Our ‘One Evening Only’ dinner took place on World Peace Day – Saturday, 21st Sep 19, and it was a magical success! Enjoy these photos of the event… 😃 It did take an enormous amount of planning and effort to organise this dinner. There was a...
Among the flurry of events during the last weekend in London, we held an Awakin Circle with Nipun Mehta in Harrow: And at the very last minute, we learned of an additional guest that was joining us — Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Gandhi! We feel blessed to...
Ibrahim was a great Sufi saint who had once been a king. Once, Ibrahim was traveling to Mecca with a caravan of camels and a large retinue of servants. He was travelling in utmost luxury, to the maximum extent that was possible in a desert camp. He had the most...
What kind of choices do you make in different situations that you face in your life? Are the choices arising from exclusiveness or inclusiveness? Are the choices arising from the needs of the body or the nature of the being? Are the choices arising from your...
Modern science and the yogic tradition agree that the core of the cosmos is essentially stillness. Although we know of Big Bangs and exploding galaxies, the larger part of the universe remains still. This, in yogic parlance, is Shi-va, ‘that which is not’. This is the...
Yoga is not an exercise form as is commonly misunderstood today. “Yoga” literally means union. But in your experience right now, there is you and there is the universe. When life gets a little acidic for whatever reason, it is you versus the universe. That is a bad...
How does one escape this entanglement-avoidance trap? This question confuses many. In a state of confusion, everything around you sticks to you! It is like you are covered by a super-glue coating, and every speck of dust adheres. Acquiring karma has nothing to do with...
As always, the wave lives the life of a wave, and at the same time, the life of water. When you breathe, you breathe for all of us. Most people view themselves as waves and forget that they are also water. They are used to living in birth-and-death, and they forget...
“I felt in need of a great pilgrimage, so I sat still for three days. And God came to me.” ~Kabir~In an African village, a westerner was travelling for an assignment with a local elder. Every few minutes the elder would stop to rest and chat with the other...
There is a peace here, where the river Widens to meet the sea. The rapids are past; the boulders and rocky places at last give way to a broad and sweeping current, flowing slowly in to vastness. The river moves silently, tastes the salty tide that marks it’s demise,...
Sit here for a bit. Place yourself outside the frenzied pace of life. Slow down long enough to appreciate birds in flight, water drops like prisms in the grass and countless shades of green. Step off the fast track and listen to the sound of breath and birdsong. Take...
Each one of you is so amazing. Right now you have in you one quadrillion cells. That’s one hundred trillion times one thousand. About nine hundred trillion of those cells are not human. They are virus, bacteria, and microorganisms. What makes us human, ironically, is...
The Bud, stands for all things even those things that don’t flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing it’s loveliness, to put a hand on the brow of the flower, and retell it in words and in...
When you have something, it will be taken away. But when you are empty, what is there to lose? Prior to all gain, what is present? And what is, when even this is left behind? Meditation is not addition. It is subtraction. Take away all that you believe yourself to be,...
We were delighted to host a special Awakin circle of sharing in London with Kai Sawyer from our Japan family. He is the founder of the Peace & Permaculture Dojo, Tokyo. We were all very deeply inspired by his journey, experiences and wisdom, as he held such a...
‘All things in nature are not only one with themselves but also one with the totality. They haven’t removed themselves from the fabric of the whole by claiming a separate existence: ‘me’ and the rest of the universe.’ – Eckhart Tolle A few Sundays ago, it was a...
Every retreat is uniquely co-created through each person’s presence, so thank you for saying yes and bringing your most authentic self to the circle as we collectively explored how to nurture small shifts in our hearts “From Me to We”. Anya...
Five years after leaving Berkeley, I found myself sitting in circles again. This time it was at Pendle Hill, a Quaker living-Learning community near Philadelphia, where I spent eleven years starting in the mid-1970s. But these circles, I soon discovered, were of a...
Is there a secret to happiness? Is happiness spending time with loved ones, or spending time alone in nature? Is it losing yourself as you dance to music, or finding yourself while quietly meditating? The secret to happiness is actually all of these things and more,...
The benefits of retreating from our familiar surroundings and busy schedules and ‘pulling back’ are manifold. The word “retreat” comes from the Latin root meaning to ‘draw back’. If you’re willing to honestly challenge yourself, a retreat...
The sun is the perfect example of acting without desire. When the sun rises does the idea enter its mind to say, ‘I shall banish the darkness, I shall urge the birds to fly, and I will set people working’? No, the sun always stays still, and yet its...
Wanted to share this video with you about Scott Harrison, the CEO of Charity: Water – it’s a must watch! Met him yesterday at an event organised by entrepreneur and best-selling author, Daniel Priestley, where Scott shared his story…What an amazing...
