Love & Blessings

CONTENTS
3
Main Article
Kashi
Transcend the Filth and Touch the Fabulous 4
Musings
Study or Experience?
Sadhguru on Ways to Approach Consecrated Spaces 7
Why Light an Oil Lamp? 10

Leela Series
The path of the playful part XXXVII: 11
Inaction in Action / Why So Much Talking?
In Conversation with the Mystic
Law and Order
Sadhguru in Conversation with Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan Part 4 13
News & Happenings
Sadhguru Speaks at Forbes India Leadership Awards 14
Ishas Explore Kashi with Sadhguru
The first Isha Sacred Walk in the City of Light 15

Sadhguru Spot
You Got to Die
From Sadhgurus Discourse of 23 September 2012 18
Upcoming Programs and Events
Isha Yoga Program Highlights 20

Isha Recipes For Healthy Living
This Month: Ukkarai 21
Zen Speaks: The Lamebrain Official 22
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
4
Kashi
Transcend the Filth and
Touch the Fabulous
SADHGURU
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Excerpted from Sadhgurus talk on 23 September 2012
at the Adiyogi Alayam, Isha Yoga Center.
We have just been to Kashi, the most glorious
place that you can go to fabulous and flthy at
the same time. It is truly fabulous on one level
absolutely, utterly flthy on another level. It is
almost like they are testing your endurance, or
they are checking if you can transcend the flth
and touch the fabulous. I wish they were doing
it consciously. If they consciously threw flth
all over them, I would bow down to them. But
people are unconsciously flthy thats not good.
Shiva was consciously flthy. When he came
to towns, he slew an elephant and wore its un-
tanned skin, still dripping with blood, blobs of fat
hanging from it. He would come wearing this so
that all those who could not handle flth would
run away, and only those who were drawn to his
fabulous nature would come and sit with him.
He did not want to entertain the entertainment
seekers, so he intentionally made himself flthy.
But today, Kashi, the place that he loved so much,
is unconsciously flthy. We are making some
small effort to see if we can clean it up.
Things like that have happened over and over,
because actually being on the spiritual path and
just being a spiritual teacher are two different
things. There are lots of priests, pandits, and
teachers who have no clue of the spiritual process,
but they are handling it. If they handle it with
sincerity and discipline, it will still work. When
a metal board saying This Way and pointing
towards Velliangiri Hills can direct people to the
top of the hill and make them experience all kinds
of things, defnitely a human being who is fesh
and bone can still direct people if he maintains
discipline and sincerity about what he is doing.
We had a phenomenal display of this in Kashi.
We went to the Vishwanath temple, which
is the abode of Shiva. This is a city that Shiva
loved. This is the oldest city on the planet. When
Jerusalem did not yet exist, when Athens was not
even thought of, when Cairo did not exist, Kashi
was. Anthropological proof dates it back to about
5
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
8000 years; but 8000 years ago, it was already a
full-fedged city.
So Shiva loved the city. And he loved the
mountains. He lived in the mountains as an
ascetic but then he got married. He married
a princess, so his mother-in-law even he had
problems put pressure on him. She said, You
cant take my daughter to the cold mountains out
there. You must make her live in a city. Shes a
civilized girl; shes not like you. It is a misfortune
that she has fallen in love with you but you have
to provide her some basics, some comfort, a
home. She cant sleep in the wild like you. Shiva
compromised, saying, Okay, in summertime,
when temperatures are just over zero, we will
stay in the mountains. In wintertime, when
temperatures go well below zero, I will bring her
down to the plains. Being who he is, and with
the kind of energy space that he lived in, no city
or village was conducive for him. But when he
came and set his eyes on Kashi, he said, This is
it this is my abode. And he himself took the
effort to consecrate the space into a powerful feld
of energy that still lives.
The town itself has been razed to the ground three
times during the Islamic invasions. It was built back,
but not in the same glory. Every time, it became
more meager. The Vishwanath temple, which was
in the core of Kashi, was moved outside into small
premises, flthy as flthy can be, all around the
temple. You would not want to go there. I thought let
me go and see. We went and felt the place, and next
day, there was something called
Sapta Rishi Pooja. Sapta Rishis
means seven sages they were
the frst disciples of Shiva. When
they were to leave to spread the
message, they asked him, How
should we worship you? So he
taught them a method and said,
If you do it this way, I will be
there. That method was taught
to them, they taught it to people,
and today it continues in the same
tradition. I did not believe the
Brahmin priests who are always
hounding you for money would
know anything of value.
Whatever kind they are, whichever religion they
are, priests have always put me off because they
are hiding behind things that nobody else can hide
behind. Only because they are on the pulpit, they
can hide. They are hiding behind such ridiculous
things. This happened. An Irish priest was driving
in the suburbs of London and the car was doing
its own act. So an English policeman came and
stopped the car. He came close to the priest and
said, Youve been drinking. The priest replied,
By the Lord, no! You know Im a priest. The
policeman looked inside the car. There was an
empty wine bottle on the passengers seat. I see
a wine bottle. Youve been drinking! The Irish
priest said, No, it was just water. Well, I can
smell wine. Oh, good Lord! He has done it
again! Only a priest can hide behind such things.
They have gotten away with these things for too
long. When you say priest, I will put my flters
up. I normally have flters for everybody, but
when you say you are a priest, I put a lot of flters
up because I know there is too much muck to
be fltered.
So I never expected these Brahmin priests to be
doing any miraculous job there. As you go in and
out, they are hounding you for money. But when
I went there the previous day, I sensed something
there and wanted to be there the next day for
the Sapta Rishi Pooja. And these guys started off
this whole process, the way Shiva taught it to the
seven sages. I couldnt believe it. As I watched,
they built stacks and stacks of energy just like
that, like a multi-storied structure. These people
6
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
are ignorant, they cannot do it with their own
energy, but they are just following the procedure
and doing the right thing. So even if the most
idiotic and the corrupt do the right thing, it still
works. And it was amazing. I have never seen
anything like this in any temple. It just built itself
up like a multi-storied building, right in front
of my eyes. I was dazed, but then they all came,
poked me and prodded me, Give me something,
give me something.
