imprinted on it, it functions in each person in a unique manner. By contrast, electricity does not have memory or intelligence. It can light up a light bulb, run a camera, and do a million other things, not because of its intelligence but because of the particular device that it powers. In the future, there may be smart electricity too. If you manage to imprint energy with a certain memory, you can make it behave in a certain way. 

𝟱 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮

There are five basic manifestations of prana in the body. These pancha vayus – prana vayu, samana vayu, udana vayu, apana vayu, and vyana vayu – direct different aspects of the human mechanism. Through yogic practices like the Shakti Chalana Kriya, you can to take charge of the pancha vayus. If you gain mastery over these five vayus, you will be free from most ailments, particularly psychological ones. This is something that the world needs today.

Unless we act now, in the next fifty years, the number of people who are psychologically imbalanced, disturbed, or deranged will increase many times over, due to various factors in our lifestyles. We are handling many aspects of our lives in a grossly negligent way, for which we are going to pay the price. If you take charge of your prana, whatever the external situation may be, you will remain psychologically balanced. Right now, a whole lot of people are psychologically imbalanced, though not everyone may have a medical diagnosis.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀

Suppose your hand does its own thing and pokes you in the eye, scratches, and beats you – that is a sickness. This is what most people’s mind is doing. Every day, it pokes them from inside, makes them cry, bawl, or worry – in so many ways, it creates suffering for them. That means it is sick, even if in a socially accepted manner. Every kind of suffering that human beings are going through day in and day out is created in the mind. This sickness has set in, and it will multiply because of the social structures, the technology around us, and various other influences.

One who takes charge of one’s prana can be one hundred percent assured to have unshakable psychological balance. This should also prevent physiological ailments to a large extent, though an element of risk remains due to various reasons, including infections and all kinds of chemicals and poisons that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is no absolute control over what we take in through the air, water, and food, no matter how careful we are about what we consume. How much impact it has on us depends upon each individual. 

Physiological health cannot be guaranteed one hundred percent for external reasons. But psychological wellbeing can be one hundred percent guaranteed if you take charge of your prana. If you are psychologically in an extremely good place, a few physiological issues will not be a problem. Most of the time, minor bodily conditions are less of an issue than the reactions to them that happen in your mind. How the pranas function within you, how they transact with the rest of the universe, how they enter a newborn, and how they leave the dead, all clearly show they have an intelligence of their own. 

If you come to me for a blessing for an examination, I will bless you to pass the final exam, not the tenth standard exam. I do not care whether you pass the tenth standard exam or not. I did not care even when I sat for the exam. So, do not come to me for such things. Instead of seeking a blessing for the outer world, it is best to live with grace.

If you live with grace, your own energies will blossom and you can manifest your material life effectively. But if you are a blundering idiot who does not do anything and expects things to happen, then it costs phenomenally for the one who blesses. They cannot withdraw it. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, they have opened up a certain field that cannot be closed suddenly.

How much a blessing costs simply depends upon the intelligence, skill, and dedication of the person who receives it. Suppose I want to ensure that you succeed in some mission that you have taken up, and I bless you. If you are intelligent, skillful, and dedicated towards that mission, it will cost me less. If you are really focused and on, the blessing is just a gentle nudge when you cannot cross some hurdles. But if you receive the blessing and go home and you start doing your own idiotic things, then it will drain me on a daily basis. It costs not only at the time of blessing, but it will continue to cost me even afterwards.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐈𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Both a blessing and a curse will cost, but a curse will cost even more. If I bless you towards what you want, apart from my blessing, you will also work towards it. With a blessing, there is hope that you will work for it. But if I curse you, you will work against it. This costs tenfold more than a blessing because you are trying to work against it, while my energies are trying to work for it.

Karna was cursed to forget his mantras. I am sure he chanted the mantras a thousand times every day to ensure that he would not forget them when he needed them. Karna was determined to see that the curse would not work. But Parashurama was determined to see that the curse would work, so it cost him enormously. Depending upon the determination and skill of the person who is cursed, it may cost phenomenally more than a blessing.

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𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁 : 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲?

The story of Mahabharat is rife with curses and boons. Ever wondered how much energy it takes to curse someone? Is it easier to bless than to curse? Why does the potency of a curse vary, in traditional terms? Discover the answers to all these questions with Sadhguru.

𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧: Sadhguru, Karna and Parikshit died due to curses. What is the qualification to curse someone? Were the brahmana who cursed Karna or the Yogi’s disciple who cursed Parikshit more powerful than Karna and Parikshit?

𝙎𝙖𝙙𝙝𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙪: They say that if a shudra curses you, nothing will happen. If a vaishya curses you, you will miss a meal. If a kshatriya curses you, you may lose your limb or life. If a brahmana curses you, you may lose everything.

𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥?

