Volume 6 / Issue 01 Jan 2018

Profoundly alone
Blessed with keenness
of attention, life happened
in abundance. Smallest happenings
were immense, as after all
an Atom could be a Cosmos. All
a game of perception. As my
many lives unfolded, life
pitched up to be a torrent.
Rich and Vivid but no Small
or Big. All was thrown at me.
Flowers and Filth. Offered
sweetest of Love and Devotion
and vilest of treachery and abuse.
Regarded by the Reputed and
Rubbished by the Rascals. All
that can be and cannot be
has been mine but untouched am I.

Alone, as even Shiva has abandoned

me from being a companion
As even He has become One with
Me to leave me Profoundly Alone.
 EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,

Happy New Year!

Fresh possibilities and a flurry of activity surely await us. Before you dive in, read
an excerpt from a Sadhguru Spot, “The Power of Stillness” where Sadhguru speaks
about making your activity “an expression of your stillness.” When it comes to
Dhyanalinga, sometimes the stillness becomes like an inaccessible wall. Our
Musings article “Nada Aradhana – Cracking the Wall of Energy” explains how an
offering of sounds helps you to be receptive.

Even as a new year is born, our series on chakras comes to a close with the Lead
Article “Sahasrar – Inebriation and Ecstasy.” Many Isha Brahmacharis experience
their path as a new birth – read some of their poetry in the Sharing Experiences
section. As we forge ahead into new frontiers, learning from the past is vital as
Sadhguru explains in “Epics – A Lively Form of History”, a recent conversation with
Kavitha Kalvakuntla, Member of Parliament. Our Mahabharat epic series continues,
with Vidura not mincing words as he spars with his king.

It’s difficult to keep up with Sadhguru’s whirlwind of engagements, but catch up in

the News & Events section where we cover the INSIGHT program, Isha Gramotsavam
and the Rally for Rivers, which continues to flow. And check out the spicy “Mushroom
Salna” recipe – it will definitely warm you up this winter!

The Editorial Team

Contact the Editorial Team:

Isha Forest Flower, Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, IshanaVihar Post, Coimbatore – 641114
forestflower@ishafoundation.org

For subscription inquiries, please contact our Subscription Office:

(044) 48611137, 96770 16700 – subscriptions.FF@ishafoundation.org
To change your mailing address online, visit: www.ishafoundation.org/ForestFlower

2 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER January 2018

CONTENTS
LEAD ARTICLE MAHABHARAT

Sahasrar – Inebriation and Ecstasy 07 Part 38: Vidura Puts His Foot Down 10
IN CONVERSATION WITH THE MYSTIC
Epics – A Lively Form of History 04
Kavitha Kalvakuntla in Conversation with Sadhguru

LEAD ARTICLE
Sahasrar – Inebriation and Ecstasy 07

MUSINGS
Nada Aradhana – Cracking the Wall of Energy 09

MAHABHARAT
Part 38: Vidura Puts His Foot Down 10

NEWS & EVENTS

INSIGHT 2017 / Hopping Around Southern India / Isha Gramotsavam 11
Ignites in Andhra / Rally for Rivers is Still On

SHARING EXPERIENCES
Embrace
His Womb 14
Poems by Isha Brahmacharis

SADHGURU SPOT
The Power of Stillness 15

UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Yaksha and Mahashivaratri 2018
Isha Yoga – Program Highlights 18

