Kartikeya: How 6 Beings Were Embedded In Kartikeya’s Body-Sadguru

isha.sadhguru.org /in/en/wisdom/article/kartikeya-how-6-beings-were-embedded-in-kartikeyas-body-2

Kartikeya: How 6 Beings Were Embedded In Kartikeya’s Body

---

Sadhguru tells the story of Kartikeya, who was a great experiment of embedding six beings into one body.

Sadhguru tells the story of Kartikeya, also referred to as Muruga in Tamil Nadu, Subramanya in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and Skanda in North India. Sadhguru recounts how Kartikeya was a great experiment of embedding six beings into one body. He also clarifies the connection between sage Agastya and Kartikeya, a conversation between whom makes up the Skanda Purana, one of the major Puranas. Sadhguru also explains why Kartikeya is sometimes seen as the god of war.

Kartikeya – A Great Experiment

Sadhguru: The miraculous thing about Shiva’s son Kartikeya is that he was a great experiment where six beings were combined into one body. There have been many experiments like this in the past, where two yogis have shared one body. In the same body, there would be two people. They would speak different languages and exist in different ways. But here, six beings shared one body. There is an elaborate story of how this happened.

Though Shiva is described as the symbol of virility, he never had children. They say no human woman could hold his seed in her womb. Because of this, he spilled his seed into a sacrificial fire. When we say a sacrificial fire, it need not necessarily be a fire. It is a “Homa Kund”. A Homa Kund was like a laboratory for the rishis, where they created many things.

Parvati, through her tantric powers, merged these six little fetuses into one, embedding six beings in one single body, and Kartikeya was born.

From the Homa Kund, six kritikas took Shiva’s seed into their womb. These kritikas were apsaras or beings who were not human – they were beings who did not belong to this planet and were of a higher level of capability. So Shiva’s seed was implanted into these six kritikas who held it for about three-and-a-half months, and life began to take form – six fetuses developed.

After this period however, the kritikas found the seed was too hot for them and they could not hold it any longer. As these kritikas were essentially moving from one dimension to another, they did not have any sense of responsibility to any one particular form of creation. So when they had to leave, they let these children out from their wombs and dropped them in a much more developed state than when they received the seed. Then they left.

Parvati herself could not have Shiva’s child, so she did not want this to go to waste. She took these six under-developed children and wrapped them in lotus leaves, creating some kind of incubation. She could see that their chances of individual survival were remote because they did not fully develop, but she saw that these six fetuses had six sterling qualities. She thought, “If all these qualities could be in one man, how wonderful he would be!” Through her tantric powers, she merged these six little fetuses into one, embedding six beings in one single body, and Kartikeya was born. Even today, Kartikeya is referred to as “Arumuga” or six-faced. He was a phenomenally capable human being. At the age of 8, he was an unbeatable warrior.

Kartikeya Leaves Shiva

Once, it so happened that Ganapati and Kartikeya got into a small tiff. Kartikeya was very proud of his vehicle, a swift-flying peacock, and an argument broke out between the two. They decided to have a competition to find out who could go around the world the fastest. Whoever won would get a special mango from their parents.

They counted down, 1…2…3 Go! Kartikeya just flew off on his peacock. He went around the whole world but when he returned, to his amazement, Ganapati was in the same place. He had already gotten the prize, and had eaten and enjoyed it. He was now lazily relaxing in the sunshine.

Kartikeya just flew off on his peacock. He went around the whole world but when he returned, to his amazement, Ganapati was in the same place.

Kartikeya got mad. He asked his parents, “How is this possible? I went around the world and this guy has not even started! Why did you give him the mango?” What Ganapati had done was go around Shiva and Parvati thrice. Ganapati had said, “For me, you are the universe. This is enough for me, let him run.” Shiva saw the significance of the boy’s understanding of what is what, smiled and said, “Here is the mango, son. You deserve this.”

But Kartikeya was furious at what he thought was a great injustice. Parvati tried to explain to him that there is something called “objective” and something called “subjective” and all experience is subjective. Objects are there only to create a subjective experience; by themselves they are nothing. So Ganapati just went around his parents because he was wise enough to understand that, “My parents are my world, so I go around them.” But Kartikeya would not listen to any explanations and left his home because he wanted to get away from his father.

Kartikeya Fights Injustice… Unsuccessfully

He came down to South India in a great fury and became a warrior. In many ways, he was an unmatched warrior. He went about conquering many lands in the south, but he did not conquer to rule. Because he felt his parents had been unjust to him, he wanted to create justice. He was like an activist or a revolutionary. So wherever he thought he saw injustice, he went about waging war. In his great anger, every small thing that he saw felt like a great injustice, and he slaughtered many people. He fought battle after battle and went down south.

One good thing he did was to assist Agastya, as Agastya brought spirituality to the south. Wherever Agastya found resistance, Kartikeya went to war. It was Agastya who taught him the art of warfare, and it was Agastya who also turned this anger into a means for enlightenment.

