Volume 6 / Issue 05 May 2018

A Brief
In the beat of a heart
In the gentle passage of
a breath. In the intermittence
of pulse. Does life
happen and so does
Death.

A fleeting moment embodies

the dynamism of Creation
and stillness of its Source

Grace & Blessings

May 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | b

 EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,
In this issue, we recap yet another flurry of Sadhguru’s events, from talks at the Unit-
ed Nations Headquarters in New York to conducting meditation programs, and other
high-profile speaking engagements around the world. Sadhguru’s successful involve-
ment in a wide range of fields and activities could belie the fact there is one thing
that he himself considers as his thing, that which he is really good at – the process
of consecration. In this month’s Lead Article, Sadhguru speaks about this core ac-
tivity of his, what it means to him, the significance it has for people’s wellbeing, the
increasingly high demand for him to consecrate spaces and energy forms, and his
intention and willingness to train a group of highly dedicated people who could do
this kind of work. Read “Building a Consecration Force” to find out more.

Sadhguru says that one prerequisite for being able to do consecration work is that
one’s energies are fluid. In “Why a Distance to Body and Mind Frees Your Energies”
Sadhguru expands on the topic by explaining how a distance to body and mind im-
pacts one’s energy, and which yogic practices are designed to facilitate this fluidity,
one of them being Shoonya meditation. In this month’s excerpt from Sadhguru Spot,
Sadhguru writes about “Shoonya – The Significance of Doing No-Thing” as a way to
touch the nothingness that is the basis of everything, including ourselves.

Also in this issue: “Sadhguru Close-Up and Personal” – a rapid-fire round of ques-
tions posed to Sadhguru by Cisco CIO V. C. Gopalratnam; event highlights of the last
few weeks; “Arjuna and Subhadra” – Sadhguru on how Krishna engineers his sis-
ter’s marriage to the Pandava prince; and last but not least a recipe for a deliciously
healthy dessert option – an “Avocado Pista Pudding.” Enjoy!

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

Disclaimer: Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or entering into commitments
in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. Isha Foundation does not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of
products and services. The printer, publisher, office bearers, editor-in-chief and the editor of Isha Foundation shall not be held liable for any
consequences in the event of such claims not being honored by the advertisers.

2 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER May 2018

CONTENTS
LEAD ARTICLE MAHABHARAT

Building a Consecration Force 07 Part 42: Arjuna and Subhadra 12

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE MYSTIC
Sadhguru Close-Up and Personal 04
V. C. Gopalratnam in Conversation with the Mystic

LEAD ARTICLE
Building a Consecration Force 07

MUSINGS
Why a Distance to Body and Mind Frees Your Energies 10

MAHABHARAT
Part 42: Arjuna and Subhadra 12

NEWS & EVENTS

Sadhguru Speaks at the United Nations on Water 14
Sadhguru in Toronto 15
Samyama with Sadhguru at the iii 16
Sadhguru at the ‘Happy Cities Summit’ 17

SADHGURU SPOT
Shoonya – The Significance of Doing No-Thing 18

UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Isha – Program & Event Highlights 20

ISHA RECIPES
Avocado Pista Pudding 21

ZEN SPEAKS
Matter Is Empty 23

May 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 3

Sadhguru Close-Up and Personal In Conversation
with the Mystic
Cisco CIO V. C. Gopalratnam in Conversation with Sadhguru

Sadhguru answers some witty and personal rapid-fire questions posed by V. C. Gopalratnam, Cisco’s
Chief Information Officer (CIO) for its International Operations, Senior Vice President of Information
Technology, and the leader for Global IT Services. They touch on if or why Sadhguru experiences
anger or distress, whether he prioritizes intelligence or emotion, whether he prefers progress or
perfection, and much more. The In Conversation with the Mystic event that this round of questions
is excerpted from happened on 9 February 2018 at Isha Home School’s Gnana Shala.

Shri Gopalratnam: Can I ask you some rapid
questions? One sentence answers, if possible.
Sadhguru: Rapid questions or rapid answers?
Shri Gopalratnam: Rapid answers. So, in one
sentence, can you describe India?
Sadhguru: A phenomenon.
Shri Gopalratnam: Two or three leaders who, in
your opinion, exhibit inclusiveness?
Sadhguru: You are getting me into trouble. [Laughs]
Shri Gopalratnam: All right. What does yoga mean
to you?
Sadhguru: Yoga is everything to me. And yoga
means everything. Yoga means union – the
individual and the universal meet. It’s everything.
Shri Gopalratnam: Sure. If you went to sleep now
and woke up twenty years from now, what would
you expect the world to look like?
Sadhguru: I think I will be dead.
I don’t believe in perfection, because
the nature of life is such that there
is room for constant evolution and
development.
Shri Gopalratnam: Okay. Which is more important –
strategy or operations?
Sadhguru: This is like asking whether your right
leg is more important or your left leg to reach your
destination.