ISHA RECIPES
Mushroom Salna 21

ZEN SPEAKS
The Lost Student 23

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 3

 IN CONVERSATION
WITH THE MYSTIC

Epics – A Lively Form of History

In this excerpt of “In Conversation with the Mystic”, Kavitha Kalvakuntla, Member of Parliament from
Telangana, probes Sadhguru about magic, men’s perspectives towards women, and the role of epic
stories in molding this perspective. In the course of his response, Sadhguru speaks about logic versus
magic, our ideas of success and their impact upon femininity, and the importance of learning from the
past.
Sadhguru: Namaskaram. Now, what is most people’s idea of magic? If I
pull out a pigeon from my pocket right now,
Kavitha: Namaskaram, Sadhguru ji. Thank you would you think it is magic? I can do this for you.
so much for being here in Hyderabad. You will have a bird, and I’ll have a shitty pocket!
[Laughter] That’s all that happens.
Welcome to Telangana, sir. Welcome to the
youngest and most happening state of the Kavitha: Well, I was really hoping that you could
country. We are very proud. Sadhguru ji, I’ve do something so wonderful and magical that all
watched many of your interviews, did a little bit of the men in this world would forever be changed
homework before I came here, but anyway I will about their perspective towards women.
definitely start from a basic question, which not [Applause].
only me but many people would probably want to
understand. When you say you are a mystic, can Sadhguru: This is why the government has
you also do some magic? [Laughter] funded the ISRO project of Mars so that we can
live on two separate planets! I think if I can say
Sadhguru: The greatest problem that humanity is a few words, taking the risk of being among
facing and suffering is that they are so absolutely so many ladies and saying these things. Yes,
involved and enamored and overwhelmed with unfortunately, there have been long periods of
their own psychological drama that they are exploitation of women across the world and
completely missing the magic of creation that is even in this country. But there was a time, when
happening everywhere. The psychological drama, in this country, women were not exploited by any
your own thought and emotion has become so means. They lived fabulous lives. You just look
big; and the physiological drama, your own body, back and see. For example – we don’t have a full
takes a certain amount of space. In this drama, picture but whatever the remnants of stories like
the entire existence has gone somewhere else. Ramayana or Mahabharat – do you see women
If you paid enough attention, every day there is going around in veils? Do you see women
magic all over the place. See, mud has become hiding? No. The queen sat on the king’s lap in
flower. The filth has become fragrance. Is this public. You see Shiva sitting, and Parvati sitting
not magic? Every day, everywhere it is happening. on his lap. But you must understand, we have
4 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
January 2018
faced a little over a thousand years of invasions.
When invasions happen, they not only go for
your gold; they also go for your wives and your
daughters, first. So, putting them behind, hiding
them somewhere, in granaries, among sacks of
grain, became a normal thing. When a thousand
years of continuous invasions happen, the risk of
keeping your woman out became a very wrong
thing to do. Unfortunately, that is still continuing.
I think we will break through in the next coming
generation. I think we already are in a big
way. We are only the second generation after
Independence. Don’t be in too much of a rush
and make this one species into two. Homo
sapiens is a single species. Unfortunately, in
reaction to the past exploitations, we are trying
to create two species. This is not going to work
well, either for men or for women in future. It’s
very important the changes that we make in our
society are not in reaction to the wrong things
that have happened in the past. What is the right
thing we want in future? We must focus on that
consciously, rather than simply reacting.
Kavitha: So, what Sadhguru ji is basically
saying is there is no magic. It’s only logic to
work towards…
Sadhguru: No, no, no, there is magic also. The
logic that we are employing is very rudimentary.
This is the significance of this culture, where
we took logic to a point where it became an
access to the mystical and the magical. We
have not seen it as logic versus magic. We saw
that a stable, logical foundation is a must for
continued, sustained magic to happen in our
life. Otherwise, your magic will just be a flash in
the pan. It will not continue. If your logic is well
established and you take it to a certain height,
then you can make your life magical every
moment. For this to happen, you should not think
with the fundamental logic about who is a man,
who is a woman. Both of us are here because a
man and woman came together. Or do you still
believe in the magic that somebody dropped you
from heaven?
First of all, grading everything by economic
standards is a serious mistake. If “How much
can you earn? How much can you provide?” is
the only standard of wellbeing, then believe me,
you may have women in the world, but you will
kill the feminine totally. Today, if you want to be
successful in the world, a woman should act like
a man. This is slavery of the worst kind. It’s very
important we have feminine in equal proportions
as masculinity to make this world and our lives
beautiful. Our idea of success has become so
rudimentary – “How much money have you got?”
If you do this, you will kill the feminine totally
January 2018
because this is a gross world. You will bring
marketplace into your mind and into your home.
This is happening in the Western societies. When
they’re getting married itself, they are making
a contract – “When we get divorced, who gets
what?” How much ugliness do you want in your
life? How can two people be woven into one
if you are making calculations like this? So,
don’t take the marketplace home. This is what
will happen if you make your standard of life
purely economic.
Kavitha: Agreed. Since you’ve mentioned
Mahabharat, Ramayan and all these scriptures…
Sadhguru: If I can correct that – we should not
misunderstand what is a scripture and what is a
very organic way of writing our history. An epic is
a historical document written in a lively form so
that it is relevant to you all the time. Right now, the
Western way of writing history is like this, “This
king came. He killed so many people. He did this.
He did that. He died. And next one came. He did
this. He did that. He died.” What are you going to
do with this? If a thousand years ago, somebody
lived or died, what does it matter to you? But,
when you read Ramayan or Mahabharat, these
are live stories that you can relate to even today.
So, this genuinely learning from the past. The
basis of being human is that we can learn from
somebody else’s experience. All the nonsense
need not happen to us. Maybe it happened 5,000
years ago, but we can still correct our lives by
looking at what happened to them.
Kavitha: When you have been learning from
the Ramayan and Mahabharat and many more
stories for generations, how do we expect the
current Indian men to not treat his wife like Sita
or Draupadi? You know, he can simply go and bet
her somewhere. He can simply leave her in the
forest because somebody says something. How
do you unlearn these things that we have learned
all our life? How do you hit the refresh button
and start all over again by looking at a woman
as a respectable figure? How do we teach this to
our children?
Sadhguru: Let me put this in the right perspective.
The man [Rama] walked all the way, fought a
battle, burned down a city to get back his wife.
That’s not a small thing.
Kavitha: But, then he again gave her an agni-
pariksha1. He didn’t trust his wife.
Sadhguru: Ah, but we are taking these words
literally. Agni-pariksha did not mean somebody
1
Lit. a fire test. A test of chastity that Rama set up for
Sita.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 5
has to enter the fire. It meant she was put through
some tests – of course, because he was the king.
Everybody is looking at him as an idol. How you
behave, what you do, is very important because
the entire nation’s life depends on you. So, Rama
was setting an example in those days. Sita was
pregnant, his sons were inside. For a king, his
sons are important. In spite of that he sends her
to the jungle because otherwise, there would be
disruption in the country. Are you seeing this as
a negative thing? I think we need such Prime
Ministers and leaders in this country, that no
matter what, for the wellbeing of the nation, they
will do what is needed. [Applause]
Kavitha: Agreed, a leader has to sacrifice, no
doubt. We will go to any length to sacrifice and
send a message to the people. But this particular
message is taken so literally by other people that
they treat their wives like that. How relevant is
it to take an example from the leader he is and
follow that, even adapt it to the modern times...
Sadhguru: Today, if we send you to a forest,
that’s called a safari holiday [Laughter]. I think
this is being taken very literally. When I was in
Nellore, I was speaking to a large group of over
7000 school students. This little fourteen year
old girl stands up and asks, “Sadhguru, they
6 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
are saying that Rama walked all the way from
Ayodhya to Sri Lanka. Is it practical or is it just a
story?” Then I asked the same question, “You are
a young girl right now. You’ll grow up and find a
man. Do you want that kind of a man who, if you
get lost, no matter what, he will follow you and
find you, or do you want a man who will find local
solutions for himself because it’s not practical?”
Even this little girl knows what kind of man she
wants. [Laughter]. To misunderstand any event,
you are always free, but to understand it, is your
business, isn’t it? And, today making judgments
on life that happened 5000-6000 years ago, from
our standards here, is completely off.
Kavitha: Yes, that is the problem. So we don’t
have to literally take the message from all these
epics, but move on.
Sadhguru: That’s why I corrected that. It’s not a
scripture. It is only a historical document. It is for
us to learn, not for us to misinterpret.
To be continued
January 2018

