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Dear Readers,
After examining the basis of the human system, the Muladhara, in last months
Lead Article, in this issue, we move on to Swadhishthana The Abode of
the Self. Sadhguru describes the many ways in which one can work with the
Swadhishthana, and the abundant fruits it can bear. The Swadhishthana is the
seat of sexuality at the same time, it holds the possibility to go beyond the
sex drive.
How to deal with those who express their sexual urge in the lowest way through
brutal rape? This is just one of the questions that were thrown at Sadhguru
at NDTVs Off The Cuff talk show with Shekhar Gupta. In excerpts from this
session, our In Conversation with the Mystic article From Capital Crime to the
Divine includes Sadhgurus views on hot topics of public discourse, like capital
punishment and the legal status of homosexuality in India, as well as questions
about God and experiencing energy.
Also in this issue: Perhaps one of the most cited, most decisive, and most
outrageous events in the whole of Mahabharat The Game of Dice & Draupadis
Humiliation, in Sadhgurus words; How to Deal with Destructive Criticism?
an excerpt from Sadhguru Spot; overviews of recent events, including In the
Lap of the Master and Guru Purnima; the launch of the Rally for Rivers
campaign; and a classical South Indian dish with an interesting twist: Sago
Uppuma. Enjoy!
Swadhishthana The Abode of the Self 09 The Game of Dice & Draupadis Humiliation 13
LEAD ARTICLE
Swadhishthana The Abode of the Self 9
MAHABHARAT
Part 33: The Game of Dice & Draupadis Humiliation 13
SADHGURU SPOT
How to Deal with Destructive Criticism? 18
Excerpted from Sadhguru Spot
ISHA RECIPES
Sago Uppuma 21
ZEN SPEAKS
Sound of the Hollow 23
Sadhguru recently was on NDTVs talk show Off The Cuff, in which journalist Shekar Gupta interviews
prominent personalities. Here is an excerpt from the Q&A segment, where members of the audience
got the opportunity to pose their questions to Sadhguru, ranging from current social topics to timeless
spiritual matters.
Sadhguru: Once someone has become an elected Whether you are aware, awake,
leader in a democratic society, then what he thinks or asleep you are performing four
and believes within himself should be irrelevant to dimensions of karma.
you. You must pay attention to what he is doing
every day. If political leaders are doing the right
thing for the nation, we must support them. If
they are doing the wrong thing for the nation, we This is something we have always said in the
must criticize that. There are different instruments yogic sciences anda1 and pinda2 are the same.
in a democracy through which we can stop such In terms of fundamental design, the minutest
things, although maybe not immediately. This is minuscule of creation and the ultimate creation
what we should do as responsible citizens. are the same it is only the complexity and
sophistication that differs. If you know this, people
You should not have a pet politician of your own. think you know everything that is their problem.
Is the politician that you have elected working for I dont know everything. I know this piece of life
the nation, or is he working for himself? This is the entirely. Fortunately, because you are also a piece
first thing you have to see. The second thing is, of life that is made like me, if I talk about myself,
does he have the breadth of mind, intelligence, and you think Im talking about you. If I talk about
competence to create what the nation needs? And myself, you think Im talking about the cosmos. If
does he understand the heartbeat of this nation? If I talk about myself, some people think Im talking
these things are present in a politician or a leader, about God. These are all their interpretations. Im
its our business to support him. If this is not there, only talking about myself, because thats the only
its our business to replace him. thing I know.
We have made too many childish conclusions. Its Sadhguru: Its not about prayer. There never was
time to grow up. We must understand this. One prayer in this land. There was ritual and process
thing is for sure we did not create this existence,
to access deities. Even today, at least in the South,
and its too fantastic. With all our intelligence, we
deities are referred to as yantras. Yantra means
are still not able to understand a leaf or a single
machine. We came up with subjective machines
atom in its entirety. We know how to use things, that we called yantras, which are energy forms
but we dont know them entirely. If you do not even
that dont necessarily have a physical form. There
know the nature of your own existence, how will is a human aspiration to constantly expand our
you know the nature of the source of creation? capabilities. In this effort, we created devas and
devis that excelled beyond our present capabilities,
You have not figured the nature of who you are, and processes to access these deities. This is not
but you think you know everything about god? for you to pray, Dear god, save me, protect me.
