January 2012 FOREST FLOWER

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CONTENTS
3 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Main Article
Back to the Big Bang
Musings
From One Life to Another

Behold and Become

Sadhgurus New Year Message 9
Leela Series
Te path of the playful part XXVIII:

News & Happenings
Isha Vidhya

BeBreathBlossom
Sadhguru Spot
Constructing what is Worthwhile 17
Sharing Experiences
An Enlightened Visit

Upcoming Programs and Events
Isha Yoga Program Highlights 19
Yaksha 2012 20
Mahabharat 20
Mahashivarathri 2012 21
Isha Recipes
For Healthy Living

Zen Speaks
Sadhguru on our Karmic Substance 4

Sadhguru on what Determines the Form We Are Born in 7

Sadhguru on the Real Meaning of Darshan 8
Te Build-up to the Great War 10

An Update 12
Isha Kriya Week in Major Indian Cities 14
Home Consecration of Devi Yantra by Sadhguru 18

Tis Month: Home Remedies for Common Cold 22
A Nun Becomes a Monk 23
SADHGURU
Q: Sadhguru, what is our karma actually made of,
and what part do our ancestors have in it?
Sadhguru: One way of looking at karma is, it is
a residual memory of various things that have
happened to this body, that have happened to
this mind, that have happened to this emotion
and energy it is a residual memory of various
situations that have occurred. Tere is a large part
of you which has lived much, much longer than you
as a person have existed. You dont have to go into it
in terms of reincarnation. If you just go by modern
terminology, when they say genetics, it undeniably
means, your parents are still living through you. You
only believe that you are diferent. Tis happens to
a lot of people unless they distinctly, consciously
set a completely diferent path for themselves, by the
time they are 4045, they start behaving very much
like their parents. Your father and mother lived in
a certain way, good enough, but why do you have
to go through the same nonsense? Te question
arises whether it is worth giving birth to a fresh
life, because if you cannot create a new possibility,
if it is the same old thing which is repeating itself
again and again while you always believe it is
diferent it is just such a waste No, it is not a
waste, just recycling. Te earth is happy. [Laughs]
So, karma is not just what you did and what you did
not do it is the residual memory. Te karma goes
right to the beginning of creation itself. If you cut with
awareness through your body, if you are conscious
enough, you can clearly see even the beginning of
creation. When we were in Switzerland, we were
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Sadhguru on our Karmic Substance
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Back to the Big Bang
talking to some scientists there who work with the
Large Hadron Collider [LHC]. Some 7.5 billion
euros were spent to make this circular accelerator
where two protons are crashed at a certain speed;
they try to recreate the Big Bang to study it. I was
joking with them and said, If you give me half the
money, I will tell you exactly how it happened. I
would settle for a quarter too. [Laughter] Why I am
saying this is because everything that ever happened
is there in literally everything, particularly in the
human system we know this by experience. Today,
science has progressed to a point where when you
cut a sequoia
1
tree, scientist are almost able to read
what happened in the last 3000 years how much
precipitation, what temperatures, fres, disasters,
everything. Tis is like somebody looking at your
hand and telling you your past and future. It is
indicative in so many ways. I could actually look
at your hand and tell you what has happened in
your life and what may happen in your life. How
did it appear on your hand? It appears all over you.
Whichever part of the body I look at, particularly if I
look at certain parts which are more indicative than
others, I will tell you your past and future.
If I peek behind your earlobe, I will tell you almost
everything I am not joking. If I go to places of
some signifcance, I never ask the local tourist guide
or somebody else what happened in this place.
All I do is, I look for a rock which has been there
undisturbed for a long time, just go sit with it, and
I will know the whole place, because even the rock
has the memory of everything that has happened
around it. And the instruments of measurement
that we have in scientifc laboratories are evolving
quite rapidly. All these things that they could not
measure just ten years ago, they are able to measure
today. Today, they are able to measure so many
aspects, so many parameters of what is happening
in your brain, what is happening around you, your
energy, and what kind of transmissions your body
is sending. Tey are already measuring this; it may
not be very long before they evolve technologies
through which they can also decipher it.
Diferent objects on the planet are throwing out
diferent types of vibrations, and these vibrations
are varying according to the position of the planet.
All these things have been measured, but they
are not able to coherently decipher as to what
it really says. Every rock, every pebble is saying
something that much, even modern science is
clear about. Is it coherent enough for you to gather
it, or are you sensitive enough to know what they are
saying that is the question. Because if you want to
know what somebody is speaking, you must know
their language, you must be sensitive enough to that
language, otherwise you will not know. Tey are all
saying so many things who is there to listen? If you
are sensitive to life around you, you can feel that.
More than that, if you are sensitive to this life
[yourself], from the beginning of creation to now,
everything is right here in this physical body, because
this is a mini cosmos by itself that is why it is called
a microcosm. Te macrocosm is just an enlarged
version of it everything that happened there [in the
macrocosm], in a very subtle way, has happened here
[in the microcosm], and is still continuing to happen.