I thought, Oh, my God. If only they could see the
impact of what they are doing, if only they could
experience and use it for their transformation,
they would not be going around literally harassing
everybody for money. But that is what life is. I keep
reminding our teachers all the time, When you
stand in the class and teach, things are happening
there which you cannot understand, which you
do not know, which you have never experienced,
but it is happening to other people because you
are doing the procedure right. Dont get carried
away. Dont think it is you. It is a privilege that
it is happening through you. The moment you
think it is you, you will fall and crack your head.
Kashi was a brilliant experience. I am suddenly
looking at the priests with new respect. At least
they are keeping the procedure and still making
it happen. If you know it and make it happen, it
is one thing. This is my life I can build energy
structures like that because I know how it works.
But if somebody does not know it and they can
still build it, this is quite fantastic. And it was
absolutely incredible what they did. This is what
the city is they built a tower of light, and it
is still on. The town was razed to the ground so
many times and this energy structure may not be as
gloriously on as it was, but it is still on. If they hand
over Kashi to me, I would like to rebuild the whole
place. Not the physical structure we can build the
energy structures once again. But they are never
going to give it to me it is in U.P.
1
! For those of
you who are from outside the country those two
letters, U.P., mean it is a different world.
The process of life and death happens very
liberally in Kashi. I am saying life and death
because they are both happening at the same time.
If you watch it carefully enough, it is not that life
happens now, death happens later. Life and death
are happening at the same time. If one does not
choose between the two, if one embraces both,
one will be realized. But the nature of the mind
is to choose one against the other. It is because
of this minor faw that lifetimes roll. Yesterday,
somebody asked me, Sadhguru, what should I
wish you today? I said, If I really matter to you,
wish that I never come back again. But you said,
Thats guaranteed. I said, Thats guaranteed,
but it was also guaranteed that I should have
left almost 13 years ago. But because of peoples
love and longing, Im still on. So dont show any
love and longing. Just say, Dont ever come back
again. Thats the best wish you can make, and
that is my wish for you too. Lets make space for
insects to evolve. Dont just sit there in the same
place for too long clear the space.
1
Uttar Pradesh
7
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Study or Experience?
Sadhguru on Ways to Approach Consecrated Spaces
The following is an excerpt from a darshan with Sadhguru at the
Isha Institute of Inner-sciences, Tennessee, USA, on 10 May 2011.
Questioner: Sadhguru, you have spoken about
the importance of creating consecrated spaces. If
a study was to be done about consecrated spaces,
what sorts of things could they look for?
Sadhguru: The most fundamental question is
not what sort of things to look for what sort of
people are looking for it is very important. People
may have PhDs but they may have no sensitivity.
They may have instruments that can measure
this or that, but they may not have the needed
instrument to measure subtler forces. Is there an
instrument which can clearly measure whether
you are alive or dead? There are instruments to
measure whether your heart is beating; there are
instruments to measure whether a certain kind of
electrical activity is happening or not. But there
are many yogis who can just stop these things for
some time. In that case, is there an instrument to
measure whether they are alive or not? If there is
no instrument to measure that, does it mean they
are not alive? No. But since there is no instrument
to measure if one is alive or not, a lot of people
have come to the stupid conclusion that life is just
a sum of heartbeat, electrical activity and so on.
They say life is just a multiplication of cells, and
nothing more.
There are many ways to look at what consecration
essentially means. One simple way of looking
at it is consecration means making a physical
space reverberate with a non-physical dimension
of energy. In a way, that is what you are too:
This body is a physical thing that is right now
reverberating with a non-physical dimension of
energy otherwise the body cannot be alive for
a moment. Only because that which is the source
of life is throbbing, physicality has gathered. If
you know how to touch the source of life within
you, you dont need any consecrated space,
because then this human being is a consecrated
space. But right now, whatever you try to do,
you get involved and entangled with your body,
your mind, and your emotions. You dont get
involved with that dimension of energy within
you which is non-physical and which is the basis
of all physicality. Whatever you see or do, you get
involved and entangled with creation, but you are
unable to see that which is the basis of creation.
Since you are not able to touch this dimension,
we want to create that kind of energy in a more
palpable way.
There are various ways to make that energy
available to people. Consecration is the science
of bringing the basis of creation forth in such a
way that you can almost touch it. But even for
that, you need willingness. Even to see a sunrise
which pokes you in the eye, you need willingness.
You can just cover yourself up. The same here
even though the source of life is throbbing inside
you, you dont feel it because you are covered up
with organic material. So we want to make it so
palpable that you can feel it in the air that you
breathe, that it hits you. It is more than any kind
of drug or drink you would have seen because it is
the drug. Everything that you see as creation, the
whole universe is a small outcome of that which is
the source of creation. To be able to touch that, to
be able to breathe that, and to slowly become that
is a possibility. This can be done in various ways.
The same source of creation is standing there as a
tree, is futtering around as a butterfy, is sitting
here as a human being, doing many, many things.
88
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Turn Your Home into a Consecrated Space!
Today science also agrees with this it is all the
same energy. Similarly, the same energy can be
made to reverberate in many different ways,
depending upon the intention.
I am skeptical about research teams because I know
the limitations with which they come. Re-search
means you are trying to fnd out something that
is already there. It is like Columbus discovering
America. Before he came, for thousands of years,
millions of people were living there, but he
discovered it. Research is just like that. You
discover something that the insects and the
worms already knew, and you get a Nobel Prize.
Research means just that it is not search, it is a
re-search, already there. You just try to once again
bring it to the surface and to peoples attention.
