Three steps to listening the AUM sound within you

IN DOING SADHANA ON AUM, IS IT BETTER TO REPEAT IT LIKE A MANTRA OR TO TRY TO HEAR IT AS AN INNER SOUND?

Osho : The mantra Aum has to be done in three stages. First, you should repeat it very loudly. That means it should come from the body – first from the body because body is the main door. And let first the body be saturated with it.

So repeat it loudly. Move to a temple or in your room or somewhere where you can repeat it as loudly as you like. Use the whole body to repeat it, as if thousands of people are listening to you without microphone, and you have to be very loud so that the whole body trembles, shakes with it. And for few months, almost three months, you should not bother about anything else. The first stage is very important because it gives the foundation. Loudly, as if your every cell of the body is crying it, chanting it...

After three months, when you feel your body is completely saturated, deep down it has entered into the body cells. And when you say it loudly, it is not only the mouth: from head to toe, the whole body is repeating it. It comes If for three months you repeat it continuously at least one hour per day, within three months you will feel that it is not the mouth, it is the whole body. It happens – it has happened many times

If you do it really honestly, authentically, and are not deceiving yourself, it is not lukewarm but a hundred-degree phenomenon, then even others can listen. They can put their ears to your feet, and when you say loudly they will listen it from your bones coming because the whole body can absorb sound and the whole body can create sound. There is no problem about it. Your mouth is just a part of the body – a specialized part, that’s all. If you try, your whole body can repeat it.

It happened: one Hindu sannyasin, Swami Ram, did it for many years, loudly chanting ”Ram”. Once he was staying in a Himalayan village with a friend. The friend was a very well-known Sikh writer,
Sardar Purnasingh. In the middle of the night Pumasingh suddenly heard a chanting of ”Ram, Ram, Ram”. There was nobody else – only Ram, Swami Ram, and himself. They both were sleeping on
their cots, and the village was far away – almost two, three miles away. There was nobody.

So Purnasingh got up, went around the cottage; there is nobody. And the more he went further from Ram, the sound was lesser and lesser. When he came back, the sound was again more. Then
he came nearer Ram who was fast asleep. The moment he came nearer, the sound became even more loud. Then he put his ear to Ram’s body. The whole body was vibrating with the sound of
”Ram”.

It happens. Your whole body can become saturated. This is the first step – three months, six months – but you must feel saturated. And the saturation is felt just like when you are hungry you take food – you feel when the stomach is satisfied. The body must be satisfied first and if you continue, it may happen in three months or six months. Three months is the average limit; to few people it happens even before; to few it takes a little time more.

If it saturates the whole body, sex will disappear completely. The whole body is so soothed, it becomes so calm with the sound vibrating, that there is no need to throw the energy out, there is no
need to release, and you will feel very, very powerful. But don’t use this power – because you can use, and all use will be misuse – because this is just a first step.

Energy has to be gathered so that you can take the second step. If you use it... You can use – because the power will be so much you can do many things – you can simply say something and it
will come true. At this stage it has been prohibited that you should not be active, and you should not say anything. You should not say somebody in anger that ”Go and die,” because this can happen.
Your sound becomes so powerful when it is saturated with your whole body energy, so it is said at this stage no negative thing should be said – even unknowingly. No negative thing should be said

You may be surprised, but it is good I should tell you: we were making a roof at the back of this house; it fell down. It fell down because of many of you. You are doing tremendous effort in meditation, and there were at least twenty persons who were thinking that it will fall. They helped: they helped it to fall. At least twenty persons were thinking continuously... When they were there, they will look at it, they will think it will fall because the shape was such that it was unlikely to their minds that it is going
to remain.

It fell. And when it fell, they thought, ”Of course we were right.” This is the vicious circle. You are the cause and you think you were right. And you are all doing much effort in meditation. Whatsoever you think, can happen. Never think a negative thought when you are meditating. It is possible because you gain some power. But I am not concerned with the roof that it fell. Because of this falling many of you have lost a certain quantity of power; that is more a concern to me because nothing happens without your power used in it.

Those who were saying that it will fall... the roof fell. And they can watch themselves. For few days they remained very impotent, sad, depressed. They lost their power. They may be thinking they are sad because the roof has fallen – no They were sad because they have lost a certain quantity of power, and life is an energy phenomenon.

When you don’t meditate, there is not much problem. You can say whatsoever you like because you are impotent. But when you meditate, you should be watchful of every single word that you say
because your every single word can create something around.

The second step is to close your mouth and repeat and chant the word Aum mentally – first bodily, second mentally. Now the body should not be used at all. The throat, the tongue, the lips, everything, closed, the whole body locked and chanting only in the mind – but as loudly as possible: the same loudness as you were using with the body. Now let the mind saturate with it. Three months again, let the mind saturate with it.

The same time will taken by the mind as it has been taken by the body. If you can attain the saturation within one month with the body, you will attain with one month in the mind also. If you attain in seven months with the body, seven months will be taken by the mind, because body and mind are not exactly two. They are rather body-mind – psychosomatic phenomenon. One part is body, another part is mind: body is visible mind, mind is invisible body.

And the third step is when the mind feels saturated. And you will come to know it when this happens; there is no need to ask how one will feel it. It is just like eating: you feel, ”Now, enough” The mind will feel when it is enough. Then you start the third step. The third is: neither body has to be used nor mind has to be used. As you lock the body, now you lock the mind.

And it is easy. When you have been doing the chanting for three, four months, it is very easy: you simply lock the body, you simply lock the mind. Just listen, and you will hear a sound coming to you
from your own heart of hearts. The Aum will be there as if somebody else is chanting; you are just the listener. This is the third step, and this third step will change your total being. All the barriers will drop and all the obstacles will disappear. So it can take almost nine months, average, if you put your total energy in it.

TRIPURA RAHASYA

•  The sight must be turned away from other objects and fixed on a particular object in order to see it. Otherwise that object will not be perceived in entirety. The fact that the sight is not fixed on it is the same as not seeing it. Similarly is it with hearing, touch, etc.

• The same applies to the mind in its sensations of pain and pleasure, which are not felt if the mind is otherwise engaged.

• The other perceptions require the two conditions, namely, elimination of other objects and concentration on the one. But Self-realization differs from them in that it requires only one condition: elimination of all perceptions.

chapter XVI, verses 29-33

The Life of Yogi Ramaiyah (The One sitting on the ground, beside Bhagavan Ramana) No words to describe it, if you are looking to intensify your spiritual practices.

Yogi Ramiah belongs to the community of Reddiars and was a wealthy land proprietor of Annareddipalayam, near Buchi Reddipalayam, Nellore District. He received hardly any education. Being the sole owner of his properties he had every inducement to pass his days merrily with his thoughtless companions, boys of his own age. But at about the age of eighteen his thoughts took a serious turn and he gave up his former associates and took an interest in religion.

A Brahmin Guru imparted to him the Rama Taraka Mantram and asked him to repeat it five thousand times daily. "If the number is exceeded, what then?" asked the ardent youth.

