Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A New Year, a new beginning not just on the calendar, but more importantly, in terms of
how the solar system impacts us in this month. In our Lead Article A Fresh Start in Life,
Sadhguru points out how this seasonal turning point has been celebrated in ancient cultures
across the globe, and what its significance is from a spiritual perspective. In keeping with this
Just before this issue of Isha Forest Flower went to press, the United Nations General Assembly
approved by consensus a resolution establishing 21 June as International Day of Yoga. In his
inaugural address to the world body in September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
proposed a day to commemorate the ancient practice, saying yoga lets people discover the
sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. Here is Sadhgurus message on
this momentous occasion: Yoga is the exploration of the very mechanics of life. It predates all
religion and opened the possibility of raising a human being beyond limitations set by nature, if
willing to strive. Making the science of Yoga available in the purest form is the responsibility of
this generation. This science of inner development, wellbeing and liberation is the greatest gift
for future generations. Congratulations to the Prime Minister for having initiated the process for
declaring June 21 International Yoga Day.
In our Isha Hatha Yoga series, we explore the background and deeper significance of
Surya Kriya, a practice that is quite unique to the classical hatha yoga as taught in Isha. Also
Published from 117/50, Luz Church Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004
in this issue: Sadhgurus view on pain medication and maintaining Awareness in Death. In
To receive free downloadable PDF versions of Isha Forest Flower along with your print subscription,
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Editorial Team:
Isha Forest Flower c/o Isha Yoga Center, Semmedu P.O., Velliangiri Foothills, Coimbatore 641114
forestflower@ishafoundation.org
Lead Article
Sharing Experiences
myShare Innovation for a Social Cause 18
Upcoming Programs and Events
Yaksha 2015 17
Mahashivarathri 2015 19
Isha Yoga Program Highlights 20
Isha Recipe
Zen Speaks
1 circumambulation
Sadhguru: When someone is in extreme pain, not If someone is in the unfortunate situation where it is
taking medicine could be very cruel, and anyway, pain versus awareness, I would say bring down the
maintaining awareness while being in such pain pain first, because awareness is not something that
may also become difficult. But Im sure theres an you do. Awareness can happen in many different
in-between way where pain can be considerably ways because awareness is life. It has its own way of
reduced without the person being knocked out. finding itself. It is not necessary to try to be aware.
Above all, even if someone is unresponsive to the If one has at least to some extent lived a conscious
outside world, they may be still very much conscious life, if one has been initiated, if one has been infused
within themselves. The medicine may be numbing with another dimension of energy, one could
the body, and the numbness of the body may not naturally become aware at the moment of death.
allow the person to respond to the external situations, Awareness is not an act that we perform it is a
but it may actually create an ideal situation within state, a dimension of our existence. Therefore, it is
oneself to be conscious. Depending on the doses of not necessary to be concerned if someone has been
narcotics and other drugs, beyond a certain point, of numbed so that they do not go through excruciating
course the person becomes completely unconscious. pain. They may be unresponsive, but that does not
mean they are incapable of being aware.
I think most doctors would calibrate it to numb
the system only to the extent that the pain is taken
away. There are also other ways that some doctors
Sadhguru: My shortcoming is I am not tall enough. Anupam Kher: Do you feel lonely?
Anupam Kher: You are a person who I am sure Sadhguru: Lonely? I have never been lonely because
self-evaluates very well, who knows himself. For the Creator has never left me or anyone alone for a
example, I know I am restless. I think that is a moment. It is only because the source of creation is
shortcoming. What is your shortcoming? throbbing within you that you are alive, whether
you are conscious of it or not.
Sadhguru: It is very difficult to explain this because
as a person, everyone has pluses and minuses. This Anupam Kher: Who is that Creator?
may sound very strange I am not really a person.
Thats my problem. In any given moment, I will Sadhguru: What do you mean by who? There
make myself as it is necessary for that situation. is creation. Did you create it? No. So something
Sometimes, if one thing is not successful, I will adjust obviously created it. The thing is, being human,
it a little. But if I sit by myself, I dont have a single you want to picture the source of creation in human
thought in my mind. Sometimes, I shut my doors form. Who it is, is not the point. Within you, it is
for four, five days I dont look out of the window; in the human form. In a dog, it is in the dog form.