Happy Birthday, Dear Sister. Welcome to the festival of this world. I pray in silence on this day, That you are bestowed with the gift of Nothingness! That Nothingness which is full of space, Like the universe that holds this cosmic life. That Nothingness which...
Click here to see photos of the event Event audio coming soon…. About Nipun… At the age of 25, Nipun Mehta quit his job to become a “full time volunteer.” He is the founder of ServiceSpace, an all volunteer-run organization using technology to...
In sangha, we commune deeply with one another. We commune deeply with the forces of nature. We commune deeply with the divine. We become a part of something much bigger than ourselves. We become a part of what is going on in the world around us. We become a part of...
50 of us gathered at a truly extraordinary Awakin Circle. Milan Rai humbly shared story after story, insight after insight of his labour of love journey of surrender, simplicity, honesty, grace and personal and collective transformation. He touched all of our hearts...
Those of you, especially the young people, who are still unencumbered and unentangled, I want you to look at how you want to live your lives. Is all you want to do just eat, sleep, reproduce, and die one day? Or do you want to create something bigger than yourself? Do...
In our lives we often find ourselves in situations we can’t control, circumstances in which none of our strategies work. Helpless and distraught, we frantically try to manage what is happening. Our child takes a downward turn in academics and we issue one threat after...
An individual human being becomes who he or she is only because of what he or she perceives. You are who you are right now only because of what you have perceived in your life until now, and you will be who you will be only because of what you will perceive in future....
Being involved but not entangled is the essence. Just do your practice in the morning. And throughout the day, be aware of the other aspects that were taught to you. You have to make it in such a way that every aspect of your life becomes yoga. Sitting, standing,...
A Zen student walked in to see the master. Sitting down, he blurted out, “There’s something terribly wrong with me!” The master looked at him and asked, “What’s so wrong?” The student, after a moment’s hesitation, responded,...
There have been teachers who taught goodness to people. There have been others who taught evil to people. But there have also been teachers who did everything to destroy both good and evil so that life may happen just the way it should, not by some principles of...
Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing...
We now know that the true meaning of responsibility is response able or ability to respond. Whatever we may think, say, do or feel – these are our responses for which we, and no one else, are responsible. This is easy to see but hard to live, for we have been...
The whole purpose of yoga is to set up various dimensions in you which are not you. What I mean by “not you” is: whatever you are identified with is what “you” are right now. But to set up a space within you beyond your limited identifications is yoga. Initially, it...
“Give me a place to stand on,” said the Greek mathematician Archimedes, “and I can move the world.” He was talking about his invention of using pulleys and levers to raise very heavy objects. A physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer as well, Archimedes...
Grace is an important aspect of expanding our happiness, because it is through grace that we express love and blessings completely and unconditionally. We are each a source and conduit of grace. Grace is a loving power and presence that elevates and brightens whatever...
Everything that we recognize as life is movement. The planet is moving and that is why it churns up life. If it were still, it wouldn’t be capable of life. So there is something called movement in which every creature is involved, but if there has to be movement, this...
Have you ever noticed that happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision? You don’t actually need anything to be happy. It’s not something that comes from outside, it comes from inside, and when you radiate a happy energy you’ll be amazed what it...
I got a call that a dear friend of mine, who received precepts from me years ago when I lived at Green Gulch, was dying. I arranged with her husband to go and see her and give her the precepts again. One of the things that have been very helpful to me around this...
There are many dimensions to hatha yoga. One fundamental aspect of it is to knead the body. Life is kneading you in so many ways. You can either enjoy it or suffer it. You can either mature and blossom, or get crushed by the process. This is the choice you have. Hatha...
Human beings who do not break their self-created boundaries will remain trapped in them. Breaking your limitations is an essential part of your spiritual growth. This spiritual process is not based on a scripture, philosophy, or dead tradition – it is a living thing....
‘To be great, be whole; Exclude nothing. Be whole in everything.’ ― Fernando Pessoa The feeling of completion is an important part of inner happiness. Feeling complete means we feel whole. We glimpse the vastness of our higher self and know we do not lack...
The word health comes from the word whole. When your body, your mind, your emotion, your energies are in tune with each other and you feel wholesome within yourself, that is when you feel healthy. A large number of people in the world, including many who considered...
The journey began when we attended a one-day retreat with Nipun last year at Trishna’s beautiful home in Pimlico. The day was filled with joy, laughter, the biggest smiles and sooo much love! We did not want to let such a treasure pass by and a seed was planted...
Nonresistance doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing. All it means is that any ‘doing’ becomes nonreactive. Remember the deep wisdom underlying the practice of Eastern martial arts: Don’t resist the opponent’s force. Yield to overcome. Having said that,...