Sahasrar – Inebriation and Ecstasy
In this last installment of our series on the seven chakras, Sadhguru enters the realm of Sahasrar, where
inebriation and ecstasy abound. He explains why it is not a place for one to inhabit, its connection
to Adiyogi and the crescent moon, and how people often touched this dimension in southern
Indian temples.
A Place to Get Lost
When we use the word “path”, it means a
demarcated way, an established way. If there has
to be demarcation, you need a physical space.
Sahasrar is not a physical space. It has a presence
in the geography of the body, but it does not
represent a physical space. Because of this, there
is no path of Sahasrar as such in the tradition.
One dramatic example of someone who was into
Sahasrar would probably be of Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa. Ramakrishna, who was a bit too
much into Sahasrar, would not have lasted long
because that is not a space where one can hold on
to the physical body and exist.
As ecstatic and fantastic as it is, it is not a living
space, it is a “going” space. Once in a way, you
can touch it and be back. When someone stays
there for too long, things will happen – the body
will not hold. You may have heard of Totapuri
taking a piece of glass and cutting Ramakrishna’s
agna to bring him down to clarity and knowing,
rather than simply floating around in ecstasy. Is
January 2018
LEAD ARTICLE
floating around in ecstasy not good? It is great,
but you cannot work and manifest something in
that condition. That condition is like inebriation.
It is wonderful and existentially fantastic, but in
terms of human activity, it is not great because
you cannot be functional in those states. Even if
you are functional, you are not very effective. It is
a fuzzy world between physical and non-physical.
So, the less we say about Sahasrar the better,
because right now we are on a mission – we cannot
afford fuzziness. Here and there, we party a bit –
we have our Bhava Spandanas and satsangs, but
then we want to be focused on what we need to do.
That will not be possible if everyone is in Sahasrar.
And if everyone starts inhabiting there, they will not
be here for long, they will be gone.
You may have heard about Shiva being in ecstatic
states, where he is inaccessible and unavailable.
Someone who is so focused and intense is suddenly
all oozy-woozy and not available. That is because
these are “Sahasrar times”, when even someone
as intense and focused as him is too drunk and
inebriated for action. Of all divine entities, Shiva is
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 7
the most athletic. That means he signifies action,
but even he gets woozy sometimes because he is
in Sahasrar. So it is not a path. You go to Sahasrar
because you want to get lost, not because you
want to find yourself. When you feel like getting
lost – Sahasrar. When you feel like finding yourself,
you need to be on some path. Is there a tradition of
getting lost? Yes there is, but you cannot make a
form out of it.
Adiyogi, the Moon and Amrita
In India, there is a symbolism of amrita coming out
of the ocean, Shiva drank up the poison part of it
and everyone else wanted to drink the amrita, or
the elixir of life, and make themselves immortal.
Essentially, amrita is immortality, in the sense
that your experience of life rises beyond physical.
When your experience of life rises beyond the
physical, you are obviously immortal in some
way. Immortality does not mean we will have to
endure you forever, it means that we don’t have to
endure you at all because your physical nature is
almost gone.
To put it in terms of chakras, it is Sahasrar. What
you see as a third day moon [crescent after the
new moon] is a drip of this. Three drops of amrita
dripped out of Shiva’s Sahasrar and everyone
is trying to access it. He is wearing the moon as
an ornament.
This is important. He is wearing it as an ornament
on his head. That means there is a tinge of ecstasy
always, but he is not immersed in it. Sometimes he
goes into it but otherwise, there is always a tinge
of ecstasy.
If this tinge of ecstasy is not there, one cannot
sit. One can simply sit here without any need to
do anything outside, without the need to pursue
pleasure or fulfillment because there is a tinge of
ecstasy. That means you are mildly buzzed out. If
you are fully immersed in it and drunk, then you will
be useless. When I say useless, I mean in terms of
the world, not in terms of life. In terms of life, that is
also okay. But in terms of activity in the world, you
could become incapacitated. But with a tinge of
ecstasy, you can be into endless slavery – you can
do any amount of things and still feel that you have
done nothing because there is a tinge of ecstasy.
It is like people who get a little drunk – they dance
and dance and dance till their legs fall off because
there is a tinge of ecstasy. They would not be able
to do that at other times.
So you can either dance or work or do anything
without any sense of burdensomeness because
there is a tinge of ecstasy. Adiyogi is representative
of this, that always, there is a tinge of ecstasy.
8 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
A Tinge of Ecstasy in Temples
When we create a certain form – not all lingas but
most of them – if they have been done properly,
there is a tinge of ecstasy. If you do not bring
this tinge of ecstasy into your own form and also
the forms that are consecrated, then there is no
inspiration. When I say there is no inspiration,
people cannot come under the influence of a
form – they will keep thinking only about what
they want.
This happens in many well-consecrated temples
in India. People go there with the intent of praying
and asking for all kinds of stupid things, but when
they go there, they forget these damn things and
simply stand. This happens because of the tinge
of ecstasy.
The shadow of a consecrated form – when I
say shadow, don’t take it literally as light and
shadow – in some way, the energy shadow of the
form will naturally be there on the floor. If we mark
that out, people can walk that. I think it is only in
southern India that people are still actively aware
of the third day moon. Soma means the moon or an
intoxicating form. Soma Rekha means they trace
the path of the third day moon.
The reason why people are conscious of this only
in the South I think is because of Agastya Muni. He
got a little too chatty with people and told them too
many things!
Out of his love for them, he told them that there are
places where if you touch them, there is ecstasy.
So people made a tradition out of that and they
want to walk that.
This is very much there in the southern temples –
parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Kerala. These are the only places where people
are aware of it – maybe not individually aware, but
in the tradition it is there.
I don’t think people would have discovered this by
themselves. Someone must have spoken about it.
We could blame Agastya for this or maybe some
other yogi spoke about it because the one who
creates the form will not generally speak about it
because he does not want all the other aspects of
the form to go waste. It is like serving food and a
sweet to a child. He may just eat the sweet. This
is why in India, we serve sweets only at the end
of the meal. In the beginning they will serve a half
spoon of sweet payasam, just to taste so that you
eat well, hoping that they will serve payasam in the
end again!
You have to eat all the other food which is
nourishing and in the end, they will serve payasam
January 2018
again but by then your stomach is so full, you can’t
eat too much sweet!
Similarly, if you just show people where that tinge
of ecstasy is, people may start walking just that
and miss out on everything else. As I said, if you
are well established and there is a tinge of ecstasy,
it is fantastic. But if you only seek that, it is still
Nada Aradhana – Cracking the