Kartikeya Sheds His Body

Kartikeya finally found his rest in a place called Subramanya. He became disgusted with battle because he saw that even if you fight for a thousand years, this kind of action is not going to change the world. One solution will breed another ten problems. So, he gave up all violence and, for the last time, washed his sword in what is today called “Ghati Subramanya” in Karnataka. He sat there in meditation for some time, and then moved up the mountain that is today named “Kumara Parvat.” In Karnataka, Subramanya is known as Kumara. Kumara means “son”. Shiva is the main deity and Kumara is the son, so the mountain is known as Kumara Parvat or Kumara’s mountain. He attained Mahasamadhi on the peak in a standing posture.

In the yogic tradition, once yogis have finished with what they have to do with their life, they just drop their body at will. This is not suicide, it is just leaving the body and going away. Most yogis leave their body sitting. In case the body does not permit that for some reason, they do it lying down on the side. But because he was such a warrior, Kartikeya left his body standing.

Usually, people just go to the temple at Subramanya and return. There is nothing much in the temple, but the mountain is a different matter. The peak is a very beautiful place in terms of natural surroundings, and it is a 15-20 kilometer trek to get to the top. Many years ago, me and a group of people went up, and we camped overnight about three-fourths of the way up to the peak. We were to go up to the top the next morning.

Kartikeya’s Energy

The energy of that space is so dominant and powerful, it’s a different world altogether. If you are sensitive, it shakes you from the very roots even today. When we camped, we put a small tent up to sleep in. But I couldn’t even sit down there. My body kept standing up by itself, dismantling the whole tent. The entire night I was just standing – that’s how powerful the place is.

This absolutely incredible event happened more than 15,000 years ago. We do not know the exact date, but the place and what he left there are still vibrantly alive. On this mountain peak, there are small natural pebbles that have all been chiseled to six faces. These pebbles are known as “Shanmukha lingas”. For all these years, his energy has been reverberating, and even the stones have slowly shaped themselves into six faces.

Editor’s Note: Download Sadhguru’s ebook, Shiva – Ultimate Outlaw, along with Vairagya, an album of sacred chants (also available as an Android App). They’re free).

Download Now

Sadhguru on How Indian Temple Sculptures Are Made

Sadhguru on How Indian Temple Sculptures Are Made

Sadhguru looks at how the idols of deities were never created for visual appeal, but rather to sync with the cosmic geometry.


Article
Nov 23, 2015

Q: Sadhguru, are traditional temple sculptures for aesthetics, or are they also performing a specific function like a yantra?

Sadhguru: If you look at these deities, they are not necessarily visually aesthetic. For example, Linga Bhairavi is not my idea of a beautiful woman – she is created that way in order to represent a certain dimension of the feminine.

Two Dimensions of the Divine Feminine

There are basically two dimensions to the divine feminine. They are traditionally called Kali and Gowri – the Dark One and the Fair One. This is not a question of color. In Indian languages, the word raga means color, but it is also used to describe the flavor of something, not only color per se. In Indian classical music, the tune is called raga because it is a particular flavor of music. If you create a particular flavor, it will create a certain imagery and colors in your mind. That is why we use the word raga or color to describe a sound, a reverberation, an act, or an atmosphere, because we know that in your consciousness,it will create colors.

https://youtu.be/Hk10JWCX4JY

The forms of Devi that we find in temples are generally either Gowri or Kali – the Fair One or the Dark One. The darkness and fairness is neither in terms of skin color, nor in terms of good and evil. Darkness and fairness are seen as two different dimensions of existence – both are needed to make things happen in the world. Kali, the Dark One, is a fierce one. Gowri, the Fair One, is a mild one. Mild ones are usually worshipped as a companion for the main deity of the temple.

Kali is always alone, without a male form next to her. By herself, she is a complete force.

Where there is Shiva, there will be Gowri next to him. He is the main force – she is just there as an add-on, because she is a mild, civilized, domesticated woman. Kali is always alone, without a male form next to her. By herself, she is a complete force. In terms of geometry, Bhairavi is made up of three-and-a-half chakras. Because she is Kali, she is the lower half of the body – muladhara, swadhishthana, manipura, and one half of anahata. She only has half a heart – so do not expect her to love you! She is not capable of love, but she is capable of immense compassion and force.

Bhairavi is capable of enhancing your life in a tremendous way. I think that if something or someone enhances your life, it is a much bigger expression of love than the everyday “I love you” business. She will never “sweetify” you, but within a few days of contact, her energies can lift you higher than where you are right now, both experientially and in relation with the rest of the world. It can enhance your life hugely in terms of your competence, your mental and physical wellbeing, and your wellbeing in the world.

No Philosophy, Just Geometry

So, are these forms just aesthetic, cultural or philosophical? There is no philosophy behind this – this is the art of geometry. Unfortunately, because people are always looking for verbal meanings, someone comes up with a philosophical explanation, but Eastern arts have no philosophical background. Philosophy is something that is made up to support what you have done. Eastern arts are about trying to achieve symmetry with the geometry of existence.