You can’t grasp at the secrets Prise them from the earth Or pluck them from the air. The harder you try to hold them The more they lose their form Until they leak away. You can grind matter down to the tiniest grains Until it collapses into nothing But its essence...
When a drama happens, there are three sets of people. One is the audience, another is the actors, yet another are those who make the play happen, such as the director and the stage designers. Out of these sets of people, the director understands the drama better and...
During a time of great drought, a Taoist master was asked by members of a village if he could help bring rain to their dry fields. They confessed trying many other approaches before reaching out to him, but with no success. The master agreed to come and asked for a...
‘Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’ ~ Viktor E. Frankl
Dear Sam, One night in the hospital, a friend came to visit me. I told her I didn’t think I could go on anymore. What I was feeling went beyond despair. It was a loss of hope — of everything I valued, trusted, and loved. The pain had become simply unbearable....
What I am experiencing at this moment is the result of choices and decisions made in the past; what I will experience in the future depends on choices and decisions I make now. Happiness is a daily choice.
Everyone experiences life according to his or her individual sensitivities. Some people take great pleasure in food, others in the body, music, art or some other expression of life. But in their very nature, external pleasures cannot be sustained. The only sustainable...
‘A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love.’ ~ Mother Teresa Love is our joyful spiritual center. We don’t need to go anywhere to find love. This is love that never fades. We never lose this love because it comes from inside. We are...
As Eckhart teaches us, in the ancient spiritual philosophy of India, there’s a term called ‘turiya’ which refers to the fourth state of consciousness. The first state of consciousness is the waking state we all know, while the second and third are the dream state...
What you call peace, is a certain kind of chemistry; joy is another kind of chemistry; anxiety is another kind of chemistry. Every human experience has a chemical basis to it. Recent research into the human brain has yielded some incredible results. An Israeli...
There is something within you which cannot stand boundaries. Or, in other words, there is something within you which wants to become boundless. What can be boundless? A physical form can be small or big, but never boundless. There is something within you which is...
You can go far in life only when you can leave your past. This is like a snake shedding its skin. One moment it is a part of the body, the next moment it is shed and the snake goes on without turning back. If every moment, one is like a snake leaving the skin behind,...
Back home to the place where the sky is as wide as space where the clouds caress each other as they float where the trees are dancing messengers of the wind where shapes are clear and fine, and colors seem to shine as if they’re cut from the clearest glass. Back home...
Yoga is not a morning-evening kind of practice. There is a practice but that is not the only aspect. Every aspect of your life, the very way you walk, breathe, interact – everything should become a process of yoga. Nothing is excluded from this. Yoga is not...
Internally, all of us are equally capable, we are not capable in different ways. There is no human being on the planet who has never been joyful. Every human being has been joyful at some point, that means he’s capable of joy. It is just that he’s unable to stay...
True human capabilities will find expression only in absolute relaxation. Your mind and body will work best and find fullest expression only when you are joyful, peaceful and quiet within yourself. ~ Sadhguru
A common theme runs through all the great spiritual traditions. It goes by many names – awakening, recollection, mindfulness, dhyana, remembrance, zhikr, presence – and by no name at all. This state of consciousness adds further dimensions to being in this world....
The moment we utter the word ‘meditation’, there are all kinds of misconceptions about it. First of all the English word ‘meditation’ doesn’t mean anything in the sense, if you close your eyes and sit, in English we call it...
Hatha yoga is not just about bending and twisting the body. Essentially, it is about consciously working towards eliminating all that is compulsive in us – compulsions that we have carried on over millions of years of evolution. What distinguishes human beings and...
I am not my thoughts, emotions, sense perceptions and experiences. I am not the content of my life. I am Life. I am the space in which all things happen. I am consciousness. I am the Now. I Am. ~ Eckhart Tolle
The physical in the existence is constantly under threat because the physical is always within limited boundaries – it is always demarcated. With anything which is demarcated, there is always a fear of losing it. For instance, this physical “you” is constantly under...
A significant thing that every human being has to do is to structure their psychological and emotional framework around the most fundamental fact of their life – their mortality. Only when you do this will you naturally become eligible for a spiritual process, to a...
To be loving every moment of your life – not only if a certain situation occurs, or if you see a certain person – if you are simply loving, indiscriminately, your intelligence blossoms in a completely different way. In making choices, intelligence gets crippled. To be...
‘Every fragment of self-talk is a little story in the head that goes around, and then you look at reality through the lens of the little story.’ ~ Eckhart Tolle
In ordinary unconsciousness, habitual resistance to or denial of what is creates the unease and discontent that most people accept as normal living. When this resistance becomes intensified through some challenge or threat to the ego, it brings up intense negativity...
