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Q and A with Sadhguru
By Kavita Chhibber
Thank you again for the overwhelming response to my continuing
conversations with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha
foundation.
The questions have been reformatted to make better sense. No question is
off bounds with Sadhguru and I hope readers will continue to think about
life and ask relevant, thought provoking questions so others can also learn
from the discussion. Some repetitive questions have not been answered in
this month’s selection. Please refer to previous Q and A selections. Others
did not make it in time for the issue.
For those who have asked about Sadhguru’s health and the great yogi
who was not available to the public but was to pass away in a couple of
months-Sadhguru is fully recovered and says he has never felt better, after rejuvenating his system during his recent trip
to Mansarovar. The great Yogi did pass on..
Here are the selections for this month.
Why is that this entire world is running behind money, and is there any other purpose that a human is created in
this world. Can we live in this world only by doing sadhana to have peace of mind? Good times and bad times
come and go and create happiness and sufferings alternately. Why is this process of life undergone by humans?
Does God(supreme power) want all this drama on earth to happen? –Senthil Sentoe
All the drama happens because human beings are melodramatic by nature. They live the drama, suffer the drama and go
to see Shakespearean plays to watch drama, because tragedy can be engaging. God has done a magnificent job when it
comes to creation, but we have been mismanaging the world in such a way that everything becomes melodramatic. It is
not correct that the entire world is running after money. It’s just that we have made a monetary system where money is
the means to everything that people want, and because of that they are trying to acquire money. People run after different
things and use money to acquire some of them because that is the only way to do so. There are some who chase
money, then get into a rut and don’t know how to get out of it. They don’t know what to do with their life.
When we use the word “ sadhana” it means a certain way of life. The way you sit, breathe, eat and conduct yourself in
both body and mind is all part of sadhana if you are aware and alive. However we have directed sadhna towards
spirituality today because the inner being has been neglected. Sadhana does not mean a specific kind of activity-it means
a device you use towards achieving inner and outer well being
Sadhguru is it true that Gautam Buddha was naked most of his life time of his Sadhana. Why are most of the
Yogis in the ancient Indian culture without any clothes? Is nakedness a way to attain a certain Sadhana or being
meditative? –Meena Iyer
Gautam Buddha was not naked throughout his life, because he had to deal with society. So he did cover himself. Many
yogis are naked because they are meditating deep in the jungles and mountains. The clothes won’t last long and because
they don’t have to deal with society since they don’t have a desire to go back, they really don’t care if they are not
clothed. In the Himalayas how long will your clothes last when you are meditating for years? Your only recourse then
would be to kill and animal and wear its skin if you desire to be covered.
The main thing that comes in the way of the spiritual path for any Yogi is the physical body-wanting to be spiritual is
transcending back to paying the least attention to the body. Just like you minimize whatever it is you don’t want on your
computer screen, similarly many yogis on the spiritual path put their bodies on “Minimize”. The body gets the bare
minimum essential needed to keep it alive. The yogi appears naked only to the outsiders -his own attention is not on his
body.
Sadhguru I have been an ISHA meditator for more than 2 years and somehow your vibrations have penetrated me
and in certain meditative state I feel intense like a Tiger. Now I want to maintain this experience, otherwise I feel
like I am an ASS with the Tiger Skin. If I meditate regularly and continue your prescribed Sadhana can I always
prowl in meditation like a Tiger? Murali.
Never aim the meditation towards anything. Let the meditation lead you-you don’t try to lead the meditation in some
direction that you want. The idea of meditation is to go to a space you do not know, to enter a dimension that is not in
your experience, understanding or perception. Simply seek to meditate. Whatever happens happens.
Dear Sathguru,
I have always grown up with the value that we need to help people. There are times I see myself enjoying what
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I’m doing for others but other times it has been because of a compulsion. I feel very unhappy when I have to help
people and I don’t feel happy at the end of it. Is it wrong for me to feel like that? I don’t want to do anything that
is not 100% within me. Not that I’m guilty, but most of the time people get a bad opinion about me when I tell
them that they need to do things on their own and not always look for someone else to help them! But more than
that I guess it’s more of the feeling that not many people have bothered, and even left me when I was going
through a bad situation... so why should I do anything for them when they just have materialistic needs from me.
