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CONTENTS

CHIT SHAKTI

Sadhguru on the Power of the Mind

MAHABHARAT

Part 6: The Mantra of Revival

16

Isha Hatha Yoga


Part 17: How to Connect to the Sun

Lead Article
Chit Shakti

Sadhguru on the Power of the Mind

Musings
Eleven Shrines Two Objectives

10

Sadhguru on the New Shrines at the Isha Yoga Center

Yoga for the World

12

Sadhguru Shares His Vision for the International Day of Yoga

In Conversation with the Mystic


Raise Your Food Consciousness

13

Mark Hyman in Conversation with Sadhguru

Mahabharat
Part 6: The Origin of the Chandravamshis / The Mantra of Revival

16

News & Events


Homegrown Tales

19

Isha Home School Book Release

Upcoming Programs and Events


Isha Yoga Program Highlights

20

Isha Recipe
This Month: Mung Dal Chaat

21

Zen Speaks
Mind Like a Mirror

23

May 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 3

ISHA HATHA YOGA

Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. In Surya


Kriya, what is the significance of pressing the
knuckles of the thumbs into the Anahata?
Sadhguru: Whether it is Surya Kriya, Surya
Namaskar, or Surya Shakti, you must generate
a certain emotion towards the sun. That is
because what your emotion is focused on,
you can easily keep your mind on too. This
is how devotion works. If you emotionally
connect to something, it is easy to keep your
mind and attention on it, and naturally, your
energy moves in that direction too.
The sun is constantly making connection with
you. This whole solar system is powered by
the sun. Only because of that, life is possible
on the planet. Our very body structure is
based on this. Hatha Yoga is about sun and
moon, which are important factors. It is a
combination of these two impacts upon the
planet that has produced the human body.

PART 17

How to Connect
to the Sun

In our January edition, Sadhguru


explained the fundamentals of Surya
Kriya. Here, we zoom in on a central detail
that is relevant for all three sun-related
practices Surya Kriya, Surya Namaskar,
and Surya Shakti.

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The sun is the source of life energy. The prana


aspect of you is a physical form of energy. In
the process of creation, the first physical form
of energy that manifests in the human system
is referred to as prana. There is another
dimension to the human system which is nonphysical in nature and non-pranic. Prana is
still physical. All the pranic energy in this solar
system is essentially generated by the sun.
Without the sun, there is no prana. Without
the sun, there is no warmth. Without warmth,
there is no life. The very way we check whether
you are alive or dead is by seeing whether you
are warm or cold.
We want to activate the sun element within
you. If something is dried in the sun, it can
burn. In a way, the object or substance
absorbs the rays of the sun and then becomes
capable of producing energy. If there was no
absorption of the suns energy, nothing could
burn, nothing could give warmth or light. For
the body to heal itself, we have to generate
warmth. In this context, samat prana is an
important aspect of creating health in the
system.
May 2015

The process of living is constantly taking a


toll on every cell in the body. They say the
average age of the cells in an adult human
body is 7 to 10 years. Every day, old cells are
dying and new cells are being created. The
number of cells that die in any given day can
be drastically brought down if your samat
prana is high. Similarly, the number of new
cells that are being created in a day can be
drastically increased if your samat prana is
high. The amount of samat prana you have
essentially depends on the amount of the
suns energy within you. One way is to try
to generate it within you. Another way is to
make use of the sun outside to activate this
process within you.
Surya Kriya is to activate the internal sun, but
you stimulate it by using the external sun. If you
want to establish a connection with the external
sun, or with anything for that matter, you need
attention, emotion, and energy moving in
that direction. Otherwise, you cannot make a
connection to anything whether it is a human
being, a plant, an animal, or a substance.
When your attention, emotion, and energy
are not connected to anything around you,
you are like a separate existence by yourself.
And thats how most people live.
One aspect is to open up the Anahata, which
is an important part of the human system. It
is the meeting point between the lower three
chakras and the upper three chakras. Its symbol
is two equilateral triangles. An upward-facing
triangle and a downward-facing triangle meet
to form a complex pattern. On one level,
creation begins from there not the physical

dimension, but another dimension of you that


distinguishes you as a human being.