When we say “yoga,” for most people it probably means twisting the body into impossible postures. That’s not what yoga is about. Among the Yoga Sutras, which form the bedrock of today’s yoga, only one sutra is dedicated to asanas. All Patanjali said was “Sthiram...
When you are no longer totally identified with forms, consciousness – who you are – becomes freed from its imprisonment in form. This freedom is the arising of inner space. It comes as a stillness, a subtle peace deep within you, even in the face of...
In yoga, we look at the human body as five sheaths. The first sheath is called annamaya kosha or the “food body,” because what you call as the physical body is just a heap of food. The second sheath is called manomaya kosha or the mental body. These two layers can...
The most powerful anchor on our potential to soar high in life is the past. The past contains the dead weight of experience, learned beliefs and all our mistakes. Life cannot truly begin until we are able to say goodbye to the legacies of yesterday at will. Like a...
‘The future, the worry, the regret, the anxiety – these are all mental events that do not have to be part of the difficulty of life; these can be transcended here and now.’ ~ Eckhart Tolle
Searching for truth is itself a big illusion because whatever we term “the truth” is always and everywhere. We don’t have to search for it or seek it. It always is. The only problem right now is you are capable of experiencing life only through the limited dimension...
Agitation is interesting. Something is stirring up, wanting to be changed. And the mere asking of a question about it implies that there is some resistance to agitation, some form of non-acceptance. Somehow we’ve learned to not be okay with what arises within....
Stress is just an inability to manage the inner situation, not the outer situation. Essentially, the quality of our lives changes and transforms not because we change the content of our lives, but only because we change the context of our lives. If someone is living a...
There are doors of opportunities and possibilities And there are doors of deeper perceptions In opening doors of opportunity You shall access new ways to live In opening doors of perception You shall experience richness of creation Through opportunities you may gather...
When I stop to consider the facts They astonish me. There you are, couched in your own skin, And here I am in mine. No matter how close, We must each do our own living. Your heart cannot be persuaded to pump my blood. My lungs will not consent to breathe for yours. It...
In yoga, we look at a human being as five sheaths or layers of body. Three – the physical, the mental and the energy body – are physical realities; maybe subtle but still physical. The other two – the etheric body and the bliss body – are in a different realm. The...
“You can only feel creative when there is joy. When there is a sense of passion.”— Andreas MoritzPassion is the powerful, focused force of happiness directed to a specific interest in life. Passion is a tremendous asset in expanding our happiness, because it draws our...
Hatha yoga is a preparatory process of yoga. The word ‘ha’ means sun, ‘ta’ means moon. ‘Hatha’ means the yoga to bring balance between the sun and the moon in you, or the Pingala and Ida in you. You can explore Hatha yoga in ways...
The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not the possessing entity — the thinker. Knowing this enables you to observe the entity. The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize...
When you are very tired, you may become more peaceful, more relaxed, than in your usual state. This is because thinking is subsiding and so you can’t remember your mind-made problematic self anymore. You are moving toward sleep. When you drink alcohol or take certain...
Every human being has at least one drop of sweetness in them. Why don’t we see this? Please do this with everyone around you – try to recognize that one drop of sweetness in even those people who you otherwise consider to be horrible. Only if you recognize it in...
If you have read what has been written about cancer, you may have noticed that opinions and concepts seem to change frequently, sometimes dramatically. But the fundamental physiology, the chemistry, and the very basis of your existence has not changed. So why is it...
‘Spirituality is a state of connectedness to life. It is an experience of being, belonging and caring. It is sensitivity and compassion, joy and hope. It is the harmony between the innermost life and the outer life, or the life of the world and the life...
‘The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event – through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you – ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within...
‘Your inner journey only has one: the step you are taking right now. As you become more deeply aware of this one step, you realize that it already contains within itself all the other steps as well as the destination. This one step then becomes transformed into...
J. Krishnamurti, the great Indian philosopher and spiritual teacher, spoke and traveled almost continuously all over the world for more than fifty years attempting to convey through words – which are content – that which is beyond words, beyond content. At...
You want peace. There is no one who does not want peace. Yet there is something else in you that wants the drama, wants the conflict. You may not be able to feel it at this moment. You may have to wait for a situation or even just a thought that triggers a reaction in...
Water in its clear softness fills whatever hole it finds. It is not skeptical or distrusting. It does not say this gully is too deep or that field is too open. Like water, the miracle of love is that it covers whatever it touches, making the touched thing grow while...
