Kavita Chhibber

http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=sadhguru-Nov2007

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Q and A with Sadhguru
By Kavita Chhibber
Thank you again for the overwhelming response to my continuing
conversations with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha
foundation.
The questions have been reformatted to make better sense. No
question is off bounds with Sadhguru and I hope readers will
continue to think about life and ask relevant, thought provoking
questions so others can also learn from the discussion. Some repetitive questions have not been answered in this months
selection. Please refer to previous Q and A selections. Others did not make it in time for the issue.
Here are the selections for this month.
Hi Kavita
First, some feedback on your article..It was open and unbiased - and gave a refreshing view of a new guru -
Jaggi Vasudev - almost made me want to see him - but ..Comments first!
Just for your info I had heard about him - from another vehicle - please check - does he have a daughter who
goes to Krishnamurti school in mudenhalli - because one of my nephews goes to school there and said -
Sadhguru comes to visit his daughter - and comes laden with gifts but the daughter does not like her father at all
-maybe school gossip - or is the old clich - that all great beings have households that dont like them and
definitely do not find them DIVINE!!...anyway -
Second, please ask Sadhguru clearly:
1) are all chronic diseases emanating from a distorted frame of mind-and therefore if the mind is calm - the
disease should completely disappear ? - if that is 100% true then why did so many great beings have horrible
diseases till their death - Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Anandamayi, Ramana maharishi, Nisargadatta - all had
cancer - Neem Karoli Baba died of heart failure- and had an ongoing heart condition...
2)Claims may be many - but fact remains - they are unable to make their own families like them, forget about
healing relations between countries
3) what part does destiny play -isnt everything pre-decided anyway? most gurus hesitate to tell this truth, lest
people leave them - because - if its all pre-destined why go to a guru - whatever will happen will happen anyway
(Ramesh Balsekar says that and see how few devotees he has - isnt the guru " business" also one of making
(false) promises and then never delivering or delivering a glimmer - so hope keeps you going forever ?
Forgive, me for these scathing remarks, I left the US 10 years ago - a very successful career and money and
comforts - in search for a deeper truth- but after 10 years in India and seeing the INNER functioning of all the
MAIN BIG ashrams (and small) of this country , having lived full time in one - talked and met with the GREAT
BEINGS - I have found out too much unpleasant stuff - that no one wants to hear about and even if they do - they
wont believe it!!
hoping to see Sadhguru's answers in detail on your website. with Regards,
Janet Eddie
(Sadhguru laughs and responds cheerfully)Please let Janet knows that her nephew is very ill informed. I have brought up
my daughter in a way that she has the freedom to speak her mind. I have a very positive and close relationship with her.
So my question is-is Janet in search for truth or in search of a scandal?
If in ten years Janet has not been able to find one good teacher, then isnt it time she took a look at herself? Whenever
you meet people, or gurus, you will see both positive and negative energies surrounding them. You see what you want to
see. Eventually every one must take what works for them and disregard the rest. Let me give you an example. A doctor
gives you a pill for an ailment. The only thing you should be concerned about is whether that pill works for you or not.
What the doctor does in his private life, how he relates to someone else is immaterial for you. That is none of your
business, because it does not affect you in any way. What is most important is to decide whether the medicine heals you
or not. If it does not go to another doctor.
Regarding gurus being unable to please their families-it is not just limited to gurus but any one who undertakes something










Kavita Chhibber
http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=sadhguru-Nov2007
on a large scale, at a public level. Mahatma Gandhi had many family members who resented him, but can you take away
his contribution to India? Obviously the gurus will not have the time to focus on their family because they are involved for
the betterment of mankind and helping others beyond their families. My family also complains some times that I dont
devote enough time to them because of my hectic schedule, but the family too has to grow and mature and understand.
As for cancer, most saints are exposed to an intense interaction with others, beyond the mind and body and the very
nature of their work takes its toll on their body. Their own well being is the last thing they are concerned about. While the
state of mind has a lot to do with disease, its not the only factor that causes it.