Why I am saying it is continuing to happen is, it is
a very juvenile idea that creation happened, and that
it happened in six or seven days, because creation is
not something that happened, it is a happening. Te
idea of time itself is a juvenile idea; there is no such
thing as a million years ago. For one who looks at
the existence closely enough, for him it is all now, it
is all here. So where is that here? Is it where you are
sitting right now? No. It is here [within you] because
this is the only place you can experience. I want you
to know, this is the only place that has been revealed
to you in the existence; nothing else has ever been
revealed to you. It will take a lot of work to simply
see things the way they are, not the way they are
projected through your eyes.
So karma is not a simple word. When we say, It
is your karma, it means, the Big Bang is also your
karma; that is also your doing. Te very beginning of
creation is also your doing because that is also here
[within you]. Everything happened in that which
we refer to as consciousness. And that is not alien
to you, that is not a foreign object to you that is
the basis of what this [this life you] is. So even the
beginning of creation is also you. Tese things are
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January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
1
a genus of redwood coniferous trees
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taken literally and misunderstood, but that is why, if
we see someone in a certain state of consciousness,
we say, He is Shiva. When we say, He is Shiva, we
are not just saying he is a yogi; we are also saying,
he is that limitless nothingness before creation; he
has touched that, and that is why he is so still within
himself.
So karma is not just something that you did, it is
not some crime and punishment business, it is not
some carrot and stick business that would be too
rudimentary. If you do this, you will go to heaven; if
you do that, you will go to hell is too rudimentary.
If you have lived an active, complex life, you cannot
even decipher what is good and what is bad in your
life. Only if you have lived an extremely limited life,
you can say what the good things that you did are,
and what the bad things are. Te karmic principle
is not about good and bad, it is not about carrot
and stick, it is not about heaven and hell, not about
punyam
2
and papam
3
it is the memory of the
existence which is playing up and making you into a
compulsive being.
If you become conscious, this memory, instead of
being bondage, becomes a phenomenal knowledge
and knowing. It is memory that you call knowledge
in your life. But it is also memory which is bondage
in your life. If you are conscious, if you can
consciously pick and choose what is within you,
then this is a phenomenal knowing. You sit here
like the very cosmos because everything that the
cosmos contains, you contain too. Or you sit here
bound by these things, compulsively twisting and
turning like a worm, because they are ruling you
from inside. So the bounty of the cosmos is poured
into you, and that can become your sufering that
actually is your sufering, unfortunately. Te way
the word karma is being used in the East is, when
we see someone going through something which
looks unreasonable to normal logic, we say, Its his
karma. Unfortunately, this has been used to make
people passive. You know, there is a huge disparity in
India. On one level, there is an exuberance of wealth
and celebrations, probably like nowhere else in the
world. I have not seen the kinds of celebrations that
are set up in India anywhere else. At the same time,
right next door, you will see abject poverty, people
who are barely eating. But this man who is hungry,
whose children are hungry, never gets angry about
that man who is splurging in excess anywhere else,
he would have picked up a gun. Tis is because he
sees, Tat is his karma this is my karma; that is
his doing this is my doing. I can perform better
karma to get into a better situation. He is doing well,
that is his karma. And he is not concerned about me,
that is also his karma; for that too, there is a price.
Right now, he is lost in his wealth, he is lost in his
pleasure, that is also a karma, which will have its
own consequence in life.
So karma does not mean today you do something,
tomorrow you get the punishment. If your karma is
improper, you are sufering right now; it is not that
the day afer tomorrow, it will come back to
you no, right now it is happening. You have a lot
of money, so you overeat you are already sufering.
Yes, tomorrow you may get an ailment, but you
are already sufering. Right now you indulge in
things which are not suitable for you, already you
are sufering. Sufering does not come tomorrow
the moment you take the wrong action, it begins
right there. And if the necessary corrections are not
done, it may grow and pick up momentum over a
period of time. Like that one bang [the Big Bang]
how much momentum it has picked up See, all of
you bang, bang, bang it has happened. [Laughter]
If you look into this [yourself] deep enough, not only
that one bang, all the previous creations, even those
universes which physically do not exist anymore, are
also here.
Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
2 Virtue
3 Evil deed
7
Q: When someone reincarnates, does one usually
come back as the same gender?
Sadhguru: Not necessarily at all. Tere are people
around me who are of a diferent gender now
than what they were in an earlier life. I have a very
immediate experience of this in many diferent ways
with quite a few people. So gender, even species,
need not necessarily be the same; all this could be
determined by your tendencies.
It happens to people, it happened around certain
yogis, and it defnitely happened around Gautama
[the Buddha]. It so happened that a lot of monks
were reborn as women. When they had sat with the
Buddha [in their previous lives], in numbers, the male
monks greatly exceeded the women mainly due to
cultural reasons. In those days, a woman could not
come without a mans permission. When a man was
tired of his children and his wife, he could renounce
and walk away. A woman could not renounce when
the children were below a certain age.
So the monks who sat there as men, noticed one
thing the female monks contact with the Buddha
seemed to be better than that of the male monks.
Tis was because it is very natural for a woman to
make a very deep emotional contact. Tese men
were sitting and meditating hard, but these women
were just looking at the Buddha, and tears were
fowing down; they loved him and the Buddha
looked at them gently. Te men envied that.
Somewhere within them, there was a longing to be
connected with the Buddha like the women were.