This is why it is called Anahata, which means


unstruck an unstruck sound. Generally,
it takes two things to strike a sound. But at
the Anahata, there is an unstruck sound. To
activate that, you have to bend your thumbs
in such a way that the knuckles are pointed
and you press them into the Anahata. That
way, you create a certain emotion towards the
sun.
Likewise, when you feel a pleasant emotion,
you naturally place your hands on the
Anahata, because that is where it begins. You
want to activate your emotional dimension
because without focusing your emotions
on something, your mind cannot stick to
anything. What you focus your emotions on,
that is where your mind will be. Otherwise, it
is difficult to keep your mind set on one thing.

Excerpted from a talk by Sadhguru at the Isha Hatha Yoga School.


For dates and details of hatha yoga programs, visit www.ishahathayoga.com
The Hatha Yoga Teacher Training program is an opportunity to be trained in classical
hatha yoga devised by Sadhguru. Upcoming dates: 31 July to 25 December 2015 at the
Isha Yoga Center in India.
For more information, please send an email to info@ishahathayoga.com
or call +91-83000 97444.
May 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 5

buddhi will not take you beyond limits in any


way, because it can only function based on
the data that is already there. It is not capable
of accessing anything beyond that.
The next dimension is called manas. Manas
has many layers to it. But manas is not just the
brain it is right across the body. Every cell
in the body has a phenomenal memory not
just of this life but of millions of years. Your
body clearly remembers how your forefathers
were a million years ago. Top to bottom, there
is manas this is called manomaya kosha. In
every cell in the body, there is memory and
intelligence, but no intellect. Intellect is only
in the brain.
In English language, everything comes under
one banner called mind. The idea that
intelligence is only in the brain has produced
human beings whose consciousness is
seriously constipated. What is in the brain
is intellect, not intelligence. Intelligence
and memory are right across your body.
But people have never been trained how to
use this intelligence. Instead, they use their
intellect for everything. No wonder whatever
job you give them, they are stressed out. The
whole weight is on only one dimension of the
mind out of sixteen. It is like loading a sixteenwheeler truck and trying to drive on only one
wheel you can imagine the stress! That is
what todays world is going through.
People may be using other dimensions of the
mind marginally, unconsciously, but they are
not trained to use them. They have only been
trained to use their buddhi, or their intellect.
They are very smart. They know everything
about everything, but they do not know how
to figure their own life. They do not even know
how to sit here peacefully and at total ease
within themselves. If there is true intelligence,
the first thing that you need to figure out is
how to make life happen. You know how to
make the world happen, but you do not know
how to make your life happen. You do not
May 2015

know how to conduct your mind. You do not


know how to conduct your energies. You do
not know how to conduct your emotions.
People do not even know how to conduct
their body.
If you ask people to become fit, they become
tight. If you ask them to live in a more natural
way, they become fat. They do not know how
to conduct their body, mind, emotion, energy
nothing. Where is the intelligence? There is only
intellect. Intellect looks good only in comparison.
Suppose you are the only person on the planet,
your intellect will not mean anything. Only
because there are a few idiots around you,
you shine. By itself, intellect will not be of any
consequence.
The intellect directly connects with the third
dimension of your mind, called ahankara.
Ahankara is sometimes translated as ego, but
it is much more than that. Ahankara gives
you a sense of identity. Once your ahankara
takes on an identity, your intellect functions
only in that context. It is important to function
beyond the intellect, because the intellect is
seriously enslaved to your identity.
Our identities, such as belonging to a certain
nation, community, or whatever else, are
necessary for our survival in a particular
society. But you cannot think beyond this
because you are functioning only from your
intellect, and the intellect takes its sustenance
from ahankara. Only along the axis of ahankara,
the intellect can function. The intellect cannot
transcend this, because that is its nature. But
there are other ways to know life beyond the
identities we have taken on for our survival in
the world.
The fourth category of the mind is called
chitta. Chitta is mind without memory
pure intelligence. This intelligence is like the
cosmic intelligence simply there. Everything
happens because of that. It does not function
out of memory it simply functions. In a way,
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 7

what you call cosmos is a living mind, not in


the sense of intellect but in the sense of chitta.
Chitta is the last point of the mind. It connects
to the basis of creation within you. It connects
you with your consciousness.
Chitta is always on whether you are awake
or asleep. Your intellect comes on and goes
off. Many times it fails, even when you are
awake. If chitta or the intelligence within you
was not always on, you could not stay alive.
Try to conduct your breath with your intellect
you will go crazy. Chitta is keeping you alive,
keeping you going, making life happen. If you
touch this dimension of your mind, which is
the linking point to ones consciousness, you
do not even have to wish for anything, you
do not have to dream of anything the best
possible thing that can happen to you will
anyway happen.