"So much the better," was the Guru's reply.

"If I repeat it always?" was the next query. The Guru was delighted at the keenness of the disciple's enthusiasm and expressed warm approval.

Ramiah went on with his japam from morning till night, whatever he might be doing. He also began to practice pranayanam, breath control. Consequently, vairagya, or disgust with his worldly surroundings, grew so strong in his breast that he suddenly left home to go north to perform tapas in holy places like Kasi, etc.

On the way, he met his Guru who asked him if he had obtained his mother's permission for the pilgrimage. When he admitted that there was no intimation or permission, the Guru sent him back to Annareddipalayam, telling him to "Go and do your tapas in the seclusion of your garden and later on I shall come and see how you have progressed." Ramiah returned home and went on with his tapas. He developed both breath control and meditation without any one to help him. He was able to remain several hours in a blissful mood, beholding the tip of his nose, i.e, breath being easily regulated and stilled. His mind was equally stilled and happy. Perfect continence, sattvic food, just barely enough to keep the body and mind working, and intense devotion through his japa to God (Rama) carried him soon to illumination in samadhi. He noted with surprise how God Rama as an external being vanished and gave place to the feeling of God in the Self. Again he noted that though at the outset he retained the distinction between himself (the subject) and the objects he perceived or thought of, the distinction was dissolved as soon as he was lost in Samadhi, when he experienced no real difference between subject and object. Yogi Ramiah sitting on the ground, B. V. Narasimha Swami behind him, with pencil and paper. Circa 1929 "Could the two be after all identical?" was the thought that occurred to him. As it was a novel and puzzling experience, he did not feel sure of his conclusions and asked local pundits about it. Their replies did not satisfy him. So he came to Tiruvannamalai in 1925 and in Maharshi's presence asked Kavyakantha Ganapathi Sastri about it. "The subject is of course different from the object," was the Sastri's reply. Ramiah was disappointed and looked up to the Maharshi, who at once supplemented or corrected the Sastri's reply: "Subject and object are distinct in the phenomenal world to the ordinary man, but in samadhi they merge and become one." Ramiah was very glad to note this corroboration from this eminent Swami. Thence forward he took Maharshi as his sole guide.

For many years he still continued with his life of yoga, with mounam (silence) and tapas, as its support. He ate little, controlled his breath and stayed many hours at a stretch in blissful ecstasy, mostly in the cottage of his own garden. He would also stay for a few months each year with Maharshi at Ramanasramam. He loved and was loved by the Maharshi. As Yogi Ramiah did not know Tamil, the Maharshi translated his Tamil poems .Upadesa Saram. and .Ulladu Narpadu. into Telugu. In appreciation, Yogi Ramiah helped in repairing Palithirtam, in the construction of Asramam hall and the Asramam well.


The original manuscript, wherein Yogi Ramiah tells in his own words about his life and experiences:

From my boyhood I had great devotion (bhakti) towards Sri Rama Namam. Till I was nineteen years old I was generally of a rajasic temperament and was fearless. I used to listen attentively whenever elders recited stories of God or taught dharma; and I used to make friendship with such elders. Once I heard of the life of Kabir from an old gentleman and at once I became sorrowful that I had wasted my life till then. "How to get undistracted devotion (ananya bhakti)?" "How can I become fit for God's mercy (kripa)?" These were my desires. Though I was not a bhakta from childhood like Kabir, I got vairagyam and wanted to do penance (tapas) like Valmiki, until the body is covered with ant hills. I then knew that penance meant meditating on Rama Namam continuously like the constant flow of oil, and to be in samadhi, forgetting this body. Thus I acquired bhakti and vairagyam. Subsequently love for the body (dehabhimanam) disappeared.

Formerly I had many friends, but the feeling of friendship for them left me. I couldn't leave the continuous dhyanam (meditation) even for a minute. I used to feel sorry that the nights were being wasted in sleep. I used to feel that I was meditating even in my sleep. I used to be in meditation when I awoke. I used to get up at 3 o.clock in the morning, bathe and, sitting in a secluded place, would meditate till 8 o.clock. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. I would read Bhagavatam. After meals I would listen to Bhagavatam read by a Brahmin. In the evenings, I would go outside the town and meditate sitting alone. Even if such a place be the pathway used by men and cattle, I would neither know of or hear anything during meditation. I used to offer puja, imagining the form of Vishnu in my heart.

When Brahmanantha Thirtha Swami was at Nellore, I went and prayed to him to give me upadesa and teach me yoga so that I could meditate upon Rama and conquer the mind. He then gave me Rama Tarakam Mantram and asked me to meditate on it, observing pranayama, for a little while, at the time. He said that to practice pranayama vigorously, solitary living and food restrictions are necessary.

I was then meditating by focusing my attention towards the middle of the eyes. In a short time, Chitkalas (guiding spirits) began to appear in a variety of ways, but they disappeared after some time. Then a flame like the sun began to appear. This would appear even when meditating with eyes closed, but there would be nothing when opening my eyes. I thought that Surya Bhagavan was appearing. Knowing that the vision was from inside, I began to practice vigorously. After some time the vision assumed a clearer form like the moon. Later on in the place of this moon a jyoti began to appear. While in this condition, the drik (subject) and drisyam (object) would disappear and I would feel that the atma was Poornam, the Perfect survivor. At that time this condition would not last continuously, but would only recur from time to time. I then got extra vairagyam. It was at that time that I left my home.

Without telling anybody I wanted to go to Dandaka Forest and do penance like Valmiki and the rishis. Before traveling north, I got down from the train to meet my Guru at Bapatla, in the Guntur District. As soon as he saw me he asked whether I had left home after informing my people. I told him the truth, that is, that I did not inform anyone. He then told me, "You cannot stay there (Dandaka Forest) and do penance. There are many difficulties there. Have an asramam in your village and do penance there. I will come and see you occasionally. Go back home to your village." Before leaving to return to my home, he gave me upadesam.

When I first got vairagyam I started a water pandal for distribution of water on Narasimha Jayanti days. It is still going on. I started my own asramam and named it Rama Asramam. It has been useful for meditation and also other purposes. Within two years of my spiritual life there was a break in yoga. I felt very sorry for this break and with firm determination, giving up all things, I joined this Rama Asramam in 1922. By constant meditation, sitting on an asana, I used to become fatigued. To get over this fatigue I would immediately do pranyama. While doing this and learning from books, such as Jnana Vasishtam, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam, that yoga should be practiced keeping the lakshyam at the tip of the nose, I began to do likewise. Practicing like this for some time and seeing nothing at the end of the nose I began to feel discouraged. Summoning confidence, however, from my firm belief that what is written in the sastras can never be untrue, I gave up interest in food and sleep and assumed a meditative posture. I was always doing dhyana, dharana and pranayama. Gradually I achieved breath retention. Now and then I used to feel the sushumna, subtle force, rise up. Since then a jyoti began to appear. For some months there was no body sense and the Self was all pervading. Ahamkara disappeared. It was realized that it was not I that was meditating, the I was the witness of the ahamkara, that I really am Atman and that this is my true form. The external vision decreased by constant concentration of the Self.

