EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,
The mysterious and intriguing Kundalini is the subject of this months Lead
Article. Sadhgurus lucid explanations facilitate a clearer understanding of this
internal power, and even allow us a glimpse at its journey through the chakras.
In the article What Works, Sadhguru juxtaposes trust and belief, doubt and
suspicion, in the context of spiritual seeking.
Our Isha Hatha Yoga article examines The Evolution of the Breath, or, more
precisely the purpose of breathing slightly deeper than normal during asanas,
how regular hatha yoga practice can alter the frequency of our breath, and what
this means for our life. We also learn about the idea behind the instruction of
rapid breathing in particular postures.
In the second part of Mark Hymans In Conversation with the Mystic on food and
health, the leading medical advisor and Sadhguru discuss the importance of
Hands over Forks, i.e. actually touching the food we eat, how eating real foods
can dramatically change our life and wellbeing, and how the food industry leads
us to make the wrong choices.
In recent weeks, Sadhguru has been traveling From East to West, from Indian
state capitals to many major cities of the United States, meeting leaders of the
political, social, and scientific spheres as well as many other spiritual aspirants.
The Master updates us about his whirlwind schedule in an excerpt of Sadhguru
Spot.
In this edition, we also bring you another fascinating story of Mahabharat, as
told by Sadhguru. This time, the situations that the many intertwined characters,
the princesses and kings, priests and sages live through can mostly be brought
down to one common denominator: Curses and Blessings.
This months recipe for a Ragi Halwa could not be any simpler. Whip up a
delicious and nutritious dessert with only five different ingredients, in just a few
minutes!

Enjoy!
The Editorial Team
Contact the Editorial Team:
Isha Forest Flower, Isha Yoga Center, Semmedu P.O., Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore 641114
forestflower@ishafoundation.org

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June 2015

CONTENTS
KUNDALINI

The Latent Power Within

MAHABHARAT

Part 7: Curses and Blessings

15

Isha Hatha Yoga

Part 18: The Evolution of the Breath

Lead Article
Kundalini

The Latent Power Within

Musings
Asleep but Aware?

Sadhguru on the Question of Conscious Sleep

What Works
Sadhguru on Trust and Spiritual Potential

In Conversation with the Mystic

Hands over Forks

10

12

Mark Hyman in Conversation with Sadhguru Part 2

Mahabharat
Part 7: Curses and Blessings
Sadhguru Spot
From East to West

15
18

Sadhguru about His Recent Travels

Upcoming Programs and Events

Isha Yoga Program Highlights

20

Isha Recipe
This Month: Ragi Halwa

21

Zen Speaks
Cant Say It

23

June 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 3

ISHA HATHA YOGA

PART 18

The Evolution of
the Breath

In this series, Sadhguru discusses various

aspects that can significantly impact the
quality of your yogic practice and your life.
Frequency of Breath
Questioner: For both Surya Kriya and asanas,
the instruction is to breathe slightly deeper than
normal. What is the idea behind that?
4 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

Sadhguru: Generally, most human beings are

breathing somewhere between 12 to 15 times
per minute. They use less than 20% of their lung
capacity during normal breathing. If your lung
capacity expands, the number of breaths per
minute during normal breathing naturally comes
down, without you controlling it. Once again,
you breathe slightly deeper than normal when
practicing asanas.
If you stick to the classical form of yoga, over a
period of time, your breath will become slow.
There are very poetic expressions for this. They
say, if your breath becomes 11 per minute, you
understand the language of every animal and
bird around you. If your breath becomes nine, you
understand the very language that the Earth is
speaking. If your breath becomes seven, you know
everything that is worth knowing in existence. That
means your body becomes so stable that there is
no static, no crackle it just perceives everything.
Even now, the body perceives otherwise you
could not exist. You may not be conscious of it,
but your body understands exactly how the Earth
is spinning, what is happening with the Sun, what
is happening with everything. As long as you live,
your body is adjusting to all that.
When your breath becomes more and more stable, the disturbances of life are gone. You are
able to clearly see what is happening. Either you
achieve this through yogasanas or by becoming
absolutely meditative. For example if you sit in
Shoonya meditation, the breath becomes very
slow, almost not there. In Shoonya, many of you
may be breathing about nine to ten breaths per
minute. Then again, at certain moments, you will
breathe faster.
You can get there through meditative processes,
but doing so by preparing the body is more reliable. With meditation, today your breath may naturally slow down, tomorrow it may not. But if you
prepare the body, the progress is more stable.
That is the strength of doing the practices every
day they steadily take you up. With meditative
processes alone, one day it is fantastic, another
day you may not be there at all.
June 2015

If you intentionally stretch your normal breath,

after some time, you will gasp. That is not
evolution of the system. That is forcefully
trying to do something. On the other hand, when
you practice asanas, breathing slightly deeper
than normal, over a period of time the duration
of the breath may increase. Your normal breath will
become slower, and so will your slightlydeeper-than-normal breath.

The Effect of Rapid Breathing

Questioner: In certain asanas, for example in
Bhujangasana in the Surya Kriya series, or in the
Sarvangasana series, as well as in Matsyasana,
we do rapid breathing. Why so?

As your system evolves, the number of breaths

you take per minute will naturally come down.
You will start understanding what people around
you are saying. You may even understand what I
am saying! You will understand the language of
other creatures, the language of the planet, and
the very language of the source of creation.