in the best possible way. If you go by your


intellect or your buddhi, today you think this
is it, tomorrow morning you think that is it
like this it goes on endlessly.
Once you know how to consciously keep your
chitta on, once the Divine is your servant,
when someone really efficient is working for
you, you do not have to do anything. Simply
sit; the best things will happen things that
you could not imagine. People always think if
their dreams come true, their life will be great.
I think that is a very poor life, because you
cannot dream about anything that is not at all
in your experience. My wish and my blessing
for you is things that you could not dream of,
things that you never thought possible, must
happen to you. What you did not dream must
happen to you that is why you should not
dream.
Instead of seeing how to delve deeper into
yourself, you go on projecting stupid ideas
into the world. People think that is a great
thing to do. Last time when I was in the US,
and someone said to me, Sadhguru, how
do you manifest all this? I said, I do not
manifest anything. I am just fooling around. I
got a very efficient partner [Shiva]. I simply
leave it to him, and it happens.

When you touch this dimension of the mind,


it means God becomes your slave he works
for you. You know, yogis say, Shiva is my
servant. He does everything for me. In a way,
otherwise, I would not be here. Once you
know how to consciously access your chitta,
everything that is needed will simply happen
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Chit Shakti is about touching the dimension of


your mind that is pure intelligence unsullied
by memory, unsullied by identification. It is
beyond ahankara, beyond buddhi, beyond
judgment, beyond divisions simply there,
just like the intelligence of existence that
makes everything happen. If you access this,
you do not have to worry about what happens
or what does not happen. It will happen in a
way that you never imagined possible.
Once you have access to your chitta, it is
also a multi-pointed telescope. It makes
you see things that no one else can see in
every direction. It is your crystal ball. It is a
magnifying glass that brings the very core of
life close to you. For everyone else, it is far

May 2015

way. Everyone thinks the Divine is somewhere


up there. Where exactly, no one knows. All
they know is, it seems far away.

this, what all they will do, I knew. So we only


did one such program. Since then, we offer a
milder version of Chit Shakti.

The moment you start looking at life through


your chitta, where there is no memory, there
is no karmic substance and no division.
Suddenly, the Divine is right there, bang on, in
your face all the time. You cannot miss it.

The idea of Chit Shakti is not to keep asking


for things. The idea is that if the physical
arrangements of life happen easily, you
can dedicate more time for your spiritual
wellbeing. It would be stupid if just because
it happens easily, first you want to be a
millionaire, then you want to be a billionaire.
The main intention is that your physical life
happens more easily, that it does not take
your entire time to handle it, so that you will
have time to close your eyes and sit. Please
make use of it for this purpose.

We first offered Chit Shakti in a different form.


In about six weekends, I taught a program
about establishing the power of the mind. By
the fourth, fifth weekend, 80% of the people
could move a folded paper from one place to
another without touching it. When I saw this,
I thought this is dangerous. If they can do

The Power to Create meditations for Peace, Love, Health, and Success (also known
as Chit Shakti) are available at the Isha Download Store ishadownloads.com

May 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 9

MUSING

Eleven Shrines Two Objectives


Sadhguru on the New Shrines
at the Isha Yoga Center
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. In
different places in the ashram, shrines have
been put up. What is the purpose of these
shrines, and why are the lingas covered in
vibhuti so that we cannot see them?
Sadhguru: We have not put up too many
only eleven. This is a technological aspect. It is
like, you subscribe to some telecom company,
lets say Airtel that means the air is telling
you things. The only thing is you must pay
your subscription fee. They have a base station
somewhere, but there are towers everywhere
to enhance the transmission. The shrines have
a similar purpose.
We placed the Dhyanalinga, Linga Bhairavi, the
shrines, and everything else according to the
geography of the yoga center. Fortunately, we
have a huge natural wall of a mountain behind
us, which is a cascade of Grace by itself. And
we put our life into making the Dhyanalinga.
It is transmitting heavily, but those who have
not paid their subscription fees may only
experience it as a big black peanut, as one
American lady put it a few years ago. There are
others who are going into nameless ecstasies
sitting there.
Life delivers to you depending upon the
extent to which you are receptive and
sensitive. We all may live in the same world,
but every human being does not experience
life the same way. For one person everything
is fantastic for another person everything is
horrible. And there are of course people who
10 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