I want to get out of this and see if I could truly reach out to people with whatever I do. Warm regards, Kirthi
There is no need to make an effort to help people in your life. If you have love in your heart, you will any ways do what is
needed at any given time. If there is no love then you better not do it. When you have love in your heart and compassion
for others, instead of feeling resentment whatever you do will become a privilege and you will feel happy that you got an
opportunity to help others. Let it not be about what we have done and what we should get in return for that. Let us
nurture love in our heart, let us develop a sense of inclusion which is a basic reality. The more inclusive you become, the
more you act naturally without there being any unnecessary calculation.
Dear Sadhguru, after my BhavaSpandana program, last month at the IIIS Center in Tennessee, I am not the same
anymore. Now all I feel or sense is love and life around me and I want everyone else to realize what life is all
about including my husband. I want everyone to look deep inside and change their way of living. When we have a
guru like you, I know it’s possible. But people are not always willing to listen. What can I do to make people
spiritual, especially the ones like my husband; he thinks that he has control over his mind and doesn’t need
ISHA. Jayashree, NJ-USA
Do not go about preaching whatever you experienced in BSP. Just keep the experience alive within yourself and
transformation around you will naturally happen. Everyone in the world need not come to the program. If one person does
BSP, they must be able to transform the lives of 1000 people around them without uttering a word about it. So your
husband is a good test for you to see how strong your BSP is since he is a man with a strong mind according to you.
Dear Sadhguru,
If a person wants to follow spiritual path, is it due to his prarabtha karma? If yes, those who do not have their
prarabtha karma to go into spiritual path, what is the best thing for them? Does a Guru instigate them?
In my opinion for a normal person (married with children) to follow the spiritual path, he should have enough for
his basic needs(job or money to carry the family) and good health. If he lacks any one of these, he has to fight
for his survival. Then how can he go into spiritual path?
You said in one of your replies that if we follow the spiritual tools (Shambhavi) given by you, prarabtha karma
can be overcome in a short period of time. Does this short period vary for each person, if he does regular
shambhavi? How fast can I get rid of prarabtha karma if my age is 45? How do we know that we have completed
prarabtha karma? Thanks, Omprakash, Atlanta
Spirituality is so fundamental in a human being, it is not associated with any Karma. True spirituality does not mean give
up on life, go naked or stand on your head. Turning spiritual means you go deeper into the process of life from the
surface to a deeper core. That is something every human being must do irrespective of your prarabda karma. If all the
Prarabda karma goes, you will go with it. Karma binds you to the body. What is needed right now is that you create a
distance between you and the karma making machine which is your mind. Shambhavi creates that tool to help you, and
then whatever the Karma may be, it will not have any impact on you. You can either make your karma your friend or your
enemy. A human being has the discretion and the choice to do whatever he wants to do no matter what his past
influences were or whatever tendencies he brings. Your focus must be to go beyond whatever limitations you have, and if
you consciously do that it’s a spiritual process by itself. If you don’t then spirituality is far away from you. All human beings
are spiritual beings, so spiritual process is not something you do-its how you naturally are. As far as basic needs are
concerned-it’s an excuse that should not stand in the way of spiritual process. Come to the Ashram and I will take care of
your basic needs. Let me see how much you progress spiritually!
Sadhguru, I had asked you a question that how do people who are mentally retarded attain enlightenment. We
have a mind to think and to understand what is spirituality, how will they understand this? To this you had
replied that they cannot help it and they cannot become enlightened. I did not find the answer satisfactory so I am
asking you
again. If enlightenment is the only truth which you and many other great saints felt than why do some people in
the world exist who cannot experience it for no fault of theirs. - Shyam Balakrishnan
Asking a mentally retarded person to become enlightened is like asking a man without legs to climb Mount Everest . So
far I have not found a way to guide the mentally handicapped. Getting those who are in their senses to become
enlightened is a tough task as it is. But what we can do for the handicapped is to reach out and help them, to expose
them to whatever we can to make their world harmonious. That blessing it self opens up new possibilities for them. But
first I would like to see Shyam Balakrishnan to become truly enlightened and understand all the intricacies and who knows
he may be able to find a way to enlighten the mentally handicapped.