This is useful, no question, but it would be better
if the attitude about it changes. The reason you
are searching for something is, somewhere you
know that you do not know. But at the same
time, you have so many conclusions about things
that you do not know. What you do not know
has to ft into what you know otherwise you
will reject it. This is the attitude of the scientifc
community. They come, make people dip into the
Theerthakund, take them out, check their blood
pressure and state that it has gone down. I am not
interested whether somebodys blood pressure is
down or up. My concern is only where you are
going within yourself, if you are going to blossom
in this lifetime.
It is human experience which is most important.
But the problem is that every human mind is
capable of imagination and hallucination. The
necessary work has not been done on human
beings to make them in such way that they can
clearly decipher what is true and what is not true.
People have a loose mind and a loose body. Because
of this, the whole human mechanism, which is
the best gadget that is available on the planet, has
been dismissed and we have settled for smaller
gadgets. The not-so-trustworthy gadget produces
another gadget, and that gadget is supposed to be
trustworthy how is that? Science has taken this
attitude because there has been so much misuse
and deception in the past.
To make people experience something a little bit,
you have to grind them for seven days in the Isha
Yoga program, initiate them, and then coax them
into the Bhava Spandana program. A consecrated
space is not like that. It is upgraded technology
no teaching, no orientation, no fees, nothing. You
just walk in and it just takes you over. This is not
some kind of magic, this is science in a way that
modern scientists are incapable of perceiving,
unfortunately. For example, it is a known fact
that there is a constant exchange between you
and the sun; between you and a tree. What you
exhale, the tree is inhaling; what the tree exhales,
you are inhaling. It is happening, but you are
unable to feel it because you lack the sensitivity.
And if somebody has the sensitivity, it is branded
as mumbo-jumbo. He is made to look like he is
not scientifc. But the science that others try to
learn, he knows by experience.
Essentially, science is not about inventing
something; science is about exploring the nature
of the creation. And it does not matter what
kind of science you do, fundamentally, the only
instrument you have to analyze and perceive
anything in the existence is just the human body
and human mind. So, why is it that, instead of
studying all kinds of rubbish, there is no work
being done to improve the capability of this human
body and mind, to become more sensitive, to
perceive? Only what you perceive you can know.
The rest is just imagination and conclusions. And
all the logical conclusions that you arrived at can
be proved wrong tomorrow morning. Every few
years, they come up with a new theory of how
creation was made.
If someone wants to really study consecrated
spaces, they must work upon themselves in such
a way that they will become available to the
process and be able to experience it. Those who
want to know must have the necessary dedication
to do the needed preparation. Even if you wanted
99 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Turn Your Home into a Consecrated Space!
Receive your consecrated
Linga Bhairavi Yantra or
Linga Bhairavi Avighna Yantra
in a special ceremony with
Sadhguru on 28 December 2012
at Isha Yoga Center!
For more information on the Yantras and
on how to receive one, please contact us:
Tel.: 94425 04720, 0422-2515627
Email: yantra@lingabhairavi.org
One who earns the Grace of Bhairavi neither has to live in concern or fear
of life or death, of poverty, or of failure. All that a human being considers as
wellbeing will be his if only he earns the Grace of Bhairavi. Sadhguru
Linga Bhairavi Avighna Yantra
to climb a mountain, you would prepare your legs
and lungs. You know, people go up pilgrimage
places in the Himalayas. These pilgrimage places
are way up in the mountains because generally,
those who went there were spiritually oriented
people, and they made it their business to just eat
what is needed for their bodies and keep their
bodies and minds in the best possible condition.
They just walked up effortlessly. Now people
who have kept themselves badly get carried by
somebody else. You can get carried up there,
but your experience of going there will never
be the same as for somebody who walked up the
mountain every step with great devotion. The
same thing here. If you make yourself utterly
sensitive and receptive and you walk into a
consecrated space, what is your experience? And
what is your experience if you go there with
meters, check it out, and fnd out that your blood
pressure goes down?
It really pains me to see that somewhere, human
beings think the instruments that they have
devised are better than the Creators instrument.
Why dont we tune that one up in such a way that it
can feel everything? But this requires some work.
If someone wants to experience a consecrated
space, a certain amount of preparation is needed
for them to be able to feel the power of what is
around them. They just want a gadget that they
can buy off the shelf. Still, we have to do it the way
it works. So if you want to study, the temple and
Theerthakund are open I have no issue about it.
But I cannot believe that somewhere, our trust in
the Creators creation is so low, but our trust in
small gadgets that we created, which keep getting
outdated every six months these days, is so high.
10
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Questioner: Sadhguru, what is the signifcance of
lighting an oil lamp?
Sadhguru: This is an ancient tradition. You need
to understand how people lived obviously, there
were no electric lamps in ancient times. Houses
were generally built out of thatch and organic
material; people could not afford to have huge
windows, so homes used to be dark. So, at least
in the place of worship, a lamp was lit, which
gave enough light, and the source of light came
from God himself, which gave a good feeling.
Apart from that, if you use raw cotton and certain
vegetable oils, the light of the lamp creates an
energy feld of its own.
Fire is very pranic. If you hold a rudraksha mala
over fre, you will see it will rotate powerfully in a
clockwise direction. Fire is a source of light and a
symbol of the very source of life because in many
ways, our lives depend on fre. The sun can be
considered as the source of life on this planet. It is
nothing but a freball. Everything that is driving
life in this world is based on fre. The fre of life
within us is what keeps us going.
Before you start your day, you light a lamp
because you want to bring the same quality into
yourself. It is a way of invoking your own inner
nature. It is symbolic and psychological, but to
some extent, there is also an energy aspect to it.
Lighting a lamp creates a certain atmosphere.
So, in places of worship and in places that we
use for meditation, in your home,
or wherever, it is always
good to have an oil lamp.