are in between, periodically swinging from


one end to the other. Today it is fantastic
tomorrow it is horrible. Day after tomorrow
again it is fantastic. This is not only so in
the world in the yoga center too. Because
people have transmission problems, we have
established these solidified mercury lingas to
further enhance the transmission.
To the second part of the question Why is it
covered with vibhuti, because you dont want
us to see the linga? If that was so, we would
have dressed him up. The idea is we want you
to take something of the reverberation. This
sacred ash is made of certain substances.
It is in contact with the rasa linga, and you
can take it in eleven different places. So if
you are one of those who do not pay your
subscription fees, which means you never go
to the Dhyanalinga or the sadhana hall, to see
that even you dont miss it, we have put up
these shrines.
These eleven shrines certainly enhance the
whole situation phenomenally. Especially on
cooler days or in the early morning, you can
observe that. You must visit all the eleven
shrines early morning somewhere between
03:40 to six o clock you will see they are
glowing in their own way.
They are located strategically in certain
places that are geographically significant for
the ashram terrain. Another aspect of it is
to provide you many opportunities to bow
down. Dont just do it eleven times a day you
May 2015

must do it a million times a day. Every time


a cloud moves, the breeze moves, another
human being comes, a dog comes, a cow
anything, a tree moves, your breath moves
in and out bow down. Bow down to every
dimension of life, because all of it is superior
to your intelligence.
The way this breath is happening, how
simple air goes in, gives what it has to give
to nurture this life, goes out, gets into a
tree, gives what it has to give to the tree
this transaction is going on for millions of
years. We are still breathing the same air
that the Adiyogi breathed 15,000 years ago!
Obviously, he has left a signature on the
air that you breathe. Many beings have. Of
course, there have been many lousy ones
too. But it is the same air, maintaining itself
pretty well, for a million years.
If we do not mess it up too much for another
billion years it can go on the same air. No new
air is needed. No new water is needed. The
same things can go on forever it is a fantastic
design. Right now, we are beginning to think
about doing things in a sustainable way none
of the things we do is sustainable. Nothing that
we have created is sustainable at the most,
it lasts a little longer than it used to earlier.
So, one thing is to learn to bow down, to be
reverential, not towards a particular thing
simply to be reverential.
I would like to see that if the garbage truck
comes, you make way the same way as when
my car comes. Then it is a real ashram. Devotion
and reverence are not about something or
someone else they are about you. They are
to change the quality of who you are, to bring
that sweetness of emotion into you every
moment of your life. If you maintain this one
thing, the rest becomes very simple.

a profound involvement with life. There is no


need to look up to anything or to look down
on anything. But it takes a certain amount of
awareness and discipline, a certain amount of
evolution within yourself to look at everything
the same way, without distinction. Until you
get there within yourself, at least look up to
everything. This will transform you.
The eleven shrines are also in that direction.
Wherever you go, there is an opportunity for
you to bring back this sense of devotion within
you. Not towards anything. The Dhyanalinga
does not need your devotion. He does not
care whether you are devout or not. Whatever
the hell you are, he just transmits. If you are
receptive fine. If you are not receptive, it will
go only skin deep. If you are receptive, it will
go all the way.
Being devout is about you, not about
something else. The Creator does not need
your devotion. I really do not need your

devotion it is a nuisance for me. Indians


come and pull my legs Americans come and
try to hug me. But if you have no devotion
in you, you are a lost case. It is not about
doing something for someone. It is about
transforming yourself. The eleven shrines are
there to enhance this sense of devotion.

