Speaker: We are delighted to have you Sadhguru
on stage. We have been planning for this for six months
and to see him on stage is an exciting thing for all of here in the organizing team. I had planned a long introduction to Sadhguru
and then I realized he needs no introduction so I take the easier way out and introduce
the student moderators. Here we have Nitisha, Tanvi and Vikram (Applause). Nitisha and Vikram from the Harvard Kennedy
School and Tanvi from the Harvard Business School.
They are prepped up, all set and here we go
(Applause). Sadhguru chants Jananam Sukhadam… Sadhguru: Namaskaram. Good morning to everyone. I said good morning. Participants: Good Morning. Sadhguru: Please. Speaker: Sadhguru, we'll start with some questions
on the internal contradictions that exist within us, so more on the philosophical side
and then we'll move to the world or politics side of the questions. So our first question is that, in the Bhagavad
Gita, Lord Krishna advises us to keep putting an effort without being attached to the results. But I find it incredibly hard to keep working
and not obsess over the results.
And I would love to know how we can better
practice effort, putting an effort while being detached to the results? Sadhguru: Well (Laughs), I'm not in any way
well studied about any scripture. It’s unfortunate, but I have to say I have
not even read the Gita. But we know the life of Krishna that…people
think Krishna means butter, girls and flute, but you need to understand this, all these
things happen only till he was sixteen years of age. Till you're sixteen years of age, well, some
butter, some flute, how many girls till sixteen? I am asking practically.
So after sixteen, he lived a extremely committed
life. His commitment was to marry the political
process of the day with the spiritual process, because he saw unless those who wield power
or essentially in their experience have a larger sense of life and an inclusive sense
of identity – not my family, my children, my husband, my wife, this stuff – you have
a larger sense of identity, only then you must wield power, otherwise it will lead to
corruption. People say power is corruption.
Power is not corruption, limited identity
is corruption. They believe they're doing the right things
and they're doing the horrible things all the time, because their identity is so small. So he was trying to change this. This was his whole life's mission. And always working for results. Hello? A man who's working with such intensity and
commitment is not working for not producing results. Obviously he's working for results. The problem is, you heard what Krishna said
through the words of a king’s servant, nobody else told you. He only spoke to Arjuna. Arjuna never spoke. He lived for thirty-six years after that incident,
but he never uttered one word what Krishna told him. Have you heard anywhere? He ruled as a king, but never once he said
Krishna told me this on the battlefield, not once.
So everything that you have heard is only
from Sanjaya, who was a king servant. You must understand the quality of a king’s
servant, is very reliable. See (Laughter), if you… let's say,
if your husband or wife or children, they saw something, they come and tell you, they
will add a little bit of their own stuff and tell you. It's… it is intrinsic to human being. Their own opinions, ideas, other things will
naturally get into what they're speaking. But a king’s servant is trained, never to
add his opinion, otherwise his head will go. He will only interpret everything word by
word as it was. So he's kind of a ancient tape recorder, okay. He is recording and just telling the king,
this is what he's saying.
But there's no context. What is shared between two people where there's
a very deep relationship, if two lovers are doing something, talking to each other, somebody
else may think they’re quarreling, but they're doing their love affair. So this is a love affair between Krishna and
Arjuna, because they know each other very intimately. So he's speaking a certain language. So a king’s servant takes word by word,
without knowing the context or understanding what it is, the experiential dimension of
what it is, and he's saying. So having said that, see, essentially, it
is just this, whatever you wish to do in your life, you have goals. What kind of goal will you set up? Right now you're in the university.
What kind of goal will you set up? What you already know you will exaggerate
that a little bit and think it's a big goal in your life. Generally, people call this an ambition. I call this a constipation (Laughter). Because you're trying to handle life little
by little just like constipation. If you have a goal, your goal cannot be something
absolutely new, it is only an exaggeration of what you already know, yes or no? Can you think of a goal that you simply don't
know? How is it even possible? So, what he is saying is, don't… you know
there is a direction we have taken, but you have to be dedicated to the process.
Otherwise, goal will just be hallucination. If you… do one thing right now, you know, just don't
take this one breath. Take the other breaths. Let me see. That's all he's saying. He's saying without taking this step properly,
you hallucinate about the goal, what is the point? In yoga, we say this very simply, we say if
you have one eye on the goal, you have only one eye to find your way, it's inefficient,
that's all. So he's just talking about in a battle if
you're inefficient, it is not that you won't get your incremental promotion, you just get…
you just get dead. Hello? In a battle if you are inefficient, you think
you will just lose your marks or something. Grade you will lose, is that what it is? No, you will be buried that evening. So he is telling him because Arjuna is talking
about how to kill all these people and me become a king. He said, “You idiot. You’ve not become a king yet. You need to shoot this guy in front of you
now, properly.