Cancerous cells are present in all our bodies. In the yogic system, we describe cancerous cells as being similar to, let’s say, criminals in a society. If there are a few individuals here and there who commit petty crimes, it doesn’t really affect the society. But...
You cannot see space, of course, nor can you hear, touch, taste, or smell it, so how do you even know it exists? This logical-sounding question already contains a fundamental error. The essence of space is no-thingness, so it doesn’t “exist” in the normal sense...
To end the misery that has afflicted the human condition for thousands of years, you have to start with yourself and take responsibility for your inner state at any given moment. That means now. Ask yourself, “Is there negativity in me at this moment?” Then, become...
When you can hear silence behind the noise and feel space amongst the crowd when you can sense peace amidst chaos and conflict and see the beauty of the ugly and drab When solitude never leads to loneliness and emptiness seems to overflow when every stranger looks...
“Consciousness” is a highly abused word, used in many different ways. First of all, let me define what we refer to as consciousness. You are a combination of many things. As a piece of life, as a body, you are a certain amount of earth, water, air, fire, and akash or...
‘The full moon day in the month of Ashadha (June-July) is known as Guru Purnima. It falls on 31st July in 2015, and honours the ancient lineage of enlightened beings who have graced the world with their presence, imparting the knowledge of the...
This is the time of year when the Aadhi Yogi’s attention first fell upon the seven now celebrated disciples. We are in the month when an ascetic and yogi, who is completely uninvolved with what is around him, is beginning to get involved. Slowly, the intention of...
A moment without thought And the background noise ceases And I can suddenly hear The silence between sounds The silence beneath sound From which all sounds emerge Like waves from the sea. A moment without thought And the fog disperses And the world is filled With...
Living a life of fulfillment, living a life of knowing, living a life of merging with the universe, becoming larger than the physical self is the only worthwhile thing to do. If you have paid attention to life and you are not a deprived human being, you will know the...
Spirituality essentially means an all-inclusive experience. When there is an all-inclusive experience, being concerned and caring about everything around you is very natural because anyone who looks into himself, anyone who turns inward, naturally realizes that his...
A compilation of events around the world, conducted by Isha Foundation on June 21, International Yoga Day. From Sydney to Beirut, from the US to China, and even 35,000 ft up in the air on SpiceJet flights, Isha Foundation volunteers conducted sessions of short,...
‘We are using people and loving things. This is a complete misunderstanding of life. Things were made to be used. People were made to be loved.’ – SadhguruIn every relationship, you experience moments of true love, but do they seem to come and go? What if...
The United Nations’ declaration of International Day of Yoga on June 21st comes at a critical time in the history of humanity. It is of much more significance than a few more people twisting and turning their bodies. For the first time in the history of the UN, 177...
Questioner: Sadhguru, can you tell us what kind of food we are supposed to eat? Why are meat and meat products not considered the right kind of food for people on the spiritual path, and how is seafood different? If this is just about killing or violence – isn’t a...
Over 15,000 years ago, Adiyogi explored the human mechanism, the cosmic space and the relationship between the two. As he expounded the various tools that individual human beings could use to explore both dimensions, he envisioned that the entire humanity would take...
The voice in the head has a life of its own. Most people are at the mercy of that voice; they are possessed by thought, by the mind. And since the mind is conditioned by the past, you are then forced to reenact the past again and again. The Eastern term for this is...
‘Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now.’ ~ Eckhart Tolle
Sooner or later you’ll grow fed up with the voice inside your head with its constant murmurings of discontent its fear-mongering thoughts of the future and its questioning of every choice you make. One day, you’ll turn to it and calmly say ‘I refuse to listen!’ then...
The moment I say “spirituality”, people say, “Yes, I want to be peaceful.” You do not have to walk the spiritual path for peace. A glass of wine could do it or take a long walk and then lie down in the shade of a tree; you will sleep...
Any thought that you have had about yourself, however deflated or inflated, is not who you are. It is simply a thought. The truth of who you are cannot be thought, because it is the source of all thoughts. The truth of who you are cannot be named or defined. Words...
‘Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions.’ ~ Eckhart Tolle
Instead of identifying with what kind of thoughts or emotions you are getting, just see that in the larger perspective of life you are a tiny speck of dust. In this cosmos, our galaxy is a small happening. In the Milky Way, this Solar System is a speck. In that tiny...
The cage that you’ve been trapped inside for longer than you can remember – it might seem so sturdy and secure that you don’t even dream of escaping anymore like a bird that used to beat its wings but now just lets them hang limply by its side. But the bars of the...
Only freedom can be infinite. Bondage cannot be limitless. Only freedom can be limitless. This is not just semantics and ideas. In terms of life’s experience, don’t waste your time talking about or thinking about freedom or the Ultimate. The body is a limitation, the...