If you do not look up to anything, you do not


look down on anything, you simply look at
everything the same way, you will experience

May 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 11

Yoga for the World


Sadhguru Shares His Vision for
the International Day of Yoga
A lot of things are being planned for the
International Day of Yoga. One thing is, in
cooperation with the External Affairs Minister
and a few other prominent schools in yoga,
we will make a presentation at the United
Nations on 21st of June. Another thing is to
raise awareness that it is important it is done
precisely and correctly. Above all, we want to
make the world understand that yoga is not
an exercise system. It is a profound form of
evolving a human being. It is about a very deep
understanding of the human mechanics not
only of the physical dimension but of all aspects
of a human being.
Bringing this awareness is more important
than lots of people doing yoga for one day,
and then they give it up again. For someone to
pursue something, it must inspire them. They
must feel either in their mind, in their body,
or in their emotions that this is something
worth investing their time and energy in. To
get them to see the profoundness of yoga,
the nature of the offering is important. That is
when the world will take to it.
Yoga is not another kind of religion, nor do
we want to spread our brand. Human intellect
is evolving in a certain way right now. Never
before in the history of humanity could such
a large number of people in the world think
for themselves. All these millennia, there were
only a few people who thought reasonably
for themselves. For the rest, a scripture or a
teacher would dictate what they should think.
For the first time, large numbers of people
think for themselves. Whether they think
straight or not this is a big step.
Human intellect is blossoming like never
before. Consequently, there is no room for
12 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

belief systems anymore. No matter how


strong the religions of the world look today,
in the next 50 to 150 years, they will all fall.
Dont worry. Believe me. I will take you to
heaven. Everything will be great there. It
doesnt matter that right now you are in hell.
There, everything is going to be good this
whole idea will not sell anymore. As every
child in the world starts receiving education,
starts thinking for themselves, can access
information by themselves, keeping people
under control and telling them, You got to
do this, otherwise you wont go to heaven,
will not work anymore.
Earlier, in pursuit of wellbeing, people
have looked up. This has brought a lot of
hallucination people have imagined all kinds
of things. And it has created continuous wars
between one kind of heaven and another kind
of heaven. They are fighting over a God or a
heaven that both of them have not seen, but
they are willing to fight to death. In recent
times, there has been a shift towards seeking
wellbeing from the outside world. In the
process of seeking wellbeing from the world,
trying to take the juice of life from outside, we
are destroying the very source of our living
the planet itself.
The message of yoga is this: Not up, not
out in. The only way out is in. We are 7
billion people, and it is expected that by
2050, we will be 10 million people. Whatever
the number of people if we seek wellbeing
from within, we are not in conflict with
anything. If we look up, we are in conflict. If
we look out, we are in conflict. But if we look
inward for our wellbeing, there is never any
conflict not in the world, not within us. This
is a successful process, and its eco-friendly.

On 21 June 2015, the United Nations


International Day of Yoga will be
celebrated across the world for the first
time. We will update you on upcoming
events and activities for this day in
the June edition of Isha Forest Flower.
May 2015

IN CONVERSATION
WITH THE MYSTIC

Raise Your Food Consciousness


Mark Hyman in Conversation with Sadhguru
American physician, medical adviser for Bill and Hillary Clinton, and New York Times
best-selling author Mark Hyman came together with Sadhguru at the Isha Institute
of Inner-sciences on World Peace Day last year to explore matters of health and
wellbeing. Here is the first excerpt of their refreshing insights on the power of the
fork, as Hyman put it or we could say the right hand in South India. Read on to find
out what this is all about.
Mark Hyman: Thank you, Sadhguru, for inviting
me and having me here on World Peace Day.
As I was thinking about the biggest threat to
world peace and the solution, it occurred to
me that it is something that could fit in your
pocket. And if we get it right, with this one
tool, we can cure chronic diseases, which are
on the rise across the globe. Over 50 million
people a year die from lifestyle-preventable
diseases, compared to 20 million who die
from infectious diseases.
It is not only the single biggest threat to global
economic development, costing 47 trillion
dollars over the next 20 years which is more
than the annual gross domestic product of the
six largest nations combined it also threatens
our oceans, our soils, and our air. It is one of
May 2015

the biggest contributors to climate change, to


political instability, and to the lack of ability
to actually take care of our population across
the globe. And yet, if we get it right with this
one tool, we have the ability to solve all these
problems.
Do you know what this tool is? Its in my
pocket. Its a fork. Because what we put on
the end of our fork determines everything
about our world. It determines what happens
to our health, to the lands we grow our food
on, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.
It determines the stability or instability of
governments and societies around the world.
Still it is something that nobody is really talking
about. When we talk about threats to world
peace, we only talk about ISIS and instability
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 13