You know his birthday. You know his wifes name. Essentially, the only prayer in this country used to
You know his childrens names. In this country, be, Dear god, destroy me the way I am so that I
all the beings that you worship walked this can become like you. The aspiration is not to go to
geography at one time. But because they lived in God. The aspiration is to become god.
such extraordinary ways, we saw them as exalted
The seven chakras or dimensions of the human swadhishthana becomes a strong abode of
system are not separate entities. Only for the sake regeneration and pleasure. If one has used it to
of study, because of the magnitude of perception drunkenness, then the swadhishthana becomes
and understanding required, these aspects were an abode of a sense of bodilessness not in terms
looked at separately. These seven dimensions are of becoming like thin air, but as an experience of
one interlocked and integrated into the other you a little distance to the body. If you take an orange,
cannot really separate them. In swadhishthana, there is sweetness in the fruit that is not there in
there is muladhara. In manipuraka, there is the peel; they are one inside the other, but there is
swadhishthana, and muladhara. In anahata, all the a little distance. Likewise, when there is sweetness
three are there. Like this, in everything, everything of the self, the body will sit a little loosely on it. This
else is there. But there are certain qualities that are will give some freedom from physical drives that
dominant in a particular dimension. human beings tend to have.
1 2
A traditional form of martial arts from South India Flowering tree that emanates a strong, sweet smell
What has happened so far: The Pandavas successfully conducted a Rajasuya Yagna in their prospering
kingdom of Indraprastha, and Yudhishthira, as the eldest of the five brothers, became the Emperor.
Humiliated by the events and envious of his cousins success, Duryodhana thirsted for revenge.
Shakuni said, What you cannot do with the sword, Pandavas. Yudhishthira was such a good man that
you could do with guile. You are a foolish Kshatriya, he said, Our cousins have invited us. They just
always thinking about the sword, always thinking came to us as our guests. Now it is our dharma
about poison, always thinking about killing. There to go to them and be their guests. Bhima said,
are other ways to do things. And he pulled out his We would be utterly stupid to go back to that
dice, saying, These are my fathers bones. They place and play a game of dice with them. They got
will roll as I want. Ask me for any number I will something up their sleeves. They will once again
get it for you. The dharma of those days was if try to eliminate us in some way. Yudhishthira said,
you invited a Kshatriya for a duel or a game of dice, No, it is our dharma. When they call me for a game
he could not say, No. He had to come. Shakuni of dice, as a king, I cannot say No. And he liked
said, Yudhishthira has a weakness for playing to play, even though he did not know how to play.
dice, and he has absolutely no clue how to play.
Let us invite him for a game of dice. I will play for In full regal glory, the five brothers, their queen, and
you. With this game of dice, we will get their wealth, their whole entourage were set to journey back
their kingdom, everything out of them. Just bring to Hastinapur. Duryodhana wanted to build an
them here. I will take care of the rest. assembly hall for the game of dice that was equally
good as the one the Pandavas had. He hired a
Duryodhana suddenly livened up he showered, local architect, and, in an effort to impress, made
changed his clothes, ate, and full of vigor, went the hall horribly garish. Even his own brothers,
to his father and said, Father, we must invite who otherwise had no taste either, did not like the
the Pandavas for a game of dice. The moment hall. And the Pandavas made the mistake of not
Bhishma heard this dastardly plan, he stepped in informing Krishna, who had gone back to Dwaraka.
and said, No way. For the first time, Duryodhana They went there by themselves, thinking that after
revolted openly against Bhishma and said, You all, they were just visiting their cousins.
are an old man. You dont understand the politics
of the day. Leave it to me. Until then, no one had The Pandavas arrived at the hall. The full assembly
ever spoken deprecatingly to Bhishma. But now of the court was present to watch the game of
he got pushed aside by this young man. Everyone dice. Yudhishthira sat down, ready to play. Then
present was aghast, but no one had the courage Duryodhana came, but he sat down away from
to say anything, because Duryodhana was the king the dice board. People looked a little surprised,
now. and Duryodhana announced, Shakuni, my uncle,
will play for me. A murmur went through the
Dhritarashtra said he did not like the idea, but he assembly. Everyone knew Shakuni was an uncanny
actually liked it. They sent the invitation to the dicer. Playing dice was all he was doing, all the
13 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
August 2017
time. And everyone knew these dice he had were Then Karna suggested, You can wager your wife,
occult-charged. People whispered, This is not fair. your queen. Draupadi was not present in the court.