4 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER May 2018

Shri Gopalratnam: That’s a good answer. Progress
or perfection?
Sadhguru: The only thing they have in common is
that both start with “P.”
Shri Gopalratnam: Which do you think is more
important though?
Sadhguru: I don’t believe in perfection, because the
nature of life is such that there is room for constant
evolution and development. The only thing that’s
perfect about human life is death. No one died
imperfectly, but no one ever lived perfectly.
Shri Gopalratnam: How about honesty or
authenticity?
Sadhguru: Authenticity is not honesty?
Shri Gopalratnam: It is. Okay, intelligence or
emotion? Basically, IQ or EQ?
Sadhguru: See, the source of all division in the
universe is human intellect. Because it’s a cutting
knife and you use it for everything, naturally
everything is in tatters, and you see emotion and
intelligence as something different. But, the fact of
the matter is, the way you think is the way you feel.
If I think you are a wonderful human being, I could
have sweet emotions towards you. If I think you are
a nasty human being, I will have nasty emotions
towards you. I cannot think you are nasty and have
sweet emotions. Nor can I think you are wonderful
and have nasty emotions. So, the way you think is
the way you feel. I do not separate it within me.
Shri Gopalratnam: How many hours do you sleep
in a day? And what is your at rest pulse rate?
Sadhguru: How many hours I sleep, I usually don’t
decide – the world decides. For almost twenty-
five years, I managed with two and a half hours,
on an average. These days, I am much lazier. On
an average, I must be sleeping four, four and a half
hours per day. But that’s not every day. Some days, I
sleep a little more. Some days, I don’t sleep. My rest
pulse rate used to be thirty-two, thirty-three, at
one time. These days, because of too much travel,
not eating the right kind of food, eating whatever
people give, and not enough sadhana, I think its
somewhere between thirty-six and forty-two.
Shri Gopalratnam: Wow. Which basically means
you never get tired, physically.
Sadhguru: I die at the end of the day, usually.
Shri Gopalratnam: Okay. What have you mastered?
Sadhguru: Myself, I think.
May 2018
Shri Gopalratnam: Okay. What do you see when
you see a person for the first time?
Sadhguru: The standard answers would be “I see
love; I see light; I see possibility.” I don’t see people
like that. In a work situation, I see them differently.
But otherwise, if I just see someone, I don’t really
see a person – I just see life. This may be a little
disappointing or insulting for some people, but I
look at people as I would look at a tree, a cow, a
dog, or an elephant. When I look at a life, I just look
at it as a life. It is only when I need to do something
with the human beings, then maybe I look at
their person and what I can do, what I cannot do
with them. But otherwise, when I simply look at
someone, it’s just another life for me. In terms of
Information Technology, you may be ahead of an
ant. But in terms of life, in what way are you ahead
of an ant? It is as much life as you are. Their traffic
lanes are better managed than yours. And they are
ecofriendly, which you are now desperately trying
to be. In my eyes life is life. Only when it comes
to activity, I gear myself, tone myself down to see
each individual as an individual. Otherwise, life is life
for me.
Gopalratnam: Okay. When was the last time you
got angry, and what happened?
Sadhguru: I cannot say I’ve been really angry at
anyone. Maybe sometimes a bit distressed with the
way people go about things, about their own life,
and what they do to other people, but not really
angry. Yes, I’ve been distressed by looking at a few
things that are happening in the world around
–in the larger world, and also sometimes in our
immediate surroundings. It causes some distress
how insensitive individual human beings can be to
So, the way you think is
the way you feel.
each other and what they do. But I always use this
distress as a way to see that some sort of solution
comes out of it if possible. Not in all situations are
you able to create solutions. But I don’t make it
into anger, because it is one hundred percent clear
to me that my experience of life is one hundred
percent determined by me. I allow a certain amount
of distress to happen to me so that I don’t become
too la-la-la. I’m in a state of la-la within myself all
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 5
the time. But because I have to work in the world, I
tone down the la-la and cause a little bit of distress
to myself so that I work as it is needed.
Gopalratnam: Do you consider yourself a Tamilian
or a Kannadiga or a Teluguite?
Sadhguru: This man is hell-bent on getting me into
trouble! [Laughter]
Gopalratnam: You want to pass on that question?
Sadhguru: No, no. My mother tongue is Telugu –
proud of it, but can’t talk much. I grew up with
Kannada language because I grew up in Karnataka.
But I chose to come to Tamil Nadu. What you chose
is always above what you’re born with, isn’t it?
Gopalratnam: Okay. When was the last time you
did something for the first time?
Sadhguru: Well, this doesn’t really fit the bill, but
just two days ago, after thirty years, once again I
rode into Mysore City on a motorcycle. This is not
the first time, but thirty years later is almost like
another life. It’s not the same body, definitely. I
could ride for three days and three nights. Without
sleep, without rest, simply I would ride. Only the
motorcycle would get tired, not me. So I rode these
6 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
three hours plus into Mysore City on a motorcycle
the other day, and it felt like the first time, though
there were memories of many times before.
Gopalratnam: Okay. What do you think would
probably surprise most people about you?
Sadhguru: Just about everything.
Gopalratnam: Okay. And then one last question.
I know you’re an avid golfer, and my boss, who’s
our global CIO, is almost professional level. He’s a
scratch golfer. Who, in your opinion, is the better
golfer – Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus?
Sadhguru: Jack Nicklaus is still good. Tiger Woods
has been a phenomenon like no other. He hit bad
times, but recently, he’s come back.
Gopalratnam: Do you have a handicap?
Sadhguru: My handicap has been declared as
fourteen, six years ago. But a few days ago, I finished
an extremely difficult course in Ooty, which was not
very well managed, just one over. No one has done
that course one over. I have it in me, but there’s
not enough practice or any kind of honing of skills.
Simply, once in a way, I play.
May 2018
 LEAD ARTICLE