Sadhguru: Wherever there is rapid breathing,

there is an effort to turn a very physical process
into an energy process. When there is an opportunity without risk, we are trying to use it. Kriyas have to be done with a certain care. Suppose
your energies get activated without the right kind
of preparation, while you are in the wrong posture, in the wrong attitude, in the wrong situation,
your stomach is full or whatever else, what could
be a great thing will turn into a disaster.

The body always understands. Because it is

a piece of creation, it knows everything about
creation. It is just that there is too much disturbance for you to realize that. It is like turning on
the radio and there is static because of lightning,
rain, or whatever you cannot hear the music.
If the rain stops, suddenly the music comes out
crystal clear to your ear. That is the whole process of knowing. You just have to stop the static.

It is like a pot of gold came down from above, but

it fell on your head and killed you! If a rock broke
off from a mountain, fell on your head, and you
died, it is one thing. If a pot of gold came down
from above, but instead of you catching it, it fell
on your head and you died, it is the worst kind
of disaster! So, when we do asanas, only certain
postures where it is safe to do that, we seek to
transform them into Kriyas.

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, devised by Sadhguru, is an opportunity
to be trained in classical hatha yoga. 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.
June 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 5

LEAD ARTICLE

Kundalini
The Latent Power Within

Questioner:
Namaskaram,
Sadhguru.
My
question is pertaining to kundalini. What is
kundalini, how does it rise, and what happens
when it goes through the chakras?

your kundalini, people around you will think that

you are an extraordinary human being. If you
manifest more than 20%, they will start calling
you superhuman.

The Basics

The Role of Yogic Practices

Sadhguru: I am speaking right now this is

kundalini. You are able to listen that is also
kundalini. The insects drone, an elephant is
growling in the forest, the grass is growing
all this is kundalini. Kundalini is the energy
behind everything that manifests physically. But
generally, when we talk about kundalini, we are
referring to that dimension of energy within us
which is latent, not manifest.

The purpose of yoga and of trying to make the

body flexible is to make it fit to take a larger
dimension of energy. If you activate that which
is latent, this human mechanism should be
conducive enough to handle all the energy that
you have. Otherwise, if kundalini rises even just
a little, people freak out. If you can manage it
without freaking out, it will manifest in the form
of action. You will seem to have endless energy
to do things, because you are able to suck deeper
from the reservoir that is there in everyone. The
question is only of manifestation.

Average human beings do not even manifest 1%

or 2% of their kundalini. If you manifest 810% of
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June 2015

There is energy in everything we have to

generate it. There is energy in sunlight we must
be able to catch it and generate it. The same
goes for kundalini. There is energy in everyone.
What makes the difference is, are you able to dip
into it, or are you just on the surface. Though
kundalini generally refers to the latent energy,
actually, both the manifest and the unmanifest
dimension of energy is kundalini.

The purpose of yoga and of trying to

make the body flexible is to make it fit
to take a larger dimension of energy.

There are yogic practices that are designed

to prepare the body for a higher dimension of
energy, and there are practices that are designed
to activate the energy. Some will activate it in
a forceful manner, some will just open the lid
so that the energy slowly manifests. This slow
manifestation of kundalini energy is happening
to everyone who is doing even a simple basic
practice like Shambhavi Mahamudra.

The Effects
Your sleep quota will drop. The amount of food
that you need to eat will go down. You will be a
little more energetic, which means you are taking
a little more from your latent energy or kundalini
that you did not touch earlier. You will be more
creative. You will be able to do things that you
never thought you would do. You will become
bolder. When you become bolder, people around
you will think you are crazier, but that does not
matter.
These changes occur because with these simple
yogic practices, you open the lid, and kundalini
slowly manifests. But you do not pump it up,
because for that, you need to be in a place
where you are constantly cared for. When we
do certain programs, we are pumping it up in a
huge way. There were times when even in the
basic Inner Engineering or Isha Yoga program,

June 2015

after initiations, we had to carry 80% of the

participants out of the hall.

Energy Push
We have toned it down, because in todays world,
though people are always talking about change,
they cannot handle any change within themselves.
They only want the world to change. When anything
changes within themselves, they go crazy. That
is why we are going slowly. But still, in Bhava
Spandana and Samyama programs, we pump it up
without you having to do anything you simply sit
there.
We have no apprehension about this, because
these are controlled situations. But suppose we
teach you practices in this direction that you do
at home, then your home situation and your work
situation should be conducive. Your life situation
should be such that there are no compulsions in
terms of work, family, and other situations. You
should be able to be in any state you want and it
is okay with people around you. Right now, they
want you to be in a certain state any other
state is not acceptable.

Too Much, Too Fast, Too Soon

Because most peoples life situation is not
conducive in this sense, it is best such practices
are limited to brahmacharis and certain others
who have the advantage of not having a family.
When there is no family, we can raise and lower
your energy so that the system gets used to any
kind of energy. You must also be able to handle
it if the energy goes down. Otherwise, you will
become mentally depressed. Whether the
voltage is high or low, the system should be able
to manage it in an equanimous manner. If this
freedom comes, then the body is conducive.
About what will happen if the kundalini enters the
different chakras I am not interested in people
going in stages. Let them live well for some time
without losing their focus for spiritual process.
When their time comes, we will blow them out.
I do not believe in going one step in a lifetime
and you coming back for many more lifetimes. I

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 7

do not have such patience, nor am I going to be

around that long.

stay there long enough so that your blissfulness

is stable. Otherwise, you will be giggling through
the day. So, as your energies move into different
levels of the bodys structure, accordingly, it may
find expression in certain ways.