We all judge our experiences through the filter of habitual thinking. In other words, we are unconsciously driven by how we think, and how we think determines the feelings and opinions we develops toward people, objects and situations. But such opinions and...
You complain when life is happening to you in great measure. It is because you look at certain situations as good and others as bad, or certain situations as desirable and others as undesirable, that you ask yourself why these things are happening to you rather than...
What we put first, the choices we make in life are a direct reflection of what we value. What this means is that our experience of life — for its pain or pleasure, darkness or brightness — is a perfect reflection of what we want most in that same moment....
The skill of manifestation is in using our awakened self-awareness. There are three components to this awareness: expanded consciousness, focused consciousness, and fluid consciousness. The unity of these three creates the matrix of manifestation. Unbounded awareness...
Our deepest desire is for spiritual awakening, which is the state of fulfillment and completeness. All other desires are variations on this basic desire for actualization. Every desire is a fragment of our being that seeks awakening, completion, and wholeness. ~...
There is a lot of “yoga” happening in the world today that has very little to do with what yoga really is. Several myths about this ancient practice have long been masquerading as facts. It’s time we demystify yoga, in Sadhguru’s very own words. Myth 1: Yoga comes...
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” ~ Albert Schweitzer Compassion from the soul level happens when we spiritually embrace another soul without reservation or judgment. Compassion validates people in a...
Let’s look at what may be considered the very basic unit of Hata Yoga: the asana. People today think of asanas as impressive body-twisting postures that are essentially about fitness, flexibility or building muscle. Whereas ‘yoga’, by its very definition,...
Happiness does not only come from achievement. When you were a child you were simply happy. That is your nature. If you go against your own nature to be happy, you will never get anywhere. To be happy is not the ultimate aspect of life. It is the fundamental aspect of...
This body is not me. I am not limited by this body. I am life without boundaries. I have never been born, and I have never died. Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind. Since before time, I have been free, Birth and...
First of all let me be clear that when I talk about meditation I am not referring to sitting with your eyes closed. I am talking about deep abidance in the experience of who we are beyond the mind. You see, our awareness has been profoundly conditioned to remain...
Peace is achieved in different ways. Let’s say you eat to a full stomach and lie down, just see how peaceful you are. Somebody else may drink alcohol and become very peaceful and so on. Whenever your ego is satisfied, you are very peaceful. Wherever you go, in that...
’I am’ itself is God, the seeking itself is God. In seeking you discover that you are neither the body nor the mind, and the love of the self in you is for the self in all. The two are one. The consciousness in you and the consciousness in me, apparently two, really...
“We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil.” ~ Swami Satchidananda Let us bring our attention to the peaceful and serene influence we can offer the world around us. For our serenity to have a powerful...
If you had a choice between pleasantness and unpleasantness, between joy and misery, between beauty and ugliness, what would you choose? Definitely, you would choose joy and pleasantness. But why is unpleasantness happening? Why is misery happening? Simply because...
You can’t change the kind of person you are later. There is no later. It’s always now or never. You can’t be kind later. And you can’t learn later. Choose to change now, and that moment will never come for you to worry about how to be better...
‘Happiness consists not of having, but of being. It is a warm glow of the heart at peace with itself.’ ~ David O. McKay. Let us connect to an aspect of our joy that expresses itself as inner peace. This is not ordinary peace of mind or peaceful...
If you look at Patanjali, as an enlightened being, he can’t be more enlightened than someone else. There is no such thing. Realization is realization. But as a man and above all as an intellect, he is such an intellect that the great scientists of today look like...
If you were very blissful and ecstatic at this moment, would you think, “What is the purpose of life?” – No. Only when in some way, life has become burdensome, these questions arise: “To be or not to be?” “Is there a good enough purpose for me to exist?” Your...
Hata Yoga means that you want to be in absolute sync with the life process, because for your life to find its full blossom, it has to be in sync. There is no other way. Hata Yoga is the phenomenon of aligning the human system with the cosmic. When you try doing Hata...
I recently used this protocol on a flight to and back from Melborne and no jet lag! There are twelve major acupuncture meridians in Chinese Medicine. Each of the meridians has a two-hour window in which it is most active. There is a special point, called a horary...
The wise man knows the Self, and he plays the game of life. He understands the nature of things. His heart is not smudged by right or wrong, just as the sky is not smudged by smoke. How rare he is! ~ The Ashtavakra Gita
If you learn to accept the way things are your energy is free, your attention is free, and you are available to experience things that you couldn’t imagine before. That is when you become profoundly available to evolve. When we learn to stop struggling with the way...