Yogeshwar Linga Consecration

Building a Consecration Force

By Sadhguru
A participant of the recent Samyama program asks Sadhguru, “What can I, we, do to help you
consecrate the world?” In his response, Sadhguru stresses the importance for human beings to live,
work, and grow in energetically conducive spaces. He discloses some little known facts about the
kind of toll consecrations take on him, who, as he says, lives with a reconstructed, fragile body since
it was almost gone after the Dhyanalinga consecration, almost twenty years ago. He says, “I have the
energy, but I do not have the body to do that.” Outlining major upcoming projects and many more
pending requests to consecrate spaces and energy forms, he emphasizes the urgent need to create a
substantial group of people who could be trained to do such work. Read on to find out what it takes.
It has taken thirty-six years of work to really get city structures – that are many thousands of years
people interested in the science of consecration. old. But now this new city is being built in Andhra
Some of you have a consecrated form in your own Pradesh. We have been working with the state
homes. For many people who have taken Devi government on various other projects, and we
home, it is the biggest thing that has happened taught Inner Engineering for the Chief Minister, all
to them in their lives. There are at least a hundred the ministers, bureaucrats, and top officers in the
requests right now for me to consecrate major state. We have also adopted over three thousand
projects – largely in India; some outside the schools in Andhra Pradesh. Now, they set up a
country. These are not necessarily temples – for a conference called Happy Cities Summit. They
lot of major real estate projects, they want energy want to create not only a beautiful city, not only a
centers. I am going from the US to India, just for one technologically capable city, but a happy city. And
day, to speak at the inauguration of the new city of they want a consecrated space in the heart of the
Amaravati that is going to be established in Andhra new city.
Pradesh.
These requests are growing. Apart from that, the
This is the first such project in India in recent Linga Bhairavi Avigna Yantras take three to four
years, where a completely new city is being built. months to make. That is why we give them only
Otherwise, most of our city structures are ancient. twice a year. It takes an enormous amount of life
We have excavated sites – temples, ports, whole investment. If I do the requested one hundred