A Solid and Safe Foundation

Whatever practice you are doing is either to
prepare the system for a higher dimension of
energy, mildly pumping, or forcefully pumping.
Forcefully pumping will lead to situations where
you may need a little management. Initially, you
may not be able to manage yourself. And if you
are doing it properly, every day, you will have
situations that you do not know how to handle,
because they are entirely new to you. They must
be done under proper guidance and care.

The Journey through the Chakras

If the kundalini or energies are dominant in
muladhara, food and sleep will be dominant in
your life. If the energies move to swadhishthana,
you will become a little more creative, a little
more sensuous; your ability to experience things
of the world will be better. If energies move into
manipura, you will be strong in the world; you
will want to do things; you will want to manifest
things in the world.
If your energies move into anahata, you will
become very creative. To be creative, you need
a certain sensitivity of perception. When your
energies move into anahata, it can manifest in
the form of very pleasant emotions, creativity,
and a certain perception of aesthetics.
If your energies move into vishuddhi, you will
not be interested in all these things your
presence will be powerful. Powerful not in terms
of dominance simply powerful by your own
nature. If your energies move into agna, you will
be sort of intellectually enlightened. That means
you will grasp the nature of the universe, kind
of in understanding, in knowing, but still not
experientially.

If you go into certain states of experience without

the necessary preparation, the body and the mind
may not be ready especially on a psychological
level. If energy rises and there is a little madness
in you, it becomes big madness. Whatever your

Whether the voltage is high or low, the

system should be able to manage it in
an equanimous manner.

quality is will get enhanced when energy floods

you. If you are feeling love, more energy more
love. If you are feeling joy, more energy more joy.
If you are feeling miserable, more energy more
misery. If you are feeling depressed, more
energy more depression. Before raising
kundalini in any serious way, it is important
that on a physiological and psychological level,
you bring yourself to a state of balance and
equanimity, so that if energies rise, nothing goes
out of control.

If your energies hit sahasrar, you will be ecstatic

and blissed out all the time. But it is important you
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June 2015

Asleep but Aware?

MUSING

Sadhguru on the Question of

Conscious Sleep
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. During
sleep, we are usually unconscious. Is there a way
we can stay aware during sleep?
Sadhguru: When you sleep, just sleep dont
try to do something else. There is a beautiful
story. For many, many years, the Sapta Rishis,
the seven sages, lived with the Adiyogi, doing
sadhana, learning, and absolutely bonding with
him. The sharing was so profound that they did
not know any other life but him. But one day, he
said, Its time to go. You have to take this to the
world. He told them to go to faraway places. One
to Central Asia, one to North Africa, one to South
America, one to Southeast Asia, one to South
India, and one to what is today the Indian part of
the Himalayas. Only one stayed back with him.
If 15,000 years ago, you asked a man to go to
South America, it was as good as asking him
to go to another galaxy. The Sapta Rishis said,
We dont know where we are going, what kind
of people exist there, how they will receive us,
and whether they are ready for this or not. If we
are in danger, or if we cannot transmit this as
you wish, will you be there for us? The Adiyogi
looked at them incredulously and said, If you
are in trouble, if your life is in danger or your work
is in danger, I will sleep. They got the point. But
if I say this to you, you will feel terribly insecure
and insulted. I tell him my difficulties, and he
says he sleeps on it!
To sleep consciously, you should have no sense
of body. Only if your identification with the body
is completely broken, will you sleep consciously.
When we are awake, we are conscious, but our

June 2015

energies are involved and engaged in many

things. We have to sit up; we have to speak; we
have to do some work; we have to do something
else. But if I sleep consciously, my energies are
completely consolidated, and I am still conscious
that means I am at my peak performance level.
So when Shiva says, If you are in trouble, I will
sleep, it means, I will do the best possible thing
for you, because then he is at his best.
Those of you who have been initiated into
shoonya meditation may have experienced a
few moments here and there of what in yoga is
called sushupti that means being fast asleep
but wide awake. The day this state of sushupti
lasts for even just two to three seconds, you will
not be able to sleep at night. You will be bright
and alert. If I sit for shoonya mediation, I cannot
sleep for days on end. Since I wanted to stabilize
my physical body, I have not touched shoonya
meditation for many years.
Only if you are not identified with the body, will
sleeping consciously become a possibility. On
a certain day, a baby turtle, with great effort,
meticulously, slowly, taking 24 hours, climbed up
a tree, leapt off the branch, and fell flat. Again,
slowly, taking another 24 hours, it crawled up,
leapt, fell flat again and again. After four days,
one of the two birds who were sitting in the
opposite tree said, I think its time we tell him
he is adopted. So I thought its time to tell you,
to sleep consciously, striving is needed, but it is
not enough. The most important thing is that you
distance yourself from your physical nature.