There are two ways people can suffer. Generally, people think in terms of physical suffering and mental suffering. Physical suffering could be caused in different ways but 90% of human suffering is mental, which is caused within ourselves. People create suffering for...
As there is a science and technology for external wellbeing, there is a science and technology for inner wellbeing. Yoga is an inner technology. This is a deeper understanding of your own body, mind and energy, and about creating an inner situation where you are...
What you refer to as “destiny” are those situations which are going on without your permission; they seem to be unfolding themselves without your intent. Whatever you call destiny is something you have created unconsciously. You are doing more things unconsciously...
As a human being, your only duty is that you grow to your full potential. If you grow to your full potential, your very way of being is absolutely useful. The best things will happen around you. If you do not know how to make yourself happy, is there any possibility...
Regardless of how sophisticated its knowledge, the self that knows itself only through its own conditioned thinking can never develop beyond the content of itself. Genuine self – knowledge is being fully self – aware in the present moment. Each moment...
The only thing that matters, that really matters at all, is whether you are willing to be completely alive, awake and free, this very moment – this very instant. The only thing that makes any difference – any difference at all, is whether you are willing to let go of...
“Your whole personality, everything you are, is a complex accumulation of your impressions of life. This is like your software. It’s the volume of your impressions. Everything you have perceived has imprinted itself on your mind and on your energy. The very way your...
“I think it is better I tell you what is not yoga. So much misinterpretation of the word has happened that speaking about what is not yoga is more relevant. Standing on your head, holding your breath or twisting your body is not yoga. Yes, these are various yogic...
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love does not mean leaning and that company does not mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises....
The very fundamentals of spiritual longing are to transcend the limitations of the physical. For an individual, the most intimate part of physical creation is his or her own body. So the very basis of a spiritual process is to explore the possibilities of the body and...
When we say “Shiva,” there are two fundamental aspects that we are referring to. The word “Shiva” literally means “that which is not.” Today, modern science is proving to us that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. The basis of existence and the...
Of all the human pursuits, striving to transform oneself into a higher possibility is considered the most sacred. It is this pursuit that fulfils the purpose of the human form and it is this pursuit that brings well-being to all life. ~ Sadhguru
Be like the flowing river, Silent in the night. Be not afraid of the dark. If there are stars in the sky, reflect them back. If there are clouds in the sky, Remember, clouds, like the river, are water, So, gladly reflect them too, In your own tranquil depths. ~ Manuel...
The word “ha” means sun; “ta” means moon. Without the sun and the moon, there is no Hata Yoga. The postures in Suryanamaskar are preparatory or balancing in nature between the Ida and Pingala (the left and right energy channels). Largely, it is called Suryanamaskar...
‘A tree has many leaves, and the wind touches all of them… in one way or another. Some shake, some quiver, some hardly move at all. Yes, the tree knows their trembling; but neither the wind, nor the leaves it stirs are the tree that feels their touch....
If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. As soon as you honor the present moment, unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a...
If you allow the source of creation within you to find expression, joyful is the only way you can be. The Egyptian legend says that if one wants to enter heaven, at the point of entry you will be asked two questions. Unless you are one big “Yes” to these two...
The idea of yoga is that your body becomes a possibility, not a barrier. If that has to happen, everything within your system should function with least amount of resistance, with least amount of friction. Even according to our understanding of mechanical sciences, we...
The mind is always about the past that you have accumulated; it is never about what is happening now. It is a useful tool to handle the materialistic aspect of life but if you employ it to handle your whole life, then it’s a total mess. Right now with a logical mind...
The spiritual process is always to either become a zero or to become infinite. You approach it whichever way is most convenient for you, but they are not different. Something-ness is always finite. Nothingness is infinite. How can nothingness and infinite be the same?...
Every action that you perform can be either a process of liberation or entanglement. If you perform any activity with absolute willingness, that activity is beautiful and creates joy for you. If you perform any activity unwillingly for whatever reason, that activity...
So you’re ready to explore meditation? There are many ways to go about it, but essentially meditation is about one thing: opening to the depths of this very moment. Experience more presence and peace of mind in your daily life. Our minds are constantly at work,...
The only way we can be released from any painful sense of false responsibility is to see that it is based in a false belief. To see through the false belief is to be released from the weight of useless false responsibilities. Study carefully the following list of six...
Being in reverence and gratitude towards everything that matters in our lives leads to success and victory. Of the many things that we are in touch with, of the many things that contribute in making and creating our lives, the most important devices that we employ in...
There are an infinite number of gifts to which you can open your heart. Open your heart to all these blessings and let them flow through you, so that everyone you meet on this day will be blessed by you – just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch, just by...