May 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 7

consecrations in the next two years, I may live only
for another three years. That is the kind of energy
requirement it will take. Those of you who have
been with me for over seventeen, eighteen years
would have seen what happened to me after the
Dhyanalinga consecration. And what most people
do not know – after the Devi consecration, eight
years ago, I lost my sense of taste and smell for
almost one and a half years. My tongue was like
dead. Whatever I ate tasted like cotton. Generally
my sense of taste is very keen and vivid – I am very
This is the most important thing that
needs to happen in the world – human
beings should live in energetically
healthy spaces.
choosy about those things when I want to be.
Slowly, my sense of taste and smell came back. I
had to do so many things to revive the system. We
had built various support systems at that time, for
a variety of reasons. Due to time, age, and various
other circumstances, a lot of those structures
have going away. We are building new energy
structures to assist us. But definitely, as it is right
now, we will not be able to fulfill these one hundred
consecrations. And by the time we complete those
consecrations, it will multiply into many hundreds.
I have the energy, but I do not have the body to
do that. This body is a fragile, newly built structure,
after it was almost gone at one time, after the
Dhyanalinga consecration.
We need people to stand up. Young people below
thirty-five years of age – if you are interested, we
want to train you to be able to do these things. But
this kind of training needs a completely different
dimension of involvement, dedication, keenness
of purpose, and discipline. When you play with
your fundamental life energies, you must be super
disciplined. One small deviation, and it will go all
bad. Not just for you – for me. And we cannot let
the work that you are doing go bad – someone else
has to pitch in. If you think you have the quality,
you must put your name down. We will look at you;
we will look at various aspects, what level of work
you would be able to do. For certain very intense
work, you must be below thirty-five years of age.
But there are other kinds of things that older people
can do.
8 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
This is the most important thing that needs to
happen in the world – human beings should live
in energetically healthy spaces. You might build a
beautiful building – that does not mean it is good
for habitation. There is a whole science behind how
to create a space that will allow a human being
to blossom properly. This is important especially
where children are growing up – every school must
have a consecrated space. The world is still at a level
of ignorance where they think that by consecrating
a space, you are bringing some religion into their
lives. This will go slowly. We have already eased
it up quite a bit. Corporate houses, which earlier
never entertained such things, are now asking us
to establish energy forms in their offices and other
spaces.
Not even two to three percent of what we should
do in terms of consecrations, we are able to do,
simply because we still do not have the necessary
committed force to do it. Everyone is busy with
other activities. This work needs a group that is
exclusively dedicated to this, and that works in
a totally different dimension of life. Essentially,
it means to be willing to be an instrument in
making something. Maybe you yourself will never
understand what you are creating. But you must
learn to be an instrument. In Western cultures, they
have taught you that you should never become
an instrument in someone else’s hands. With that
attitude, you cannot do consecrations. People still
do not have the maturity to understand this –
they are making stupid moral judgments about
everything.
Young people below thirty-five years of
age – if you are interested, we want to
train you to be able to do these things.
Consecration needs a different breed of people.
We can prepare them, but fundamentally, trust
and commitment are needed. In order to make
you a powerful instrument, it may be necessary to
twist and turn you a bit. To make you a doctor, an
engineer, or a scientist, do they not torture you?
From the age of six, you are in a school – is that not
torture? To make a six-year-old child go to school
and count “one, two, three, four,” learn A B C D and
all this nonsense – is it not torture? It is torture,
but only because of that, people become capable
of something that they would otherwise not be
able to do.
May 2018
 If something has to be done that is beyond the
normal limitations of what human beings can do,
it needs an extraordinary sense of commitment,
discipline, and devotion to what we are doing.
Otherwise it will not work. In ancient India, every
space was consecrated. That is gone, but now
once again, the necessary interest and trust are
spreading. We just opened a small Devi Gudi1 at our
center in Delhi. But the response from across the
city has been enormous. We just could not manage
the rush of visitors. For the three consecutive days
of the opening, the entire two-acre space was
filled not only with meditators but people from
everywhere. The power of the consecration is such
– it draws people. Many more consecrations need
to happen.
But the science of consecration is not something
that we can write a book about, tell you to read it
to learn a few things, and you know what to do. It
is not like that. You have to feel through it. It takes
a certain amount of work and a certain amount
1  Small Linga Bhairavi shrine
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May 2018
of closeness. Your physical body, your mental
structures, your emotional structures, your karmic
structures – every aspect of your life has to be
looked at, so that your life energies are fluid. If they
are fluid, you can use them any way you want. If that
is not done, then consecration will be like mumbo-
jumbo. The genuine science of consecration will die.
Only rituals will live – someone will be mumbling
something. They will not care whether something
actually happens or not because anyway, it will be a
commercial process for them.
If we really want to create something, we need to
build a strong force. We are making an attempt to
build at least a small force. But if we are able to build
a larger force of let’s say fifty to hundred people, we
can do phenomenal things in the world. But where
to find those people who will think beyond their
own lives?
Contact:
nathalie.zabbal@ishafoundation.org
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 9
 MUSINGS
Why a Distance to Body and Mind Frees
Your Energies
By Sadhguru
Your thoughts, your emotions, and the way you keep
your physical body have a very strong influence on
how your energy functions. Those of you who are
practicing Shoonya meditation may have noticed
this: you are settling into a meditative state – then
one thought, and you are back to reality. Or in Bhava
Spandana, you are floating away – one thought,
and the experience is suddenly gone. Since energy
is a very fluid or amorphous kind of manifestation,
it could take any form. But if you are too deeply
identified with your physical body, the energy will
get stuck to that physical form. It will not show
any other dimension. The idea of a spiritual path
like brahmacharya is not to be identified with the
physical form. If you are identified with the physical
form, you cannot cultivate and evolve your energy
to a bigger possibility. It will only keep you alive and
fulfill the basic functions of your physiological and
psychological dimensions.
10 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
The same goes for your mind. If you are strongly
identified with your own thought process or
your emotional structures, then once again, your
energy gets restricted. The fundamental process of
being meditative is to distance yourself from your
physiological and psychological activity. Only in this
state can the energy be deeply influenced. In order
to initiate people into Shambhavi Mahamudra,
we are taking twenty to thirty hours, because we
have to wring them around a little bit and come
to a place where they are less identified with their
physical body, their thought, and their emotion.
That is when we initiate them. Otherwise, their
energies are simply not available.
We always say you should not write down anything
during the program because in writing, you are
getting super identified with your thought. There
are people who constantly want to write down
something, because they know only accumulation.
They are still hunters and gatherers. Wherever they
May 2018
 go, they have to gather something. They do not
understand that there could be another dimension.
If people came without any of this rubbish, within
ten minutes of their arrival, we could initiate them.
How efficient we could be if people were a little
more evolved. Just to initiate people into fifteen
minutes of Shoonya meditation, we are talking for
at least forty-five to fifty hours. All this is for you
to disidentify from your physical body and your
mind. We have to bring you to a place where your
own thought, your own emotion, your own body
do not matter to you. Only then will your energies
be available. When you are strongly identified with
your physiological and psychological process, your
energy is stuck to that form.
If you want to build a building, you need scaffolding.
The form of the scaffolding determines the form
of the roof you can make. You cannot set up flat
scaffolding and create a dome on top of it. Right
now, the body and the psychological structure are
like scaffolding. As long as the scaffolding is there,
energy will not take any other form. The energy
may be a little amorphous, but it largely remains in
the same form as your body and your psychological
structure. If you are strongly identified with your
physical form and your psychological structures,
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May 2018
you will not explore anything new in life. Just to
make this scaffolding a little flexible takes hours
and hours of hard work. To make it disappear would
take a lot more work.
We have to decimate the identification with the
body and mind before we can initiate you. If I
initiate you while you are fully identified with your
body, you are like a wall. If I throw my energies, they
will bounce back at me. It would be of no use. These
days, we are doing the Inner Engineering program
in less than two and a half days. If we start Friday
evening, by Sunday morning, we have to get ready
for the initiation. Until then, we have to do many
things to soften people out – we make them dance,
we make them laugh, we make them cry, we tell
them all kinds of idiotic jokes. The idea is that the
initiation touches a maximum number of people. If I
see even one person who is still sitting like a stone,
I will be talking and talking, trying to involve them
in some way.
If you distance yourself from your thought, your
emotion, and your physical body, you do not even
have to come to the program. If you sit like that
in your home, in any place on this planet or on
the moon, I will initiate you. Life would become
very easy.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 11
 MAHABHARAT
SERIES Mahabharat
PART 42 Arjuna and Subhadra