WHy LiGHt An OiL LAMp?
Excerpted from
talks by Sadhguru
Own a Farm House at the foot of
Velliangiri near Isha Yoga Center!
For more information, please contact us at farmhouse@ishabusiness.com or 94433 49553
Isha offers the rare opportunity to own a piece of agricultural land
near Isha Yoga Center, where you can build a farm house and enjoy
a conducive atmosphere for your spiritual growth and wellbeing.
Buying a farm house plot it is not only a worthy investment and an opportunity to be in a conducive
atmosphere, it also helps Isha to complete the Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple, an invaluable offering
for generations to come.
Approx. size: acres (25 cents) per plot
Ownership: Buyers shall receive a clear and marketable title for their individual plot.
Location: 8 km from Isha Yoga Center (aerial distance just 5 6 km); 23 km from Coimbatore;
considering the constant growth of Isha, this property would soon be a part of the Isha campus
Common amenities: 30 feet road, street lighting, compound gate fencing, security cabin, roads
adjoining individual plots, three-phase power source, and potable water supply line
Value growth: From the prevailing trends, real estate prices in the vicinity of the ashram have
been growing exponentially year after year.
WHy LiGHt An OiL LAMp?
LeeLA SerieS
The path of the playful Par XXXVII
Inaction in Action
Participant: Sadhguru, Im confused about
Chapter 4, verse 18: One who identifes inaction
in action and action in inaction is wise in human
society. Such a person is spiritually inclined
while engaged in all types of work.
Sadhguru: You can perform action in inaction
in many different ways. There are four basic
paths of yoga. You can approach the ultimate
in four ways through the body, through the
intelligence, through the emotion, and through
the energy. If you get into pure, vibrant action,
you will see, action will not consume energy,
it produces energy. If you are a little tired, and
you get up and just dance for the joy of it, in the
end, you will be awake and full of power. That is
what ras means you are bringing the juice of life
down to you, through physical action.
Or, if your awareness is at a certain level, your
energy will be inexhaustible, even if you are
active throughout the day. Those of you who went
through Samyama programs may have noticed
this when you get into the rhythm of the
meditation, you feel awake all the time. When
you become aware, once again, there is inaction in
action and action in inaction. Or, if you are with
someone whom you love very much, if you are
actively loving within, you also seem to produce
energy, not lose energy. You will also see this if
you know how to directly stimulate your energies.
Or, if you are sleepy, I can do something to you
that will keep you wide awake for a long time.
By all these four means, one can become action
in inaction and inaction in action. If you get into
pure action, if you are 100% physical, that will
happen. That is what Krishna said to Arjuna,
Dont bother about all these relationships who
your grandfather is, your guru, and all that. Just
throw yourself 100% into this battle. If you are
action in inaction and inaction in action, then
if you win the war, you will become the king.
Or if you die and you are in such a state at the
moment of your death, anyway you will attain
the ultimate.
So whether it is done out of love or through
simple pure action where there is no intention
of what should happen, or with awareness, or by
stimulating inner energies, a human being will
be both, action and inaction at the same time. If
you allow yourself to become Shoonya
1
, you are
action in inaction; because the basis of activity is
restfulness. How restful you are is how capable
you are of being active. If you are restless, your
ability to act will go away. Unfortunately, a large
part of the population always thinks that by
pumping up their energy to a restless pitch, they
will become more active. They do, but it will
be life-taking action, not life-giving action. It
destroys a human being in the process. If action
is performed in such a way that what you do is
not about yourself anymore, it is pure action.
Your ability to work will be almost limitless.
One can be active almost 24 hours of the day
without the need for so many things that the
body normally demands.
The following are excerpts from a Q&A with Sadhguru during Leela,
the path of the playful, a unique exploration into the mystical realm of
Krishna that took place at Isha Yoga Center in September 2005.
11 11 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
1
Nothingness; also the name of a particular meditation in Isha Yoga

Such a person is spiritually inclined that
means no matter what he is doing, he is still
spiritual. He need not do only meditation to be
spiritual. He can cook, clean, walk, or work, he
can do anything he wants and still be spiritual.
For a person who is action in inaction and
inaction in action, everything he does is spiritual.
His very life breath is a spiritual process. He need
not do a particular type of action to be spiritual.
If your love transcends certain limitations, this
will happen. If your awareness rises beyond a
certain pitch, it will happen. If the vibrancy of
your energies goes beyond a certain level, this
will happen. Or if you are pure physicality, it will
happen. For many people, the most diffcult thing
is to become pure physicality; because whatever
you do, your mind is there. If you dance for an
hour, you will only fnd a few moments when
the mind has been obliterated and you have been
pure physicality. The rest of the time, whatever
you are doing, your mind is going on interpreting
so many things, not just about yourself about
everybody in the world.
To become aware is possible but to hold
awareness Once again, there are moments of
awareness in a day there is no awareness all the
time. Energy is something that you can work on
because there are specifc processes for that. And
emotion is something that you can hold easily.
Most people can keep up their emotion for a longer
period of time than they can hold their awareness
or be pure physicality. On a daily basis, people are
falling in and out of love, but still that is what
most of you are good at right now. And whether
you like it or not, if you sit in the morning and
do the kriya, it works by itself. So the way most
of you are made right now, raising your energy
levels and holding your emotion would be easiest.
Why So Much Talking?
Participant: Sadhguru, if you had been there
with Arjuna in the war, would you have required
700 verses and 18 chapters to get him to act?

Sadhguru: To impel Arjuna to action, Krishna
would not have needed 18 chapters and 700 verses.
At that moment of despair, Arjuna suddenly
wanted to know everything at once that is
why Krishna talked about everything in a brief
manner. Krishna had been with him many times
before, but earlier, Arjuna had only consulted
him as to how to acquire one more princess that
he desired, how to win one more battle, or how
to conquer another part of the land. Then in this
moment of desolation and almost certain death, a
spiritual thirst came and Arjuna wanted to know
all the possibilities, so he asked many questions.