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 9

What Works
Sadhguru on Trust and
Spiritual Potential
The following is an excerpt from a
Meditator Sathsang with Sadhguru at
the Isha Institute for Inner-sciences,
McMinnville, Tennessee, USA, on
26 April 2015.
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. I have
heard you speak a lot about how it is important
to neither believe nor disbelieve things that are
outside of our experience. But my mind is so
binary it wants to go one way or the other, true
or false. At the same time, I have developed a
lot of trust because many of the things that you
have said have proved to be true in my life. Then
how can I stay balanced between being skeptical
and being open?
Sadhguru: There are two aspects to this. There is
something called doubt, and there is something
called suspicion. Suspicion is sickness,
because you are assuming that something has
to be wrong. A suspicious mind is always a sick
mind. Doubt is different it means you do not
know. It is not a crime not to know. If someone
says something and you have trust in that person,
you can invest some time, energy, and resources
to explore and know. If you do not have trust
in that person, you cannot invest that time and
energy, because time and energy are limited.
Basically, life is a certain amount of time and
energy. If it is a bundle of lies and you invest your
time and energy, it would be a waste of life. In that
context, you need trust, but you should neither
try to trust nor to distrust. How do you come
to trust? One thing is if it makes sense to you.
Another thing is if it has worked. Even if it has not
worked for you, but it seems to have worked for
everyone around you, you can invest some time
to explore, not to believe. If you explore with the
necessary keenness, you will see. Do not jump
from trust to distrust, belief to disbelief.
10 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

If you come to the Inner Engineering program,

everything makes sense to you, because that
is the nature of the program. If you come to
Bhava Spandana, nothing makes sense to you,
but if you really give yourself these three days,
it will blow you away. If it did not, you will hate
me, because nothing makes sense but it seems
to work for people around you. They are being
blown away, but you are still debating whether to
throw yourself into it or not.
June 2015

If you come to the Samyama program and you

become meditative, you will think I am God
because of the energy that is created there and
what you experience there. Suppose you did not
settle into your meditation; if in the end, all you
got is numb legs and an aching back I do not
want to say the words that you will think about
me! But what to do this is a chance I am taking
with you.

I am not doing anything that I believe or

disbelieve. I am only doing what has worked for
me. If it does not work for you right now, it simply
means it needs a little more preparation. If you
think, Maybe it worked for you, but Im made
differently, I can tell you, fortunately, you are
not made differently. For any human being, the
fundamental mechanics are the same. On the
surface, our likes and dislikes may be different,
our conscious memory may be different, but the
basic mechanics are not different.
If it does not work for you, maybe you are not
listening to the instructions. That is very much
possible. It takes some people many years to
realize that they got the instructions wrong. Or
you are not keen and focused enough. Or it takes
a little more preparation for you. Either way, it
cannot not work at all, because it has worked for
me.
Recently, someone filed a Habeas Corpus case
for two chimpanzees with the New York District
Court, because a university is using them for
some experimentation. Like you can file for
Habeas Corpus to obtain the release of a person
who is unlawfully being detained or imprisoned,
they said because chimpanzees have thoughts
and emotions that are pretty close to those of
human beings, they must be released. The court
is confused. Never before, they have faced such
a case.
Do not ever claim you are different. It is just that
you have not been willing to really work with
yourself. You want instant results. You can have
instant results, but they will not last. We can flip
everyone into a momentary experience, but to
grow into it is best. It may take some time, but
if you grow into it, it cannot be taken away. If we
flip you into it, you flip in and flip out. If you want
it to last, something more enduring has to be
done. I know this much what works within me
has to work in every human being, because the
fundamental mechanics are the same.

June 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 11

IN CONVERSATION
WITH THE MYSTIC

Hands over Forks

Mark Hyman in Conversation with Sadhguru Part 2
In the second part of their conversation on World Peace Day 2014 at the iii, Sadhguru and
Mark Hyman, American physician and bestselling author, discuss the advantage of eating
with ones hands, the detrimental effect of modern food habits, Americas role in the food
culture of the world, and how simple changes in food and lifestyle can not only be healthy
for ourselves but also for the world around us, and even the Earth itself.
Sadhguru: This wonder gadget that you are
carrying in your pocket [a fork] is also part of the
crime. When you do not touch the food, you do
not know what it is. If food is not good enough to
be touched, I do not know how it is good enough
to be eaten!
Mark Hyman: So we should not have listened to
our mothers we should eat with our fingers,
because touching our food helps us stay in
contact with it.
Sadhguru: The cleanliness of your hands is
entirely in your hands. The cleanliness of the fork
is not necessarily in your hands. No one else but
you has used these hands, so you can be sure
how clean or not clean they are right now. With
12 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

the fork, you do not know who has used it, how
they have used it, and for what. All they have
to do is wipe it with a tissue and it looks clean.
Above all, when you use a fork, you do not feel
the food.
The first thing that we were taught is if food
appears in front of you, you hold your hands
upon the food for a few moments to feel how the
food is. If something appears on my plate and I
just feel it, I know what to eat and what not to eat
without having to taste it. My hands are the first
level of knowing the food. Similarly, if you want
to know a person, you guys shake their hands. I
usually avoid that.
Mark Hyman: Thats a good strategy.
June 2015

Sadhguru: But it is important to know the food

that is going to become a part of you. Even if you
do not physically touch it with your hands, just
by being conscious, you will clearly know how
the food will behave within you. The decision
whether a particular food should go into you
or not changes from day to day, because your
body is different every day, every moment. If you
feel the food, you just know whether it should
go into you on this day or not. If the necessary
awareness is brought in, we do not have to tell
people what they should eat. Every meal, they
should decide what to eat this time.
There is no one prescription of what you should
eat for the rest of your life. That said, sugars and
carbs are definitely a serious issue. But the real
long-term challenge is weaning people off meat.
Almost 200 pounds of meat are consumed per
capita in the US per year. And 3.8 trillion dollars
are spent on healthcare barely three other
countries on the planet even have a GDP that is
larger than that. In other words, the healthcare
bills in the US are higher than most nations
GDPs.
This is a violent way to exist, and it is very
hard on your system. Illness is the first level of
violence. You cannot be peaceful when you are
ill, because your body is in a constant battle.
The fight with some virus, bacteria, or something
else that comes from outside is one thing. But
a chronic ailment is like a civil war. You created
a battle within your own system, without an
outside enemy.
Too many people die from chronic ailments,
and more than that, even when they are alive,
they cannot live well. And unfortunately, the
maximum number exists in one of the most
affluent countries on the planet. That means
if affluence comes, we will lose all our sense.
This is what America is telling the rest of world.
And this will happen to the whole world at some
point. We see similar things in Indian cities. It is
just that America may be the forerunner. It is very
important that America corrects itself, because
June 2015