What has happened so far: After Arjuna accidentally barged in on Yudhishthira and Draupadi, he went
into self-imposed exile and became a wandering mendicant. During this time, he met the warrior prin-
cess Chitrangada, married her, and had a son with her. After some time, he continued his peregrinations.

Krishna’s sister Subhadra was in love with Arjuna,
without ever having seen him. But Balarama,
Krishna’s brother, had promised Subhadra in
marriage to Duryodhana. Balarama was Bhima’s
and Duryodhana’s teacher in mace fighting, and
Duryodhana was Balarama’s favorite disciple. But
Krishna did not want Subhadra to be married to
Duryodhana, because it would become difficult if a
battle arises in the future. If your sister is married to
your opponent, it will stop you from doing things
you need to do in that situation. Therefore, Krishna
further kindled Subhadra’s love for Arjuna. Krishna
told Subhadra to fall sick, and upon his request, she
promptly fell sick. Their mother Devaki got very
worried about the girl being sick and struggling.
Then Krishna suggested, “Let us go and worship at
this particular temple in Prabhasa. If you worship
Shiva in this temple, any ailment that a young
girl may have will be cured.” So, the whole family
travelled to Prabhasa. Krishna made sure the route
went past Arjuna’s cave. Arjuna saw Subhadra,
and he instantly fell in love. Balarama noticed this
mendicant in the cave.
Balarama was a huge man, muscular, a great
fighter, and a just man, but the brawn that he built
in his body kind of grew a little bit into his skull too.
He was not the sharpest one. He always depended
on Krishna to make intelligent decisions. And above
all, he bowed down to Krishna as an avatar. He