Krishna was gracious enough to answer them
rather than telling him to just shut up and act.
In those days, unless Krishna blew his conch,
the battle would not start. So he could give the
whole 18 chapters to Arjuna and then blow the
conch. If the battle was today, I would tell you
to act immediately without giving a single verse
because these guys would start shooting before
you shoot at them. But that battle was fought by
certain rules. It was inhuman anyway but still
had some sense of humanity. They broke off in
the evenings, treated each other, partied together,
and again next morning, they fought. So these
18 chapters and 700 verses are not because Krishna
was unable to convey his message it is because
he wanted to cover all aspects.
It is very signifcant that the Gita was delivered
in the battlefeld. Krishna was in the battlefeld
and still he was all-inclusive. He stood on one
side with the Pandavas and had given his own
formidable Yadava army to the opposition this
is defnitely all-inclusiveness. Either you have to
be insane or an absolute divinity otherwise you
cannot act like this. When you want to fght a
battle, you usually want everybody that you can
get on your side before you launch an attack. In
the battlefeld, having his own army and many
people who are extremely dear to him on the
other side, Krishna stood smiling. He had no
hatred for the Kauravas. He had no love lost for
the Pandavas. He just did what he felt is the lesser
evil. He did not even say that this was the greatest
thing. He just said, Whatever is the lesser evil,
let us make that happen right now. That is all the
choice we have. And still blue
2

1
Symbolic for inclusiveness, a fundamental quality attributed to Krishna

12
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
13 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
In the most recent episode of the In Conversation
with the Mystic series, which took place on
16 June 2012 in Hyderabad, Sadhguru and Dr.
Jayaprakash Narayan discuss a range of subjects
from morality to politics and corruption, nation
and society, and the spiritual and temporal. The
following is the fourth part of their conversation.
Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan: Sadhguru, you made
some extremely important comments about
democratic evolution. While we all expect to
become a great liberal democracy overnight,
without working hard at it, these aspirations are
somewhat unrealistic, is the gist of what you are
saying. Im grateful for those comments because
that appreciation is very critical, particularly for
the middle classes who are so impatient about
what is happening in the country. In that context,
somebody said the quickest way of getting justice
is rendering justice to your opponent, because
he will then understand your point of view and
come to an agreement which is just to both of you.
Oftentimes I think we have forgotten this when
dealing with public affairs in this country. There
is this bitterness, not only among political parties
but also between the media and the political
parties, between the public and the political
parties and the governments. A lot of anger and a
lot of polarization.
If you ask a politician, You are a good man,
you are an ethical man so why are you doing
what you are doing? It is a) because he has many
alibis. He will tell you a hundred reasons why
he genuinely had to do what he did in order to
survive in offce. In other words, honest and good
conduct is not conducive to survival in political
offce in the country. And b), in any country
even in the United States, Britain, Germany, or
Japan there is always a clash between what the
voters want in the short term and what the nation
needs in the long term. And the politician has
the diffcult task of bridging this. But he cannot
survive without the voters goodwill. And the
nation cannot survive without the politicians
wisdom. How do you bridge this gap, Sadhguru?
Sadhguru: The frst thing is, I would like you and
everybody else to drop the word justice from
their language because there is no such thing as
justice on the planet. What is justice for you will
be injustice for somebody else. Usually, the word
justice is used to enforce revenge on someone
whether it is legal revenge or illegal revenge. So
lets not go by justice. Let us simplify the laws
and enforce them. First, we must become a law-
abiding society. After that, the luxury of justice
will come. Sometimes, when the law itself is
cruel, we can break the law and deliver justice.
But the way we are in this country right now,
there is no luxury like that. Here, frst the law
must be enforced. Right now we have no order
where is the question of justice? Revenge will be
labeled as justice.
Now, how to bring this about in a society? As
I said, one most important thing is to simplify
the laws. Most of the people in this country do
not know what the basic laws are. If you want
to drive on the street, you must know what the
laws of the street are. Similarly, if you want to
live in this country, you must at least know the
basic laws. There has to be proper education so
that everybody knows that these are the laws.
If you break them, this is the punishment. And
then enforce it. Making the law itself is complex.
Enforcement is a super complex thing because
this is where justice and injustice come in. For
a certain period of time, we must be willing to
surrender justice and just stick to law. People who
are enforcing the law sometimes will enforce it in
unjust ways; you must endure that. If you dont
endure that, you will have a disorderly, lawless
society. Then revenge will be the way, and that
will get labeled as justice. Right now, people are
Law and Order
Sadhguru in Conversation with
Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan
14
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
shooting each other and think they are rendering
justice because the law is not sensible. Creating
an orderly society, not a just society, is a serious
sacrifce that we must be willing to make if we
want to move ahead. If the law is very unjust, we
can look at restructuring it. But beyond the law,
nobody has the discretion to deliver justice. This
has to be established.
If you travel one hundred kilometers in India,
people look different, they dress differently, they
have a different language, their food is different
everything is different. But still for over 10,000
years, the whole world has referred to us as one
nation, as Bharathvarsh or Hindustan or whatever
the name. You know we have been doing trade
with Syria, Jerusalem, Greece, all these places, for
over 8000 to 10,000 years. Even in those times,
though there were over 200 political entities here,
somewhere, people saw this as one nation because
there was one ethos. This is something that the
politicians, administrators, and the people have
never paid attention to. The only thing that keeps
us as one nation is a certain fundamental spiritual
ethos, which is not on the surface but still it is
always there.
So people from outside, who all believed in
something, recognize this as one nation. This
nation has never been a nation of believers.
We have been a nation of seekers because the
spiritual process has been the main thing. Here,
people did not believe in God. They were seeking
mukti or liberation or ultimate freedom. There
is a difference between a seeker and a believer.