There was no desire to eat anything. In spite of bodily difficulties the mind was always happy. I was thinking of Rama in saguna aspect and offering puja to Hari in my heart.

As the external vision decreased, I wanted to go to experienced gurus with Brahma Nishta and tell them about my experiences and to find out what their experiences were. By enquiry I found out that there were many who had read books only, without experiencing the Self and I could not find any with Brahma Nishta. In my boyhood when I came on a pilgrimage to Arunagiri I saw Bhagavan. Since then, at times, I used to think of him. Learning that Bhagavan knows Telugu, I went to him, offered my respects, sat in his presence and was looking at him. I found that he was introverted, his eyes were not moving, breath appeared to have stopped . no movement was visible in him. Seeing that, I also turned my vision inside. As I had acquired dharana siddhi at the tip of the nose, I found it easy to turn my vision inside. When the vision is turned to the drik (subject) inside, the drisya (objects) are not seen. Self was all pervading and perfect (purna). In this state I was sitting for two hours. I came to the conclusion that when the mind was subdued and the objects are not seen, the subject and object are merged in the Self, and that Self is all pervading and perfect. Ganapathi Sastri had come there and I questioned him about this. The sastri replied that the subject and object are different. I couldn't agree with what he said. Bhagavan immediately said that when the mind is subdued there is only one thing, and that the subject and object are not different. I felt very happy on hearing this and concluded with certainty that he was the Guru and that he had realized the truth.

I then told Bhagavan about my eyes and he replied that they would get right after some time and that there was no danger. As it was Kartika Deepam time and, as there was a big crowd of people, Bhagavan said that if I went to see him in the night it would be more convenient. I agreed and went away. When I went there in the night, the doors were closed and all inside were asleep. Thinking it would not be proper to disturb them in their sleep I lied down on the pial outside. As it was the winter season the cold was severe, mosquitoes began to bite and I was unable to sleep. At about three in the morning Bhagavan came outside and saw me. I prostrated. Bhagavan who was all kindness said that I had been put to much trouble and asked me to come inside and sleep by his side. That night I asked him some questions:

Q. What is Nirvikalpa Samadhi?
A. That which has no sankalpam to Nirvikalpa.
Q. In Samadhi, will there not be even the Brahma Bhava?
A. If there is Bhava, it will not be Nirvikalpa.
Q. What is meant by Rama?
A. That in which everything takes its origin, exists and disappears, is Rama.

I then determined that all practices are only means to attain this final stage. I was giving up my former spiritual practices little by little. I felt immensely attracted to Bhagavan and felt quite at home in Ramanasrmam. Bhagavan was all love. After meeting Bhagavan I did not go to any other Guru.

I then read the life of Maharshi. By reading it one acquires vairagyam and dispassion. Just to see him is upadesam; to sit in his presence gives peace. This is my firm belief.

After some time, with Bhagavan's permission, I went back to my native place. I would come twice every year to see him. I heard blessed words from him regarding his experiences.The Swami himself would look after my food arrangements. Just as a father would nuture motherless children, he was always filled with limitless kindness. As I have no strength to walk any distance, I always stay in my cottage or with the Maharshi. And as speech may cause chitta chalanam (thought movement), I observed mounam (silence).

Some time later I came to see Bhagavan again and was in the Asramam for some days. One day I told him about my experience of that time. I told him that at the time of meditation only, the whole thing would appear to be one, and then at other times the subject and object appear to be different, and I asked him how this difference would disappear. He told me that there was still dehavasana, i.e., attachment to the body, and asked me to carry on with my meditation till it disappeared entirely.

I then asked him to tell me how to concentrate. He then said: "When a man dies the funeral pyre is prepared with fuel and the dead body is laid on the pyre. The pyre is lit. First the skin is burnt, then the flesh, and then the bones, until the whole body is converted into ashes. What remains thereafter? Only the spirit. But by Self inquiry the spirit also disappears."

"When this dehavasana goes, ahamkara also vanishes and the Self alone remains."

He had composed "Upadesa Saram" in Tamil. I prayed that he might translate it into Telugu. He rendered it in dwipada (couplets) form in Telugu. I then stayed in the Asramam for some days, went abroad for some time, and then returned to my Asramam. I then gave up everything. When I returned to Tiruvannamalai I would sometimes stay in the Mango Tree Cave near Mulaipal Thirtham.

After Bhagavan had composed "Ulladu Narpadu" in Tamil (.Reality in Forty Verses.), I prayed to him to teach it to me in Telegu. He rendered it into Telegu prose and taught it to me. Reflecting on what he taught me the mind was subdued and dissolved in the Self. Now nothing different from Self is seen.

When prayer rises from the depth of your being

"At all times, again and again, we should make vast prayers for the sake of all beings. When falling asleep we should think, 'May all beings achieve the absolute state'; when waking up, 'May all beings awake into the enlightened state'; when getting up, 'May all beings obtain the body of the Buddha'; when putting on clothes, 'May all beings have modesty and sense of shame'; when lighting a fire, 'May all beings burn the wood of disturbing emotions'; when eating, 'May all beings eat the food of concentration'; when opening a door, 'May all beings ope the door to the city of liberation'; when closing a door 'May all beings close the door to lower realms'; when going outside, 'May I set out on the path to free all beings'; when walking uphill, 'May I take all beings to the higher realms'; when walking downhill, 'May I go to free beings from lower realms'; when seeing happiness, 'May all beings achieve the happiness of Buddhahood'; when seeing suffering, 'May the suffering of all beings be pacified'."

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Are you feeling weak ? You could be the one, who is leaking energy.

Osho : Second obstacle is languor: languor means a man who has very low energy search. He wants to seek and search, but a very low energy search – lukewarm. He wants to evaporate, but that’s not
possible. Such a man always talks about God, moksha, yoga, this and that, but talks. With low energy level you can talk; that’s all you can do. If you want to do something, you need a high energy
effort.

Once it happened: Mulla went with his horse and buggy to some town. It was a hot summer day; Mulla was perspiring. Suddenly, on the road, the horse stopped, looked back at Mulla and said,
”Saints alive, but it is too hot!” Mulla could not believe. He thought he has gone crazy because of the heat, because how the horse can say? How the horse can talk?

So he looked around if anybody else has heard, but there was nobody except his dog who was sitting in the buggy. Not finding anyone, but just to get rid of the idea, he told to the dog, ”Have
you heard what he says” The dog says, ”Oh, he is just like anybody else – always talking about the weather and doing nothing.”