12 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER May 2018

did not see Krishna just as a brother, but still, here
and there, Balarama had the authority of being an
elder brother. So, he saw this mendicant, but he
did not recognize it was Arjuna, because he had
grown dreadlocks and a beard, and he was sitting
in meditation. Balarama bowed down to Arjuna,
asked him where he was from, and wanted to take
care of his wellbeing in some way. He said, “Instead
of being here in this wild place, where it is difficult
to get food and stuff, come and stay in my palace.
I’ll make arrangements for you where you can
continue your meditation or whatever.” Krishna,
who stood beside them, indicated to Arjuna that he
better do it.
Arjuna moved into Balarama’s palace and into the
proximity of Subhadra, and things happened. One
day, as the date for Duryodhana’s wedding with
Subhadra was already fixed, Krishna said, “Before
that, you better elope. Otherwise, there’ll be
disaster for you.” So Arjuna and Subhadra eloped.
When Balarama came to know that this was a false
mendicant and that he was taking away the girl,
he chased them. But Subhadra had taken the reins
of the chariot. Krishna said, “Why are you chasing
them? The girl is not being abducted. She is going
of her own free will. It’s not in the dharma to fight
to get her back, because she is not being forcefully
taken.” Balarama got furious. He knew this whole
situation was Krishna’s design. Balarama loved his
favorite disciple, Duryodhana, very much. Right till
the very end, he always sided with Duryodhana. But
because Krishna was on the other side, he could not
do anything.
Here is a little poem about Arjuna, and the kind of
man he was:
May 2018
Arjuna
Unwavering aim
turns into a mean game
The quiet warrior, a deadly force
Strong of body and mind
Weak of vanity and whim
Enjoined with a god
becomes destiny’s tool
but nobody’s fool
A Man, A Man, O’ Man.
So, Arjuna had three wives, and he took Subhadra
back to Indraprastha. But Draupadi had set a rule:
“You can marry as many women as you want
outside, but none of them comes into this palace.”
But this is a different case. Subhadra is Krishna’s
sister. Arjuna did not know how to face Draupadi,
coming back home after one year with a new wife.
So he sent Subhadra. By herself, she went like a
milkmaid and pleased Draupadi in many ways.
Subhadra told Draupadi that she was in danger,
that there were people who wanted to hurt her.
Draupadi said, “Don’t you worry. You will always be
under my care. Stay here in the palace.” After that,
it was revealed to her that Subhadra was married
to Arjuna. When Draupadi came to know Subhadra
was Krishna’s sister, she quelled her anger.
To be continued
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 13
Events Highlights
Sadhguru at the United Nations
Headquarters
Sadhguru Speaks at the United Nations on Water
New York, 21 Mar: One day ahead of the World
Water Day, Sadhguru spoke at a special event,
organized by the Permanent Mission of India
to the UN, on the topic “Women, Water and
Sanitation.” Sadhguru said at the event: “Water is
not a commodity – water is life-making material
for all of us. You are just a body of water – around
sixty percent, you’re water. So if we don’t protect
the water bodies, this water body won’t survive.
This is staring on our face. In Asia and Africa it
is a very huge issue, and we are rapidly moving
to a place where turning around will be very
difficult. It’s appropriate that at this moment, the
United Nations has taken the step of a ten-year
action plan, which is most vital. It’s important
that we make this into a success because this is
14 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
NEWS AND EVENTS
the survival of this generation….”
Most importantly, he pointed to the root cause
of the problem: the rapidly increasing human
population, which is projected to grow to 9.6
billion by 2050. He said, “This is happening not
necessarily because of excessive reproduction. It
is because lifespans are getting better, which is a
wonderful thing that human beings are getting
to live a full lifespan. But when we take death into
our hands, we should take birth into our hands
also. So instead of making predictions, that by
2050 this is the kind of disaster we will be, I would
appreciate if all of us have a plan, that by 2050
we’ll be 4.5 billion. Then you can live whichever
way you want, and it’ll be fine on this planet.”
May 2018
Sadhguru at the UN launch of the International Decade
for Action: Water for Sustainable Development
New York, 22 Mar: Sadhguru was invited to speak
at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on
the occasion of World Water Day (22 Mar 2018). The
event saw the launch of the International Decade
for Action: Water for Sustainable Development
2018-2028. This UN initiative focuses on cooperation
and partnership in the integrated management
of water resources. Sadhguru opened his talk by
highlighting the vital importance of water, “The first
and foremost is to make everybody on this planet
understand that water is not a commodity. It’s life-
making material. It’s the stuff we are made of. Over
two thirds of the planet is water. Two thirds of our
body is water.”
Sadhguru in Toronto
Mystic Eye event
in Toronto
May 2018
Sadhguru outlined the increasingly dire situation of
water supply and rivers in India as well as possible
solutions, the Rally for Rivers, and the Draft Policy
Recommendation for the revitalization of rivers
in India. In order to tackle the issue on a global
level, he called for collaboration across national
or political boundaries to arrive at international
policies, perhaps based on climatic regions. He
said, “It’s really a fantastic day today that we are
talking about a decade of action, not a decade of
talking. Now we have to get into action. Obviously,
the United Nations does not have geographical
presence. It is the nations on the ground which
need to act.”
Toronto, 24 Mar: The Mystic Eye
event with Sadhguru on 24 Mar
2018 in Toronto, Canada received
an overwhelming response. The
hall was packed with over 6000
participants of all backgrounds, who
had seized the chance to spend
an evening in the presence of the
Mystic. Sadhguru astounded the
audience with his very own blend
of rational insights and profound
mysticism. Again, in a matter of just
a few hours, he had brightened up
faces and impacted many thousands
of lives.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 15
Sadhguru in conversation with
influencer Evan Carmichael in Toronto
Toronto, 25 Mar: On the bright sunny morning of
the next day, Sadhguru took a stroll at Lake Ontario
to meet up with motivational entrepreneur Evan
Samyama with Sadhguru at the iii
iii, 31 Mar – 7 Apr 2018: “Samyama is not a program
but a phenomenon. If only we could have a
substantial number of people in this phenomenal
state, a totally new possibility could be unleashed.
We have to create the possibility that in near future,
there will be an opportunity for a larger number
of people to know, experience, and attain to this
16 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
Carmichael for a spirited conversation. Both may
have different approaches but a shared focus –
fulfilling human potential.
state,” Sadhguru stated a few days ahead of the
much-awaited Samyama at the Isha Institute of
Inner-sciences (iii). Mahima – Seat of Grace was
filled to capacity as over 900 aspiring sadhakas
gathered under its dome for eight days of intense
processes and meditations in Sadhguru’s presence,
energy, and Grace.
May 2018
 Sadhguru in conversation with
AP CM Chandrababu Naidu