Wall of Energy
Questioner: Can you say something about
the significance of participating in the Nada
Aradhanas1 each day; either singing or playing the
bowls, drumming or just simply being there and
meditating…
Sadhguru: One important reason why we started
this process which we call as Nada Aradhana is
because the energy of Dhyanalinga can become
like a solid wall. Now that many of you are having
a dip in the Theerthakund and then entering the
Dhyanalinga space, I am sure some of you, if you
are sensitive to it, must have felt that it hits you,
almost like a physical thing. Because the field of
energy that gathers around the Linga is so intense,
it can be like a strong wall. It can become so
intense that for those who penetrate through it, it
will be wonderful; others will sit in the space but
will sit outside the energy simply because of its
intensity. If it was of a weaker intensity then a lot
more people could enter.
So twice a day, we are sort of cracking this wall
by using certain sounds – sometimes melodious
sounds, sometimes discordant sounds! The
melody of the music that they produce is only
socially relevant for the people who are sitting there.
But the purpose of making the sounds is fulfilled
even if they are discordant, because the idea is
to disturb something there which is manifesting
itself into something very intense – almost like
a solidified presence – so that it becomes a little
more accessible to all the people who enter. Twice
a day, we are shaking it up a little. You could just
do it with a few shouts and or even make noises
with some kitchen utensils, if you do it intensely
enough. It may not serve the social purpose, but
the spiritual purpose is being served. However, we
want to make use of this as an offering, because in
1
An offering of sound that happens twice a day in
Dhyanalinga.
January 2018
fantastic but a bit too fantastic and you may move
from reality to “Lala Land.” You may be a little
lala – wonderful for you – but it needs to be rooted
in this world because there are things to be done
here too.
MUSINGS
a state of offering a human being is most receptive.
Always in the Indian way of life – it doesn’t matter
how poor you are, or if your children have not eaten
for ten days – if you go to the temple you must
offer something. This is not because God wants
to eat your banana or coconut. If you don’t have
bananas or coconuts, you are supposed to at
least offer a leaf. The idea is that you go with an
intention of offering. You go as an offering. When
you go as an offering, you are most receptive to
what is available there.
the field of energy that gathers around
the Linga is so intense, it can be like a
strong wall.
So the times of Nada Aradhana are the most
receptive for people because they are a time
of an offering. For those of you who are unable
to experience Dhyanalinga for what it is, if you
are struggling with it, the best time for you to be
there is definitely Nada Aradhana time. One thing
is because we are loosening the surrounding
structure in a certain way. Another is that it is a
time of offering, which is the most receptive state
to be in.
If you are in the ashram and you don’t have any
important work on your hand, I would say you must
be there at that time. Otherwise, you are missing
something very precious.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 9
 MAHABHARAT
SERIES
What has happened so far: The Pandavas begin
their twelve years of exile in the forest. Duryodhana
and Karna plan to make use of this opportunity
to hunt them down when they are unarmed. They
seek Dhritarashtra’s permission, while Vidura
dissuades him.
Vidura went a mile longer than he normally did with
Dhritarashtra. Right from Dhritarashtra’s childhood,
Vidura had been an able support for him. So, being
his brother and having been his wisdom all his life,
Vidura could talk to him in a way that no one else
could. Vidura told him, “This is unbecoming of us.
Already the house is so full of sin that I cannot
even eat in this place. But now going after them in
the forest and trying to hunt them down, as these
boys intend to do, is simply out of question. This
cannot be allowed. I am telling you, your boys will
not keep quiet. They will go on doing something.
“Do one thing: call the Pandavas back and give
them their half of the kingdom. Ask them to forget
everything and go. Because the five Pandavas are
sons of devas. They are hugely equipped and a
majority of the kings sympathize with them. Above
all, Krishna is with them. If we fight a battle, it is
sure death for all of us. Don’t have illusions about
this. Believe me, whatever it may look like right now,
when it really comes to battle, Arjuna will stand up
like a god and defeat everyone. It is best you call
them tomorrow and give them back the kingdom.”
Dhritarashtra listened to all this and said, “Are you
never tired of praising the Pandavas? I can clearly
see you are prejudiced in favor of Pandu’s sons
against mine. How can I ask my son to give back
what he has won? He has won it according to the
Dharma, he has won it in the dice game.”
Vidura replied, “You know very well that the dice
are loaded. You know very well Shakuni is a cheat,
and you know very well Yudhishthira does not have
a clue how to play a dice game. Knowing all this,
you allowed the game to happen, and now you are
talking about Dharma. Don’t utter that word.”
“The day you sanctioned the wax palace and its
burning, you lost all your credibility. If you want to
revive anything for yourself, your children and for
the Kuru lineage, just call them back. Give them
their portion, let your boys have your portion, let
them live in peace. And we can somehow take
some kind of commitment from the Pandavas
that they will never wage a war against us. That
will leave us in safety – your boys will live their full
10 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
PART 38
Mahabharat
Vidura Puts His
Foot Down
term of life. Otherwise, your sons will be dead the
moment the Pandavas come back.”
Dhritarashtra got sick of this – not that he had to
get sick of anything as he had always been sick
one way or the other. He said, “I have had enough
of you. If Pandu’s sons mean so much more to you
than my own, go! I have no use for you.”
Vidura said, “That is the best thing you could have
done for me.” He bowed down and he left. He made
arrangements for his wife and Kunti who were
living in the house and left joyfully for the forest,
where he met the Pandavas. Vidura hugged all of
them and they all wept. After all the emotion was
done, they asked him why he was here. Vidura said,
“I have come to stay with you. It is over for me in
Hastinapur. I could not leave my brother myself, but
now my brother asked me to go so I am now free.
At last I am happy that I am free from the sinful
alignment of things that were happening there.”
The Pandavas were very happy. They had always
respected Vidura. He was the only one who stood
up and said something right in the court that day
when things were going utterly wrong.
But Dhritarashtra could not exist without Vidura
because right from his childhood, every day, day
in and day out, Vidura had been his companion,
wisdom, eyes, ears – everything. Suddenly
Dhritarashtra felt so lost. So just after two days,
he sent messengers to Vidura and said, “Please, if
you are gone I will die. I will stop eating and I will
kill myself.” After much pleading, Vidura went back
to the palace again.
When he went back, he insisted that they must call
off the hunt. Dhritarashtra called Duryodhana and
said “There is not going to be a hunt.” Duryodhana
and Karna pleaded heavily that they are just going
for fun and not for anything else, but he said, “You
cannot go for a hunt. And if you go for a hunt, you
will have to go in the opposite direction.” But they
were not interested in hunting there – they wanted
to hunt here.
To be continued
January 2018
 NEWS AND
EVENTS