A believer means he has made a conclusion. A
seeker means he is wide open. He has realized that
he does not know and that is why he is seeking.
This one quality set us apart from the rest of the
world. Even today, it is only this spiritual thread
that keeps this as one nation. Right now, this is
being systematically hacked at. If you break this
one thing, after 25 or 30 years, you will wonder
why we are one nation. If you do not strengthen
the fundamental spiritual ethos of this nation, if
you hack it down with beliefs and other kinds
of identities, you will see, it will break up into
various nations.
At the Forbes India Leadership Awards
(FILA) 2012, Editor Indrajit Gupta
posed rapid-fre questions on leadership
in business to Sadhguru and Infosys
Chairman K. V. Kamath. The subjects
included leadership qualities, metrics,
integrity, and courage in business.
Forbes India held the second edition of the
much awaited Forbes India Leadership
Awards on 28 September 2012 at the
Trident, Nariman Point in Mumbai.
Celebrating transformational leadership,
Forbes India honored outstanding
leaders who have epitomized success in
their felds and are visionary champions
in creating a sustainable future.
Sadhguru Speaks at Forbes India Leadership Awards
Sadhguru and K.V. Kamath will meet again, along with Dr. Ram Charan and over a dozen top
national business leaders at INSIGHT: The DNA of Success from 29 November 2 December 2012
at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. This will be a four-day hands-on leadership program designed to
help entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs scale up their capabilities and operations.
15 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Kashi or Varanasi, as it is offcially named today,
is a city which has attracted spiritual seekers for
ages. Some of the greatest works of Indian culture,
including those of Tulsidas, Kabir, and even Adi
Shankara were created here, on the banks of
river Ganga. Innumerable accounts of spiritual
transformation and awakenings that occurred
in this city are shared and explored, even today.
With similar pursuits in their heart, yatris from all
over the country came together in the third week
of September for Ishas frst Sacred Walk in the
ancient city of Varanasi.
Embraced by the river Ganga, Varanasi probably
received its name from the two tributaries, Varuna
and Assi, between which the city lies. There are
84 primary ghats, or steps which lead into the river
Ganga, on which people have offered their early
morning prayers to Mother Ganga for thousands
of years. Some of the ghats, like Manikarnika, are
used as cremation grounds and are said to have
been initiated by Shiva himself when he cremated
the body of his frst wife, Sati. They say that the fre
there has burned for thousands of years, and till this
day, it is from this same fre that every cremation
on the ghats begins.
For many, the frst glance of the city brought about
a tinge of disgust, as the streets screamed of flth and
neglect. The place was full of flth. But something
was there which I cannot describe in words. It felt
very beautiful and very energetic, one yatri shares.
Another expressed, Despite the noise, the city is
covered in a blanket of silence. Imagine it clean
Ishas Explore KASHI with Sadhguru
The frst Isha Sacred Walk in the City of Light
16
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
and silent, how powerfully it would reverberate? A
holy city should be that way.
The groups frst venture into the city began with
a trip to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, Vishalakshi
temple, and Annapurneshwari temple. One yatri
shares about her approach to the Kashi Vishwanath
temple: Even before reaching, it felt like the
slippery foor was sending shivers right through. It
felt like the temple was in fact the whole city. But
inside the little space they call temple, it felt like a
mix of exuberant Shiva and moonscape. On meeting
Annapurneshwari, the Goddess who feeds all, one
made a silent request, For the frst time since I was
a child, I asked her, like a child does his prayers at
night, to feed all the hungry stomachs in the world.
The next days early morning visit to the Kal Bhairav
Temple was powerful for many. One shares, Kala
Bhairava the ferce Shiva, the lord of death
Even before reaching, the chanting outside, the
rain and the stillness of the early morning were
like a preparation to be worthy of going into the
sacred enclosure. I felt a sense of pleasant dread. It
was like an immense preparation for death. His all-
inclusive nature swallowed me whole. Then there
was a sense of my own body expanding to become
much more than just a speck. Like my body had
become infnite.
Each corner of the city seemed to be flled with
legend and history, and this truly came to life for
the yatris only after Sadhgurus sathsang. Showing
maps and diagrams of the intricate structure of
the city, he revealed its deep connection with
the cosmos. Geometrically, he explained, it
is a perfect manifestation of how the macrocosm
and the microcosm can meet. They created an
instrument in the form of a city. The Kashi
Vishwanath temple was also built as a replica
of the human body. Because of the depth and
profoundness of Kashi city, Shiva and Parvati held
it as their most favorite place.

The yatris felt a deep sense of pain and loss as
Sadhguru explained with what brutality this sacred
city was systematically destroyed a city which
Shiva himself had consecrated and lived in.
17 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
This is the most phenomenal effort ever made
on the planet no question about that. Nowhere
else have human beings created something so
phenomenal so elaborate, so scientifcally perfect
and this is pulled down, simply because somebody
doesnt like it. Sadhguru
As inspired meditators remarked that only
Sadhguru could bring this city back to glory, he
lightly reminded us that our Dhyanalinga Temple
complex is still yet to be fnished! However, he did
mention that even if we had the fnancial support to
rebuild what has been destroyed, social and political
situations would get in the way. It was sad to face
the reality that even when rare and capable beings
are with us, who are willing to manifest the Divine
in its various dimensions and facets, factors like
money and social issues will not allow it to happen.
After the sathsang, the yatris headed off to Sarnath,
the site of Gautama Buddhas frst sermon. It
is said that fve weeks after that momentous
moment under the Bodhi tree (which is now in
the Mahabodhi temple of Bodhgaya which the
group visited later), Gautama walked to Sarnath to
share the wealth he had found within. Sadhguru
mentioned that Gautama chose this place because
Sarnath was frequented by pilgrims on their way
to Kashi, and the audience was already willing and
seeking to know truth. Our yatris walked through
excavated stupas, monasteries, and a museum flled
with Buddhist sculptures.