in the Middle East, which is certainly real and


important as well.
Nobody is talking about this other issue, yet
it is the single biggest problem facing us as a
human race today, which is how do we create
a healthy world? Because a healthy world is
a peaceful world. A world where we are sick
and overweight, and burdened by disease and
the cost of those diseases, is a very unstable,
unsafe, and un-peaceful world. So, today we
are going to talk about some of these issues,
hopefully provide some context, and some
solutions for it as well.
Economic issues and health issues are
connected, and we see this increasing
economic burden in our society. We are
spending 2.8 trillion dollars on healthcare
this year, which is about 16% of our economy,
and 84% of it is for chronic diseases like
diabetes, heart diseases, obesity-related
illnesses lifestyle-preventable problems.
And yet, our healthcare system does not
address it, because it seems like the solution
is outside of the doctors office it is more
in our own hands, in our own hearts, and in
our own minds. So, one questions is, how
can we get more empowered about taking
this into our own hands? Id love to hear
your thoughts about this.
Sadhguru: Welcome and namaskaram to
everyone. Today being the World Peace Day,
lets talk about food in the context of either
peace or violence. Essentially, we treat our
bodies violently, we live violently, and then we
expect the world to be peaceful. The world
is quite peaceful without the human beings.
It is only the way we live upon this planet
which creates violence. As Mark mentioned,
there are very violent, brutal situations on the
planet, like battles or wars. They need to be
handled theres no question about that but
the everyday violence with which we live also
needs to be addressed.

14 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

Every year, we are killing 53 billion land animals,


and over a hundred million sea creatures. When
we cause so much violence, we being healthy
and peaceful is not going to happen. Not just
the quality of the food we consume how we
consume, how wantonly or how consciously,
is very important. There is a whole lot of talk
about what to consume, but there is hardly
any guidance or effort to bring awareness to
people as to how to consume food. I just read
somewhere that 20% of the American meals are
consumed in a car.

The quality of the food that we eat


determines the quality of our health,
and the awareness that we eat our
food with also determines how that
food is metabolized by our body.

Traditionally, in the East, we have always been


taught how you should be when food enters
your body, what condition you should be in,
what posture you should be in, how you should
approach it these are very big things in the
East. If 20% of the meals are eaten in cars,
maybe another 20% is eaten in bars! I dont
know how many people actually sit at the table
and eat a meal consciously, with a certain sense
of involvement with the food and the people
around them. I think there is enough knowledge
about the content of the food today in the world,
but still, people are yet to make the necessary
changes, apart from a few cosmetic ones maybe.
Apart from the content of the food, which
definitely has a big impact, how you consume it
is equally important. Whether you eat an animal,
a vegetable, or whatever else essentially, food is
a piece of life. Something that was a life by itself
becomes a part of you. One life transforms itself
into another that is what eating means. It is not
just digestion it is one life fusing into another.

May 2015

When you put another piece of life into you,


how it merges with your body and what this
produces depends on how you keep your
chemistry while you eat. How you should
be, when you should eat, in what posture
you should sit, and how you should welcome
the food into yourself these things are
completely ignored today. Right now, the
battle is about what to consume. That itself is
a big challenge, and Mark is taking it up.
Mark Hyman: Its very true. Actually, if people
consciously ate the food that they are
currently eating, they probably wouldnt eat
it anymore. In fact, there was a patient who
was desperate to lose weight, but he was very
busy. He said he had to go to Burger King
every lunchtime, order two big whoppers,
and quickly eat them. I told him, I want you
to mindfully eat each bite, taste it, and really
enjoy it. He came back a few weeks later and
said, I tried it. It was disgusting. I couldnt
eat it anymore. Since we are often eating
unconsciously, we are not even aware of the
effect on our body. I think the power of food
is enormous both to cause disease and to
cure disease. The quality of the food that we
eat determines the quality of our health, and
the awareness that we eat our food with also
determines how that food is metabolized by
our body. Those are real phenomena.
And the problem in this county is that the
food industry has literally hijacked our food
system and has produced factory-made
science projects that are highly addictive and
that create disease. And the ways in which
we grow them have huge impacts on our
environment degrading our soils, our water
supply, and our air. The industrial agriculture
contributes greatly to climate change, and
the food we grow from it has an enormous
impact on our health.
The processed foods are full of sugar and
flour. The average American eats 152 pounds
of sugar and 146 pounds of flour every
year, which acts just like sugar in the body.
May 2015