In this thought-provoking video, Jeff Lieberman, an MIT-trained artist, scientist and engineer, explores some fascinating topics which stir up some profound questions and realizations. From exploring our consciousness, to demonstrating our ability to create alternate...
Karma means action or the imprint of action which remains within us. If this generation is going to behave, act, live and experience life just the way the previous generation did, this is a wasted generation. The way you experience life can be taken to the next level...
Hatha is a phenomenal science – it is a way of building a platform. When I say a platform – your body, mind and energy system are essentially a platform to experience life. The question is just about how profound your experience of life is. If you change your...
Huffington Post – one of the web’s largest news and blog sites – hosted Sadhguru on their live webchannel, HuffPost Live, on October 17. Nancy Redd, host of the channel’s Third Metric show, interviewed Sadhguru on finding success, exploring one’s full potential, and...
To bless means to wish, unconditionally from the deepest chamber of the heart, unrestricted good for others and events. It means to hallow, to hold in reverence, to behold with awe that which is always a gift from the Creator. He who is hallowed by your blessings is...
I have simply stopped arguing with reality. How do I know the wind should blow? It is blowing. How do I know this is the highest order? It’s happening. Arguing with WHAT IS is like teaching a cat to bark. Hopeless. I know that reality is good just as it is,...
All the qualities of the world have been identified as three basic gunas, tamas, rajas, and sattva. Inertia is called tamas. Rajas means activity, passion. Breaking of boundaries, dissolution, melting and merging is called sattva. There is no physical entity...
Acts and thoughts of peace and violence have ramifications in the world and within ourselves. Today, see if you can maintain witnessing awareness in which you consciously choose to express peace in every thought, word and action. As you are preparing to go to sleep...
Light that lies deep inside of me Come forth in all thy majesty Show me thy gaze Teach me thy ways That I a better person may be Darkness that lies deep inside of me Come forth in all thy mystery Show me thy gaze Teach me thy ways That I a better person may be Love...
If we could literally reach into you and remove all your fears – every one of them – how different would your life be? Think about it. If nothing stopped you from following your dreams, your life would probably be very different. This is what the dying...
Learn to attend with the mind so that you can study, not from books, but from observation, which is the first awakening of the soul. Learn to study by practice. Learn to study by application. Become a student of life and live life fully, and as you merge into the sea...
The gentlest thing in the world is an open mind. Since it doesn't believe what it thinks, it is flexible, porous, without opposition, without defense. Nothing has power over it. Nothing can resist it. Even the hardest thing in the world — a closed mind...
Tell everyone you know: "My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook." And then demonstrate it. Be happy, no matter what they're doing. Practice feeling good, no matter what. And before you know it, you will not give anyone else responsibility...
“If there is nothing you can do, face what is and say, ‘Well, right now, this is how it is. I can either accept it, or make myself miserable.’ The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about the situation. Be aware of...
'You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death,...
The only thing that makes the difference in the way you feel right now is the thought that you are thinking right now. How you feel is about how you are allowing the Source that is You to flow. So when we talk about the Art of Allowing, we're talking about the art...
“As soon as the love relationship does not lead me to me, as soon as I in a love relationship do not lead another person to himself, this love, even if it seems to be the most secure and ecstatic attachment I have ever experienced, is not true love. For real...
Attention is important, because whatever you pay attention to grows. If you focus on your job, your relationship, or a favorite hobby, your attention nourishes that feedback loop. (The brain strengthens or weakens in specific areas depending on the input it receives,...
Two monks were walking back to their monastery when they came to a ford at a stream. At the ford, a pretty farmer's daughter asked them to help her cross the stream as she did not want to get the mud on her new dress. The first monk ignored her and continued on...
“Don’t meditate to fix yourself, to heal yourself, to improve yourself, to redeem yourself; rather, do it as an act of love, of deep warm friendship to yourself. In this way there is no longer any need for the subtle aggression of self-improvement, for the...
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may...
A great and powerful warrior came to the head monk of a monastery. He asked the monk to show him the difference between heaven and hell. The monk sneered at the warrior and said, "One as arrogant and small minded as you would never be able to learn the difference...
Within the spine, if you know its physical construction, you will know there are two holes on either side of the spine which are like conduit pipes for all the nerves to pass. This is the Ida and the Pingala, the left and the right channels. In the Pranamayakosha or...
Peace can sometimes be so far away, and inner bliss… even farther away. Take the time now to spend some real quality time by going within. Find that sense of peace that lies within. Visit the place where inner bliss dwells and waits patiently for your return....
How audacious that we can even think we can allot a day for the earth! Both day and night happen only because the earth revolves. Our very body is an extract from this planet. For human beings who have forgotten that they have just temporarily come out of the womb of...