INSIGHT – The DNA of Success 2017

The sixth edition of INSIGHT kicked off on November 23 with over 230 business leaders from across
the world flocking to the Isha Yoga Center. A unique program for entrepreneurs, INSIGHT is conducted
annually by the Isha Leadership Academy that explores the science of scaling up one’s business as well
oneself.

This year featured Key Resource Leaders Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairperson and MD, Biocon Ltd),
and Hemant Kanoria (Chairman and MD, Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd) along with Sadhguru as the
Program Leader. Participants gleaned valuable insights from their life stories and those of other resource
leaders, all while immersed in the vibrant and colorful Rajasthani attire, décor, musical ambience – in
celebration of the Marwaris, one of India’s most successful business communities.

Day 1: Sadhguru – Shailendra Mehta –

Ameera Shah

At the welcome session, Sadhguru set the tone for
the program, “This time, we thought we will look
at the traditional practices which made this nation
into such a vibrant enterprise that everybody in the
world wanted to come here.” Later, the Faculty Chair
Dr. Shailendra Mehta (President and Director of
MICA, Ahmedabad) drew upon his Marwari heritage
to present how ancient traditional practices can
be applied to contemporary commerce. Program
facilitator B.S. Nagesh (Founder of TRRAIN and
Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Shoppers Stop
Ltd) then invited resource leaders to the mike to
share their inspirational stories of scaling up. In
the evening session, Ameera Shah (Promoter and
MD, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd) earned a standing
ovation after her eloquent speech describing the
risks, rewards and battles of her entrepreneurial
journey as a woman.

Dr. Shailendra Mehta Ameera Shah

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 11

Hemant Kanoria A. S. Kiran Kumar

Day 2: Hemant Kanoria – A.S. Kiran Kumar – Sanjay Jain

The second day began with an invigorating yoga session and ended with a guided meditation both led
by Sadhguru. In between, the participants were also treated to some personal success stories. Hemant
Kanoria’s story revealed how every business challenge can be used for both business and personal
growth. Sanjay Jain (Chief Innovation Officer, CIIE) spoke about the rolling out of the Aadhar Card (a
unique ID card issued to residents of India), a tremendous national achievement in which he played a
key role. A.S. Kiran Kumar (Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization) transfixed the audience with
ISRO’s odyssey to Mars and future plans in outer space.

Day 3: Sadhguru – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Sadhguru Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Vellayan Subbiah

On the climactic third day, Sadhguru took the helm. He spoke about how a leader is one who can take his or
her followers to a place where they could not go by themselves. In response to questions about how Isha
functions as an organization, Sadhguru said that it functions instead as an organism – where each part
knows what it has to do to keep the organism going. The afternoon session saw Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
the “doyen of Indian biotechnology industry” detail her remarkable trajectory from humble beginnings as
trained brewmaster to spearheading a $4billion business.

12 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

January 2018
Event Highlights

Hopping Around South India

Nov 20-21: Sadhguru had a conversation with
students at Ramaiah Institute of Technology
on “Youth and Truth”, and also inaugurated the
Ramaiah Indic Specialty Ayurveda Restoration
Hospital in Bengaluru, the first of its kind in India.
Nov 22: The Golden Jubilee Year of the Convention of Company Secretaries in Trivandrum saw Sadhguru
giving the Special Address and releasing the “Code for Charity Governance” – to standardize the governing
methods of charity companies in India. The Hon’ble CM of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan was the Chief Guest.

Nov 26: In Conversation with the Mystic with Kavitha Kalvakuntla in Hyderabad. Read an excerpt of their
talk on Page 4.