Because of that longing, a lot of those monks came
back as women in their next birth. Afer a certain
period of time, they realized who they had been,
and that now, they had become women. Tey were
shocked, We did so much sadhana did Gautama
abandon us? Why didnt he make us monks once
again? Now we are here with our children, our
husbands, and this whole drama. Tis happened
because they had envied the women.
So depending upon your longings, depending upon
your tendencies, nature gives you an appropriate
body. Lets say you long to eat continuously and you
happen to die at that time; next time, you may come
back as somebodys pet pig, really well-fed. People
think it is a punishment to come back as a pig. Tis
is not a punishment for you nature is not thinking
in terms of punishment or reward. Depending upon
your tendencies, to fulfll those tendencies, what
kind of body would assist you best, that is what you
get. Now these monks came back as women that
was not a punishment, it was their tendency, their
longing for what the women were having. When
they were longing for the womens ability to love
the Buddha and connect with him emotionally, they
unknowingly aspired to become women.
So what gender or form you take is determined by
the type of longing that you create. So to maintain
focus on your goal, to create that longing which
is beyond all these limitations, is the best way to
ensure that nature does not know what to do with
you. When nature does not know what to do with
you, it is good for you because you can work your
things out very efortlessly. When nature knows
what to do with you, you are put in this chamber or
that chamber male chamber or female chamber,
pig chamber, cockroach chamber, or some other
chamber a body is a chamber, isnt it so?
So if you maintain that longing which is not for
this or that, you simply stare at nothingness and are
absorbed, now nature does not know what to do
with you. It cannot push you this way or that way;
it cannot make a decision on you. If nature cannot
decide, who decides? [You.]
From One Life to Another
Sadhguru on What Determines the Form We Are Born in
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru
88
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Behold and Become
Sadhguru on the Real Meaning of Darshan
Te word darshan literally means to behold or to
see. Tis is a culture in the East that comes from a
very deep understanding of the life process. In India,
when people go to a temple, they do not go there to
pray, they just want to have darshan that means
their eyes should fall upon the deity and the deitys
eyes should fall upon them. You can see big crowds
in the temple who just want to have visual contact
with the deity for a moment. No prayer, no pooja,
no worship, nothing they just want to behold and
they want to be beheld by the deity. What is the
meaning of this? When you say I see, when you
say I see you, when you say I behold who you are,
the experience, the image of the other is happening
within you.
If it is properly taken in, if there is nothing much
of you, the image imprints itself. If you are too full
of yourself, nothing goes in; it just bounces of your
eyeballs. So people want to behold the Divine for a
moment because what you see can be taken in. Once
you see something, the image remains within you
even if you close your eyes; and once it is inside, you
can make it grow. If you are not too full of yourself,
it will naturally grow within you; you dont have to
do anything about it. If you behold something with
total willingness, you take that imprint into you, and
if you reduce yourself, you will see that this image
will grow and become a live process.
If you want to really know something, if you want to
know life, you cannot study it. Nobody has studied
life. Some people have lived it, most people have
not. Tere are people who have lived strongly, but
nobody has studied life. Tose who study life know
nothing of it because in the very nature of things,
you cannot know it that way. If you want to know
something, you should become that; there is no
other way to know it. If you want to know love, you
must become that that is the only way. Only when
you have become that, you have an experience of
that; otherwise you only have a defnition of it. It
is not something that you can do; it is something
that you can become. If you want to know truth,
you have to become that. It is not a trick of somehow
getting something; you have to become that.
9
If you behold something, it becomes a part of you;
when you will allow it to become the whole of you,
is just a question of when you will make yourself
into nothing. If you want to know me, you have to
become me. You cannot know me by listening to
what I talk, because I am not talking myself. I can
never talk myself. Who I am can never be spoken.
All the time, I am joking, saying this, saying that, but
that is not what it is about. Because what this [refers
to himself] is can never be spoken.
So if you want to know, you have to become that. If
you have to become that, what you already became
has to go, only then you can become something more
than what you are. Tis is not an addition. Tis is a
complete invasion. If you sit here and enjoy the talk
or enjoy the presence, both are pleasure, diferent
kinds of pleasure. Because to see something can
be pleasure, to talk to someone can be pleasure, to
touch someone may be pleasure, to get into more
intimate situations is also pleasure, and even to
entertain yourself with the idea of knowing is also
pleasure but knowing will never happen unless
you become that.
So how do I become that? Dont try hard. You
just have to relax. Te whole system of yoga is to
bring the body to a certain state where it can be in
absolute repose, absolute relaxation. Exercise forms
are created to build muscle. Tis may empower you
to a very high level of activity, but there will be no
ease in you. Have you seen people who built lots of
muscle? If you want to impress somebody, you have
to do this.
If you have to know this, you must be like air, so
you can meet and mingle with everything around
you, you can become one with everything around
you. Your boundaries should be loose. Rigidity and
knowing cannot happen together. So darshan is just
that to simply behold; when you behold, it is right
within you. If you see something very beautiful, you
will be in awe. Being in darshan is an inward process.
Staring and thinking about a thousand things, is not
the way to be in darshan. Darshan will not happen
that way. If darshan has to happen, you have to allow
maximum input into you. Generally, the imprint of
what you see is deepest only when you see something
with utmost love. When your emotions are tender,
you receive the imprint. Tis tenderness will happen
to you not because you try to love somebody, but
because you have become love.