This is the man of languor – always talking about God, doing nothing. He always talks of great things, and this talk is just to hide a wound. He talks so that he can forget that he is not doing
anything about it. Through a cloud of talk, he escapes. Talking again and again about it, he thinks he is doing something, but talk is not a doing. You can go on talking about the weather, you can go
on talking about God. And if you don’t do anything, you are simply wasting your energy.

This type of person can become a minister, a priest, a pundit. These are low-energy people. And they can become very proficient in talking – so proficient that they can deceive, because they always talk about beautiful and great things. Others listen to them and get deceived; philosophers – these are all people of languor. Patanjali is not a philosopher. He himself is a scientist, and he wants others to be scientists. Much effort is needed.

Through the chanting of Aum and meditating on it, your low energy level will become high. How it happens? Why you are on a low energy level always, always feeling exhausted, tired? Even in the morning when you get up, you are tired. What is happening to you? Somewhere in your system there are leakages; you leak energy. You are not aware, but you are like a bucket with holes. Every day you fill the bucket, but you see it is always empty, getting empty. This leakage has to be stopped.

How energy leaks through the body? These are deep problems for bio-energetics. The body leaks always from fingers of the hand, of the feet, eyes. The energy cannot leak through the head: it
is round. Anything round helps the body to preserve. That’s why yoga postures – siddhasana, padmasana – they make the whole body round.

A person who is sitting in a siddhasana puts his both hands together because the body energy leaks through the fingers. When both the hands are put together on top of each other, the energy moves from one hand into the other. It becomes a circle. Feet, legs, are also put on each other so that the energy moves in your own body and doesn’t leak. Eyes are closed because eyes release almost eighty percent of your bio-energy. That’s why, if you
continuously are traveling and you go on looking out of the train or the car, you will feel so tired. If you travel with closed eyes, you will not feel so tired. And you go on looking at unnecessary things,
even reading advertisements on the walls. You use your eyes too much, and when eyes are tired the whole body is tired. Eyes give the indication that now it is enough.

A yogi tries to remain with closed eyes as much as possible, with hands and legs crossing each other, so the energy moves into each other. He sits with the spine straight. If the spine is straight
while you are sitting, you will preserve more energy than any other way – because when the spine is straight, the gravitation of the earth cannot force much energy out of you, because it touches only one point of the spine. That’s why when you are sitting in such a leaning posture, slanting, you think you are resting. But Patanjali says you are leaking energy, because more of your body is under the influence of gravitation.

This won’t help. Straight spine, with closed hands and legs, with closed eyes, you have become a circle: that circle is represented by Shivalinga. You must have seen the Shivalinga – the phallic
symbol, as it is known in the West. In fact, it is the inner bio-energy circle, just egg shaped.

When your body energy flows rightly, it becomes like an egg: the shape is like an egg, exactly like an egg. And that is symbolized in the Shivalinga. You become a Shiva. When the energy is flowing into yourself again and again, not moving out, then languor disappears. It will not disappear by talking; it will not disappear by reading scriptures; it will not disappear by philosophizing. It will disappear only when your energy is not leaking.

Isha Glimpses - February 2014

Population Explosion | Sadhguru speaks about being concious, if we are to survive the harsh realities of Life

Prasoon Joshi with Sadhguru explores Death and Fear of Death

Is Old Age a curse ? Ramdass shares his wisdom.

Expand your perception of the world to include the horrible beauty of decay. Look at decay and see how beautiful it is in its own way. My dear friend Laura Huxley had a collection of beautiful pharmaceutical jars in her kitchen over the sink. She’d taken old beet greens and orange peels and things and put them in water in the jars and let them slowly mold and decay into beautiful formations catching the light. It was decay as art. There is true beauty in that.

There’s horror and beauty in everything. I look at my hand, and it’s decaying. It’s beautiful and horrible at the same moment, and I just live with it. See the beauty and perfection of decay in the world around you and in yourself, and just allow it to be.

There are some unappreciated advantages to aging. The very frailty of age guards its secrets. To many people you become irrelevant, which gives you more time to do inner work. Francis, a resident in a nursing home, wrote to me, “Lack of physical strength keeps me inactive and often silent. They call me senile. Senility is a convenient peg on which to hang nonconformity. A new set of faculties seems to be coming into operation. I seem to be waking to a larger world of wonderment – to catch little glimpses of the immensity and diversity of creation. More than at any other time of my life, I seem to be aware of the beauties of our spinning planet and the sky above. Old age is sharpening my awareness.”

Ramdass

 

It is interesting to see how aging can work to one’s advantage spiritually. I used to go to Burma to sit in meditation. I’d go into a cell. I’d just sit down – no books, no television, no computers, no one to talk to. I’d just sit and go inward. I’d go into as quiet a place as I could find. Just look at what happens when you get old. You lose your hearing, you lose your sight, you can’t move around so well, you slow down. What an ideal time to meditate. If any message is clear, that’s it. Yet we treat aging as an error or a failing.
That distortion comes from defining ourselves in terms of doing instead of being. But behind all the doings, all the roles, you just are – pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure energy. When you reside fully in the present moment, you are outside of time and space.

Trungpa Rinpoche notes, “Our lives awaken through ordinary magic.” It’s in everyday things that the miraculous happens. If we practice being here now, we develop the sensitivity to perceive and appreciate the daily miracles of our lives.

Source Link :  http://www.ramdass.org/being-with-what-is/

Yogasana - Not Just An Exercise

Give up everything for a truthful existence. - Jeff Foster.

Speak your deepest truth, even if it means losing  everything--your pride, your status, your image, even your way of life.

A life of lies and half-truths, the burden of unspoken things, will eventually suffocate you and everyone around you.

Give up everything for a truthful existence. Know that you can only lose what's non-essential.

~ Jeff Foster

Papaji - Quiet

Night is the time when the yogis remain awake." - Amma.

"At night the atmosphere is calm, for at that time
the birds, animals and worldly people are all subdued  by sleep. There are, therefore, fewer worldly thought  waves in the atmosphere at night. Flowers bloom in  those late hours. At that time the atmosphere has a  unique, energizing effect. If you meditate then, your mind will easily become one-pointed and be absorbed in meditation for a long time. Night is the time when the yogis remain awake."

—AMMA

Where, there is witnessing, and nothing to judge, life becomes celebration

Witnessing....

Some people abused and threw stones at Ramateertha when he was in New York. When he returned home, he was dancing.

A disciple asked, ”What happened, why are you so happy?”

Ramateertha replied, ”It is a matter of joy. Today Ramateertha was in great difficulty. Some people started abusing him, ridiculing him and some people started throwing stones at him. It was great fun seeing Ramateertha being harassed and trapped. He was badly trapped!”

His disciples were puzzled and they asked, ”Who are you talking about? Who is this Ramateertha?”

Ramateertha replied, keeping his hands on his chest, ”This Ramateertha was badly trapped and I was just watching and enjoying seeing him trapped. I saw those who were abusing him and I also saw that man Ramateertha who was trapped and being abused.

I kept watching the whole scene.”