Isha Gramotsavam Ignites in Andhra

Nov 27: A grand Isha Gramotsavam culmination took place for the first time in Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, organized in collaboration with the state government, in partnership with UNICEF. 148 teams
and 999 players had participated in the volleyball and throwball tournament. Later in the evening, popular
actress Rakul Preet Singh engaged Sadhguru in a conversation, exploring inner dimensions and outward
manifestations.

Rally for Rivers is Still On

Nov 28: The Hon’ble CM of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman
Singh met with Sadhguru in Raipur and signed an
MoU with Isha for river revitalization work.

Nov 30: CEO of Niti Aayog, Amitabh Kant had a

conversation with Sadhguru at the PacRim YPO
Retreat in Delhi, attended by 60 successful young
businessmen in Delhi.

Dec 1: Sadhguru addressed the staff of Niti Aayog

on water conservation and river revitalization
in Delhi.

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 13

 SHARING
EXPERIENCES

“When a child is born, for a few people a great

many things are already determined; but for most
people very little is determined – everything else is
wide open. So being physically born is not of much
consequence. The day we come out of our mothers’
wombs is only a birth of a possibility. Biology just
delivers you as an animal; it is you who can make
yourself into a full-blown human being, or a divine
possibility. When a person is willing to die the way
he is and be born once again within himself, when
he is willing to make his birth a conscious process
not just a biological process, when the necessary
awareness arises in a human being that he kills
the animal within himself and allows the divine
to flower – that is when the birth becomes really
significant.” -Sadhguru

Many on the path of brahmacharya experience it

as a new birth. Here are a couple of poems by Isha Embrace
brahmacharis that convey that experience.
The vastness that surrounds
Did embrace me
“i” dropped those few moments
Only vastness remained
For having lived all this way
my life is made
To have been born
And born again in His Grace
To be in His Embrace
His Womb

When I was in my mother’s womb,

I was not born out.
When I was born,
I was not in her womb anymore.
Here I am
Born once again, yet
still living in His womb, 
Living in His womb,
Living in His love.

14 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

January 2018
 SADHGURU
SPOT

The Power of Stillness

In this excerpt from a Sadhguru Spot, Sadhguru writes about his favorite locations to set up yoga centers,
vibrant rock beds, endless possibilities of engineering, the basis of success, beneficial forces of nature,
and a practice we can do in order to experience the silent power of stillness.