Yudhishthira will lose. It was her time of the month, so she was in the
private quarters. They tempted Yudhishthira. This
Yudhishthira said to Duryodhana, I thought I was is your chance. You can win back your brothers,
playing with you. Duryodhana replied, Brother, why your kingdom, and everything. Your queen versus
are you afraid? My uncle is playing for me. What is all that if you win, you take everything. You will
the problem? We are of the same blood. Have you win, of course. This is your lucky time. Yudhishthira
lost your courage? Yudhishthira said, No, its okay. wagered his wife, and lost her. Immediately,
We will play. They asked him, What is your wager? Duryodhana roared in delight. He said, Draupadi is
Yudhishthira bet his elephants, his horses all our slave. Bring her here. They sent a messenger.
kinds of things. Every time Shakuni rolled the dice, A male messenger was generally not allowed into
he got what he wanted and Yudhishthira lost. the queens chambers, particularly at this time of
the month. When the messenger was turned back,
Dhritarashtra, the blind king, had his assistant Duryodhana told his brother Dushasana, Who is
Sanjaya by his side to provide him commentary of she to say whether she can come or not? Go get
the game. Every time Dhritarashtra heard the dice her.
roll, he eagerly asked, Who won? Who won? Every
time, Shakuni won. Yudhishthira lost the whole Dushasana went, broke open the doors, entered
treasury. He lost his army. He lost his personal the chambers, and said, Come! When Draupadi
jewels. Then his brothers had to give the ornaments replied, How dare you walk into my chambers!,
they were wearing, and he lost them. These he took her by the hair and dragged her away. Her
ornaments had not only monetary value but were clothes were stained with blood. She said, I am in
objects of prestige. Losing them was almost like a single garment and I am in this condition. How
losing their status. can you touch me and drag me like this? He said,
It doesnt matter. You are our slave, and he just
Then Yudhishthira put the kingdom at stake and pulled her by the hair through the corridors of the
lost it. People were looking on in dismay. Bhishma palace and brought her into the court. A few people
stood up and said, Stop the game. Duryodhana stood up and said, This is not dharma. Never
shouted him down, Its not for you to stop the before in the court of a king has a woman been
game. We are playing this game as per the dharma treated like this. But Duryodhana said, This is the
of the Kshatriyas. If Yudhishthira is afraid of playing law. She is a slave. I can treat her whichever way I
the game, he may leave. No one else can stop the want.
game. Yudhishthira was not afraid of anything. He
knew how to walk into any trap in the world. He lost Enraged, Draupadi sat up and pleaded with
the kingdom. Then Shakuni taunted, Ill give you Bhishma to interfere, but he put his head down.
one more chance. If you wager your brother Bhima, Then she asked, Did Yudhishthira wager me first
you can win back your kingdom and everything or himself first? They said, Yudhishthira wagered
else. himself first. Then she said, If he had already lost
himself and he was already a slave, he had no right
First he put Nakula at stake, and lost him. Then he to put me at stake. People asked Bhishma, the
lost Sahadeva. Then he lost Arjuna. Finally, he lost ultimate judge about questions of dharma, Since
Bhima too. Then Shakuni said, This is your chance Yudhishthira had already lost himself, could he
now, Yudhishthira. Put yourself at stake, and you jeopardize his wife? The expert in law that he was,
can win back everything. Yudhishthira rolled the Bhishma gravely said, According to the dharma,
dice and lost himself. The Kauravas roared with even a slave has the right over his wife. So even as
joy. The Pandavas are our slaves now! They have a slave, he had the right to wager her.