Indian art is not an imitation of nature in its physical form but in its fundamental skeletal geometry, in terms of how it is built within itself.

Here, an artist is considered successful only when what he has created subjectively syncs with a particular existential form. This is the reason why an Eastern artist never leaves a name on his artwork – after all, at the most, he achieved an imitation. What he is proud of is a perfect imitation of some phenomenon in the universe by creating a small version of it that functions in the same way.

Indian art is not an imitation of nature in its physical form but in its fundamental skeletal geometry, in terms of how it is built within itself. In other words, it is about translating the energy geometry of a certain dimension of life into a physical form that in some way embodies this dimension so that people can experience it.

When it comes to the outside form, we do not care much about creating an aesthetically shaped arm or leg. It is not like every vein and every aspect of the arm has to be recreated in detail, because artwork in India is never really about visual appeal but about geometry. There has to be a geometrical pattern and perfection to it. What is important is the impact that the form has on you.

It is very difficult to achieve this geometric perfection in a stone form. A simpler way is to create a small metal yantra, usually made of copper or gold, and fix it somewhere in the chest, the pit of the throat, or the forehead of the deity. A metal form is used to compensate for whatever imperfections have happened in the stone form. This is how the deities were created – all of them are yantras.

Source-https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/how-indian-temple-sculptures-are-made?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=22Nov18-english_monthly_newsletter

The Two Ways to Open the Third Eye-Sadhguru

The Two Ways to Open the Third Eye

Sadhguru discusses the two ways of opening the third eye, and the pitfalls of trying to follow a “middle path”.

If Shiva had not opened his third eye, he would not have the same significance that he still holds today. Sadhguru discusses the two ways of opening the third eye, and the pitfalls of trying to follow a “middle path.”

http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/two-ways-to-open-third-eye/

Sadhguru: The most significant aspect of Shiva is that he opened his third eye. He did many other things – he danced, he meditated, he married twice. All that is fine, but it is only because he opened his third eye that we remember him even today. After thousands of years, we still bow down to him because there is no substitute for knowing. To know is to be free. And there is no way to know unless your perception is enhanced beyond its present limitations.

Shiva is significant because he perceived what most human beings failed to perceive. What is unseen for a large segment of humanity became a normal part of his vision. That is what the third eye means. People say when Shiva opened his third eye, fire came out of it. This fire indicates that within himself, he burnt everything that he thought mattered to him. Within himself, he became a kiln that burnt everything that can be burnt. And then, from every pore of his body, instead of sweat and blood, ash came out. This is to indicate that he burnt every shred of ignorance – everything that one believes as true. Once this was done, the opening of the third eye could not be denied to him.

The Two Ways

There are two ways of opening the third eye. One way is, the inside has become a total vacuum so the doorway gets sucked in and has to naturally open. The doorway becomes limp and falls inward because there is nothing. Shiva has burnt not only his thought, his emotion, his relationships and possessions – he has burnt his very being. There is a total vacuum. So the door fell inward and opened.

Another way of opening the third eye is you contain everything inside. You do not find any expression for your thought, emotion or anything else. You could not even utter a word. You will see, if you remain silent for four days, on the fifth day you will suddenly feel like singing. If you do not know how to sing, you will want to howl because you want to let go. But if you do not let anything go, so much pressure will build up that the door will get knocked open from inside. This is another way.  

The Middle Path

However, if you are diplomatic, if you believe in the middle path, that means you do not wish to go anywhere. People who believe in the middle path are determined not to get anywhere in their life. The middle path is just your comfort zone, neither this nor that. It means you are a full-time bull-shitter. It does not matter where you go, you do your own stuff – that is the middle path. The middle path is a way of not getting anywhere, and after some time thinking this does not go anywhere.  

The middle path is a way of not getting anywhere, and after some time thinking this does not go anywhere.

 
Let’s say you were walking on the street and you came across a big rock. There are only two ways to go around it. In one direction, a tiger is growling. In the other direction, a fire is burning. If you think the middle path is the best way and walk into the rock, it will only give you good exercise for a while. You do not go anywhere.  

So, either you become empty and the sheer power of vacuum will open it, or you build a pressure in you and it will burst open – these are the two ways. The first way is a better option because if you open the door by building pressure, it may open up today and shut itself tomorrow. Or, before enough pressure builds up, something else may freak in you and you may run away. It is a lot of torture not letting a single thought or emotion find expression, not uttering a single word, not finding expression to a single opinion or idea that arises in your mind. It can make you burst! But if you do hold everything intact, the third eye will open.

Editor’s Note: Sadhguru’s latest book “Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga”, is a tribute to Shiva, the Adiyogi, and a chronicle of the progenitor of mysticism. Order today on Amazon (India only) and get 30% off.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About The Mahabharata

7 Things You Didn’t Know About The Mahabharatahttp://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/happenings/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-mahabharat-2/

Who fought the first battle of Kurukshetra before the Pandavas and Kauravas, why was Duryodhana’s wife Bhanumati a devotee of Krishna, and other interesting facts from the Mahabharata.