There are situations in our lives that we can do
something about. Then there are situations in
our lives that are just consequential. Only if we
handle those dimensions of our life where we can
do something well, the consequential dimension
of our life will be good. If we do not handle the
sadhana, which means the action part of our life,
properly, our life will not be of much consequence.
This does not mean one should aspire to leave a
footprint on the planet. Those who were trying to
leave footprints, if they did, it becomes obvious
that they could never fly. It is not about leaving
footprints.
Wherever I go, people ask me, “Sadhguru, will you
set up an Isha Yoga Center here?” I am telling
them, “I am not a real estate person. My real estate
is in the minds and hearts of people. We wish to
establish a yoga center in everyone’s mind, body,
January 2018
and heart.” Definitely Isha Yoga Center is growing
that way in the world – it is growing in the minds
and hearts of people. Not geographical spots but
human beings should become centers of yoga. In
this context, this is an important month because
particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, a certain
inertia is setting in, in nature, and in the way energy
functions.
This phase is important for Shiva because he is
known for his dancing, but more significantly for
his stillness. This is a phase that supports that
stillness. There is perfection in our existence
only when we know how to be absolutely still.
Otherwise, you dance, you sing, all this is nice –
but how long? Any activity is bound by time. Only
in stillness, time has no impact on you. There are
various ways to look at why this is so. Shiva means
that which is not, which means it is eternally still
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 15
– Sadashiva. Initially, you can bring this stillness
into you by being immobile. Later on, you can be
in a flurry of activity and still be absolutely still.
Your activity will be an expression of your stillness,
not of your compulsiveness. Everything you do will
come from this stillness.
There is perfection in our existence
only when we know how to be
absolutely still.
You must bring this stillness into your family, into
your home. Everything that grows in a space of
stillness, including your children, will be of a different
quality altogether. Stillness and exuberance are
the nature of existence. This is the nature of yoga,
the nature of creation, and the nature of what we
refer to as Shiva – still but tremendously vibrant.
In some sense, even modern science is beginning
to recognize that the most dynamic dimension of
creation seems to be nothingness. It is possible
for every human being to become like this that
after you sat somewhere, the place will exhibit an
exuberant form of stillness.
Many years ago, I was teaching programs in small
towns and villages of Tamil Nadu. These were
wonderful times, as I dealt with people who had
a certain level of innocence and fire within them.
We came to a place called Velayuthampalayam.
People said, “You must come to the temple on the
hill.” I told them, “There is no bald hill in Tamil Nadu
– every hill has a little temple. Let’s leave it.” Then
one day, they told me there is a cave where some
Jina or Jain saints stayed, about two thousand
five hundred years ago. Now I got interested.
Considering the time period, they could have been
direct disciples of Mahavir.
We climbed up the hill and came to a place where
a narrow walkway led to a cave. The local king
provided them with beds that were carved out of
the rock, in the form of a flat space and a small
pillow made of rock. I sat on one of these beds, and
even after centuries, it was as alive as if they had
been there the day before. The place was not well-
kept – the local youth used it to hang out and drink.
It was littered with broken bottles and garbage,
and the rocks were covered with the initials of
who was in love with whom. We cleaned up the
place and decided to spend the night there. It was
a phenomenal night out there – that was the kind
of footprint they had left. They had no intention
of leaving a footprint, but wherever they sat and
stood, it naturally happened, because they had
16 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
become like that within themselves.
This is what Bharat means, first of all. For ages,
people who had an inner longing turned east, simply
because many great beings left a web of energy
here. To establish something so fabulous has taken
thousands of years and beings of great proportion
and depth. To make something fabulous, whether
it is a space or a human being, takes a whole lot
of work. To make it filthy takes just a day. Now is
the very last phase of Dakshinayana, this means
the very last phase of the sadhana pada. This is a
time of the year to strive without results. One who
is wise will understand that one dimension of our
life needs striving – another dimension of our life
is a consequence. If we want a great consequence,
the striving has to be equally profound.
This is not about being rewarded for something
that you do. This is the nature of this machine that
we call creation. I call creation a machine because
it produces unfailingly. The solar system is a
machine as well. It has been working so perfectly
and efficiently for thousands of years that you may
forget it is a machine. The sun rises every day,
so you don’t bother to look up and watch if it is
coming up this morning or not. I still do, because I
am skeptical about everything. You must also look
out. If you learn to be on a certain level observant of
what is happening around you, you will not only be
observant with the outside but with the interiority
too. If you understand that the entire cosmos is a
kind of machine, you will realize your own system
is also a machine. How well a machine functions
depends on how well it is kept.
Keeping it well is not just about fitness – that
is only one aspect of it. Keeping it well for it to
perform at a very high level needs evolution. What
does evolution mean? On ancient excavation
This is the nature of yoga, the nature
of creation, and the nature of what
we refer to as Shiva – still but
tremendously vibrant.
sites, archeologists are often looking for pieces of
pottery. Imagine the first time people dug up the
earth and made pots out of it. For the first time, they
had something they could store water in and carry
it home. How fantastic it must have been! A simple
pot transformed people’s lives. It must have been a
milestone in the development of human societies.
Today, we are digging the same soil and make a
January 2018
spaceship out of it. With the same resource, we
can do so many things today. This is the evolution
of engineering. Similarly, with the same resource, a
human being can do so many things.
If while doing the same activity, you
only use fifty percent of the words you
normally use, you will see stillness will
settle in.
Sadhana and yoga are about evolving the
engineering of what we can do with this human
system. That is why we have named our basic
program Inner Engineering. The human system is
a machine. Inner Engineering means to evolve a
human being to a much higher level of functioning.
You can engineer yourself to a place where you
function like the source of creation. When you say
“Shiva,” you won’t have to look up. When you say
“Shiva,” naturally your eyes will close, because
it is all here. That is how far a human being can
go. Instead of being a creature, you can become
the source of creation. But without devotion and
sadhana, it doesn’t happen.
If you look at the lives of people who are successful
in the world – whether it is as a business man, a
musician, an artist, or something else – they were
not just lucky. They put in an enormous amount
of work to make this happen. When everyone else
was sleeping, they were up and doing something.
When everyone else was settling for simple
pleasures, they were working. If you think you work
hard but nothing is happening, then the creature
that you are needs to evolve. Evolution is on all
January 2018
levels. One who is reasonably evolved as a human
being should start working on the outside. One
who is not should start working on the inside. This
machine should evolve to function in a way that
other people think is magical.
The important thing is the evolution of the machine.
This machine must evolve to a point where it is no
more a cog in the larger machine – it is the machine.
What we refer to as Shiva is not another part in the
machine – it is the source of the machine. It is the
source of existence. This is the evolution that a
yogi is striving for – not to become a little more
polished part but to go deeper and deeper into the
machine until one day, this is the very source of the
machine. This period of inertia on the planet is very
good – you can become still, effortlessly.
If you want to bring stillness into your life, be
conscious to utter only fifty percent of the words
you normally utter in a day. This is vak shuddhi.
Purity of utterance will happen. This is not for
someone else’s sake. For yourself, it is very
important what is coming out of your mouth. This
is like an emission test. If while doing the same
activity, you only use fifty percent of the words you
normally use, you will see stillness will settle in.
This is conscious silence. Becoming totally silent
should happen in a different way – with appropriate
sadhana. Simply holding back all words and not
doing anything will not lead to silence, because the
noise that otherwise would have come out will go
up in the head. You may know that by experience.
Consciously frame your sentences to say what you
want to say with fifty percent of the words that you
normally use, but the same level of activity.
Love & Grace,
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 17
 UPCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

A Night with the Divine

13 February 2018
6 p.m. to 6 a.m. | Isha Yoga Center

Wisdom • Meditation • Bliss

With Sadhguru

“Mahashivaratri is of great significance for all those who aspire for the Ultimate.
May this night become an exuberant awakening for you.” - Sadhguru

This year, Sadhguru has opened up new opportunities for one to experience and become receptive
to the tremendous spiritual possibilities of this night.

Rudraksh Prasadam: Receive a rudraksh bead that has adorned Adiyogi for the last one year. This
can be kept in one’s shrine at home and worn on auspicious days.

Adiyogi Pradakshina: Be initiated into the process of pradakshina (circumambulation of a powerful

energy source) to imbibe the Grace of Adiyogi.

Bhairavi Maha Yatra: Be part of this vibrant and grand procession as the Linga Bhairavi Utsav
Murti journeys to the Adiyogi and graces the nightlong festival.

• Midnight Meditation • Maha Annadanam • Musical Performances

Daler Mehndi Sean Roldan & Special Guest Performance by

Friends Sonu Nigam

For seating passes: mahashivarathri@ishafoundation.org

Live Webstream: isha.sadhguru.org/MSR

83000 83111
18 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
January 2018
YAKSHA
An Exuberance of Music and Dance

February 10-12, 2018

(preceding Mahashivaratri)
Isha Yoga Center

In an endeavor to preserve and promote the uniqueness, purity and diversity of the country’s
performing arts, Isha Foundation annually hosts Yaksha, a three-day festival of culture, music,
and dance with performances by renowned artistes.