Later that evening, Sadhguru was invited to be a part
of the sacred Ganga Arati in Varanasi. In a graceful
sequence, a group of priests made various offerings,
ending with the karpuram arati along with a series
of chants for Mother Ganga. Reverently received
and adorned with a mala, Sadhguru was seated in
the very front, and later went to the banks to do
offerings to the river. Yatris sat bunched up close
together on the Dashaswamedh Ghat to watch the
rare sight of Sadhguru on the banks of Ganga Mata.
The next morning, Sadhguru offered a fower to
each yatri. With his blessings, the group set off
for Bodhgaya, which Gautama Buddha graced
thousands of years ago. After a guided tour of the
space, many settled down to do their sadhana in
the Mahabodhi temple premises.
Bodhgaya was like a little haven of cleanliness and
serenity, graced by the Buddhist monks who live
there. The day we reached, I was in an impatient
state of mind, just wanting to have a shower and
settle down to meditate. But the shower fell from
the skies and the clean rain washed away my
impatience and led me to a lovely walk, under
pouring rain, around the sacred spaces ground.
And that space felt like a little cloud of peace, like
a bubble outside everything, or a bubble within a
bubble. I felt drenched literally and fguratively.
The next day, we went to do our kriyas behind
the famous Bodhi tree. I felt like drinking up the
quietness and just being there. Everything was
slower and gentler there speech, movements,
actions, maybe even time
Marie Christine, yatra participant
The group also made a trip to the ancient Nalanda
university, which was not only an architectural
marvel, but a highly refned center of knowing of
the highest order. Monks studied and lived on the
premises. Guides explained and pointed out the spaces
where temples, dormitories, and meditation cells of
the university once existed, and even the place where
Gautama Buddha once walked. The combination of
disciplined learning and dedication to the Guru (or in
this case, the Buddha) reminded one of Isha Samskriti
and the strong spiritual basis from which it functions.
With the sudden announcement of a nation-wide
bandh (strike) on the last day of the yatra, the buses
started early the next morning back to Varanasi. As
some yatris departed, others roamed the streets of
Kashi, soaking up a few more of the countless blessings
the space has to offer, before they too had to leave.
You Got to Die
An Excert fom Sadhgurus discourse on 23 September 2012,
fom Sadhguru Spot of 26 September 2012
Sadhguru Spot
Musings from the Master
Thirty years ago, on that evening when I shook
myself out of a food of ecstasy and realization, I
thought, This is it this is so simple. I am going
to set the whole world on fre. Since then, very
slowly but steadily, the world has been trying to
humble me to reduce the size of my geographical
boundaries. I am not complaining about the
world. I think there is no question internally,
life has come in the best possible way to me. Even
externally, it has come in the best possible way
to me. So I cannot complain. But still it intrigues
me; it bothers me; I have still not learnt a lesson
in 30 years. Though I have started speaking to
people with reduced goals, within myself, I still
burn with the passion, Why cant it happen to
everybody? Because logically, I cannot fnd a
single reason why everybody cannot have it.
There are many glorious names to this which
came out of peoples understanding. People call
this enlightenment that means, of course, it
is beyond you. People call this God-realization
it is up in heaven, you cannot touch it. People
call it simply self-realization a more humble
description. Or, it is just an awakening. I call
it a reminder. You can be reminded in many
ways. Tomorrow morning, you have to wake
up at a certain time. You could be reminded by
yourself; if you cannot, you can have an alarm
which beeps. Otherwise, somebody will beat
a drum, or somebody will kick you awake. The
choice is yours, but you could be awakened, or
we can remind you. It is just a reminder; it is not
an achievement. It is not about going somewhere.
18
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
This happeneda woman was on a river bank.
It looked so beautiful the expanse of the river
and the other side of the bank. Then she noticed
there was another woman on the other side. So
she called out and said, How do I get to the other
side? That woman looked up and down the river,
looking for a solution. Then she looked at her and
said, You are on the other side.
It is that simple; it is that obvious, but we were
given a mind of a certain competence. These days,
people are telling you that you should become a
no-mind. A lot of people already are, and that
is the biggest problem on the planet. The biggest
problem on the planet is just that quite a few
people are refusing to use their mind. This mind is
given to you so that you can project, you can think
of the next moment, tomorrow, a thousand years,
a million years backwards or forwards, depending
upon what your profession is whether you are
a historian or an astrologer. You are playing this
game, oscillating between these two professions
all the time. Some are lamenting about yesterday,
some are looking forward to something glorious
or fearful about tomorrow. You are either
functioning as a historian or as an astrologer. This
is constantly happening. Nothing wrong this
is the capability of the mind and it is fantastic.
The only problem is the projections become
so real they will obliterate the reality. And the
projections are coming from a certain package of
compulsions which are physiological, chemical,
hormone-based, karmic, and social so many
kinds of compulsions. Because the body and mind
are functioning from these compulsions, simply
being reminded of the nature of your existence
seems to be so complex.
In a Sunday school, a teacher wanted to inspire
the children to aim for the highest. In Sunday
school, in a church school, the highest is heaven
of course, not God. So the teacher asked the
children, If I give my wealth away to the church
and serve the church, will I go to heaven? The
children in unison said, No! Then he asked, If I
serve the poor, wash the lepers feet and wipe the
tears of a childs face, will I go to heaven? The
children said, No! Then he asked, If I love my
wife, love my children, take care of my family, do
my duty to my nation, will I go to heaven? They
said, No! Then he asked, Then what should
I do to go to heaven? Little Tommy from the
backbench said, You got to die.