Working with Detachment towards worldly ties or spiritual ties

Working with Detachment towards worldly ties or spiritual ties
Swami Kriyananda narrates from Yogananda's life.

The Master summoned Clifford Frederick, a disciple at Mount Washington, to his desert retreat, Clifford came, but was privately worried about the duties he was neglecting by his absence.

The Master said to him, "I know you are worried, but this, now, is your responsibility.  I go by the orders of the "Supreme Boss" up there.  It is to Him you are answerable.  Don't bother with anything else.  Be free, inside.

"If God told me at this very moment , "Come home", I would gladly drop everything - organisations, buildings, work, books, people - everything, to do His will.  This world is His business.  He is the Doer, not you or I."

Inspiring Reality to learn, for those, whose body is not supporting them

Osho : One very great mystic of India – I have spoken on him for almost half a year continuously. His name was Ashtavakra. And what he has written is tremendously important; each sentence has so many dimensions to be explored, but the man himself was in a very difficult situation.

Ashtavakra – the name was given to him, because he was almost like a camel. In eight places he was distorted in the body – one leg was longer, one arm was shorter, his back was bent – in eight places he was distorted. That’s how he was born, with a crippled, distorted body. But even in a crippled and distorted body the soul is as beautiful as in the most beautiful body.

He became enlightened, but his body was too rigid to change with his inner change. His eyes started showing something of the beauty, but the whole body was in such a mess.

The story is that the emperor of India in those days was Janak and he was very much interested in philosophical discussions. Each year he used to call a big conference of all the scholars, philosophers, theologians or whoever wanted to participate. It was a championship competition.

One very famous philosopher, Yagnavalkya came a little late. The conference had started and he saw standing outside one thousand beautiful cows. Their horns were covered with gold and diamonds. This was going to be the prize for the champion. It was a hot day and the cows were perspiring.

He told his disciples, ”You take these cows. As far as winning the competition is concerned, I am certain. Why should the cows suffer here? You take them to our place.” They had their own place in the forest.

Even Janak could not prevent him, because he knew that he had been the champion continuously for five years, and he would be the champion this time, because there was nobody else who could defeat him. It is not right to take the reward before you have won, but his victory was so certain to everybody that nobody objected. And his disciples took away all the cows.

While Yagnavalkya was discussing, a very unknown scholar was also present in the conference. Ashtavakra was this unknown philosopher’s son. His mother was waiting for her husband to come home. It was getting late and the meal was getting cold. So she sent Ashtavakra to bring his father home, because he could not win the competition. Why should he unnecessarily waste his time? He was a poor scholar and there were great scholars there. Ashtavakra went. There were at least one thousand people in the conference, the highly cultured and sophisticated scholars of the country.

As Ashtavakra entered, looking at his distorted body they all started laughing. But Ashtavakra was a man of tremendous integrity. As they started laughing, he laughed even louder. Because of his loud laugh they stopped. They could not believe that he was laughing.

Janak asked him, ”I can understand why they are laughing – because of your body; but I cannot understand why you are laughing. And you stopped all their laughing with your laughter.” A single man stopped one thousand people’s laughter.

Ashtavakra said to Janak, ”I thought this conference was for scholars and philosophers, but these are all shoemakers. They can understand only the skin. They cannot see the inner, they can only see the outer.”

There was a great silence. What he was saying had a great truth in it. Janak dissolved the conference and said, ”Now I would like to inquire of Ashtavakra only. He has defeated you all just by his laughter and his statement that, ‘You can’t see the inner, you can only see the outer; you are all shoemakers.’ Shoemakers work with the skin of different animals. I dissolve the conference and, Yagnavalka, return those one thousand cows, because you also laughed. And when Ashtavakra laughed, you also stopped!”

It was a very strange situation; it had never happened before. And then began the long inquiry of Janak, the emperor. He asked questions and Ashtavakra answered them. Each answer in itself carried so much meaning and significance.

Because his body was in such a bad shape he could not get identified with it. Sometimes blessings come in such disguise. He could not go out, because wherever he went people would laugh, ”Look at that man! Have you seen anything uglier than this?”

So most of the time he was in the house, meditating, figuring out, ”Who am I? Certainly I am not this body, because I can be aware of this body, I can observe this body from within. Certainly that awareness has to be different from the body.”

Because of his crippled body he experienced enlightenment. The only barrier is identification with the body. But he could not identify, the body was so ugly. He never looked in a mirror; it would have been such a shock.

But Yagnavalkya had to return those one thousand cows to Ashtavakra’s house. He was young and he defeated one thousand old philosophers, well-versed in the ancient scriptures.

It is one of the strangest things in this country that on every book written by any prominent mystic there have been hundreds of commentaries, but nobody has commented before me on Ashtavakra.

And he must be at least five thousand years old. For five thousand years nobody has bothered to look into his statements, which are so significant.

But his inner enlightenment, his inner understanding could not change his outer appearance. And yet for those who are going deeper into themselves, the outer does not matter. They would have seen even in Ashtavakra tremendous beauty, but it would not have been of the outer circumference, but of the center.

Most often the inner change changes the outer, if the outer is not too rigid. But the outer never changes the inner.

You need to have eyes, going deep into people’s beings, which is possible only if you are going inwards yourself. The deeper you go into yourself the deeper you can look into other people’s beings. And then a totally new world opens its doors.

OSHO

LET PLANTS SLEEP AT NIGHT

Once Ramana Maharshi saw somebody cutting a twig in the night for use the next morning as a toothbrush. “Can’t you let the tree sleep in peace?” he asked. “Surely you can have your twig in the daytime. Why not have a little sense and compassion? A tree does not howl nor can it bite or run away: it does not mean you can do anything to it?”

For just five minutes keep quiet....................................... Papaji

For just five minutes keep quiet, and don't look here or there or anywhere. Just five minutes! If you can't then two and a half minutes is quite enough. Decide this sometime in your life span.
Even the thought of meditation is a thought, and therefore, I do not suggest what most people call meditation. Just keep Quiet by looking at the thoughts and the thought will disappear and what remains will be silence. Silence is most important for you and this is the meditation that I speak of. You can keep silent when you are doing your activities by just looking at the thoughts that arise and knowing that these thoughts belong to the past. Mind itself is the past, it is a thought, it is time. So when you look at the thought time is gone, past is gone, mind is gone. The no-mind state is a state of quietness and if you stay here you are always Quiet during your activities also.

Papaji.

Deeply meditating disciples should concentrate on their guru - Yogananda.

Deeply meditating disciples should concentrate on their guru…It is sufficient for a disciple to think strongly of his guru before meditation. He will then find his meditation on God to be reinforced by God's power flowing through the direct channel of the guru. During meditation, the spiritual vibration of a great master silently works on lesser yogis who may be meditating with him, or who are in tune with him, regardless of distance.