So if you are so meditative that you are absolutely
not there, if you are an empty house, that is a great
way to behold. If you are not an empty house, if you
are in a state of full house, then it is best that you
behold with utmost love and tenderness, because
you behold better that way.
Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru
9 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Sadhgurus New Year Message 2012
Love and Bliss,
The Greatness & Glory of a nation
and a culture is not in its past,
but in the kind of future that we are
aspiring and striving to create.
Let us make it happen.
10
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Q: Sadhguru, did Krishna create this war? I think if
he hadnt tried to apply his dharma, there would be
a hundred squabbling kings, but there would have
been no great war. Was Krishna aware that there
could be a big consequence of teaching dharma?
Sadhguru: It is not because of his eforts to create
peace that the war happened. Te way the jealousy
and hatred had grown between these two groups,
they were anyway moving towards war. He saw the
seed and knew this would head towards a major
war. So he did everything possible, many years of
work, to avoid it. To a large extent, he succeeded,
but basically because of one mans greed, this war
eventually happened. You know, the hundred
Kaurava brothers were born to Dhritarashtra [the
eldest son of sage Vyasa]. Te fve Pandava brothers
were born to Pandu, Dhritarashtras younger [half-]
brother. Rightfully, Dhritarashtra as the elder brother
should have become the king, but because he was
born blind, his younger brother Pandu became the
king. When King Pandu died, Yudhisthira, Pandus
frst son, was made king.
So in the mind of Duryodhana, who was the eldest
son of the blind king, the thought was burning that
this was his kingdom, that he should have been the
king. Right from his childhood, Duryodhana showed
a certain wantonness. He was a great warrior and
a powerful man in many ways. Many people loved
him for who he was, but he burned with this sense
of jealousy. He wanted to see the Pandavas sufer
because they excelled in everything that they did. So
he concocted a plan. Te Kauravas suggested the fve
brothers and their mother to go on a vacation in a
place called Varnavatha, where they had built a nice
palace for the Pandavas with highly combustible
material like log and jute. Te fve brothers trusted
them and went for their vacation. On the way,
they met Vidura, a half-brother of Dritarashtra
and Pandu (they all had the same father, Vyasa,
but Vidura was born to a maid). Vidura, who was
the minister in Hastinapur, loved the fve brothers
immensely because they showed virtue, quality,
and generosity right from their childhood. So he
had come to warn them in the form of a riddle that
they should watch out, saying, One who is wise will
read the intention of the enemy and not wait for his
action and A fox escapes the forest fre by taking
the underground route.
Yudhisthira [the eldest of the Pandava brothers]
understood that they were to be burnt. So when they
came to the palace, they checked it out and saw that it
was built of combustible material only. Vidura sent a
miner with them who could dig a tunnel for them to
escape. So from inside the palace, they dug a tunnel
out and waited, to make it look genuine. When the
right moment came, they themselves set fre to the
palace and escaped through the tunnel. Te servants
and all the others in the palace died, including some
soldiers who were there to make sure that these fve
brothers would not escape. All of them died in the
fre but these fve brothers and their mother escaped
through the tunnel. Tey went to live in the forest,
unnoticed by anybody. Nobody knew that they were
still alive. Even Vidura, who had warned them, did
not know whether they had really escaped or not.
So in his heart, Duryodhana celebrated, but
outside, he pretended to mourn. He put on an act
of being very sorrowful because his fve brothers
were dead and had a huge ceremony conducted to
send them to heaven. He did all that thinking that
they were dead.
Te Build-up to the Great War
Leela Series
The path of the playful Part XXVIII
In the meantime, King Drupada wanted his
daughter Draupadi to get married to Arjuna, one of
the Pandava brothers. So he set up a very tough test.
Whoever wanted to marry Draupadi would have to
be an extraordinary archer. Only very few people
would be capable of doing it; and he knew who they
were. So he hoped that Arjuna, who was an expert
archer, would come but he and his brothers had
disappeared. It was Krishna who went and informed
Drupada, Tey are still alive. Arjuna will come. But
where they are, nobody knows.
Te test that was set up was, a fsh was suspended
from the ceiling and made to rotate. And there was
a bowl of oil that refected the rotating fsh. Looking
at the refection in the oil, the archers had to shoot
the eye of the fsh. Tis was a training that archers
had to go through, that without directly looking at
the object, they had to shoot. When all the Kaurava
brothers and the Pandava brothers were learning
archery from Dronacharya, he decided one day to
set up a test for all of them. A wooden bird was put
on top of a tree. One by one, Dronacharya called
the brothers and said, You must hit the neck of the
bird. Aim at it. When I say shoot, you shoot. When
they had the bow fully stretched and were waiting
to shoot, Drona asked them, What do you see?
Diferent people said diferent things: I see the tree,
I see fruits, I see the bird, I see this, I see the clouds
When Arjunas turn came, and he had the bow fully
stretched, Drona asked again, What do you see?
Ajurna answered, Just one point on the neck of the
bird that is all I see. And that is how he was. He
even mastered the art of shooting in total darkness.