Otherwise, you are not the king, you will
be buried today evening.” That's all he's trying to tell him. Is it wrong? So, you know, every year in the month of November
we have a business event. So two hundred CEO’s were there last year
also, this November it's coming again. And they just look at how seamlessly Isha
Foundation functions, variety of activity, all volunteers. You know volunteers means what? Nobody is trained for the job. They're super dedicated, but they're not trained
for the job. And you can't fire them because they're volunteers
(Laughter). If you hired them, you can fire them. They’re volunteers, how to fire them, you
can't. So they looked at this and said, “Sadhguru
we pick up the best from IITs and IIMs and all this stuff. But you're just doing with volunteers, and
your… your organization functions better than our companies, how is it?” I said, “See, all of you are dedicated to
the goal.
Here, I have continuously instilled in people
that you're absolutely devoted to the process.” Now what you're doing, you do this well, most
of them don't even know where I'm taking them, all right? They're working with a certain project. They don't know what is the goal. I have something else. If I tell them right now they'll freak (Laughter),
because my goals are so far, they will give up. So right now we have instilled this in them,
you just absolutely involved in the process, know the joy of involvement first of all. Without absolute devotion to what you're doing
right now you will not do anything significant in your life. Whether it's art, music, spirituality, politics,
business, take anything – without being devoted to the process that you're doing right
now, you think you will do anything significant? That's all he's saying. It is all the scholars’ interpretations
and interpretations they are doing, messing up Krishna (Laughter). Speaker: Taking forward the theme Sadhguru
about the process inside and work outside.
When we look around the country today we see
so many problems affecting our fellow Indians, poverty, discrimination on the basis of religion,
caste and inequality, and of course when I look inside myself also there are problems. I'm very far from having good process, I'm
definitely not a yogi. And so what is the relationship between this
work which I need to do inside and the work which I… which I need to do outside. Can I do both? Do I need to do one before the other? How can I go about it? Because I don't feel like accepting that I
can do either one or the other. Sadhguru: See if you want to lift this tumbler,
this amount of water, at least you need that much of strength, isn’t it? You may not be a heavyweight lifter, but at
least this much muscle you must have.
(Talks aside: Can I have water please (Laughter)? Thank you.) If you don't have this muscle even taking
up this cup won't happen, isn't it? So tell me, preparing to do something, the
preparation should be before or after? A whole lot of people think, their spiritual
process, they will start after they're seventy years of age, when they are no good for anything
(Laughter). If you understand spiritual process is a disability,
then that's the way to go. I see spiritual process is the greatest empowerment
in my life’s experience, I think it should happen at the earliest possible time.
Unless you're planning to live elsewhere. Those people who are in the upper strata I'm
telling you (Laughter), if you're thinking you'll go there and live well, that's up to
you. To (Laughs) put it in perspective, one of…
one of my projects, of the many projects, one of the project is before I fall dead,
I want to make sure all the heavens are destroyed. Is that okay? No, you want to go there (Laughter)? Because I want to destroy the good food in
the Hindu heaven. I want to destroy… I want to make sure that people eat good food
here. I want to destroy all those angels who are
floating up in the clouds and heavens; I want people, angelic people to be here. And of course I want to destroy all those
virgins up there. Because the very idea that there is a better
place to live than this is a crime (Applause). You want to make a hell out of this and go
somewhere? So this is the fundamental issue.
The issue is just this. If you want to do something, what can you
do? You can only do what you are, can you do something
more? Can you? You can stretch yourself, but still only what
you are, isn't it? So is it not important that first you enhance
what you are. If you enhance this (Referring to one’s
self) activity will naturally happen. Right now, this is one complaint I'm seeing
and I'm seeing even in the universities, people are going like this (Gestures).
We didn't walk like this when… I barely went (Laughter), but the little I
went we were… I am seeing people are walking like this. It looks like they're practicing their last
posture. See, the problems of life have not yet hit
you, okay.When you're in the university, they have not yet hit you, it’s a very protected
atmosphere. All you have to do is read some dumb textbook
and write something. I'm not trying to belittle the study, but
I'm saying the real problems of life have not yet hit you, right? The true challenges have not come yet.
Here only if you're (Gestures), overwhelmed
by this, how the hell will you live in the world, I'm asking? How will you take up any big issue? I'm saying, if you are an issue by yourself,
obviously, you will not take up any big issue and try to bring solutions, isn't it? First and foremost thing you must do is in
your life, you are not the issue. Never. I'm not the problem in my life. There are problems and problems. How many we can solve we will see.
All of them will never be solved. But how many can we clear in our life is a
big question. But if you yourself are a problem, you yourself
being problem means… See, I'm just meeting people every day, fifty,
sixty years of age, still they've not figured how to handle their thought and emotion. When are you going to get it, I am asking? See these are very fantastic faculties that
only human being has, right? No other creature can think like us, no other
creature can emote like us. They're very limited stuff. Here it is so evolved. Now you're suffering that immensely. If you don't learn how to handle your thought
and emotion, you're already thirty, forty, fifty years of age, when are you going to
learn? What is your lifespan, a million years is
it? I didn't know what is the lifespan in Harvard
university (Laughter)? Is it not very important that by the time
you're twelve, fifteen years of age, you know how to handle your thought and emotion.