Paramahansa Yogananda

SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY WITHOUT VOLITION

D.: Can actions take place spontaneously without individual effort? Should we not cook our food in order to eat it later?
M.: Atman acts through the ego. All actions are due to efforts only. A sleeping child is fed by its mother. The child eats food without being wide awake and then denies having taken food in sleep. However the mother knows what happened.

Similarly the Jnani acts unawares. Others see him act, but he does not know it himself. Owing to fear of Him wind blows, etc. That is the order of things. He ordains everything and the universe acts accordingly, yet He does not know. Therefore He is called the great Doer. Every embodied being (ahankari) is bound by niyama. Even Brahma cannot transgress it.
Talks 467

Music is the easiest method of meditation. - Osho.

Osho : "Music is a very valuable thing. If you have to sacrifice something for it, then do it. If you have to renounce the family then renounce them, but don′t renounce music. If you truly enjoy music it can become your meditation, your samadhi.

"Music is the easiest method of meditation. Those who can dissolve into music have no need to seek for any other way to dissolve. Music is a wonderful intoxication. Music is the ultimate wine. Dissolving deeper and deeper into it, your thoughts will go, your ego will disappear. Take music as your meditation.

"If one has an interest in music then everything else can be dropped, but not the music. If music itself becomes your sannyas, then let it. This much courage will be needed. The courage to put everything at stake will be needed, only then can something be attained in life. Then everything else becomes secondary. If this is the voice of your being, then follow this voice." Osho

Krishnastakam - Pandit Jasraj

When your friend is in grief and you want to help him.......

Jeff Foster :

'YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL'
Just to sit with a dear friend who is experiencing pain or grief or anger, or stuck temporarily in a view that there is something horribly wrong with the world...

Just to be there with them, and for them, without a plan, without expectations, without judgements, without pity, without trying to ‘fix’ them in any way, or manipulate their experience to suit your idea of how it should be, in order to remove your discomfort...

Just to listen, just to receive their experience, without playing the role of ‘the one who knows’, 'the enlightened one', 'the one with all the answers' or even 'the great listener', without pretending in any way...
Just to allow them to feel what they feel, to breathe how they breathe, to stay present with them in the midst of their nightmare, to be silent if necessary, to reflect their experience back at them in words spoken from silence, to show that you are listening, to shine light on the darkest places...
... this can be the beginning of great healing, for you and your dear friend.

When we go beyond mind-created roles of 'victim' and 'saviour', 'teacher' and 'student', even 'healer' and 'healed', and we truly meet in not-knowing, unprotected and undefended, open to life's vast intelligence, true healing is possible.

We cannot heal in the past, friends. We cannot heal in the future, and it is not our job to fix others in the present. We can only bring our living presence, our deep listening, our tender curiosity to 'what is', and trust the healing power that lies within each of us, however 'sick' or 'beyond help' we have judged ourselves or others to be.

Healing is not measured in terms of how many symptoms have disappeared, or how many test results have come back 'negative', but in terms of how deeply we can love, how beautifully we can dream, how profoundly we can connect, how willingly we can show up for life, even when we'd rather not show up at all.

Ramleela - Laal Ishq (Sad Version)- Arjit Singh HD Music with High Quali...

Osho & Sadhguru on channeling of one's energy in one direction.

Sadhguru : Just Desire the Highest in Life. All Your Passions, direct them to the Highest. Even if you get Angry, direct it only towards Shiva. Even with your Passion, that’s the way to do it. Every bit of energy that you have, you expend it by making it into desire, passion, fear, anger, and many other things. May be these emotions are not in your hands for now, but channeling them in one direction is in your hands.

REALIZATION OF THE SELF COMES THROUGH BOTH EFFORT AND GRACE

Q: You talk a lot about effort but rarely speak about grace. Don’t you attach much importance to grace?
Annamalai Swami : Grace is important. In fact it is essential. It is even more important than effort. Realization of the Self comes through both effort and grace. When one makes a steady effort to abide in the Self one receives the guru's grace in abundance. The grace comes not only through the form of one's guru. When you meditate earnestly all the Jivanmuktas of the past and the present respond to your efforts by sending you blessings of light. 

Q: Should one have a strong desire for realization? Is such a desire necessary if we want to do earnest sadhana? Or should we surrender even this desire and just get on with our meditation?

AS: Once, as Narada was going to Vaikunta, he met two sadhus who were doing tapas. They asked him where he was going and he replied, ‘Vaikunta’. They both wanted to know how their tapas was progressing so they asked Narada to ask Vishnu when they would attain liberation. Narada went to Vaikunta and returned with the information.

To the first sadhu he said, ‘You are very close. After four or five more births you will get liberation.’
The sadhu was rather annoyed by his prediction because he felt that he was almost enlightened.
‘I have been doing tapas since my birth,’ he said, ‘and I know that I have done tapas in previous births. Why do I have to wait for four or five births? This prediction cannot be correct.’

Narada said to the second sadhu: ‘You have been doing tapas under a tamarind tree. For you too liberation will eventually come, but first you will have to take as many more births as there are leaves on this tree.’
The second sadhu was very happy to hear this. ‘Moksha is certain for me!’ he exclaimed. ‘It will come one day. Vishnu Himself has guaranteed it!’

At that moment a big wind came and blew all the leaves off the tree. As the last leaf touched the ground he realized the Self.

The sadhu who was patient and contented showed that he had truly surrendered. The other sadhu showed his immaturity through his frustration and his impatience. If you have truly surrendered, you don’t demand realization from God. You are content with whatever He gives you.

Q: It seems that so much time is needed to realize the Self; many lifetimes in fact. For me, realization always seems to be an event in the distant future.

AS: You don’t need hundreds of lives to realize the Self. In fact you don’t need any time at all. Your idea of time is one of the things that is holding you in bondage. Time is one of the properties of the mind. Liberation does not come after a period of time because there is no time in the Self.

Knock Knock. Is anyone there ?

“If a man crosses a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be bad tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because someone is in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you”

~ Chuang-Tzu —

Papaji - Return to Silence

Golden quote of Jeff Foster

“Whatever it is, stop trying to figure it out now. Let it remain unresolved a little while. Stop trying to fast-forward to the 'answer' scene in the movie of your life; trust the present scene of 'no answer yet'. Allow the question itself space to breathe and be fertilised. Relax into the mysterious ground of Now.” – Jeff Foster

If you are ego-sensitive, everything in the world hurts you - Sadhguru.

Sadhguru - Suffering and compassion

What is the significance of Jeeva Samadhi - Sadhguru

Upa Yoga

When you give something, you should regard the matter as closed.

Bhagavan expected devotees to be (…) unconcerned with the ashram’s finances. Though he permitted devotees to donate to the ashram if they felt like it, he did not want the donors to become involved in the ashram’s financial affairs.

Once, for instance, when Bhagavan was very sick,
Maurice Frydman gave Rs 1,000 to Chinnanswami and asked him to use it to buy fruit for Bhagavan. Chinnaswami, knowing that Bhagavan would not eat fruit unless everyone else was given an equal share, decided that it would be a waste of money to buy fruit every day for everyone in the ashram. A few months later Frydman came and asked Chinnaswami if the money had been spent as he requested. Chinnaswami got angry with him and told him that the ashram expenditures were none of his business. On this occasion Bhagavan supported Chinnaswami.