He did not need to see the object; just by hearing
a sound, he would shoot. Arjuna became such an
expert archer that Drupada was quite certain that if
he came, he would be the one who would win but
he did not know where he was.
Duryodhana was also an expert archer. He was
confdent that he could win, but Krishna manipulated
the situation in such a way that Duryodhana did not
come. Drupada had a vast army, so if his daughter got
married to Duryodhana, Drupada would become
an ally of Duryodhana, which inevitably would have
meant war. So Krishna wanted to make sure that
this does not happen. Te other option would have
been that Drupada gave his daughter to Jarasandha,
the cruel king from the east. Like Duryodhana, he
was also extremely ambitious and a great enemy of
Krishna. Jarasandha also was an expert archer who
could have won, but Krishna did not want that at all.
So somehow Krishna managed that Arjuna
surfaced on that day and won Draupadi over. Like
this, Krishna ofen manipulated situations so that
the power was equally divided in the nation and
they would not go to war with each other. But it
went wrong; still the war happened. But when war
became inevitable, Krishna told Arjuna, We did
everything to avoid this situation, but we are there.
Now no hesitation, lets just fght all out. Tere is no
going back on this now. And afer this war was over,
because everybody who could fght was dead, there
was peace.
11 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru
A Model for Success
Ishas education initiative Isha Vidhya is committed to raising the level of education in rural India and help
disadvantaged children realize their full potential. Isha Vidhya opened its frst school in 2006 and now runs
seven rural schools across Tamil Nadu with a total of 3500 students. Scholarships are provided to those who
cannot aford tuition.
Isha Vidhya follows a carefully planned methodology which includes English, computer-based education
and multiple-sensory learning methods that take education beyond recitation and memorization. Te Isha
Vidhya schools enhance the academic syllabus with a wide range of extra-curricular activities, events, and
competitions. Here are a few awards that the students and staf have earned in the last few months that
highlight the success of the school model:
Vice Principal of Isha Vidhya School Wins Best Teacher Award
Out of nominees from several thousand schools in the districts of
Erode, Namakkal, and Tiruppur, Mrs. Mahalakshmi, Vice Principal
of the Isha Vidhya School in Erode district, was one of the select few
to be honored with the Best Teacher Award by the Junior Chamber
International (JCI), Erode.
Farmers Daughter Wins Prize in English Letter Writing
G. Keerthana, 7
th
Standard student of the Isha Vidhya School in Coimbatore
district won second prize in the letter writing competition conducted by
the Head Post Of ce, Coimbatore district. Keerthana, whose parents work
as farmers, has been studying in the Isha Vidhya school for the last fve
years on scholarship.
Cuddalore School Student wins Painting Competition Prize
Jayanth Nag, who studies in 5
th
Standard at the Isha Vidhya School in Cuddalore district, won a prize in a
painting competition initiated by the Tamil Nadu Brahmin Association and had his name published in an
article by Te Hindu on 15 November. Since his mother is a single parent with limited income, the child has
been provided with a scholarship at Isha Vidhya.
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January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
An Update
New School Coming up!
A few months ago, Mrs. Sudha Murty, Head of Infosys Foundation, had visited the Isha Vidhya School
at Sandhe Goundanpalayam village near Coimbatore and interacted with the students. Impressed by the
impact and ef cacy of the Isha Vidhya model in providing English-based education to rural children, she
felt that Infosys Foundation should sponsor the construction of a new Isha Vidhya school.
Tis intention is now becoming a reality: Te eighth Isha Vidhya Matriculation School will be established
in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. Businessmen from Dharmapuri and Mr. C.K. Venkataraman, COO of
Hosur-based Titan Industries, contributed towards purchasing the land for the school.
13 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Rural Children Go Digital
Te Isha Vidhya Matriculation School in Villupuram
district recently inaugurated its new Digital Classrooms.
Cognizant Foundation sponsored the entire equipment.
Everonn Education Ltd. provided the digital content
to the school free of cost. Tis innovative state-of-the-
art computer-assisted learning makes education a live,
interactive process.
Cognizant Foundation, which spearheads the corporate
social responsibility initiatives of Cognizant Technologies, has funded the establishment of the digital
classrooms in all the seven Isha Vidhya schools, in order to augment the regular classes, make it easier for
students to grasp the concepts taught in their subjects, and make learning a more enjoyable experience.
Te school will primarily draw students from the 15 to 20
surrounding villages, whose population predominantly consists
of farmers, agricultural workers, and families of migrant laborers.
According to 2011 Census, Dharmapuri district has the lowest
literacy level in the state, and with 11% of the population being
under six years of age, quality education is the need of the hour.
In about a years time, construction will be completed and the
school will be ready to welcome its frst batch of students.
A rare opportunity to live in the Grace of the Velliangiri Mountains
Cottages available for lifetime use or time-share.
For more information and application, please contact us:
shivapadam.isha@gmail.com 094878 95088, 094878 95865, 0422-2515345
Shivapadam
Isha Kriya Week was launched on 27 November in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Troughout
the week, thousands of Isha volunteers carried out a massive awareness campaign on Isha Kriya in these
cities with free distribution of Isha Kriya DVDs.
Isha Kriya as a spiritual practice is ideal especially in a hectic urban environment, and fts into any kind of
lifestyle it is simple, only takes 1218 minutes, and comes with no restrictions.