#1 The Mahabharata was originally known as Jaya
Originally composed by Veda Vyasa, the narrative of the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and Kauravas was first known as Jaya. The work was later expanded by two of Veda Vyasa’s disciples, with Ugrasrava producing the Mahabharata as we know it today.

#2 The Mahabharata was written in a cave in present-day Uttarakhand
According to legend, Sage Vyasa narrated the story of Mahabharata to Ganesha in a cave located around 3kms from Badrinath, which is today known as “Ganesh Guha.”

#3 The snake bites Bhima received actually cured him.
Sadhguru: Energy-wise if you’re vibrant beyond a point, then the cobra’s venom works in a completely different way on the system. You might have heard traditionally, some of the Siddhas use this. If somebody is poisoned then they will take many bites from the cobra and they will recover. One famous case in history is Bhima. He was poisoned and then put in a river where snakes bit him repeatedly and he recovered from the poison that he had eaten.

#4 Duryodhana’s wife Bhanumati was a devotee of Krishna-
Sadhguru: Once Krishna was Duryodhana’s guest in his palace. In the night Duryodhana had planned to get Krishna a little drunk and get some kind of commitment from him. His friends came and everybody drank too much and they all went out of control. Krishna maintained his cool and he went about meeting everybody, charming everybody. Bhanumati also in this whole enthusiasm consumed more than she should. So Banumathi lost control over herself and she just came and fell on Krishna, expressing her desire for him. So Krishna just held her like he would hold a baby, carried her to Gandhari’s chambers and handed over the girl to her. Next day morning she was absolutely grateful to him for having done this and from then on she was like a devotee of Krishna.

#5 Bhima was almost killed by occult processes
According to the story, Shakuni and Dhushasana had planned to kill Bhima through black magic with the help of a tantric named Maha Agori. However, Bhima came to know what was happening and thwarted their plans just in time.

#6 Bhishma and Parashuram fought the first battle of Kurukshetra-
When Bhishma refused to marry Amba because of the vow he had taken, Parashuram called him to battle – an epic combat between guru and disciple on the battleground of Kurukshetra, which would be a foreshadowing of the massive war much later. The battle ended without a clear victor, thus Parashuram decided to bless his student and went on his way.

#7 Atri Maharishi persuaded Drona to lay down his arms during the battle of Kurukshetra


Atri Maharishi

Sadhguru: Atri, one of the Saptarishis, played a very important role in bringing peace when the Kurukshetra war happened. When he saw a matchless warrior called Dronacharya who went about in indiscriminate slaughter, Atri went and stopped him. It was Atri who reminded Dronacharya of his dharma and made him withdraw from the war. So Atri brought peace or helped to stop the most brutal war that this land has ever seen.http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/happenings/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-mahabharat-2/
More Mahabharata Stories

In all Seven Corners of the World The Saptarishis – Ambassadors of Shiva’s Knowing

In all Seven Corners of the World
The Saptarishis – Ambassadors of Shiva’s Knowing




When we say ‘Shiva,’ it means many things to many people. It is the most multidimensional description that you can describe one being with. 

Shiva is described as an ascetic of the highest order, and as a debaucher of the highest order too; as a yogi, the very embodiment of awareness, but at the same time as a drunkard. 

He is described as the Sundaramurthy, the most beautiful one, and also as a hideous one. So it goes on. He means many things to many people. But for those who are on the spiritual path, the most significant aspect of Shiva is that he is a yogi; not just a yogi – the yogi, the aadhi yogi or the first yogi. 

The significance of his life is that he was the first one to bring this dimension to humanity, that a human being need not be contained in the defined limitations of our species, that there is a way to go beyond these limitations. 

That there is a way to be contained in physicality but not to belong to it. That there is a way to inhabit the body but never become the body. That there is a way to use your mind in the highest possible way but still never know the miseries of the mind. 

The word ‘yoga’ literally means ‘union;’ that is when an individual has the ability to unite himself with the universal, when a limited entity of a human being is able to enjoin with the limitlessness of the cosmos, when a shred of creation can experience being the Creator of the existence.

When we are able to unite an individual entity which is of various types of bondages and boundaries with that which is boundless and know the joy of having both at the same time – this is yoga. 

This dimension was first brought to humanity by this great being that we refer to as Shiva. The word ‘Shiva’ itself literally means ‘that which is not.’ ‘That which is not’ means ‘that which does not exist’ – emptiness, nothingness. 

This idea of emptiness, nothingness, of that which does not exist, should not be perceived as negative. If you look up into the sky on this darkest night[1] of the month, your eyes will tell you it is full of stars because that is how the human vision is attuned towards creation. But if you really look at it, you will see the galaxies are just small specks; the real substance out there is nothingness. This nothingness which is the womb of creation, this nothingness which fills 99% of the cosmos, this we refer to as Shiva – the boundless non-existence.