Combined, this is about a pound a day of sugar


and flour. This causes heart disease, cancer,
type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimers, which they
now call type 3 diabetes. Sugar and flour can
cause depression, even infertility, and acne.
But even though they have an enormous
impact on our health, they are the main food
we eat in this country.
A lot of the calories we eat come from sugar
up to 20%. I think we have to look at the food
system, how it affects us, and how we can
bring about a shift. Making the right choices
every day about what we put in our body is
a very revolutionary act. I think we all need
to start a revolution in our own kitchens, in
our own bodies, in our homes in order to
shift the tide, to change the world towards
a more peaceful state. Because the way we
currently eat is driving so much of the health
disturbances, the economic instability, and
ultimately the political instability and threats
to peace.
We all have that power, at every single meal.
We can vote three times a day with our fork,
and this has an enormous impact beyond
your own health. Probably the single most
important and powerful thing you can do
every day is figure out what you are going
to put on your fork, and the choice is yours.
You cant always control how much you eat
because that is driven by hormones and
brain chemistry, which is regulated by the
quality of the food you eat. If you eat sugar
and processed food, it actually makes you
hungry and slows your metabolism. If you eat
real food, it changes your natural regulatory
mechanism, so you dont overeat. You eat
the right amount of food, and so you stay a
healthy weight.

We will bring you more of this


conversation on food, health, and
individual as well as global wellbeing in
upcoming editions of Isha Forest Flower.
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 15

MAHABHARAT
SERIES

PART 6

Mahabharat
The Origin of the Chandravamshis / The Mantra of Revival
What happened so far: Brihaspati, the priest of Indra and Guru of the Devas, was philandering
around. His neglected wife Tara fell in love with the moon god Chandra, and the two began a
romance. Brihaspati implored her to come back, because he would otherwise lose his position
as the chief priest of Indra. Reluctantly, Tara returned, but she was pregnant by Chandra.
Infuriated, Brihaspati cursed the child to be neither man nor woman. Budha, who represents
the planet Mercury, was born.
become a woman. He cried, Who did this to
me? Which yaksha, which demon, cursed me
like this? In great despondency, he searched
around. Then he found Shiva and Parvati in
romance. He fell at Shivas feet and said, This
is not fair. I am a king. I am a man. I have a
family. I just came hunting, and you turned
me into a woman. How can I go back like
this? Shiva said, I cannot take back what I
have done, but I can correct it a bit. We will
make it in such a way that when the moon is
waning, you will be a woman. When the moon
is waxing, you will be a man.

King Sudhyumna Goes Hunting


One day, King Sudhyumna went hunting in
the forest that Shiva and his wife Parvati lived
in. Looking at the animals, she said on a whim,
My love for you is such that I feel these bull
elephants, these lions with their huge manes,
these peacocks with their fabulous plumes
are all an insult to you. I want you to make this
forest in such a way there is no other male
but you. Shiva was in a romantic mood. He
said, Okay. Let everything in this forest turn
female. Everything in the forest turned female.
The lions become lionesses, the bull elephants
become cow elephants, the peacocks became
peahens, and King Sudhyumna turned into a
woman.
He looked at himself a brave king, who had
come hunting in the forest, had suddenly
16 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

The Chandravamshi Dynasty Is Born


Sudhyumna refused to go back to his palace.
He stayed in the forest and became known as
Ela, who for one half of the month was male,
for another half of the month was female. One
day, it so happened that Budha and Ela met.
It was a perfect match. Both of them were
male and female in equal measure. Between
them, they had many children. These children
were called Elas. These Elas became the first
Chandravamshis.
In the tradition of the kings in this country,
there are Suryavamshis and Chandravamshis
descendants of the sun and descendants of
the moon. They are distinctly different types
of people. The sun people are conquerors
clear-cut, black-and-white kind of people.
Chandravamshis are different every day.
May 2015