When Frydman came to the hall to complain (something Bhagavan generally disliked), Bhagavan said rather angrily: ‘When you give something, you should regard the matter as closed. How dare you use this gift to further your ego?’

For Bhagavan, actions themselves were neither good nor bad; he was always more concerned with the motives and the mental states that prompted them.

-Annamalai Swami in 'Living by the Words of Bhagavan'

Fear of losing yourself ? A quote from Papaji

The fear of vanishing which may arise with inquiry,
is the old sensation: "I am the body."
This is not a fear of the new, but of leaving the old.
Have no fear and plunge into your own Being.
When "you" disappear, all fear will also.
Stay Quiet, be Still, Here you are.
Stay as presence in your Heart.
Do not fear meeting the Self,
it is what you always been.
Nothing can be lost, have no fear.

There can also be fear of "losing it."
Only when you possess something does the fear of losing arise.
Only Self cannot be held, so only Self cannot be lost.
The only way to avoid fear is to return to the inner beauty,
the Self, the Heart on the right.
~ Papaji

Sadhguru on Yoga of Devotion - Verse from Bhagavad Gita.

Sadhguru: “Yoga of Devotion. Arjuna asked, ‘Who is considered more perfect – those devotees who worship you and are thus always united with you in love, or those who worship the eternal and indestructible and unmanifest?’ The Lord of Sri said, ‘Those who surrender themselves to me and fix their total devotion on me and worship me eternally with their minds absorbed in me, I consider them to be the most devoted to me. However, those who are devoted to the unmanifest, that which is beyond all senses, all pervading, they also attain me. But those who are absorbed in the unmanifest face excessive tribulation, as for the embodied being the path of that course is difficult to tread. But, O Arjuna, those whose minds are absorbed in me in total faith and who are engaged in devotional service unto me, for them I give deliverance from the cycle of birth and death.’”

You cannot experience that which is unmanifest – you can only believe in it. Even if you believe in the unmanifest, it is going to be very difficult for you to develop and keep up intense love and devotion towards that which is not. It is so much easier for you to hold your focus of devotion towards that which is. At the same time, he says, “If someone is capable of holding their devotion to the unmanifest, they will also attain me.” When he says “me,” he is not talking about himself as an individual, he is talking about that dimension which includes both the manifest and the unmanifest. “If someone takes that route, they will also come to me, but it involves much tribulation,” because directing your emotions towards something that is not here is difficult for you. You need a form, a shape, a name – something that you can relate to in order to steadily keep up your devotion.

“As for the embodied being, the path of that course is difficult to tread.” This means, if you, as a being who has a body and an intellectual discretion, dedicate yourself to an unmanifest dimension of existence, every day, your intellect will question whether you are really going somewhere or wasting your time. For beings who are not embodied, it is more of a possibility, because they do not have to struggle with their intellect – they go by their tendencies. If they are spiritually oriented, they generally orient themselves towards the unmanifest – not out of conscious choice but out of their tendencies. Therefore, for a disembodied being, a being who is beyond the limitations of the five elements, who is beyond the limitations and the discretion of the intellect, that is a more suitable path. But for an embodied being, it is better to direct your emotions towards something that you can relate to. That is why he says, being focused on him as a live person, it is much easier to attain. Looking for the unmanifest can become a philosophical drama within yourself, without you making an inch of progress.

“But, O Arjuna, those whose minds are absorbed in me in total faith and who are engaged in devotional service unto me, for them I give deliverance from the cycle of birth and death.” This not only Krishna said – any being who is fully realized always says this in one way or another. When people ask me questions like, “Will I get mukti in this janma [birth]?” I tell them, “Just get onto my bus. You don’t have to drive – you just sit in the bus.” But your ego is such that you want to do the driving too. There are many people who sit in the backseat and keep driving – usually, they only apply brakes.

If you are in a certain presence, your attainment at the last moment is not an issue. The question is how beautifully you live the remaining part of your life. Even if you have lived a stupid life, still ultimate release will not be an issue once you are in a certain presence, unless you really screw it up in the final moments of your life. If even at the last moment, you do not have the necessary sense and you get into a huge sense of anger, hatred, or desire, life may perpetuate itself. Otherwise, once you made the mistake of sitting with me, when you die, you will be dead for good. That is what he says here too. These translations into English are not quite accurate. What he actually says is, “If at least for one moment, you are truly absorbed in me, you will attain.”

He tells Arjuna, “Don’t bother about the result of the war. You are here. You have to fight. Whether you win or not is a question of capabilities and other factors. Just fight, and do it well. If you win, enjoy the kingdom. If you die, anyway I ensure your ultimate wellbeing.” Again he is making clear that when it comes to external situations, he cannot ensure everything. With the internal, there is absolute guarantee. But he says, “I will make sure there will be no more birth for you.” This is true with me too. I can ensure that you will not have another birth, but I cannot ensure that you will have a breakfast tomorrow. That may look ridiculous to a logical mind, “If you can ensure such a big thing, why can’t you ensure the breakfast?” That is the reality of life. I cannot ensure tomorrow’s breakfast for you, but I can ensure your ultimate wellbeing. When it comes to inner dimensions, I can completely take charge. When it comes to outside situations, there is no guarantee – everyone has to strive.

Source Link : http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/bhagavad-gita-krishna/

Sadhguru on Kashi and their rituals

Sadhguru : Mysticism means exploring dimensions that are not
yet in your understanding or perception. To explore
those dimensions together, there are various types
of rituals, which are beautiful, but if not conducted
with absolute integrity, they can easily become
exploitative. Ritual means not just doing pooja. This
used to be a land with complex and phenomenal
rituals, but due to lack of integrity and misuse, these
rituals largely got wiped out.


For example, Kashi is the oldest living city on the
planet. Mark Twain said, “Benares is older than
history, older than tradition, older even than legend,
and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
Even Shiva, the Adiyogi, got so enamored with this
city that he did not want to leave it anymore. Earlier,
he used to live at Kailash and the surrounding region,
but then he married a princess. She needed better
accommodation. So he came down to Badrinath,
and built a small home there. But after some time,
he was dispossessed of his home.