We also refer to the aadhi yogi as Shiva because he perceived this boundlessness. One who has perceived the limitless nature of the existence is also limitless, in the sense, the only way you could perceive the boundless is to dissolve your own boundaries and become boundless yourself. So we refer to both, the limitless nothingness and the aadhi yogi, as Shiva.

The limited nature of the individual being is only a stepping stone for knowing the unlimited nature of the existence, or the limitlessness of ‘that which is not.’ 

When the aadhi yogi attained to his ultimate possibility, many were drawn to him. Among these, the most significant ones are those seven sages who became the vessels to receive his knowing and to transmit it to the rest of the world. 

These are the celebrated sages who are known as the saptarishis[2]: Agastya Muni, Atri, Angira, Bhrigu, Gautama Maharishi, Kashyapa and Vashishta. They were already well-versed in various arts and sciences, and instrumental in crafting the civilizations, the science and scientific developments, and the healthcare systems of those times.

Three of them have been very significant for southern India. Of course Agastya Muni, who is the father of the siddha vaidya[3] and rasa vaidya[4], which are the greatest contributions that he made. After his realization, he came back to share his realization with this part of the world.

Atri, who was married to Anusuya, played a very important role in bringing peace when the Kurukshetra war happened. When hundreds and thousands of men were being killed ruthlessly without any purpose because people could not quench their anger and hatred, when a matchless warrior called Dronacharya engaged in an indiscriminate slaughter, it was Atri who went and stopped him, who reminded him of his dharma. And it was Atri who made Dronacharya withdraw from the war and sit with his eyes closed till he [Dronacharya] exited his body. So Atri stopped the most brutal war that this land has ever seen.

Gautama… When I say ‘Gautama,’ a lot of people will think we are talking about Gautama the Buddha – no. Gautama the Buddha was named after one of the saptarishis. 

Thousands of years before Gautama the Buddha came, the saptarishi Gautama lived with his wife Ahalya and a few disciples in a small hermitage in Triambakeshwar. One day it so happened, a cow walked into his hut and ate up all the rice that was stored there for the usage of the hermitage. When he saw the cow had eaten up all the rice, he tried to chase her away, being a little anxious as to what to do for his tribe that lived with him. When he was chasing the cow, she fell down and died. 

He felt so heartbroken, so pained that he caused the death of this cow as in India, one of the greatest crimes that you can commit is killing a cow. Why this is so is, the cow is the only animal which has human emotions. In this land, people share very intimate relationships with the cow. If you are in distress, if you are pained by something, if you are in grief, you will see, the cow will shed tears for you. It has such a deep sense of empathy for a human being. Because it has human emotions, here in India for a long time, we have considered killing a cow as murder.

So because Gautama felt he had committed a murder and he wanted to absolve himself from that, he called for Shiva and said, “Why has this happened? It was not my intention to kill this cow. I was only chasing her away; but she died.” Shiva saw that this had been an unintentional act and said, “Because of the scarcity of rice that you have, you got so excited about this cow eating up your rice. Let me give you an instrument with which you can grow as much rice as you want,” and he had a river born in Triambakeshwar which came to be called Gautami, and later on Godavari which feeds the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa today. The river Godavari was born for the purpose of relieving Gautama of the sin of killing a cow; and also to relieve the great sage of the scarcity of rice which caused unnecessary anxiety in him. An immense amount of rice or paddy is grown even today in the Godavari delta.

So these were celebrated sages of their time; but when they heard of Shiva’s ultimate realization, they all beelined to Kailash. These sages who were worshiped in their own times went as disciples to Shiva and sat at his feet, wanting to know the ultimate possibility. And over a period of time, Shiva shared this possibility. He did not allow them to go back to their homes but sent them to different corners of the world. 

One he sent to Central Asia, another to North Africa which is presently known as Ethiopia or Egypt and Middle East, another he sent to South America, another to South West Asia, another stayed with him, another came down to the lower part of Himalayas, another came down south – that was Agastya Muni. Agastya is very important for us because he walked this land. He has been upon this mountain, and in many ways, we consider him as the father of southern mysticism.

There are various forms of mystical processes on the planet, but South Indian mysticism is very unique and profound in its nature. I am not saying this because I am born in South India. Probably one reason is, this part of the world provided a most conducive atmosphere for spiritual teaching for thousands of years. 

The mystics who came could explore anything and experiment whichever way that they wanted without being persecuted, a chance which unfortunately most mystics have not had in other parts of the world. This part of the world offered that conducive atmosphere, so mysticism grew in an intricacy and profoundness which is unmatched anywhere else on the planet.