It was said in INNER ENGINEERING class that awareness of "This moment is inevitable" but I am confused about
what awareness is. Physical actions happen through body and thinking happens in mind. Similarly where does
awareness take place? Sadhguru, please tell how I can be aware of this truth when it is not the mind or body that
is to work here? How do I be aware? Avinash Eswaramangalam
By “trying” to be aware you’ll never be aware. But if you increase the “ aliveness” in you, you will become aware as well,
How do we know we are alive ? It’s because we are ‘aware” that we are alive. ‘ Awareness” is not mental alertness. It is
not the function of a mind. It is a function of life. So don’t confuse the two. All practices including Shambhavi are there
just to enhance that aliveness’ in you.
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Sadhguru, what are your views about the death penalty as handed out by legal courts in our modern day
societies?" Abhimanyu Saagar Patiala, India
Recently 12 people who were involved in the Bombay riots were given the death penalty. Over 300 people had been
killed and again another 100 -150 in the aftermath lost their lives. When you saw the relatives of these 12, you feel bad,
but you cannot forget the hundreds who were put to death by these twelve people for no rhyme or reason. If you gave
them a second chance there is a high possibility that they would repeat the same thing in another place. So if the law
does not take secular stringent measures, no human being will be safe on the planet.
Personally I’m against the death penalty, but considering the reality of society and the world in which we exist today, I
don’t think we can completely do away with it.
Can you please give me link to any article where sadhguru has spoken about benefits of rudraksha’s having
different faces. There seems to be some confusion when people talk about rare ones like one face etc. So if you
could guide me. Siva
Irrespective of what type of lifestyle you have, the safest rudraksha to wear is the Panchmukhi. Children below the age of
twelve can wear the six faced one. For all others you must go to someone who is learned about the effects, and knows
how it will reverberate with your system, and not someone who wants to sell it to you or look at an article. If you are not
geared towards wearing a certain rudraksha, it will be just like something special coming into your life which you are
neither prepared for nor ready for.
What is the surest way to destroy age-old Vasanas. I have been performing spiritual practices for over 13 years
now (Gayathri mantra, Master given mantra, charity as advised by my Guru, built Shiva temple, yoga, seva,
chanted sahasaranamas etc). Nothing seems to have moved my Vasanas (Kama and Krodha) a wee-bit. I am
absolutely clueless!!! I even feel that I have wasted 90 minutes of my time everyday for the past 13 years. Please
guide me SadGuruji- Raman, Fremont, California.
You can be doing spiritual sadhna for 90 minutes but if for the rest of the 22 and half hours you are not aware then you
are wasting your time. It’s not necessary to build or do anything unless you are doing it with spiritual consciousness. You
don’t have to change the content of your life-just change the context of your life. Most people become what they have
gathered over the years. Your practice should be to create a distance between what you are and what you have gathered
as unnecessary baggage. You don’t have to build a temple or call out to Siva-it’s not needed. If you just change the
context of your life, your intellect will not be changed by all the baggage you have accumulated and so naturally you will
become spiritual-there is no other way to be.
Quote from Sadhguru "True spirituality will only happen when people are peaceful and happy and you would think that
would be a state in all affluent nations, but that is not so. Instead all economic activity you see in the world is desperate
action. People have no concept of what they really need-from a simple matter like how much food they should put in their
mouths to how much money or property do they really need. People just do not seem to know when to stop. They are
running endlessly in pursuit of happiness ."
Namaskaram, Sadhguru, from the above quote I infer that people should show restraint and moderation
towards material pursuits to get spiritually inclined as achieving success in economic conditions mean nothing to
a human being as he/she is not going to be liberated by that success. I have heard you many times using this
word "liberated" and I assumed it meant avoiding rebirth, please correct me if I am wrong. Are you suggesting
that everyone in their current lifetime should strive for spiritual progress with intensity to achieve enlightenment
& avoid rebirth rather than going for other pursuits. Your thoughts please.