to take instructions from us. Take off your upper
garments! This was a symbolism of slavery a The law that was meant to be for the wellbeing
slave was not allowed to wear an upper garment. of human beings became technical to a point
The Pandava brothers took off their upper garments where in establishing legality, humanity was lost.
and stood in shame. Just fifteen minutes ago, they What happened there was the cruelest scene. And
had been kings. Now they stood there partially as if that was not enough, they started taunting
disrobed, as slaves, not knowing what to do next. Draupadi. According to ancient law, if a king or a
Kshatriya had no children, with his permission, his
14 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
August 2017
wife could bear children from up to three other men. Duryodhana, Karna, Dushasana, and their whole
But if she went to a fifth man, she was considered clan got very angry. Duryodhana left the sabha.
a whore. Karna tried to shame Draupadi by saying, The Pandavas got back their kingdom, their
She is living with five men. She is not a wife she freedom, their wealth, and everything else, but the
is a whore. We can do whatever we want with her. burden of shame remained. With hanging heads,
And he told Draupadi, Why only five now you they started to walk towards Indraprastha.
have a hundred!
Shakuni, Karna, and Duryodhana quickly took
Then Duryodhana said, Come, Panchali, sit on my Dhritarashtra aside and said, This is not right.
lap. Enraged, Bhima said, Today, you pointed at Because of your intervention, what was a fair game
your thigh and asked Panchali to sit there. One resulted in an unfair outcome. We have to invite
day, I will smash your thigh and kill you! Their them for just one more game. The conditions will
opponents said, We will talk about killing later. be these: If they win, we will go to the forest. They
Right now, disrobe the woman. Dushasana went to can have the whole empire. If they lose, they must
pull her single garment. The situation turned from go to the forest for twelve years and live incognito
civilized to brutal. The present gentlemen turned for one more year. After thirteen years, anyway,
into beasts. Draupadi was helpless and enraged. they can have their kingdom back. But there must
As Krishna had promised Draupadi, he protected be some kind of price for the game we played.
her and ensured in his own way that she did not get
disrobed. When they saw the miracle happen, that Once again, Dhritarashtra got swayed by his son,
even though their intentions were to go all the way, and he sent out messengers to call the Pandavas
they could not, fear seized Dhritarashtras heart. back. The other four brothers initially refused to go
back, but Yudhishthira said, This is the dharma.
For the first time during this whole event, They are calling us back. We have to go, and he
Dhritarashtra rose to speak, and he said, The went back. Obviously he had lost the game, and
game is over. Everyone gets back what they had they gave up their royal clothes, wore simple
before the game. Yudhishthira is still the king garments, and left for the forest.
of Indraprastha. Let them go back in honor.
To be continued
Once you are active in the world, people will Even high-ranking law enforcement officers have
throw all kinds of things at you. What life throws told me, Sadhguru, to all great beings, this has
at you is determined by so many forces, but what happened. You know what Rama and Krishna
you make out of it is one hundred percent up to went through. You will anyway go beyond that.
you. Human beings have risen above the most I said, I didnt talk to the law enforcement to tell
impossible situations. Think of someone like me about what Rama, Krishna, or Jesus went
Nelson Mandela. What he had been put through through. Do you want that to be the precedent?
would have broken most people. From that, he Unfortunately, well-intentioned people are
came out as a gentle power, a kind of power that wrapped up in their philosophies. Ill-intentioned
arises from not being identified with anything. people are action-oriented. This is what we need
to change in the country well-intentioned
How to deal with critics and negative forces? It people must become action-oriented. Ill-
takes Asatoma Sadgamaya to constantly move intentioned people, we must wrap them up in
towards truth, towards what works. There will their own negativity.
always be some who will try to throw a spanner
in the works. Over the last twenty-seven years, If we want the nation to move forward, all of
some vicious defamation campaigns have us must do what works. There is too much
been run against us. Though certain forces activism, too little activity in this country. As a
were determined to undermine our efforts, we hangover from the pre-independence era, we are
have made Isha into a major movement, on all still honoring people who stop the nation from
levels. Negative forces have to be dealt with in functioning. Rasta roko, rail roko, hartal, bandh
an appropriate manner. There is no point being may have been an appropriate means during the
philosophical about it. But unfortunately, too freedom struggle against our occupiers. But what
much philosophy has percolated into peoples sense does it make to lock down our own nation
minds, not enough sense. today? Bringing a nation to a halt is one kind
18 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
August 2017
of talent. Making a nation happen is a different not attach value to anyones opinion. To get to
kind of talent. If at any time, someone organized this place takes a certain amount of inner work.