If closely observed, the manifestation and the methods of Shiva’s knowing can be noticed in civilizations as far away as South America. When the Greeks came to India around 300 BC, in the esoteric Shiva, they saw the reflection of their own God Dionysus, a mad rebel who was surrounded by his own set of ganas who were known as Satyrs. Like Shiva, he was also the Lord of mountains, trees, bees, rivers, wine, dance and theater. He too sought salvation through ecstatic rituals. His mystery cults took the shape of Orphism that went on to greatly influence the Christian rites of sacrament and communion.

The presence of the work of these seven sages across the planet is visible even today. It has just taken on many forms. It is amazing that even today, in the temples of Greece, in the Baalbek temples in Lebanon, in certain temples in Egypt, you still see the yogic symbols – Guru Pooja stones of 16 corners which could not have come from anywhere else except from the knowledge that the aadhi yogi himself transmitted.

The ganas were constant company for Shiva. They are described in the scriptures as distorted and demented beings; they did not have a human form; they were in some other form. They spoke in a language which nobody understood – a total cacophony. And they had limbs without bones. 

You know the story of Ganapathy, this slight misinterpretation of chopping an elephant’s head and putting it on the body of the young boy. It was not an elephant head – it was a head of a gana who had limbs without bones. Even today, you call him Ganapathy, not Gajapathy. Never ever has he been known as Gajapathy[5]. He has always been known as Ganapathy, that means ‘the leader of the ganas’ because Shiva lopped off the head of the leader of the ganas and put it on the body of this young boy.

These yakshas, ganas, gandharvas[6] rule the legends of the East as beings who came from elsewhere. So Shiva always kept company of these beings who are not of human form. And in their company many things happened – one thing was they did not ascribe to any social norms because they did not even belong to the society through which Shiva walked.

Why I am telling you this is he did everything that would make him unfit to be accepted by the world. But still the world accepted him as Mahadeva[7]. 

The iconographic proofs gathered in the British anthropological museum say that Shiva in the form of Rudra is the oldest god on the planet. The iconography says it is over 12,000 years. He was the god of the inhabitants of this Bharatvarsh or the Indian subcontinent as it is known today. 

When the Aryan invaders came over 8,000 years ago, they had Indra as their god. They militarily defeated the locals, politically dominated them, enslaved them in many ways, but they took the god of the defeated. Never before or never after in the history of humanity such a thing has happened. 

Invaders always impose their gods on the invaded. But here, the invaders took the god of the invaded. The victorious took the god of the defeated because the essence of what he was offering was so valuable; they could not ignore him. The power and the possibility of what was being offered were so potent that the victorious took the god of the defeated. There can be no better testimony to the methods and technologies that he transmitted.

– Excerpted from Sadhguru’s talk on Mahashivrathri 2011

[1] Refers to Shivarathri, the night before new moon
[2] Literally ‘seven seers/sages’
[3] Traditional Tamil medicine
[4] Traditional science of rasa or mercury
[5] Gaja in Sanskrit means ‘elephant’
[6] Different kinds of celestial beings
[7] Literally ‘Great God;’ one of the names of Shiva

Tapping into the Akashik Intelligence

Tapping into the Akashik Intelligence

Ever wondered why some people seem to breeze through life while others struggle? Sadhguru tells us about akashik intelligence, and gives us a process to bring this larger intelligence into our lives.

Sadhguru: Modern science is beginning to recognize that there is something called akashik intelligence. That is, empty space has a certain intelligence. How this akashik intelligence behaves with you – whether this intelligence works for you or against you – will determine the nature of your life. Whether you are a blessed being or one who is going to be knocked around for the rest of your life simply depends on your ability – either consciously or unconsciously – to be able to get the cooperation of this larger intelligence which is functioning.

After sunrise, before the sun crosses an angle of thirty degrees, look up at the sky once and bow down to akash for holding you in place today.

It is improper to call akash or space, the fifth element because it is the element. All the other four –earth, water, fire and air – just play upon it; the fundamental element is akash. It is in the lap of this boundless space that these four elements play the game. We are sitting here on a round, spinning planet in the solar system. It is all held in place only by akash. You are sitting in your place not because of yourself, you are sitting in your place only because akash is holding you in place. It is akash which is holding this earth, this solar system, this galaxy and the whole cosmos in place – and no strings attached, just see! Just held like that.

If you know how to get the cooperation of akash into your life, this will be a blessed life. One simple process you can do for this is, after sunrise, before the sun crosses an angle of thirty degrees, look up at the sky once and bow down to akash for holding you in place today. After the sun crosses thirty degrees, sometime during the day – anytime – look up and bow down again. After the sun sets, once again look up and bow down, not to some god up there, just to the empty space for holding you in place for today. Just do this. Life will change dramatically.

If you get cooperation from akash, life will happen in magical ways.

Have you noticed, even Tendulkar looks up? It is not just him, right from ancient times, when man achieved something in great moments of success, he looks up because unknowingly there is a realization. Some of them may be looking up for the uperwaala but mostly, when you hit a peak experience, have you noticed, even without your awareness, your body looks up in gratitude? Somewhere there is recognition; there is an intelligence here which recognizes that.