2. Sadhguru, over the last 100 years, India has seen the birth & life of so may Jivanmukathars like Ramana,
Maharishi,
Kanchi
Sankaracharya Chandrasekhar, Saraswathi (68th pontiff) Nicaragua Datta Maharaja,
Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Yogananda Paramahamsa, Matha Amrithananda Mai, Yogi Surath Kumar, yourself
and many more. How come so many Gurus are born in India than other places and are there such Gurus
currently living outside India, if yes where please ? Respectful Regards S Subramanaian (Subbu) Chennai, India
Enlightenment does not come because of the volume of involvement in the world. There is a beautiful story about King
Janaka and his guru Ashtavakra. Janaka was fully enlightened and did not want to remain King. He wanted to spend all
his time with his guru, but had to continue his kingly duties because his guru wanted him to do his duty towards his
people. The bond between the guru and his royal disciple was very strong and the cause of deep jealousy among the
monks who resided with Astavakra in his ashram. “The man lives in a palace, has a wife and kids-and enjoys all the
worldly pleasures. What kind of spirituality is that? “ they would say among themselves.
One day as Ashtavakra sat talking to King Janaka, a soldier came running in to tell the king that his palace was on fire.
The King was very angry at his guru being interrupted without permission, and sent the emissary packing, apologizing to
the guru and asking him to continue. A few days later, when Astavakra was talking to the monks, a man in charge of the
ashram came running and said the monkeys were playing havoc with the monks’ clothing that had been left outside to
dry.
The monks left the guru in mid sentence and ran out to rescue their clothes. When they returned, Ashtavakra said-“Many
of you feel that I am partial towards Janaka. Do you see the difference between Janaka and you? His palace was being
burnt and his only concern was that the soldier entered without permission and interrupted me. You are all monks-all you
wear is a loin cloth that no one would even use to mop their floor, but you forgot my presence and ran to save that
useless piece of cloth.”
The question is not what you are doing but how you are within yourself. Everyone is just dying to see and know what
someone else is eating, what they are doing, what they are wearing, as if any of these things will make any difference in
how you are spiritually. Many people think you have to dress shabbily to be spiritual. Being spiritual isn’t going away from
life-it means going deeper into life.
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Yes there are more gurus in India, and other cultures where a tradition of spirituality was created. It was very natural to
take up spirituality as a full time process. Wherever there is more investment in something, the dividend too is more.
For more information about Sadhguru, please visit www.ishafoundation.org
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is an international speaker, author and peace advocate with profound spiritual and cultural
insights on health and human potential. He addresses over 500,000 people annually at his public forums. Sadhguru is a
realized master and yogi who has practiced yoga since age 13 and authored four books on the essential nature of yoga.
Sadhguru has synthesized the science of yoga into a dynamic program that allows people to restore and maintain
optimum health and inner balance.
Through his books, columns, articles and interviews aired and published in a host of international media, Sadhguru is
considered an authority on yogic science whose teachings help people gain an inner understanding of the issues and
events that happen to themselves and the world around them.
Sadhguru is founder of the Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization advancing physical, mental and spiritual health
through yoga and self-transformation. The Foundation administers over 100 yoga centers, an ashram, residential complex
and medical center in India, and conducts public programs around the world. His humanitarian initiatives for world peace
and his outreach programs for Tsunami relief, prisoners, children and Action for Rural Rejuvenation in India are examples
of his determination to improve the human condition for all people.
Continue Reading this month’s Sadhguru Speaks --->
Archives:
Sadhguru Speaks August 2007: Terrorism is the result of a non-inclusive society; Q & A with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks July 2007: What Role Does Spirituality play in World Economics?; Q & A with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks June 2007: Sadhguru Speaks at TieCon 2007; Q & A with Sadhguru.
A DIRECT LINK TO SADHGURU’S KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT TIECON 2007.
Sadhguru Speaks May 2007: Inner Engineering; How Do we Deal with Growing Violence? and a Q & A with
Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks April 2007
Other Articles featuring Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev:
An Interview with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev by Kavita Chhibber
February 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on Science and Technology
March 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Q & A
January 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Q & A
December 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "Good and Bad Divide the World"
August 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s "Allergic to Spirituality"
February 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "Conflict Between Religions"
October 2005 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "True Happiness"
All Material © Copyright Kavita Chhibber and respective authors
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