Shiva and Parvati had settled in Badrinath because
of its hot spring. Their small dwelling was at about
10,800 feet above mean sea level, so the climate was
cold. One day, they went to have bath in the hot
spring. When they came back, there was a beautiful
looking infant outside their doorstep. Parvati always
had a problem with the fact that she could not have
children because Shiva did not have human seeds,
and she being human could not contain his seed. Out
of her desperation, she created Ganapati, and from
what was left of six children, she made Karthikeya.
When she saw this wonderful baby at their doorstep,
her maternal instincts took over and she went to
pick up the child. Shiva said, ‘”Wait. Don’t touch
this baby. An infant that lands up at nearly 11,000
feet MSL all by himself is not a good infant. There is
nobody around; no footprints of the parents in the
snow. Why does this fellow land up at our doorstep
by himself? Just throw him away.” Parvati said,
“How can you say this? This is the most beautiful
baby I have ever seen!” And she took the baby into
the house. The next day, after coming back from
their bath, the baby had bolted the door from inside
and did not let these two people in. Parvati said,
“How can the baby bolt the door?” If a baby can land
up at 11,000 feet, the damn baby can do anything.
Shiva said, “Well, we will have to vacate the place.
Let’s move on.” Parvati said, “But this is our house.”
“It may have been our house, but since we let the
wrong people in, it is not ours anymore. Let’s go.”
They moved to Kantisarovar, which is at 12,700 feet.
This baby who locked himself inside and
dispossessed Shiva of his home was Vishnu, who
thought, “What does it matter for an ascetic yogi if
he is here or there? It is all the same for Shiva, but
for me it matters. I want to be here.” Shiva knew
that, and that is why they moved to Kantisarovar,
close to Kedar. Later on, one winter got bad, even at
Kantisarovar. From Kailash, he had come down to
Manasarovar, then moved to Badrinath, and later on
to Kedarnath – still the princess complained of the
cold and the desolation of the place.


Shiva decided that in winter, they would move to
Kashi. Who would have thought someone could
plan such a fabulous city 12,000–15,000 years ago.
It was a most fantastic plan – layers and layers of
urban development. The highest level of talent
in spirituality, science, mathematics, music, and
astronomy all gathered in one place. It became
the city of learning and of dispensing knowledge.
Shiva enjoyed the intellectual vigor, the music,
the company of people, and the way the city was
designed. He fell in love with Kashi and did not
want to leave anymore.


There is a story of how, when Shiva was about to
come to Kashi, king Diyo Dutta did not want him to
enter the city because he knew if Shiva was there,
he would not be the single point of focus anymore.
He said, “A king can rule the city only if everyone
looks up to him only. If you want me to rule the city,
Shiva should not come. If he comes, I will leave.”
Shiva sent two ganasto the city to see how to get
rid of this king. However, they fell so much in love
with Kashi that they established themselves just
outside the city and never went back. They did
not have the guts to go to Shiva and say, “We love
the city too much.” Shiva sent two more – they
never came back either. Today, at the four corners
of Kashi, there are four gana sthanas, where these
four guys settled. Then he sent Ganapati – he never
came back either. Afterwards, he sent Kubera – he
never came back. Finally, he decided to go himself,
and he did not want to go back either. All this is
being said to tell you how beautiful this city was.
When Agastya Muni was asked to leave Kashi and
go south, he cried and wrote a heartrending poem,
running into hundreds of stanzas, about the beauty
of the city and the pain of leaving.


There is a whole lot of science behind how they
established certain aspects of the city. But Kashi is
not what it used to be anymore. It has become quite
a decadent place – filthy as can be. And above all,
the superstructure of the city has been broken. The
center of Kashi was a powerful energy form, which
created a tower of light. So many sages and saints
have talked about the tower of light, and about the
actual Kashi being an energy form above the city.
Even today, that part is intact, but the base and the
main temple have been broken.


Even if you don’t go to Kashi yourself, just take
a look at its old plan. It was such a complex and
geometrically perfect design. Today all that is
broken. There are no words to describe what a
bad state the temple is in and how it is managed.
One thing is, there is a lot of armed police around
who are screening and searching everyone because
half or three-fourth of the temple have become a
mosque, and there is constant tension. Once you
have gone through that and you enter the temple,
the priests will get you. Whether you sit or stand
there, they will be shouting for money like in the
old stock markets. Everything that can be wrong
about a temple is wrong there. But one aspect, you
must witness if you have the opportunity – in the
evening around 7:30, there is one particular ritual,
which is called Sapta Rishi Aarti.

After Shiva had transmitted yoga to the Sapta Rishis
and they all had become fully enlightened, he sent
them to different parts of the world to spread this
knowledge. Before they left, they expressed their
anguish, “Now if we go away, probably we will
never get to set our eyes upon you again, physically.
How can we have you with us when we want you?”
Shiva taught them a simple process, which lives on
to this day as Sapta Rishi Aarti, conducted by these
priests who may not know the science behind it, but
they stick to the process. I witnessed how they built
stacks and stacks of energy, just like that.


We could do this here, but this takes a different
kind of skill. These priests neither have the skill
nor the energy, but they have a method – that is
what a ritual is. Even if it is conducted by someone
who is absolutely ignorant, if it is done right, it will
work, because it is a technology. For priests who
have no sadhana and no such energies of their own,
what they build up in this temple in this one hour is
phenomenal. There are yogis who do such things –
that is a different matter – but I have never seen
anything like that anywhere conducted by priests.
After this visit to Kashi, I have some respect for
priests – at least they maintained the process. They
did not keep themselves well, but they kept well
what is of some sanctity to them, and it still works
fantastically. And at night, there is the Shayan Aarti,
which is cute. If you get to witness it, you will know
how loudly you have to put Shiva to sleep.


This is the power of the ritual – you can conduct
it for any number of people, even if they are
ignorant of it. In contrast, doing anything spiritual,
meditative, is in a way safer and cleaner, but you
have to prepare the person. A ritual does not need
preparation – you can do it for the whole town.
It may be a million ignorant people – still, if they
just sit there, we can make them benefit. But unless
the person who performs the ritual has a certain
integrity, rituals become a tool for exploitation.


The best way to approach dimensions of the beyond
is through internal methods and processes, but it
needs a lot of preparation. If you want a quicker
dissemination, there are external technologies and
processes – I would rather call them processes than
rituals. We can make this happen to large groups
of people. But it needs absolute integrity. Only in
the last three years, we brought in rituals at the Isha
Yoga Center, because we have created people of
such integrity that no matter what is given to them,
the focus of their lives will not change.


Whatever external activity you do in your life, it
is meaningful only if it touches people’s lives. If
you can maintain integrity no matter what, we can
offer you wonderful tools through which you can
touch people’s lives in a way that you have never
imagined possible. Once you have such access to
another human being, your hands must be super
clean. If you are sweeping outside, no one will ask
you, “Did you wash your hands?” It is okay if your
hands are not so clean. Suppose you are serving
food, people would like to know if you washed your
hands. Suppose you are inside the temple, we would
like to know if you had a shower. Suppose you have
to conduct a surgery, we definitely want to know if
your hands are cleaned and disinfected.


The more access you have to another human being,
the cleaner you have to be. If “What about me?” is
the biggest question in your mind, you should not
have access to anyone. If this one question does
not arise in your mind, you are free to touch any
being, and you should. Millions of people need this,
because nothing has truly touched them. Without
being touched, the being will not be a being – the
being will just be a body.

Sadhguru.