disruption in this country, there should be no Most people are a product of other peoples
chance for them to become a leader. These are opinions. If people keep telling you how good
elements who invest in other peoples problems. and wonderful you are, you will be floating on
This must go. There is work to be done in the cloud nine. If people tell you otherwise, you will
country. crash cloud-burst.
Every time you have someone in front of you, This is not the time to enjoy successes or suffer
you must see how to positively impact them. If failures. This is the time to put everything we
you can make them smile a little more, you made have into creating the best possible results.
a positive impact. This is the least you can do. Thats all human life is about to strive for
Whether you know the person or not, whether it what truly matters. What happens or doesnt
is a stranger or someone from an enemy country, happen is subject to various factors. But if you
can you genuinely smile at them? Im not talking do not strive for what you truly care for, it is a
about forcing a smile. If you keep smiling every wasted life. Before the drama starts, it is already
day without joy in your heart, it will kill you. If a tragedy. So many issues arise just because
there is joy in your heart, you will naturally have people are not doing what they care for. If you
a smile on your face. If you think what you are are striving to create what you really care for,
doing is important, the first thing is to work neither praise nor criticism will matter. If you can
upon yourself. Why dont you take stock of your deal with situations without being affected by
life every month? Have you been a little better them, if the situations dont decide who you are
human being this month than you were last but you decide how the situations should be
month? Have you become a little more joyful? thats what I call success. Thats what I think you
should strive for in life.
Criticism will anyway come. If you listen to
praise, if you enjoy accolades, inevitably you will Love & Grace,
suffer criticism. If you want to have deep insights
into life, no ones opinion about you should mean
anything to you. About work and activity, you can
listen to other peoples opinions. About who you
are and what you are committed to, you should
19 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
August 2017
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ISHA RECIPE
Sago Uppuma
INGREDIENTS
1 cups sago large-sized pearls; washed well to softened, press it with your fingers. If the center is
remove dust particles; soak overnight still hard, let it soak for longer. The sago should be
clear and transparent, without any lumps. If it is
10-12 French beans stringed, finely chopped not possible to soak the sago overnight, wash the
1 carrot medium-sized, peeled, grated sago and soak it for 22 hours.
1 potato medium-sized, peeled, chopped into
2. Drain the sago into a colander and keep it aside.
bite-sized pieces (Some varieties of sago will need to be spread on a
cup groundnuts roasted, coarsely ground dry cloth for all the water to drain.)
2-inch-piece coconut (optional) fresh, grated
3. For the seasoning, heat the oil in a pan and add
1 Tbsp. lemon juice the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter,
Coriander leaves fresh (as desired) add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, and turmeric
Salt to taste powder.
For the Seasoning: 4. Add the beans, carrots, and potato pieces, and
sprinkle water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook
2 Tbsps. oil until soft.
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds 5. Add the sago. Sprinkle a little water and salt,
and stir for about 5 minutes. Stir gently but firmly,
10-12 curry leaves ensuring that the sago does not stick to the pan.
1 tsp. turmeric powder
6. Switch off the stove. Add the roasted groundnuts
and grated coconut; mix well.
METHOD
7. Add the lemon juice and mix well.
1. Soak the sago pearls in a sufficient amount of
water. Move the sago pearls around with a fork 8. Serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.
occasionally to facilitate even soaking. By morning,
the sago should have become at least twice its
Note: This dish can be served with curd, chutney, or pickle. If
original size. To check if the sago has sufficiently desired, add red chili powder.
You can find this and many other recipes in Ishas cookbook A Taste of Well-Being
available in major book stores as well as on Amazon, Flipkart, and Isha Shoppe.
21 | ISHA FOREST FLOWER
August 2017
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