Do this process consciously three times a day. If you get cooperation from akash, life will happen in magical ways. An intelligence that you have never thought possible will become yours.

Dissolving your karma factory

Dissolving your karma factory

Sadhguru: Every moment of your life, whatever you do or don’t do, your karma is dissolving. The very life process is dissolution of karma. 

You have a certain amount of allotted karma, which we refer to as prarabdha. The prarabdha is working itself out. 

But the problem is the production factory is working overtime – new karma is being piled up so rapidly.

Dissolution can only happen at a certain pace, but people can be very efficient with production! 

For example, during a standard day in your life, from the moment of waking till you go to sleep, if you compare how much activity you actually do by simply working, and how much you think up things, what you are thinking up could be fifty times more than what you do. I am being very conservative when I say fifty. You are producing fifty times more karma than you can work out. It is just like calories. You are burning 600 calories but eating 6000 calories – it has to pile up somewhere.

Shut Down Your Karma Factory

Let’s say you don’t do any karma – nishkarma – you simply sat. This means karma is still working out now at the same pace but you are not producing anything. 

This is the reason why spiritual atmospheres are made in such a way that you don’t decide when to eat. There is a bell, and you go and eat. You don’t decide what to eat. You joyfully eat what is served. You don’t choose. 

We are not against enjoying food, it is just that for the simple act of eating you produce so much karma by desiring, thinking and multiplying all this. 

After all, you can only eat so much. If the food is good and you like it very much maybe you eat 5% extra. If you go beyond 10% you are in trouble. 

For this simple act of eating, how much is going on in people’s head! I enjoy food as much as anyone, but you must do the food on your tongue or your stomach. Or if you like to cook you must do it in the pan. I like to cook so I do it in the pan. If I like the food I do it on the tongue or in the stomach. You are doing it in the head – that’s not the place for food. Head and food don’t go together – you are creating karma.

Please look at every aspect like this in your life. You are creating fifty or hundred times more karma than you are working out on a daily basis. 

When you cook food, or when you joyfully eat, digest it and make it a part of yourself, you are working out karma. The simple process of life itself will work out karma.

A spiritual path means we want to set your karmic process on fast-forward. We want to take a bigger load of karma than the allotted load because we don’t want to come back and do the same thing again and again. 

We want to finish it off right now. This is a conscious choice one has to make – do you want to slowly work it out or do you want all the nonsense to be over as quick as possible.

If you enter an active spiritual process, suddenly you may find everything is moving at a bewildering pace. 

You will see, you are in more trouble than ever before. Earlier, troubles used to come to you once in six months. Now, every six hours you are in deep trouble because your karmic process is on fast-forward. 

Only fools who have sanitized themselves from life believe that spirituality means being peaceful. No. To be spiritual means to be on fire – inside, outside, everywhere. Peace will happen when you rest in peace. This is the time for exuberant life! 

If you were ecstatic or very blissful and joyful, would you even think of being peaceful? Such a thought wouldn’t even occur to you.

The Karmic Spring

Unfortunately, nowadays, humanity is not looking at how to intensify life, we are always looking to elongate life. Because of this, a number of people lose their memory and mental faculties beyond a certain point, and a karmic factor is very much there in these ailments.

Today, without taking care of the karmic fiber we are just trying to elongate the physical life of a human being because we have a certain amount of mastery over biochemistry.

Karma means a certain kind of software that you unconsciously created. 

Before you were born, somewhere between 40 to 48 days after conception, this karmic fiber was tightening itself like a spring coil. 

Depending upon past information, the strength of your body, the nature of your parent, the type of conception and various factors, it chooses a certain amount of information to be tightened into a spring. It is like a coiled spring. 

If you simply sit, it will slowly unwind itself. The more still you sit, the faster it will unwind itself but because you are in activity and you are also piling up new things, it unwinds itself at a certain pace. 

If I look at the tension in the karmic fiber when someone is born, I can easily tell you how many years approximately that child will live – if some drunken driver doesn’t smash the child down, or if he doesn’t come in touch with any spiritual master! 

If he just lives a standard life, we can say how long he will live. We know the coil will work itself out at a certain pace.

This was a common thing when a child was born in India: the first thing the family would do is invite a yogi or sage to the house, or they would take the child to him because they want him to feel the child. 

It is still there today but generally birthday parties have replaced these things. Otherwise, this was the most significant thing. You want to take your child to a certain person who can see if there is any over-tightening of the spring, and do something to fix that to ensure the child’s wellbeing. 

But still, a drunken driver can knock him down. Or some master can come and either unwind him fast or load up many lifetimes of karma onto his present load. 

So, karma works itself out in a certain way unless something happens and it gets all wound up once again or gets released too fast. These things may happen because of certain issues.