Sadhguru at the ‘Happy Cities Summit’

Amaravati, 10 Apr 2018: green cover and a focus on other environmental

Immediately after the Samyama program at aspects such as renewable energy, as well as
the Isha Institute of Inner-sciences in the US, environment-friendly modes of transportation, to
Sadhguru flew to India to inaugurate the “Happy make Amaravati a most livable city.
Cities Summit 2018” with Andhra Pradesh Chief
After the release of the Amaravati Happy City
Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati. Since
Master Plan, the delegates from India and abroad
a north-western portion of Andhra Pradesh was
were treated to a conversation between Sadhguru
separated to form the new state of Telangana with
and Chandrababu Naidu, in which both shared their
Hyderabad as its capital, Amaravati has become
insights on what it takes to build a happy city. While
Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city and seat of the
Chandrababu Naidu spoke about the correlation
government. CM Chandrababu Naidu outlined
between values and development, Sadhguru
his vision for Amaravati, saying, “We have decided
pointed out two fundamental things that need
to make Amaravati a blue-green city and on top
to be attended to in this context – chemistry and
a ‘happy city.’ Decade ago, there were talks of
geometry.  He said that all human experiences have
development which began with ‘smart cities.’ Now
a chemical basis, and everything physical in the
it’s time for happiness. A balanced blend of welfare
universe has a form, and therefore the geometry of
and development can make us happy. Our vision is
life becomes important. So when creating a happy
to make AP the happiest state.”
city, it is important that the geometry of the spaces
A number of high-ranking experts from around the are supportive to the nature of the human being.
world, including Singapore, Finland, Bhutan, and
Sadhguru distilled the essence of happiness and of
the United Kingdom, shared their experiences and
this city development project in the following tweet:
ideas to build a happy city. Dr. Cherukuri Sridhar,
Happiness is essentially a human experience.
commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region
While making our surroundings pleasant, it’s
Development Authority (APCRDA), detailed the
important to make our interiority also pleasant.
construction of Amaravati as an eco-friendly, blue-
May Amaravati become a truly joyful & sustainable
green and happy city. CM Chandrababu Naidu said
global city. - Sg
Amaravati would be developed with more than 50%

May 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 17

 Sadhguru Spot

Shoonya - The Significance of Doing No-Thing

In this Spot, Sadhguru writes about the universal phenomenon of Shoonya, which occupies ninety-
nine percent of ourselves and the whole cosmos, and yet is not in our awareness. He goes on to
explain the meditative approach he offers to experience this no-thingness.

What is the significance of Shoonya? Shoonya as
a word could be translated as “emptiness,” though
the English word “emptiness” does not do justice
to Shoonya. Emptiness is a sort of negative word –
it suggests an absence of something that was
supposed to be there. Shoonya is not an absence –
it is a limitless presence. The zero was invented in
India. When we invented the zero, we did not see
it as an absence but as the ultimate number. Zero
means nothing, but it can add value to any other
number. Shoonya is like that. To put it into a certain
perspective – modern cosmologists say that over
ninety-nine percent of the cosmos is empty. Over
ninety-nine percent of an atom is empty. Ninety-
nine percent of existence is empty. This is what we
refer to as Shoonya. As the life that you are, you
have a choice: Either you can be a small creature in
this vast emptiness, or you can be that emptiness
which is the source of all creation. That is what we
are approaching with Shoonya meditation.
In your personal opinion, you are the most important
life in this creation. In your family structure, you
are one of the important lives. In the city, you may
be somewhat important, but they can do without
you. In the nation, you are a person of very small
importance – if you are gone, no one will notice. In
the world, you are an even tinier piece of life. In the
cosmic space, you are almost non-existent. Even if
you do not think about it consciously – somewhere
deep down, everyone knows this. That is why all the
bravado, all the decoration, all the accumulation –
because in some way, there is a desperation to
make yourself a substantial life.
Ninety-nine percent of existence is
empty. This is what we refer to
as Shoonya.