whatever America does, for some reason the rest

of the world does too.
You will see, in an Indian city, almost 60% of the
population is wearing denim pants. And if you go
to an Indian village, they might not have heard of
yoga, but they know Coca Cola. When a nation
has such an impact, you have a responsibility not
just for your own health or your nations health
you have a responsibility for the worlds health,
because the rest of the world imitates whatever
you do.
Mark Hyman: Actually, you know, China and
India now have the highest numbers of diabetics
in the world: 80% of the worlds diabetics are
in the developing world. And it is because we
created the worst diet on the planet, exported it
to every nation, and they are eating it. One in two
Americans has pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes,
and one in ten kids in Mexico has type 2 diabetes,
which we used to call adult-onset diabetes.
This epidemic is getting out of hand. It goes
right along with the amount of soda we drink
and processed foods we eat, and the amount
of misinformation people get. One of the things
that have struck me in the last few years is that
people want to do the right thing, but they often
do not have the right information.

The decision whether a particular food

should go into you or not changes
from day to day, because your body is
different every day, every moment.

As part of the movie Fed Up, which is about

childhood obesity, the obesity epidemic in
this country, and the food industry, I worked
with a family in South Carolina who was very
overweight, very sick. The father was on dialysis;
the mother was probably 150 pounds overweight
and had many illnesses; and the son was 16,
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 13

almost diabetic and probably 60 or 70 pounds

overweight. They lived in a trailer on food stamps
and disability benefits.
The solution was food not a prescription drug.
I showed them how to cook a simple meal with a
guy from Good Food on a Tight Budget, which
is an initiative of the Environmental Working
Group that teaches you how to eat food that is
good for you, good for the planet, and good for
your wallet. This family just did not know how
to cook. After teaching them to cook a meal
without processed foods and sugar, I gave them
my cookbook.

the World Economic Forum says that the single

biggest threat to global economic development
is our chronic diseases epidemic, and that this
epidemic is driven by the food we eat, changing
our diet and lifestyle is the answer to this huge
problem.
Sadhguru: Eating improperly and eating
inappropriately are two big aspects. The way we
do food is violent, and if we carry much more
on this frame than what we should carry, it is a
kind of soil erosion. Whatever number of pounds
you shed does not go into the sky it is going
back into the earth. You prevent soil erosion!

The truth is that in a very few days,

by shifting the way you eat, you can
literally transform your health.

The mother lost over 100 pounds, the father lost

45 pounds and was able to get a new kidney, and
the son lost about 50 pounds. There is a huge
hunger in this county to do the right thing, yet
people do not have the right information. I think
it has been a deliberate, intentional effort by the
food industry to disenfranchise us from our food,
which goes from a direct relationship to the food
we eat, to connecting to it like Sadhguru said, to
growing it, to eating real food, to knowing what
it is.

We are allowed to carry what we want, but not

beyond what is comfortable for us. The pain of
existing like that is such that most people who
are in this state have forgotten what it means to
be light, what it means to be agile, what it means
to be really alive. As I said earlier, it is not just
about the medical aspects, the number of people
who die, and various other things. The biggest
problem is the number of people who are alive
but cannot live a full life.
Mark Hyman: Thats right. It is not just about
preventing disease somewhere down the road.
People just do not connect the way they feel
with what they eat. The truth is that in a very
few days, by shifting the way you eat, you can
literally transform your health. We see this over
and over even in a week or ten days, people
have dramatic transformations.
To be continued

I think that is the revolution that has to happen.

And it is that seed that will be planted that can
shift a lot of the global problems we have. When
14 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

June 2015

PART 7

Mahabharat

MAHABHARAT
SERIES

Curses and Blessings

What happened so far: The Devas and Asuras have been engaged in endless fighting. Asuras who
were killed in the battle were being resurrected time and again by their priest Shukracharya,
who had the power of Sanjeevini. The Devas were at a loss. Finally, Kacha, the son of Brihaspati,
the priest of the Devas, went to Shukracharya and asked him to make him his disciple. The plan
was to get the power of Sanjeevini for the Devas. Shukracharya accepted Kacha as his disciple,
but the Asuras sought his life, and eventually killed him. Devyani, Shukracharyas daughter, who
had fallen in love with Kacha, pleaded to resurrect him. Shukracharya yielded to her request,
but the Asuras killed the boy again. Once more, Devyani implored her father to bring Kacha back
to life. The Asuras had maliciously mixed a bit of Kachas remains into Shukracharyas drink, and
he unwittingly ingested it. That meant since Kacha was now in Shukracharyas stomach, if he was
to be resurrected, Shukracharya would die. The only way that both of them could live was that
Shukracharya gave Kacha the power of Sanjeevini, which he did under the condition that after
Kacha used it on Shukracharya, he would leave. Shukracharya brought Kacha back to life and died
in the process. Then Kacha resurrected Shukracharya and was about to depart. Devyani begged
him not to leave, but Kacha refused to stay and went away.
among the social groups. That is why the two
girls kept their clothes and jewelry separately
when they went to bathe.
They were playing in the river. A big wind came.
The clothes were blown about and got mixed up.
When the two girls came out of the river, naturally
in a hurry to get dressed, Sharmishtha by mistake
put on parts of Devyanis clothes. Then, half in
jest but half establishing her superiority, Devyani
said, How come you are wearing the clothes of
your fathers gurus daughter? How does it feel?
And how is it appropriate?