I dont read, I dont do anything and I dont have In an ant, it is in the ant form. In a tree, it is in the
a single thought. I dont have a personality as such. tree form. But the source of creation is throbbing
in everything. Because people are unconscious that
From moment to moment, I make myself up such a huge thing is happening within them, there
depending on how I should be right now. How
is a possibility of them feeling lonely. If you feel
people around me are, accordingly I am. In certain
lonely, obviously you are in bad company.
situations, I may not have been as successful as I
could have been had I grasped the situation at that Anupam Kher: If you had to describe yourself
moment as I should have. But as such, I do not in one word, what would it be? I usually do this
have pluses or minuses, because there is no me I exercise with my actor students, but in fact, it is
only make it up. As an actor, you also make up a for all of you please think if you had to describe
character. But I dont act I really make it up, and yourself in one word, what would it be, would it
so does everyone else but they believe its true. I be the same after five or ten years, and what was
know its not true. There are no pluses and minuses that word five years ago. So if Sadhguru has to
to me when I dont exist as a person. describe himself in one word, other than mystic,
what would that word be?
Anupam Kher: When was the last time you
cried? Not out of ecstasy but out of compassion
Sadhguru: Would you consider wild-life as two
for someone.
words or one word? [Laughter]
Sadhguru: Every day, I would say. If I step on an ant,
Anupam Kher: For you, its one word.
tears may come to my eyes. When I look at these
village kids that we just saw in the video, naturally, Sadhguru: So, life uncultured, uncultivated,
tears come to my eyes. When the photographers wild and as it is thats me. Just life nothing else.
come, I suck the tears back. I made everything that
happens within me a 100% conscious process. If I
want, I can cry right now. If I want, I can laugh right
now. If I want, I can sit still without doing anything.
In the second part of our new Mahabharat series, Sadhguru continues to explore the
deep connection between the human system, the planets, and the solar system in the
context of time, in order to establish the necessary context before delving into the
epic world of Mahabharat.
Cycles in the Sky and in the Human Body body, the cycles are less obvious and pronounced
they happen in a different way and are of a larger
In the yogic astronomy, we divide the orbit of span of time. In any case, these cycles are happening
the Earth around the Sun into 27 segments, called all the time in the solar system and the larger
nakshatras. Each nakshatra is further divided into universe. The microcosm and the macrocosm both
four equal sectors called padas or steps. Multiply 4 are playing the same game. But who should play
by 27 and it equals 108. These 108 units mark the whose game? If you think the macrocosm is going
108 steps that the Earth takes through space. Each
to play your game, you will waste your life. If you
nakshatra corresponds to one half of the lunar orbit
play the macrocosms game, your life will be beyond
around the Earth. The cycles within the human
your expectations.
body respond and correspond to that.
Part 13:
Surya Kriya
Activate the Sun within You
Questioner: Can you please tell us more about
Surya Kriya?
What I refer to as intimacy is not physical contact Whatever kind of karma we do, there are benefits
but an enormous sense of involvement. Only if or problems attached to it. In an existential way,
people are willing to spend that kind of time and both benefits and problems are entangling in nature.
offer that kind of involvement, we can teach Surya Karma is a process of bondage. Kriya is a process of
Kriya. Otherwise, we will do Surya Namaskar. Surya liberation.
Namaskar is a way of saluting the sun, of bringing
balance between ida and pingala, and also activating The Significance of the Number Pattern
samat prana, which is the manifestation of the suns
Questioner: What is the significance of the numbers
energy in the body.
three, five, and seven for the practice of Surya Kriya?
Surya Kriya has more spiritual intentions, more
Sadhguru: Five is the basic number. In this tradition,
powerful connotations, which need to be taught
five is considered as Shivas number, which means it
carefully and learnt with a certain level of
is the yogic number. Another aspect is, if you take
involvement. It is very important that it is practiced
a drum and beat five, three, or seven beats, you will
with care because anything that is powerful has
see the difference in terms of impact on your system.
to be handled properly otherwise, it will not be Five is considered the basic number for the human
safe to handle it. That is why we teach Surya Kriya structure because in terms of building the human
only to people who are willing to pay the necessary body, the five fundamental chakras have the most
attention and offer the needed involvement, significant role to play.
dedication, and time. Otherwise, Surya Namaskar is
a watered-down but safer way of doing things. Three, five, seven is because you are an odd ball.
You are an odd ball because planet Earth is an odd
Though we do seemingly similar physical actions, ball it is No. 3 in the scheme of planets. And
Surya Namaskar and Surya Kriya are very different. No. 5 is a planet which has a serious impact on
A Namaskar is an act of salutation. If you do any act, planet Earth, which holds it in its orbit and radiates
either with your body, mind, emotion, or energy, much energy towards it Jupiter, or Guru in the
we call it karma. Therefore, we could have called Indian tradition.