18 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER May 2018

Whether it is wealth, money, ego, education, or doing nothing. If I just keep telling you, “Don’t do
family – all these are just efforts to somehow anything, don’t do anything,” you will go crazy. The
make yourself feel like you are a worthwhile life. more you try to do nothing, the crazier you will
But when every atom in your body is ninety-nine go. To do nothing, you need some support. If you
percent empty and the whole universe is ninety- want to swim in nothingness, we give you a rope
nine percent empty, it means this no-thingness that you can hold on to. What kind of rope is this?
which is the source of creation is throbbing within No-thingness also means silence. Some-thingness
you, in every cell of the body. If this becomes a also means sound. The rope that we offer to you is a
living experience, then you will live very differently. particular sound or mantra. When nothingness gets
In search of that, kings chose to become beggars. too overwhelming, you can hold on to this sound.
Gautama Buddha walked as a beggar. Shiva walks
as a beggar. This demonstrates that they have
found something which does not need decoration,
amplification, or additions of any kind. It is the thing As no-thingness is packaged in every
that occupies the entire cosmos. As I just sit here,
atom and every cell of your body, we
this is complete by itself.
package Shoonya into a meditation.
This dimension of life would generally need lots of
preparation. But today, people are only willing to
give a very small amount of time. This is the plight
of being a Guru in the twenty-first century. As no- There are various kinds of mantras. One mantra
thingness is packaged in every atom and every cell of that all of you are familiar with is AUM. It is a kind
your body, we package Shoonya into a meditation. of mantra that acquires power when you utter it
It is like a Shoonya pill. I am making it ridiculous, loudly and clearly. Then there are other kinds of
because the way most people in the world go mantras that are referred to as beeja mantras. A
about life is ridiculous. In this vast existence, you beeja mantra is a meaningless, pure sound. Mantra
are so small, but you think you are big. I have seen means pure sound, beeja means seed. A seed has
many people, to whom their home, their family, to be kept in a certain way. Once you put it in the
their nonsense, their jewelry, their property were soil, you must give it the right amount of moisture –
so important, they were fighting for it until the only then will it sprout. A seed will do what it has to
last day. And suddenly, they were dead. I tried to do; the soil will do what it has to do. Your business
point it out to them while they were alive, but they is just to maintain the needed conditions. Similarly
were not interested. It is unfortunate that only with with Shoonya meditation – if you handle it right, it
death, people come to their senses. will sprout, grow, become a magnificent tree, and
bear fruit.
Suppose you got ninety-nine percent in an
examination, you would be very happy with the Love & Grace,
ninety-nine percent and willing to ignore that one
percent. Right now, ninety-nine percent is Shoonya.
One percent is creation. In Shoonya meditation, you
put this one percent aside for some time and enjoy
the ninety-nine percent. You have been ignoring
the ninety-nine percent till now, which is ridiculous.
Running after fullness, so many frustrations have
come. If someone’s pocket is fuller than yours, you
get frustrated. If someone’s granary is fuller than
yours, you get frustrated. Someone’s heart is fuller
than yours, you get frustrated. That is why we are
teaching a new game where you can anyway win.
After all, emptiness is easier than fullness.

Shoonya means “emptiness,” or, more precisely,

“nothingness.” An even more appropriate way
of putting it is with a hyphen between “no” and
“thing.” It is “no-thingness.” That means it is a
dimension beyond physical nature. Shoonya means

May 2018 ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 19

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Current at the time of print, however subject to change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit
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 ISHA RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
»» 2 Ripe avocados (butter fruits)
»» 5 Tbsps. Pistachios – shelled
»» 2 Tbsps. Honey
»» 1 Tbsp. Sweet lime (mosambi) juice
»» ½ tsp. Rose water
NOTE
You can find this and many other recipes
in Isha’s cookbook “A Taste of Well-Being” –
available in major bookstores as well as on
Amazon, Flipkart, and Isha Shoppe.
May 2018
Avocado Pista Pudding
METHOD
1. Roughly chop the shelled pistachios.
2. Cut the avocados in half, lengthwise. Pop the
seeds out. Score the avocado flesh in a grid
pattern. Scoop the flesh from the shell using a
spoon.
3. Place the avocado flesh in a mixer; blend until it
begins to cream.
4. Add honey, sweet lime juice and rose water;
blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust the
flavors as desired. (Honey provides a nice, floral
sweetness to the dish. The sweet lime offers a
citrus note, but most importantly, prevents the
avocado from darkening and turning brown;
lemon and/or orange juices can be substituted
for the sweet lime.)
5. Transfer the pudding into a separate bowl for
mixing. Using a spatula or paddle spoon, fold in
3 tablespoons of the chopped pistachios.
6. Spoon the mixture into serving cups. Garnish
with the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped
pistachios. Optionally add whole mint leaves, a
slice of orange with zest, or edible rose petals
as garnish.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 21
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 ZEN SPEAKS

Courtesy Zen Speaks

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Registered with Patrika Channel Egmore RMS under Registration No. TN/CH(C)/492/17–19. Published on 2nd of every month – May 2018

between the Man and the Beast

Divine, there is no difference
It is only in waiting that you
shall know the Eternal

When it comes to the

Of Waiting

a || ISHA
24 ISHA FOREST
FOREST FLOWER
FLOWER May
May 2018
2018