Here is an overview of the myriad activities by Isha volunteers in these four cities:
Delhi
Two weeks before the launch, Isha Kriya training sessions were conducted in Delhi, Noida, and Gurgaon
with over 160 Isha meditators participating and learning to ofer the DVD.
Te Delhi Half Marathon on 27 November 2011 served as a launch pad for the Isha Kriya Week. Te
Honorable Mayor of Delhi, Smt. Rajni Abbi, received the frst Isha Kriya DVD, and fagged of the movement
in an Isha Vidhya T-Shirt!
Volunteers then headed out, introducing and ofering Isha Kriya sessions at their workplace and among
friends and family. Te possibility of bringing one drop of spirituality into peoples lives fuelled their
enthusiasm throughout the Isha Kriya week.
PVR Cinemas, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and airport operator GMR have agreed
to distribute the Isha Kriya DVDs on a large-scale in their cinema theaters, petrol pumps, and at the
International Airport respectively. Tulsyan, Emami, Apollo Hospitals, and Bhel provided fnancial support
and invited volunteers to conduct sessions at their ofces.
Volunteers also setup stalls and conducted sessions in malls, corporate ofces, and community organizations.
Te National Stock Exchange (both at the Mumbai head ofce and the Delhi branch), Indira Gandhi
International Airport, and SAP Labs India are just a few of the places where Isha Kriya was met with an
overwhelming response. At each of the Isha Kriya sessions, people queued up as soon as they heard that it
is free. Isha Kriya not only intrigued people, but most of those who participated in the sessions thoroughly
enjoyed the video, and many were overwhelmed afer going through the process. A Vice President of the
National Stock Exchange shared afer the session: It is too much. I am so touched. I now want to do the
Inner Engineering Program.
Mumbai
For three months prior to the actual Isha Kriya week, Isha volunteers have been ofering Isha Kriya on a large
scale, while at the same time preparing the Inner Engineering mega program with Sadhguru in December.
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER 14
Isha Kriya Week in
Major Indian Cities
Isha Kriya sessions have been held all over Mumbai. Many corporate houses have shown interest in making
one drop of spirituality available to their employees through free meditation sessions. Volunteers have been
organizing sessions for their family and friends in their own homes, while Isha teachers conducted Isha
Kriya sessions in clubs, educational institutes, and even malls.
Isha volunteers have been exploring many avenues in the city to distribute the DVDs railway stations,
malls, event venues, corporate ofces, shops, highway tollgates, local trains, personal appointments, and
newspaper ads.
At the beginning of Isha Kriya week, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) Mumbai added further
momentum to the campaign with a distribution drive of free Isha Kriya DVDs at their petrol stations. 80,000
Isha Kriya DVDs are being distributed to BPCL customers across Mumbai.
Bangalore
In Bangalore, the Isha Kriya campaign has picked up momentum. Corporate organizations have been
inviting Isha volunteers to conduct sessions. Wherever Isha Kriya sessions have been ofered, they have
been well attended. It was heartening to see how, at the end of the session, many participants received the
DVD like a prasadam
1
. In some educational institutions, Isha volunteers observed that children were just
absorbed in the session and some sat still with eyes closed even afer the session had ended.
DVDs have been distributed in many places across the city. Tose who went through the Isha Kriya process
were so enthused about it that they asked for additional DVDs for their friends and family. Te organizers of
some national and international conferences even ofered the DVDs as complements for their participants.
An Isha volunteer, Madhu Kashyap, shares his experience of ofering Isha Kriya at the Peoples Education
Society (PES), a college of science, technology, and management: What an overwhelming experience this
was! A total of around 1500 students participated in three sessions. Afer the sessions, when I greeted each
and every student with a Namaskaram, every bright young face either smiled or greeted me back with a
Namaskaram or uttered Tank you, Sir! Te very privilege of introducing Isha to the youth and sharing my
personal experience about Isha is something that I can never express in words.
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
1

Literally a gracious ofering
15
16
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Te Isha Kriya campaign is all set to go into high gear in the next few weeks with Isha Kriya sessions
throughout the city. Volunteers will be ofering Isha Kriya at malls, tech-parks, temples, schools, bookstores,
and parks, to keep the momentum of the movement going. Crossword bookstores, Apollo pharmacies and
Health & Glow outlets will also be distributing DVDs to their customers.
Hyderabad
Isha Kriya Week in Hyderabad was a buzzing afair. Tere were roughly one hundred thousand DVDs to
give away to the people of the city. Even before the actual campaign began, the volunteer meetings were well
attended and everyone had ideas on how they could contribute to the distribution. Ten Sadhguru came
to town and that was just the fllip everyone needed! Working on several avenues, volunteers organized
themselves into teams and got cracking.
Wherever possible, the efort has been to conduct sessions. Retail stores, educational institutions, corporates,
clubs and communities, apartments, and healthcare units all these were locations where Isha Kriya sessions
took place. Te number of participants ranged from small apartment level sessions with 1015 persons to
corporate sessions with about 400 people attending.
In addition to the sessions, DVDs have been distributed in corporate ofces, retail outlets, parks, temples,
and the airport.