Devyani and Sharmishtha

Devyani was close friends with Sharmishtha,
the daughter of the Asura king of that area,
Vrishaparva. A certain incident occurred that,
in a way, became the root of the Kuru Dynasty.
The two young girls went to the river to bathe.
Sharmishtha was an Asura princess, Devyani
was the daughter of Shukracharya, a priest.
That means she was from a Brahmin clan, which
in those days were considered as the highest
June 2015

Sharmishtha realized the mistake. But being a

princess, she flew into a rage and said, Your
father is a beggar. He bows down in front of my
father. You live from what my father doles out.
You better know your place. And she pushed her
into a pit. Devyani fell down. Sharmishtha left her
there and went away in a huff.
When Devyani came back home, she plunged
into her fathers lap and cried for revenge, saying,
You have to teach this princess a lesson. For
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 15

insulting his daughter, Shukracharya demanded

the princess should become a maid for his
girl. The king had no choice, because without
Shukracharya, who could bring the dead back to
life - he would be lost.
Throughout the story of Mahabharat, there are
curses and boons. But you do not know whether
a curse is a boon or a boon is a curse, because
life has its own way of mixing things up. A curse
becomes a boon a boon becomes a curse. So
Sharmishtha was cursed to be a maid to Devyani.
Then Devyanis marriage was arranged with
Yayati. She insisted that Sharmishtha should
follow her as her personal maid to her new home.
Devyani had already had her revenge on
Sharmishtha and should have left it there, but she
wanted to rub it in some more. So Sharmishtha
came with her as her maid after the marriage.
Yayati and Devyani lived together as husband
and wife, and they had a son whose name was
Yadu. The Yadavas come from this Yadukula.
Although Sharmishtha was Devyanis maid,
being a princess, she carried herself with a
certain dignity. She made herself even more
attractive than Devyani. Inevitably, Yayati fell
in love with her. A secret love affair happened,
and they had a child. That child was Puru, who
became one of the fathers of the Kuru dynasty.
There are interesting stories all along, but we
have to respect the relentless march of time.
Yadu, as Yayatis first son, should have naturally
become the king, but he did not because of
a certain misdemeanor. When Shukracharya
realized that Yayati had betrayed his daughter
and had a child with the maid, he cursed him:
May you lose your youth. So Yayati became an
old man. He could not come to terms with this.
When Yadu grew up and became a fine youth,
Yayati asked him, Give me your youth and let
me enjoy it for a few years. Then I will give it back
to you. Yadu said, Nothing doing. First you
cheated my mother. Now you want to cheat me
out of my youth. No. Then Yayati cursed Yadu:
May you never become the king.
16 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

Yayatis second son Puru, who was born to

Sharmishtha, voluntarily offered his youth to his
father, saying, Father, enjoy the youth. It doesnt
mean anything to me. Yayati became youthful
again and lived as a young man for a period of
time. When he felt he was done with it, he gave
back the youth to his son Puru and made him the
king.
From Puru a few generations down the line, there
was Vishwamitra, a king, who was also known
as Kaushika. Seeing the power the rishis and the
sages had, he somehow felt the power of the king
is too little in comparison. Therefore, he wanted
to become a sage, though he was born a king.
He went into the forest and started doing serious
austerities.
Seeing the intensity with which he was going
for it, Indra felt, if Vishwamitra achieved what
he was aspiring for, his own supremacy would
be in danger. He sent one of his honey-trap
agents, the Apsara Menaka. Menakas job was
to seduce Vishwamitra and distract him from
his austerities and sadhana. She was successful
and bore a girl child.
After some time, Vishwamitra realized that all
he had earlier earned through his sadhana, he
had lost because of this distraction. He became
furious and walked away, abandoning mother
and child. Being an Apsara, Menaka was just
a visitor in this world with a limited visa. She
wanted to go back. Since she could not leave the
girl with the father, because the father did not
want her, she left the girl on the banks of River
Malini and went away.
Some Shakun birds there noticed this little girl,
somehow took to her, and protected her from
other creatures. One day, Sage Kanva came that
way and saw this strange situation where a little
infant was being protected by birds. He picked
up the child, took her to the ashram, and brought
her up. Because she had been protected by the
Shakun birds, he called her Shakuntala. She grew
up into a fine young woman.
June 2015

One day, King Dushyanta went on a campaign.