Surya Namaskar Surya Karma, but we call it
Namaskar to suggest the specific act that we do, Why this is so is, as you know, yoga is about
which is salutation. Kriya refers to an inward action, aligning your system to the cosmic geometry. The
for which you do not employ your body, your first and the most intimate piece of cosmos for us
mind, your emotion, or energy. Initially, the way is the solar system. In the solar system, we are
you practice Surya Kriya may not yet be an inward on an odd ball that is planet No. 3. On one side,
action, but you establish the necessary fundamentals we are pulled by the Sun. And the fifth planet,
for an inward action. Jupiter, which is more than 300 times larger in
Upon successful completion of the training, participants will be able to teach in a variety of settings
including their own studio, workshops, and private Hatha Yoga lessons.
For details,
visit www.ishahathayoga.com, call +91-83000 97444,
or write to info@ishahathayoga.com.
January 2015 ISHA FOREST FLOWER 15
Leadership Program with
Sadhguru, Ratan Tata, and Other
2014 Top Business Leaders
From 2730 November 2014, Ishas third INSIGHT G.V. Prasad
leadership program brought together over 200
Mr. Prasad spoke about his journey of scaling up
business leaders and entrepreneurs at the Isha Yoga
Dr. Reddys Laboratories. In the first few years of
Center, and more than 20 resource leaders. Along
the company, the focus was on making it profitable
with Sadhguru and Dr. Ram Charan, the favorite
and viable. The next phase was moving from being
business coach of several Fortune 500 CEOs, Mr.
viable to growth. Their next focus was on improving
Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons; G.V.
capabilities of management, he related. Mr. Prasad
Prasad, CEO and Co-Chairman of Dr. Reddys
also spoke about leveraging Indias history and
Laboratories, and other top business leaders shared
heritage to go from being problem-solvers to
their experiences and offered their perspectives to
people who can imagine. He elaborated on letting
participants on leadership, entrepreneurship, and
talented people blossom. When you have smart
running large corporates.
people, you cannot tell them what to do. I listen
Ratan Tata to them and it works for me. His advice to the
budding leaders was, Every organization will
Mr. Tata, who spoke on 28 November, looked reach its potential only if the leader at the top sees
at the importance of inclusive economics and that potential. An organization will be limited by
sustainability, and spoke about how to create an the leaders abilities, so it is a leaders responsibility
ambience of innovation within companies. He also to constantly reinvent himself.
touched upon CSR and a business cooperations
responsibility to society and nation. His Resource Leaders
entrepreneurial advice was, For an entrepreneur,
Besides Mr. Tata and Mr. Prasad, Ravi Venkatesan,
there has to be an inner driving force that cannot
former Chairman of Microsoft India, facilitated
come from a textbook. See what you want to do
the entire program, bringing in his several decades
and have the courage to pursue that.
worth of business experience. Mr. Venkatesan was
Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar (Dhrupad Vocal) Ganesh & Kumaresh (Carnatic Violin Duo)
14 February 15 February
Discourse by Sadhguru
Questions & Answers with the Master
Musical Performances:
z Parthiv Gohil & band z Jasbir Jassi
z Zila Khan & troupe
Yaksha
Isha Yoga Center, 83000 83000
1016 Feb 2015 In the Presence of
Coimbatore India info@yaksha.info
Sadhguru
83000 83000
Mahashivarathri Isha Yoga Center,
17 Feb 2015 mahashivararathri@
With Sadhguru Coimbatore India
ishafoundation.org
These programs are conducted in English, unless indicated otherwise. Current at the time of print, however subject
to change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our website: www.ishafoundation.org.
Retreat
Celebrating The Vibrance of Indian Culture
z Classical music and dance z Diverse Indian cuisine
z Traditional handicrafts and weaves z Powerful yoga programs
z Five In Conversation with the Mystic sessions
z Mahashivarathri A night of grandeur with explosive meditations and spectacular musical performances
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Published from 117/50, Luz Church Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004
in this issue: Sadhgurus view on pain medication and maintaining Awareness in Death. In
Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No. TNENG/2013/53333
To be ahead of the Sun in coming
Awake. To be alive enough to
Welcome the Moon and the Starz.
To imbibe the fragrance of the
Flower ahead of the bees and the Birds.
To know the coolness of the
Mist before it touches the Leaf or a
Blade of grass. To be able to catch a
Snowflake in its journey of descent.
Registered with Patrika Channel Egmore RMS under Registration No. TN/CH(C)/492/14 16. Published on 2nd of every month January 2015
The Timeless Ones relevance is not framed.