Kacha was received as a disciple, and he


proved to be a worthy disciple. He served his
master, took every instruction, and was very
much a part of everything. Shukracharya had
a daughter whose name was Devyani. Devyani
looked at this young man and slowly fell in
love with him. But he was not focused on this
young girl. Whatever she did, she could not
draw his attention for even a moment. He
could not be distracted from the purpose for
which he had come, and the Asuras knew he
had come for the Sanjeevini.
The Asuras Assault Kacha
One day, Kacha was grazing his masters cattle
in the forest. The Asuras pounced upon him,
killed him, tore him into bits, and threw him to
the wild animals. When in the evening, only
the cows came back but not the boy, Devyani
was heartbroken. She went to her father and
cried, Kacha has not come back. Someone
has done something to him. Wherever he is,
you must bring him back to life. Giving in to
his daughters plea, Shukracharya used the
Sanjeevini to bring Kacha back to life.
When he was asked what happened, Kacha
described how the Asuras pounced on him
and killed him. Shukracharya said, Be careful.
The Asuras dont like you, because you are
from the enemy camp. Still I am treating you
as my disciple. After a few days, Kacha went
to pluck flowers for the morning worship. The
Asuras caught hold of him, killed him, ground
his flesh and bone, mixed it with salt water in
the sea, ground his organs, and mixed a little
bit of it in Shukracharyas wine. Unknowingly,
Shukracharya drank it.
When Kacha again did not turn up in the
evening, Devyani hollered. But Shukracharya
said, It looks like its his destiny to be dead. He
is dying too often. There is no point in bringing
him back. Someone of your intelligence,
someone of your breeding, someone of your
exposure to life should not be crying about
life and death. This is something that happens
to every creature. Let him be dead. Reviving
18 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

someone too often is not good. But Devyani


was heartbroken. Either Kacha comes back
or I will drown myself in the lake. Not willing
to allow that to happen, Shukracharya said,
Lets do it one last time.
Kacha Learns the Sanjeevini Mantra
When Shukracharya tried to use the mantra,
he felt a rumbling in his stomach. It was Kacha.
Shukracharya got furious. Who did this? Is
this also the Asuras work? How can they do
this? From within his stomach, Kacha narrated
the whole story how the Asuras killed him,
ground him, mixed him with salt water, and
how they took the organs, ground those, and
mixed some of it with the wine. Shukracharya
became very angry. This is going too far, that
they put him in my belly now. Either I have
to let him stay dead, or, if I bring him back to
life, I have to die. He thought, Maybe I must
resign this job and join the Devas. I am being
treated too badly. How dare they put this boy
in my belly? But Devyani cried. She said, I
am neither willing to live without Kacha nor
without you. If one of you dies, I will drown
myself.
Shukracharya told Kacha, You have
succeeded in the mission for which you came.
You wanted to know the secret of Sanjeevini,
and you are a deserving candidate. Now I will
teach it to you. Then I will use it to revive you.
You will burst out of my body, which will lay
me dead. Then you use the Sanjeevini mantra,
bring me back to life, and you start a new life
elsewhere. Shukracharya used the Sanjeevini
mantra, and like a rising moon, Kacha grew in
his stomach and burst out of him. Shukracharya
fell dead. A scream went up from Devyani.
Then Kacha used the Sanjeevini mantra and
brought Shukracharya back to life, bowed
down to him, and was about to leave. Devyani
said, You cannot leave. I love you.

To be continued

May 2015

Upcoming Programs
and Events

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

425 May
2015

21-Day Hatha Yoga


Program

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94878 95918
iycprograms@ishayoga.org

626 May
2015

Yoga Marga

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

04222515464 / 94890 45084


isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

1115 May
2015

Nature Awareness
Program
(Age: 912 years)

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94443 10771
natureawareness@ishayoga.org

1417 May
2015

Inner Engineering
Retreatt

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94890 45164
ieretreat@ishafoundation.org

1417 May
2015

Bhava Spandana
with Sadhguru

Isha Institute of
Inner-sciences,
McMinnville, TN
USA

+1-931-668-1900
registration@ishausa.org

1721 May
2015

Nature Awareness
Program
(Age: 912 years)

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94443 10771
natureawareness@ishayoga.org

2327 May
2015

Nature Awareness
Program
(Age: 912 years)

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94443 10771
natureawareness@ishayoga.org

2730 May
2015

Guru Pooja Training

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

83000 93555
iycprograms@ishayoga.org

2831 May
2015

Inner Engineering
Retreat

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94890 45164
ieretreat@ishafoundation.org

31 May 2015

Nanvai Uruvam
Ceremony with
Sadhguru

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94425 04655
7percent@ishafoundation.org

2 June 2015

Yantra Ceremony
with Sadhguru

Isha Yoga Center,


Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94425 04720
yantra@ishafoundation.org

20 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

May 2015

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