On the way back from the battle, he wanted to
feed his soldiers. He went into the forest and
indiscriminately killed as many animals as he
could to feed the army. When he shot a very large
male stag, his arrow found its mark, but still the
stag ran away. Dushyanta followed it and found
it in the hands of Shakuntala. It was her pet stag,
and she was nursing it with great compassion.
When he saw this, he fell in love with her, stayed
back for some time, and with Kanvas permission,
he married her there.
Then Dushyanata had to go back. His whole
army was waiting at the edge of the forest. He
told Shakuntala that he would go and set things
right in his kingdom and come back afterwards.
As a mark of remembrance and as a mark of the
consummated marriage, he took off his official
ring and put it on Shakuntalas finger. Naturally,
it did not fit properly. He left, saying, Ill come
back for you. Shakuntala was constantly in
a dream state this forest girl had suddenly
become a queen, an empress!
One day, Sage Durvasa came to Kanvas ashram.
He was an angry man. He addressed Shakuntala,
but she did not respond her eyes were open,
but she could not see anything. He felt insulted
and said, Whoever is holding your attention right
now, may he forget you forever. She suddenly
came to her senses and cried, It cannot be! Why
did you do this?
People in the ashram explained to Durvasa that
Shakuntala got married to the king, and that she
was waiting for him to come back and take her
with him. She was daydreaming please pardon
her. By then, they had provided hospitality to
Durvasa, and he was a little cooler. He said,
Okay, let me correct it. Yes, he has forgotten
you, but the moment you show something that
reminds him of you, he will remember.
Shakuntala waited and waited, but Dushyanta
never came. She bore a child whom she called
Bharata. It is his name that the nation carries
today. This nation was named Bharat or
June 2015

Bharatvarsh after this emperor for his many,

many qualities. He was an ideal human being.
Bharata grew up in the forest. One day, Kanva
told Shakuntala, You should go and remind
King Dushyanta that you are his wife, and that
you have a son. It is not appropriate that a kings
son is growing up without being in touch with
his father. Shakuntala took the young boy and
set out for the palace. They had to cross a river.
She was still in a dream of love. When they were
crossing a river in a boat, she put her hand out,
just to feel the water, and the oversized ring
slipped into the river. She did not even realize it.
She was innocent of the ways of the kings and
palaces. In the kings court, when Dushyanta
asked, Who are you? she said, Well, dont you
remember? I am your wife Shakuntala. This is
your son. Dushyanta became furious. How
dare you! Who are you to even say such things?
She was ousted from the place. She did not
understand what happened. He loved me so
much! And now, he completely blanked out his
memory?
She went back, distressed. For the first time,
she had had a brush with society, and then
this happened. She went deeper into the forest
behind the ashram and lived with her son in
the wilderness. Bharata grew up with the wild
animals very brave, very strong, very much a
part of the earth upon which he lived.
One day, Dushyanta came hunting in this forest.
He saw a young boy playing with full-grown
lions, riding elephants. He looked at him and
asked, Who are you? Are you some kind of
superhuman being? Are you a god? Have you
come from elsewhere? The boy said, No, I am
Bharata, the son of Dushyanta. The king said,
I am Dushyanta. How come I dont know you?
Then Kanva came and explained the whole story.
Finally, Dushyanta remembered, and he took
Shakuntala and Bharata to the palace.
To be continued
ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 17

SADHGURU SPOT

From East to West

Excerpted from Sadhguru Spot of
29 April 2015 and 6 May 2015
These two weeks, we have been in too many
places to even attempt to describe. On the way to
Bhopal, took a three-hour stopover at Vijayawada
to inspect the four different land options that the
Andhra Pradesh government has offered for the
making of the Isha Leadership Academy and the
Law School that are in the pipeline. The Andhra
Pradesh minister of Human Resources and all
the concerned officials were most gracious and
forthcoming. The alacrity with which the Andhra
Pradesh administration functions is a lesson
and an inspiration for all administrations.

After a day of a few significant meetings in

Mumbai, here in USA. First two days in iii, where
the Adi Yogi temple is nearing completion. The
consecration on the September 23rd will be the
most important event in terms of mystical work
in the USA as of now.
In the last five days, been in four different
cities. Conversation evening at Rice University,
Houston, Texas, with David Eagleman of Baylor

The Madhya Pradesh administration has

also been an eye opener. The simplicity and
dedication of the Chief Minister and his team are
admirable. The humility of this political leader
is something that all leaders need to emulate.
Also made a brief sojourn to the banks of the
Narmada River. It is truly touching to see all the
local people revere Narmada as a living Mother
Goddess. Water, not being seen as a commodity,
but as divine fluid that makes our life.
As a prelude to the upcoming Kumbh Mela in
Ujjain, spoke at the inaugural event. CMs vision
is of turning the Kumbh into an event of sharing
and enhancing knowledge of both the temporal
and esoteric sort. The powerful situation of the
Kumbh Mela must be experienced by all. Isha
will be partnering with the Madhya Pradesh
administration to facilitate both South Indian
and overseas people to make it to the great event
that happens only once in 12 years.

18 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

College of Medicine was very well-attended.

David Eagleman has done some path-breaking
research in neuroscience. A brilliant and
delightful human being. Not dulled by doctorates;
retains childlike wonder and enthusiasm that is
not common. Having found a good lively match,
I forgot to delve into mysticism and just went
about with a light-hearted, gossipy banter that
an audience of 2,500 seemed to very much enjoy.
Then, in Palm Beach, an interesting golf game
with Doug Spooner, a descendent of the famous
June 2015

spoonerism proponent of England. I had intimate

exposure to spoonerisms during my childhood
through my granduncle who was sort of a
master of the English language. Also, a delightful
evening with Ethel Kennedy, wife of the late
Robert Kennedy. This gusty, effervescent lady, all
of 87 years of age, is an example of how age will
not take away ones liveliness if one is dedicated
to a cause. In Tampa after a five-year break, just
for a few hours for a public talk on an afternoon
of rising temperatures.
Here I am in a tiny Piper Malibu, a grasshopper
of a plane, buzzing through a clear sky towards
the West Coast on an 11-hour marathon flight.
This tiny, fragile looking machine seems
determined to show its mettle in flying coast to
coast, undeterred by 50-knot headwind and all.
So much for human fragility; human ingenuity
allows us to slip through the very laws of nature
that are supposed to limit us. Onto the West
Coast, in aviation lingo, West is Best.