Finally, there is no such thing as destiny. Life happens the way you steer it. Janet searching and finding only wrong
people is her own creation not destiny. Since a large part of what happens to you is on an unconscious level, you think
some other force is creating it. Some people may have made false promises to you, I do not know, but by and large the
promise is genuine, but you are not able to cross the distance between the possibility and reality. If you dont walk that
distance you wont reach your destination and will call it a false promise.
Dear Sadhguru,
I love to do my practices and meditate. I regularly do the shakthi chelan kriyas, shoonya meditation and the
Asanas. I also like to eat non-veg and consume beer and alcohol. How important is it for me to give the things I
enjoy so much for my spiritual advancement ?-
Thanks, Rajesh
Every one must ask themselves this question - do you eat meat and consume alcohol for nutrition or pleasure? If its for
nutrition then there are so many other healthier alternatives. If its for pleasure then I will not ask you to give it up. I can
only tell you that what you eat affects your system in a particular way. The wrong foods will make you toil that much
harder to make your practices more effective. I can give you the tools that will make your pleasure much higher than what
you get from eating meat and drinking alcohol. I wont say give up something you like but do take some time to look at the
possibilities beyond the obstructions you are setting up for yourself to evolve to a higher level. Meat makes the system
sluggish as does alcohol.
So remember I can give you a method where your level of pleasure will be a lot higher than what you derive by eating
meat and alcohol. Focus on that than the idea of giving up something.
Dear Sadhguru, in your book Mystics Musings you had told that before you leave the earth you will construct a
devi temple. Now that the Devi temple is going to be consecrated soon does that mean you are going to leave us
and go ?
Im not in a hurry to go anywhere. Enjoy my presence and make full use of it right now than worrying about my departure.
Is the Dhyanalinga as effective a guru as you are?
The Dhyanalinga is as effective- only most people may not be able to relate to it as well as they relate to a guru in human
form, but in terms of making things happen it is as effective.
In your book you have mentioned about occult practices and negative energies ... you have also said that by
going to the dhyanalinga shrine one can get rid of such things and by wearing a rudraksha one can shield
oneself from such energies.... but what if someone is bent upon causing harm to someone using occult practices
and abhichara mantras..... a person can not be going to the dhyanalinga shrine so frequently ... and I think a
rudraksha might not protect oneself from severe forms of occult and abhichara..... in that case can what should
a person do to save oneself ? can one go in for tantric rituals as given in the atharva veda to protect oneself ...
if performed by a competent and learned tantric ?
If you have been badly affected you can resort to other means but the best way is to become more meditative. That is the
best insurance.
When you say that the dhyanalinga is beyond space and time... we can understand that its energies are not
bound by space but when you say its beyond time what do you exactly mean ?
That which is not bound by space is not bound by time either.
When you say that you bow down to other enlightened masters slightly less than your guru .. its very difficult for
me to understand why should you bow down to other masters a little less ... all of them have attained
enlightenment so I think all should be revered equally then why do you say so ? Is it just out of devotion to your
guru ?Is one enlightened master different from another in any way ?
That is because the rest of them are like me, and I see no reason to revere them. I bow to my guru because he made it
happen for me. In basic ways most gurus are the same but in all other ways they are never the same.
The importance of ring finger has often been stressed by you... for applying vibhuti we use only right hand ring
finger ... but the copper snake rings are always worn on the left hand ring finger ...... whats the exact reason we
wear the copper rings on left hand ring finger ?
It stabilizes your system and also if you are doing some sadhana it assists in that.
Dear Jaggi,
My family has recently taken part in the satsang held in Anna University. You have asked everyone to meditate
for few minutes. During the course of meditation I heard lot of different sounds made by the people that was
scary and confusing. why do people make such noises during meditation? There were lot of small children also
in the satsang and I heard few kids crying hearing the scary sounds made by people. Can you please clear my
and as well lot others confusion on this? with Love, Anandhi.