That is all it is you got to die. This is the only
problem. It is just a reminder that what you
consider as yourself is a make-believe projection
of your mind. If you kill it, then everything is right
here life is a food of ecstasy. You dont have
to kill the world; you just have to kill this one
[yourself/you as a person]. You have no business
to kill the body because you didnt make it. You
have every right to kill all that you have created
you have no right to kill what the Creator has
created. Nobody has any business to kill anything
that you cannot create. But the person that you call
as myself is all your making. If you just kill that
one guy, everything, the whole universe is yours.
This is a tradeoff me or the cosmos? One who
makes the deal is not asking for currency, just
you. This is all the tradeoff is; this is all the whole
business of enlightenment is. God-realization,
awakening, reminder whatever you call it,
this is all it is. Just kill what you have created
the Creators creation will explode within you.
19 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Visit: Sadhguru.org/spot for weekly updated Musings from the Master
Love and Grace,
November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
20
Program Highlights
These programs are conducted in English, unless indicated otherwise. Current at the time of print, however subject to
change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our website: www.ishafoundation.org.
Date Program Place Contact
1 - 5 Nov 2012
Samyama Sadhana
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
94449 02058
0422-2515300
samyama.sadhana@ishayoga.org
8 - 11 Nov 2012
Guru Pooja Training
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishayoga.org
12 Nov 2012
Pancha Bhuta
Aradhana
Dhyanalinga Yogic
Temple,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515426
pba@ishafoundation.org
22 - 25 Nov 2012
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
0422-2515300
maa.karpoori@ishafoundation.org
29 Nov - 2 Dec 2012
INSIGHT: The DNA of
Success with Sadhguru
and Dr. Ram Charan
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
www.ishainsight.org
94430 09000
leadership@ishainsight.org
21 - 22 Dec 2012
Theerthakund
Consecration
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
83000 11000
theerthakundconsecration@
ishafoundation.org
18 - 20 Jan 2013
Inner Engineering
with Sadhguru
Thyagaraj Sports
Complex,
INA, New Delhi,
India
96500 92100
88600 41275
delhi@ishayoga.org
9 - 10 Feb 2013
Shambhavi
Mahamudra program
with Sadhguru
London ExCeL,
London, UK
+44-7765567347
info@sadhguruinlondon.com
15 - 17 Feb 2013
Inner Engineering
with Sadhguru
R.R.C. Grounds,
Secunderabad,
Hyderabad, India
85000 61000, 85000 62000
hyderabad@ishayoga.org
24 Feb - 3 Mar 2013
Samyama
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishayoga.org
21 November 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Isha Recipes For Healthy Living
Note: Best served hot!
Tip: Ukkarai can also be served in a savory version. After crumbling the steamed dal batter,
temper it with mustard seeds, skinless black gram (urad dal) and curry leaves. Add salt to taste.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Skinless split green gram (dhuli moong dal)
cup Split Bengal gram (chana dal)
cup Skinless split pigeon peas (toor dal)
20 Cashew nuts
cup Ghee
1 teaspoon Green cardamom powder
pinch Edible camphor
teaspoon Salt
Fresh coconut
For the syrup:
2 cups Jaggery / raw sugar
2 cups Water
PREPARATION METHOD
1. Put the dals in a vessel and wash well. Then soak them for 1 to 2 hours. Drain off all water and
grind the dals in a mixer. Mix in the salt. The batter should not be thin.
2. Line a plate with a clean banana leaf and spread the batter on the leaf.
3. Steam in the idli steamer for 1012 minutes. Cool and crumble it.
4. Heat the ghee in a pan. Break the cashew nuts into pieces and add. Fry till they turn golden brown
in color. Remove the cashew nuts using a slotted spoon.
5. Grate the coconut and saut it in the same ghee till a nice aroma emanates.
6. Place jaggery/raw sugar and water in a pan on medium heat. Heat till it dissolves and flter it
through a muslin cloth.
7. Add the fried cashew nuts, steamed dal, and jaggery/raw sugar syrup and cook till the mixture is
no longer sticky.
8. Sprinkle with cardamom powder and camphor.
Ukkarai
Forest Flower
Insightful Inspiring Informative
S
u
b
s
c
r
i
b
e

N
o
w
!
I would like to
Subscribe for myself Renew my subscription
Change the mailing address Subscribe as a gift
FF CODE (Forest Flower subscription No.):
One year 12 issues (within India by regular mail) Rs.180
Name*
Address*
City*
State*
Please complete in BLOCK LETTERS
Phone ..................................(Mobile)*...........................................(Home)*........................................(Work)*
Email* ...........................................................................................................................................................
Enclosed DD / Cheque / MO No. ................................................................................... dated .................................
drawn on ...................................................................... (bank), payable at Coimbatore for Rs. ................................
in favor of Isha Foundation.
For payments by cheque, please add Rs. 50/- to the subscription amount towards clearing charges.
Please mail the completed subscription form
along with your payment to:
For further inquiries, please contact:
& (044) 45011137, 96770 16700
subscriptions.FF@ishafoundation.org
Date:
PIN*
PIN*
Isha Forest Flower
F-4, Sri Balaji Apartments, 2
nd
Floor
New No.4, old No.6, Rajambal Street
T. Nagar, Chennai - 600017
One year 12 issues (within India by courier) Rs. 480
(payment by cheque Rs. 50 extra)
Mode of Payment: Cash Cheque Demand Draft Money Order
Receipt Details
Receipt No.: Receipt Date:
Amount received: Received by: Remarks:
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
For online subscriptions and renewals, visit www.ishafoundation.org/ForestFlower
Subscriber Signature:
Phone: ..................................(Mobile)*............................................(Home)*........................................(Work)*
Email* .............................................................................................................................................................
Name*
Address*
City*
State*
8
*These felds are mandatory
S
U
B
S
C
R
I
B
E
R
S
E
N
D

G
I
F
T

T
O
L
o
v
e

&

B
l
e
s
s
i
n
g
s