Nepal has taken an intimate place in our heart

in the last 12 years. It is truly heartbreaking,
this present calamity. The quake has left this
blessed nation of gentle people in tatters and
grief. Hope the people of Nepal, being known
for their courage and resilience, will recover and
prosper. Bhaktapur, a unique heritage city of
eleven hundred year antiquity and a true labor of
love and devotion, lies in ruin. Hope international
agencies will take up the restoration of this
marvelous manifestation of Nepali aesthetic and
ingenuity. It is wonderful to see that the Prime
Minister has responded to the Nepali need with
June 2015

alacrity, and so has the Chinese establishment.

My deepest condolences and blessings for Nepal
and its people.
Overlooking Central Park, at the very core of the
Big Apple, reverberating with the hum of New
York City. An honest young police officers life
came to an end with a bullet in the face. Grief
and grime of death for the bereaved family and
a few others, but the city hums on. Checkered
Manhattan the merciless Market place, flashy
Time Square, talent-bedecked Broadway, the
subway and the subculture, streets and sewers
all in full flow. A city that survived the tragedy of
9/11, will it stop for a lone cop shot in the face.
A city or a country is not the face of humanity.
In the last four days, have been in three great
cities. From Los Angeles to Chicago to New York,
each with distinct characteristics of their own.
Each a creature of its own kind. How cities grow
as animals of gargantuan proportions, each with
their own style and stink. The consequence of

collective karma. In the week to come, I will be

sensing the strength of Boston and the power
of Washington, DC. Was in the troubled city of
Baltimore yesterday. Cities are creatures that we
create, and we must put a humane face to them.

Love & Grace,

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 19

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
AND EVENTS

Date

Program

Place

Contact

2 June 2015

Yantra Ceremony with

Sadhguru

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94425 04720
yantra@ishafoundation.org

57 Jun
2015

Ayur Rasayana

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

04222515464 / 94890 45084

isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

811 Jun
2015

Shoonya Intensive

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

83000 93555 / 0422-2515300

iycprograms@ishayoga.org

1014 Jun
2015

Ayur Rasayana
Intensive

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

0422-2515464 / 94890 45084

isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

1114 Jun
2015

Inner Engineering
Retreat

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94890 45164 / 0422-2515300

ieretreat@ishafoundation.org

1215 Jun
2015

Bhava Spandana
(Ladies)

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

83000 93555 / 0422-2515300

iycprograms@ishayoga.org

1316 Jun
2015

Yogasanas

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

83000 93555 / 0422-2515300

iycprograms@ishayoga.org

1314 Jun
2015

Ayur Sanjeevini

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

0422-2515464 / 94890 45084

isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

1519 Jun
2015

Sunetra Eye Program

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

0422-2515464 / 94890 45084

isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

22 Jun
12 Jul 2015

Yoga Marga

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

04222515464 / 94890 45084

isharejuvenation@ishafoundation.org

2528 Jun
2015

Inner Engineering
Retreat

Isha Yoga Center,

Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore India

94890 45164 / 0422-2515300

ieretreat@ishafoundation.org

Current at the time of print, however subject to change. For full program schedules and updates,
please visit our website: www.ishafoundation.org.

20 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

June 2015

ISHA RECIPES

RAGI HALWA
INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups Ragi Flour
3 cups Water
1.5 cups Jaggery or Coconut Sugar or Sugar* (powdered)
4 Cardamoms (powdered seeds only)
1/2 cup Coconut Oil or Ghee*
1/2 cup Cashews
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil or Ghee* (to saut the cashews)
METHOD
1. Saut the cashews in 1 tbsp. coconut oil or ghee. Keep aside.
2. Mix ragi flour and water into a paste.
3. Heat the mixture in a thick bottomed vessel on medium heat, stirring constantly.
4. After 3 minutes, mix in the powdered sugar and cardamom powder.
5. Start adding the coconut oil (or ghee), 2 tablespoons at a time. Keep mixing until all the oil
(or ghee) is used.
6. Lower the heat and keep stirring for another 34 minutes. The mixture will start
coming together from a pasty consistency to a ball. Add the sauted cashews.
7. Cook for another 23 minutes, mixing constantly. As the mixture cooks, the oil will start to
separate from the ragi ball. Drain the excess oil and transfer the halwa to a glass bowl. Serve warm.
*Tip: Jaggery and coconut sugar go well with coconut oil; sugar goes well with ghee.
Did you know?
Coconut oil is the most stable oil for cooking and frying. The polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids
found in other vegetable oils like canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, and soy oil are susceptible to
heat damage, which may result in toxins when used for cooking and frying.
Many believe the saturated fat in coconut oil is bad for the heart. However, it is actually the
artificially hydrogenated trans-fats found in processed food, fast food, and bakery items that are
ultimately responsible for a large number of fatal heart attacks.
Compared to other vegetable oils, the medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil makes it
easier to digest and convert into energy rather than storing it as fat.
The best quality is pure, organic, unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin coconut oil.
June 2015

ISHA FOREST FLOWER | 21

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June 2015

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24 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER

Though many faces of the moon

Have beauty and significance of their own
It is the full moon that quenches the thirst and raises the oceans.
Look for the revelation of the Mystic face.