Featuring

February 10th February 11th February 12th

Rakesh Chaurasia Vidushi Shruti Sadolikar Katkar Chitraveena N Ravikiran
Hindustani Flute Hindustani Vocal Carnatic Chitra Veena

SADHANA

The Mahashivaratri Sadhana is a preparation for Mahashivaratri – a night of tremendous

possibilities. Anyone eight years of age and above can do the sadhana. The sadhana can be of
varying durations. You can do the sadhana for 40, 21, 14, 7 or 3 consecutive days leading up to
Mahashivaratri, 13 February 2018. It includes chants, Shiva Namaskar, and the observance of certain
guidelines. The culmination is on Mahashivaratri – optionally at the Isha Yoga Center or at home.

For more details, guidelines, and to learn Shiva Namaskar as well as the chants,
please visit the website: isha.sadhguru.org/MSR

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 19

 Date Program Place Contact

Isha Life Health Solutions

044-28885333 / 83000 45333
3 & 30 Jan 2018 Weight Loss Program (opp. Spencer Plaza),
programs@ishalife.org
Chennai – India

Isha Institute of Inner-

In the Lap of the Master +1-931-298-9667
6–7 Jan 2018 sciences, McMinnville,
(with Sadhguru) ilm@ishausa.org
TN – USA

Joint and Musculoskeletal Isha Life Health Solutions

044-28885333 / 83000 45333
8 & 22 Jan 2018 Disorders Treatment (opp. Spencer Plaza),
programs@ishalife.org
Program Chennai – India

Isha Institute of Inner-

+1-931-668-1900
11–14 Jan 2018 Shoonya Program sciences, McMinnville,
shoonya@ishausa.org
TN – USA

Live in a Consecrated Space Isha Yoga Center,

94890 45136
16 Jan 2018 – Yantra Ceremony with Velliangiri Foothills,
yantra@lingabhairavi.org
Sadhguru  Coimbatore – India

Isha Institute of Inner-

18–21, 25–28 +1-931-229-0709
Bhava Spandana sciences, McMinnville, TN
Jan 2018 bspregistration@ishausa.org
– USA

Isha Yoga Center,

0422-2515464
19–21 Jan 2018 Ayur Rasayana Velliangiri Foothills,
isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org
Coimbatore – India

Isha Yoga Center,

10–12 Feb 2018 Yaksha Velliangiri Foothills, 83000 83111
Coimbatore – India

Isha Yoga Center,

13 Feb 2018 Mahashivaratri Velliangiri Foothills, 83000 83111
Coimbatore – India

Isha Yoga Center,

83000 93555 / 83000 83111
20–27 Feb 2018 Samyama (Tamil) Velliangiri Foothills,
iycprograms@ishayoga.org
Coimbatore – India

Isha Yoga Center,

94890 45164
22–25 Feb 2018 Inner Engineering Retreat Velliangiri Foothills,
ieretreat@ishafoundation.org
Coimbatore – India
Isha Institute of Inner-
7–14 Apr 2018 Samyama (English) sciences, McMinnville, samyama@ishausa.org
TN – USA

Current at the time of print, however subject to change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our
website: www.ishayoga.org.

20 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

January 2018
 ISHA RECIPE

MUSHROOM SALNA

INGREDIENTS

» 4 Tomatos (cut into small pieces)

» 1 medium-size Potato (cut into cubes)
» 8-10 Button mushrooms (cut into quarters)
» 1 Drumstick (cut into 1 inch pieces)
» 3 tsp Red chili powder
» 1 tsp heaped Coriander seed powder
» ½ tsp Turmeric powder
» ½ tsp Ginger paste
» Salt as needed
METHOD
» Grind the grated coconut, fennel seeds,
cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, poppy seeds,
FOR THE PASTE fried gram, and bay leaf to a paste, adding a
little water. Keep aside.
» 1 cup heaped Coconut (grated)
» Heat 5 tbsp of sesame oil in a vessel. Add the
» 1 tsp Fennel seeds mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the
» ½ inch Cinnamon stick fennel seeds, and 4 curry leaves.
» 2 Cloves » Add the ginger paste. Sauté for a few seconds.
» 2 Cardamoms » Add the cut tomatoes. Add the turmeric
» 1 tsp Poppy seeds powder and a little salt. Sauté till the tomatoes
turn mushy.
» 1 Tbsp Fried gram
» 1 Bay leaf » Add the mushrooms and sauté till well cooked.
» Add the red chili powder and coriander seed
powder and sauté for a few minutes.
FOR THE TEMPERING » Add two cups of water along with the potatos
and drumsticks. Cook till done.
» ½ tsp Mustard seeds
» Add the ground paste and bring to a boil.
» 7 Curry leaves
» ½ tsp Fennel seeds » Separately, heat 2 tsp sesame oil. Add the red
chilis and the remaining curry leaves and sauté
» 2 Red chilis for a few seconds. Add this tempering to the
» 6 Tbsp Sesame seed oil dish.
» Serve hot with idlis or chapattis. (Serves 4-5).

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 21

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January 2018
 ZEN SPEAKS

Courtesy: Zen Speaks

Courtesy Zen Speaks

Published by: B. RAJESH CHANDER on behalf of ISHA FOUNDATION

Published from 117/50, Luz Church Road, Mylapore, Chennai – 600 004, TAMILNADU

Printed by: S. PRAKASH; at FINE DOTS, No.15, Boo Begum 3rd Street,
Anna Salai, Chennai – 600 002, TAMILNADU. Editor: K. SEKAR

January 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 23

January 2018

January 2018
A Body of water that
invigorates life can be a lake
so sacred or just a slice of fruit.
Many ways of the life giving water