Te Isha Kriya web group was bombarded with mails, updates, requests for volunteers, and sharing of
experiences. Tere were some moving reactions from the participants, and inquiries about further programs.
Isha volunteer Suma shares her experience of ofering Isha Kriya: Afer picking up a DVD at a park, a
director wanted us to do a session for his entire company. He said he has 70 acres kept aside for spiritual
pursuit and rejuvenation with a hall for yoga that accommodates 300 people, and he wants our volunteers
to conduct a program there.
It has been a great experience for all to get together and work together in this manner. With so much
groundwork laid and the sessions gaining momentum, the teams have found that they need to continue
to work beyond the week in fact, they are eager for any opportunity to raise awareness about this great
ofering.
We would like to thank our sponsors GMR, Tulsyan, Emami, Apollo Hospitals, Bhel, BPCL, Crossword,
Health & Glow, PVR Cinemas, and all the others, for their heartwarming support in making these
technologies for wellbeing available to many.
Te Isha Kriya Week was just the launch of what is set to be a large-scale, ongoing movement that is designed
to bring one drop of spirituality to everyone. Isha Kriya DVDs will continue to be distributed thanks to the
eforts of our enthusiastic volunteers and sponsors.
Sadhguru has ofen remarked that humanity has sufciently explored the material aspects of life and is right
now overripe for a spiritual process. If you would like to try Isha Kriya out yourself or ofer it to others, please
visit ishakriya.com or contact your local coordinator for free DVDs.
17 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Its been 45 days of travel; too much has happened to
even articulate. Many things that we have initiated
in diferent parts of the world in the last month could
change the complexion of what we will be doing in the
coming years if it all bears fruit. We are seeing how we
can drum it up in the coming year or two, and then sit
down for more focused work here at the ashram and
maybe a little bit elsewhere.
If you want to create something that is worthwhile
in peoples lives and for future generations, it will
take a certain amount of involvement and sacrifce,
otherwise it wont happen. Right now, the Aadhi Yogi
Alayam and the Teerthakund construction are going
on. Te way we are constructing the Teerthakund is
such that each block weighs 4550 tons we are using
ffy-ton bricks. Nowhere else on the planet is this
type of construction happening right now. Tings like
this were only done in ancient times. When we build
a temple, we want to ensure that it is here for a long
period of time I am thinking 5,000 years. I do not
want to build a temple in concrete cement which will
collapse in 100 years, because the energy process that
we conduct will easily last 45,000 years.
Since I landed in Hyderabad from the United States,
it has been one whirlwind of a schedule. It took me to
various events in Hyderabad, Kolkata, and above all,
to Sikkim for the frst time. Always wanted to go to
Gangtok, heard so much about it, but somehow never
made it. In Sikkim, one of our meditators is doing
a major hydro-electric project. It is the biggest of its
kind in India right now, a 1,200 megawatt project,
and it was incredible to see. What has been done
there is something that will make you proud of being
human a labyrinth of tunnels going through the
mountain in many diferent ways, and in a complex
web which moves the water in a manner that is
productive and again puts it back in the river. Te
whole length of the tunnels measures 32 kilometers. It
was truly an eye-opener for me to see what a great job
these engineers have done there. We also established
Bhairavi in the powerhouse which is yet to become
functional.
Kolkata, Sikkim, a sathsang in Mumbai, and back to
Coimbatore all in less than 36 hours. Here I am.
Musings from the Master
Sadhguru Spot
Constructing what is Worthwhile
Excerpted from Sadhgurus Spot of 23 November 2011
Love and Blessings,
18
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
A Meditator Shares: Home Consecration of Devi Yantra by Sadhguru
An Enlightened Visit
I have always been a seeker, believing that there was
something higher than me out there, but it was so
hard for me to reach it, see it, or sense it, until I met
Sadhguru eight years ago. However, my husband
observed over the years that I was still actively
languishing and running away from myself. I was
used to fnding escapes in all the wrong places, all my
life. In his loving quest to heal whatever sacrilegious
damage I had committed to my body, mind and
soul from my numerous escape routes, my ever
supportive husband made a request to have a Linga
Bhairavi Avighna Yantra consecrated in our home,
personally by Sadhguru. Te request was granted by
Him on November 11, 2011 (11.11.11).
November 11, 2011, a date of supposed heightening
of spiritual energy and also a full moon, I closed my
eyes, along with seventy others (including Bhairagini
Maa Manisha and several Isha volunteers), and
chanted the Devi Stuti, awaiting His arrival. We
halted suddenly without a sound, Sadhguru was
before us. I was shivering when He was fnally alone
with my husband and me in our conservatory that
soon became our Devi Temple. He connected us
to Her and explained that She would remain so as
long as She resided in our hearts and came before
everything else, including the Guru who created
Her. He asked us if we had any questions and spent
a good half hour with us, and then another ten
minutes with us and our children. It was incredible
to say the least.
In less than three weeks, She has certainly worked
Her Grace. Basically, I think too much, but I am
beginning to appreciate that maybe, logic and
intellectual understanding just do not coexist with
who and what Devi is and does. In three short weeks,
I have fallen maddeningly in love all over again with
Devi as She continues to permeate my body, my
soul, and of course my logic-ridden mind. Besides,
it is widely known that love can be highly illogical
and irrational. Perhaps, sound reason and science
has nothing to do with love, but love has everything
to do with Her.