Originally, brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra were not seen as sects of people who are born in certain families as it is understood today, but as descriptions of qualifications. A shudra was someone who did menial jobs; all he knew was his body. A vaishya was someone who was using his body, and to some extent, his mind. He was largely free of emotion, except for his own family. His body and his calculations ruled his nature. A kshatriya was passionate to the point of involving his life energies. He was more in his heart; otherwise he could not rule or lay down his life for what he believed in.

A vaishya would never sacrifice his life – he would negotiate and make any kind of deal that was necessary. A kshatriya was honor-bound and would rather die than negotiate. For him, a compromise was death. A brahmana was someone who was supposed to have touched Brahman or the ultimate nature within himself. If someone like that cursed you, it would come true for sure.

Karna received curses from two brahmanas. One was a very powerful one; another was an ordinary one, but both of the curses stuck. The second brahmana only cursed him that his chariot wheel would get stuck. Even if his chariot wheel was stuck, had he remembered the mantras*, he still could have killed Arjuna. But the bigger curse was Parashurama’s, which made Karna forget the mantra for his astra* at the right moment.

When Karna’s chariot wheel got stuck, he could have still jumped down and fought. But the problem was that he forgot the mantra. He was trying to remember it while working on the chariot wheel. The more he thought, the more confused he got. That was sure death.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞?

Whether you curse or bless someone, both ways you are giving away something that you have earned. You have to expend some of the energy that you have built up which is positive for your life. How much a curse or blessing costs depends on how far-reaching it is. This is the reason why if you go to any sage in India, he will first look at you, look away, and say, “Jai Ho.” Very rarely do they look at you and say “Vijayi Bhava”* because that is going to cost much more. “Jai Ho” is for your inner victory, which is a real victory.

This is what they are generally blessing for. That is, if they are really a sage or saint. People who are wearing the uniform, but are actually beggars or businessmen, are a different game. They can do or say anything. If there is nothing in your treasury anyway, you can open it up all the time. When you have something valuable, that is when it matters.

So, the blessing is generally towards spiritual wellbeing. If you have to bless someone towards material wellbeing, it costs much more because it needs to manifest in the physical world. Let us say it costs one unit of energy to bless you towards your inner wellbeing. If I have to bless you to pass an examination for which you have not studied, then it would cost a hundred units of energy.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤?

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀?

Sadhguru candidly addresses a topic that is perceived as taboo, but can be vitally relevant to one on the spiritual path.

𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧: How do I get rid of my strong sexual desires? 

𝙎𝙖𝙙𝙝𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙪: We are always thinking in terms of how to get rid of something. You cannot get rid of anything forcefully. If you try to forcefully drop something, it will pop up in some other way and some other kind of perversion will come up within you. If you try to give it up, it will rule your mind and consciousness completely. But if you find something deeper than what you know right now, that which is of lesser significance will just fall off. Do you see, people who are deeply involved in some intellectual activity, they would rather read a book than have sex. 

The reason why you are running after sexuality is because that is the biggest pleasure you know right now. If someone tells you “It is bad, give it up,” are you going to give it up? But if you taste something bigger than that, then does someone have to tell you to give it up? It will just fall by itself. So you just have to invest some time to do the necessary things so that a bigger possibility becomes a reality for you. If you access something much larger, much more pleasurable and much more ecstatic, then naturally small pleasures will drop. You have not given it up, it is just that you do not do that anymore because you have found something much bigger for yourself. 

This has happened with so many aspects of your life. Whatever meant the world to you when you were a child, those things dropped off because you found something that you thought was higher. The same holds for this. If you find something of a much deeper intensity, of a much deeper pleasure and ecstasy for yourself, then these things will drop off. 
Sexuality is just a small part of you.

People have become overly sexual only because of stupid morality, because they are trying to forcefully drop it. What you call as a man or a woman is just a question of a small physiological difference to serve a certain natural process. Why have we attached so much significance to one body part? No body part is worth giving that kind of importance to. If any part has to get that kind of significance, maybe the brains would qualify, not the genitals. 

Unfortunately, it has gotten all reversed because of foolish teachings everywhere saying, “You must be pure, you must not think about this.” People have become full of that and are totally messed up. If people look at life the way it is, sexuality would just fall into its rightful place – just a small place in your life; it would not be such a large aspect. That is how it should be. That is how it is in every creature.

Animals are not thinking about it all the time. When it is there in them, it is there, otherwise they are not constantly thinking who is a man, who is a woman. It is only human beings who are just stuck with it. They are not able to drop it for a moment simply because stupid teachings and morality, which have nothing to do with life, have entered them. 

If they look at life the way it is, most people would grow out of it in a very short time. Many people can grow out of it without ever getting into it. Everything is distorted and magnified because of improper focus on life, that’s all. Otherwise, you would see a large percentage of people would not even be interested in it, or their interest would be very casual. It would not be as significant as it is now.