Today, without taking care of the karmic fiber we are just trying to elongate the physical life of a human being because we have a certain amount of mastery over biochemistry. We are trying to stretch life using medicine and surgery. This could be one of the major reasons for the number of people losing their memory and mental faculties beyond a certain point because it is a “dumb computer” – do what you want, it just stares at you because though the software is over, the hardware is still kept going with a replaced heart or kidney.

If they had also strived to enhance the other dimension of their life and done a little bit of spiritual work – something beyond the physicality – then even if you live for a thousand years you can generate the necessary software because there is a lot of stuff elsewhere. 

There is a warehouse of karma which has not been opened up right now which is called sanchita. 

Or, you could have programmed yourself such that when your software is going away you also have the freedom to shed your hardware.


Editor’s Note: Find more of Sadhguru’s insights in the book “Of Mystics and Mistakes.” Download the preview chapter or purchase the ebook atIsha Downloads.





In the second of two parts, Sadhguru looks at how karma is the maya of many, and how kriyas and pranayams are a process to strengthen the etheric body, and distance ourselves from karma.


Sadhguru: Karma is essentially the maya of many. “Maya” is usually translated as “illusion” though that word doesn’t convey everything. But let’s say maya means illusion. The illusion of the many is the foundation of karmic substance. As long as you are established in, “This is me, that is you,” karma is a well-established reality. It is like a solid, real, steel structure.

However, if you confuse yourself, “Which is me and which is not me?” suddenly karma loses its foundation. If you look around and you don’t know which is you and which is not you, in this mix up the karmic foundation cannot stand anymore and just crumbles. In one moment of confusion, suddenly, whole structures of karma just collapse. 

Have you noticed, if you ever fell in love with someone, your likes and dislikes, who you are, what you like, what you don’t like, everything got mixed up a little bit – at least for a few days, after which it might have come back to you again! 

You started doing what you thought you cannot do because who you are was a little confused. The maya of the many was confused because a little bit of oneness came between two people, and suddenly the karma lost its foundation and crumbled.

The Problem of Many

It happened like this – during 1944, eight Hitler doubles were kept in a safe house. Of all the people, these were the best fed, best kept people and they didn’t have to do anything except once in a while. 

They were trained to be like Hitler. They dressed like him, they ate like him – they had to do whatever he did because when they had to play the act, they had to do it in such a way that nobody would know. So, these guys were really having a good time.

Then Heinrich Himmler, one of Hitler’s trusted aides came. It was part of the routine that whenever anyone came, they had to salute the doubles just the way they would salute Hitler because they had to get used to it. So, Himmler came and said “Hail Hitler!” Then he said, “I have good news and bad news.”

All of them said together, “Good news first.”

“Our Fuhrer is alive and well.”

“Bad news…?”

“Unfortunately, he lost his left eye,” and he pulled out a cork screw.

Karma is like that. It is the problem of the many. So, the first thing is to stop creating – life works itself out. 

Or if you want to drop all your karma at once, that can also be done. But you need to understand, karma is not only a bondage, it is also a protection. It is a cement that binds you with the body. 

If all karma is dissolved, you will not be able to hold on to your body – you will drop it. If you are not aware of this, for most beings, the moment of enlightenment and the moment of leaving the body are the same. Only those who are on the path of kriya, who know the mechanics and the nuts and bolts of the body hold on to it.

Exercising the Etheric Body

In yoga, we look at a human being as five sheaths or layers of body. Three – the physical, the mental and the energy body – are physical realities; maybe subtle but still physical. 

The other two – the etheric body and the bliss body – are in a different realm. The etheric body is a transition from physical to non-physical. The bliss body is purely non-physical. The physical body, the mental body and the energy body carry karma. 

But the etheric body and the bliss body do not have any karmic substance because they are non-physical. 

The physical dimension of existence happens between cause and effect. But what is beyond the physical does not happen between cause and effect. 

So, the moment you begin to taste the divine, suddenly, it doesn’t matter how many heaps of karma you have, it has no impact on you because you are beginning to step into the realm of the non-physical where there is no karmic substance.

Karma is the problem of the many. So, the first thing is to stop creating – life works itself out.

When you do any kind of conscious breathing processes like kriyas and pranayams, you are trying to exercise the etheric body – that dimension of you which has a physical element in it but is not physical. 

You are trying to strengthen that because you want that to become a passage, not a barrier to the non-physical dimension of who you are. There are various other aspects to it in terms of physiological and psychological benefits, and the spiritual dimension, but one simple aspect is, if this dimension, which is the link between the physical body and the non-physical dimension that is the very source of creation, becomes a strong force by itself, then the physicality of who you are, the psychological structure that you call as “myself,” and that dimension which is the source of all this will naturally be connected all the time. 

The idea is that Divine is not an idea or belief in your life, Divine is a living presence in your life. 

That is the basis of sadhana, that these three are well integrated and connected on a moment-to-moment basis. 

We are not looking for highs or a once-in-a-way experience, we are looking for constant contact with that dimension. 

Only then it finds expression in the way you live, in the way you exist, in the way you can do things – in everything.