Kama Patel, Isha meditator, USA
19 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Tese 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
2 - 5 Jan 2012
Bhava Spandana
(English/ Hindi - Ladies)
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishafoundation.org
5 - 8 Jan 2012
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
maa.karpoori@ishafoundation.org
7 - 10 Jan 2012
Bhava Spandana
(English/ Hindi - Gents)
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishafoundation.org
11 - 13 Jan 2012
Hata Yoga
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishafoundation.org
21 - 24 Jan 2012
Shoonya Intensive
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515300
programinfo@ishafoundation.org
26 - 29 Jan 2012
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
maa.karpoori@ishafoundation.org
2 - 5 Feb 2012
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515421
maa.karpoori@ishafoundation.org

11 - 18 Feb 2012
Mahabharat
Residential Program
conducted by Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
94449 02058
mahabharat@ishafoundation.org
13-19 Feb 2012
Yaksha
A Celestial Feast of Music
and Dance
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515345
info@yaksha.info
20 Feb 2012
Mahashivarathri
Event with Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
0422-2515345
mahashivarathri@ishafoundation.org
23 Feb - 1 Mar 2012
Samyama
Residential Program
conducted by Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center
Coimbatore, India
94425 04681
samyama@ishafoundation.org
Program Highlights
20
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
YAKSHA
A Celestial Feast of Music and Dance
13 19 February 2012
6:50 pm 8:30 pm (Please be seated by 6:40 pm.)
Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore.
Alarmel Valli (Bharatnatyam Dance)
Monday, 13 February
Pandit Chhannulal Mishra (Hindustani Vocal)
Tuesday, 14 February
Shubha Mudgal (Hindustani Vocal)
Wednesday, 15 February
Ravi Kiran & Tarun Bhattacharya (Chitraveena/Santur)
Tursday, 16 February
L. Subramaniam (Carnatic Violin)
Friday, 17 February
Neyveli Santhana Gopalan (Carnatic Vocal)
Saturday, 18 February
Amjad Ali Khan (Hindustani Sarod)
Sunday, 19 February
Entry free. Passes available in major Isha Centers in India.
Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, Semmedu P.O., Coimbatore 641 114 India
+ 91-422-2515345 info@yaksha.info
Presents
Mahabharat
Saga Nonpareil
Mahabharat will be a truly breathtaking explosion of arts, culture, and beauty. An insightful
exploration of an unparalleled saga, inimitably interpreted by Sadhguru.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
to
Saturday, 18 February 2012
At
Isha Yoga Center
Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu India
Contact:
+91 - 83000 83000
mahabharat@ishafoundation.org
www.mahabharat.isha.in
21 January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Mahashivarathri 2012
A Rapturous Night with the Divine
Mahashivarathri celebrates the Grace of SHIVA, who is considered the Aadhi (frst) Guru from whom the
yogic tradition originates.
At Isha Yoga Center, Mahashivarathri is celebrated as a nightlong Sathsang with SADHGURU. Sadhgurus
discourses and powerful meditations, interspersed with musical performances by top artists, open up the
possibility of a deep spiritual experience.
Monday, 20 February 2012
(From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the following day)
Isha Yoga Center, Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore
Musical performances:

Special packages are available to facilitate the best experience of the Mahashivarathri celebrations. Tese
packages include preferred seating (in sections close to the stage/dais and in proximity to Sadhguru), Pancha
Bhuta Aradhana in Sadhgurus Presence, Guru Pooja with Sadhguru at the Dhyanalinga Temple, special
abhishekam at the Linga Bhairavi Temple, accommodation at the ashram, transport, and much more. For
further information on the packages, contact: +91-9443251234, donations@ishafoundation.org.
Experience the Grace and grandeur of Mahashivarathri
with Sadhguru
at Isha Yoga Center!
For general inquiries and seating:
+91-98843 66340 / 97890 97995
mahashivarathri@ishafoundation.org
COLONIAL COUSINS
Indian fusion music with
Hariharan and Leslie Lewis
USTAD F. WASIFUDDIN DAGAR
Dagarvani Dhrupad Exponent
KAILASH KHER
Vocalist (Pop, Suf & Folk)
22
January 2012 FOREST FLOWER
Isha Recipes
For Healthy Living
HOME REMEDIES FOR COMMON COLD
Ginger Kashayam
Quantity Ingredients
4 teaspoons Ginger juice
4 teaspoons Honey
2 teaspoons Lemon juice
Method of preparation:
Mix the ginger juice with the honey, lemon juice, and cup of water.
Note: A good remedy for cold, cough, asthma, and problems related to indigestion.
Karpooravalli & Pepper
Quantity Ingredients
7 leaves Karpooravalli (Anisochilus Carnosus)
10 Black peppercorns
Method of preparation:
Mix both ingredients and grind them together.
Note: Fights common cold.
Tulasi & Pepper
Quantity Ingredients
1 handful Tulasi (holy basil) leaves
10 Black peppercorns
Method of preparation:
Mix both ingredients and grind them together.
Note: Relieves cough and cold.
Tip: Tulasi and Karpooravalli can be grown at home in fower pots.
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