Kavita Chhibber
http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=sadhguru-Nov2007
Firstly young children should not be taken to a satsang. People will make different sounds but they are not scary sounds-
they happen as people break certain limitations within themselves and move to a more intense experience. You got
scared because it was something new and you had not heard it before. We always fear anything new that we do not
know. By closing your mind to new experiences you shut yourself off from so many possibilities and ensure that nothing
novel or new will happen to you. If you wish to be true to your name of Anandhi, it is very important for you to be open to
new dimensions of life.
Namaskaram Sadhguru
Sadhguru, in your article in the Tamil magazine " Ananda Vikadan" dated 26th Sep 2007, you have almost
justified that success attained even with wrong methods is OK and in the later part of the article you have said
one gets back what he sows ( did not say when one gets it back) it appears to me there is a contradiction. Please
help me understand.
Im not sure which article it was, or what the context was, but I have always said this- if you do not fear the
consequences of your actions then do what you want. If you are scared about what will happen if you act a certain way,
then regulate those actions. If you do something bad and accept the consequences joyfully then do as you please.
In an interview ( given to Anil Dharker) you have said that contentment does not lead to joyfulness, can you
explain that please. Regards- S Subramanian (Subbu)
People who are not joyful seek contentment as a substitute. Otherwise a human being naturally continues to explore
different dimensions of life constantly. Contentment means to contain yourself within a certain boundary because you want
to maintain a certain level of pleasantness that you have reached. Contentment is an ideal created by those people who
have decided they are incapable of being joyful.
In one of your speeches you said FEAR is all about imagining about and suffering that which in nonexistent. Is
not fear a kind of intelligence? One sees a snake and suddenly jumps away. Is that not intelligence? My
experience with fear is like this. Fear is because one has made some plan and if something happens in between,
one cannot work towards that plan. Suppose one is studying for an exam and he becomes involved in some
painful circumstances, he will not be able to study and pass the exam. One has learned this from his previous
experience. So one tries to avoid such painful circumstances to achieve what he strives for. Fear is being alert to
avoid such circumstances.. At the same time fear is a disturbance since we cannot do anything when fear is
there. How can we keep on working towards a goal without any interference of fear? Avinash Eswaramangalam
If you have too much fear you may end up not jumping far enough but on the snake itself and getting bitten in the
process. Jumping can be done with sense and not senselessly. Fear makes you senseless and when you lack sense you
do stupid things.
Sadhguru,
What is the difference between karmic body and etheric body? I understand from your past
conversation that our human body is made up of physical body, Mind, formless Karmic Body with Karmic mind
which are various impressions from past life. Please explain what etheric body means.
Karmic body is an accumulation of the physical, mental and pranic body. Etheric body does not carry any karmic weight-it
is free.
Sadhguru,
I am confused by the masculine and feminine energies of Shiva. As I understand Shiva, Shiva is the
vast non-dual oneness or emptiness or nothingness and the mantra Shiva itself signifies the vast feminine
energies expanding in unboundedness. Shiva in the Vedic literature has been referred to as Masculine and
Parvati or the nature as feminine. Could you please clarify on my Gender ambiguity about Shiva?-Meena
There is no gender ambiguity as far as Shiva is concerned. Shiva chooses not to belong to any gender when we talk of
Shiva as the ultimate dimension. As Adi-yogi Shiva chooses to be any gender masculine or feminine as is chosen in that
moment.
Sadhguru, how strong a role does 'encouragement' play in a person's spiritual growth? How far can somebody
be 'encouraged' to become a seeker ? Or do people always have to experience sufficient suffering outside to
make them turn inwards? How far would it be correct to say that a person c an be encouraged to some extent
to go and do Isha wholeness program, come back and be regular with the practices BUT to encourage someone
to develop a longing and become a seeker is not in someone else's hands? If seeking happens, it happens, if it
doesnt then there is hardly anything someone else can do except wait,perhaps? Is the whole spiritual 'thing'
dependent on a person's innate nature? -Abhimanyu Saagar Patiala
If you have functional intelligence you will always seek beyond where you are right now. At Isha we only give you the
tools to make that intelligence functional. As long as you are aware of that you will be a natural spiritual seeker.