Otherwise, you're a bloody issue all the time. You don't need any outside issue. You just leave people alone by themselves. They are a big issue by themselves. When you're alone, if you're miserable, you're
obviously in bad company, isn't it? Hello? See, if you don't settle this, if you step
out, well, you will go about blundering and messing around all the time. It looks like you're working for a solution. But when you are a problem, you will only
spread problems. It may look like a temporary solution. This is the reason why, after thousand years,
we're still talking about the same problems. Obviously, we have not solved it, isn't it? After thousand years if human beings have
the same problem, that's very stupid, isn't it so? Only the phones are getting smarter, you know
(Laughter)? Phones are getting smarter by the day. See if you have to call somebody, “He's
very smart.” When do you do that? When you find him smarter than you.
Yes or no? Only then you say, “Oh, he's very smart.” So when you call a phone very smart, it's
a statement. So can I do these things both together? Because enhancing yourself is a limitless
process. It's not a graduation that's going to be over
at one time. But the fundamental is just this, human beings
are going through variety of suffering. Well, those who are in situations of famine,
war, those things who… let's keep it aside. Fortunately, still it's a small population. All right. We don't take care of it, it could become
very large. That is one thing we will keep them aside. Krishna is talking about… even they're not
being bothered on the battlefield.
That's a different matter. I won't take you that far. We will give a margin for them. But those of you who had breakfast in the
morning, what is your problem? Hello? In India, in southern India, where you come
from, in the villages if you go people will come and enquire, “Oota madidra? Oota aitha?” Yes. “Saptingla (Laughs)?” What this means is, the only question they
will ask you is, “Have you eaten?” because after you have eaten what is the problem (Laughter/Applause)? No, no for most human beings if they have
not eaten, there's only one problem food; the moment they eat, they have hundred problems. So it is not that there are problems, it is
just that you have a cerebral capacity that you don't know how to use.
Yes, if you're alone and you're feeling miserable,
what does it mean? Your intelligence has turned against you. Once your intelligence has turned against
you, you pray and call whatever forces you want, no damn thing is going to work for you,
hundred percent. If your intelligence turns against you, you
are a finished case, isn't it? Huh? All kinds of sufferings on a daily basis,
what do you think they're suffering? When is the last time somebody poked you with
a dagger hmm? Never what happened to you, isn't it? So what is the suffering? You poking yourself all the time endlessly? Of course you have good reasons for that. There is no reason, it’s just dumb, stupid,
okay? Yes, it's just dumb, stupid, that you're constantly
poking yourself and you think it's being intellectual? Not at all. You just don't know how to use the sharpness
of your intellect. That's all it is. Instead of using it towards the solution,
you are making a big problem out of it.
You think you're suffering life? No. You're only suffering the two most significant
faculties of being human, which is a vivid sense of memory and a fantastic sense of imagination
– this what you're suffering. You suffer what happened ten years ago, you
suffer what may happen day after tomorrow already. What does this mean? This simply means you're suffering your memory
and imagination. You have no contact with life, because your
psychological structure has become larger than the cosmic structure. This is your problem. This must be settled (Applause), especially
if you're going to get into public life, it's very important you settle this damn thing
that you are not the problem.
You're never the problem. Outside problems according to our capabilities
we'll do our best. That's all there is. Speaker: Sadhguru one question on karma. Sadhguru: Ah, she is… (Laughter)
Speaker: So, can good karma cancel out bad karma? And… Sadhguru: What did you do today (Laughter)? Speaker: I'm asking for humanity, not my…
not for myself (Laughter). And is our life predestined or can we change
it by karma and what is good karma? Sadhguru: See, let's understand this word. I know this will become part of English lexicon. Karma is an English word now (Laughter). The word karma means action. As you sit here, there is physical action
going on. There is mental action going on, emotional
activity going on, energy activity going on in every one of us. Whether you're awake or asleep, four dimensions
of karma are happening all the time. Since you woke up today morning, except for
that bad karma you did (Laughter), no you don't have to reveal that (Laughs). Since you woke up today morning till this
moment, just a few hours.
How much of these four dimensions of karma
did you perform consciously? Speaker: Should I answer? Sadhguru: Hmm. Speaker: I, I was not conscious while performing
my actions. They just happened. Sadhguru: I'm saying for almost every human
being is well below one percent. You take in a day, well below one percent. So when ninety-nine percent of your actions
are accidental or unconscious… you do one thing you just drive here. Here, the traffic is very slow, it's safe
to try this experiment (Laughter). Ninety-nine percent of the time, just close
your eyes and simply sit like this, once in a way handle the steering, let's see where
you will be in five minutes (Laughter).
This is the disaster of human life. So you must understand this. This is the most profound dimension of Eastern
cultures that we told you your life is your karma. This means your life is your making. There is no manager sitting. I'm not talking about you guys (Laughter). There's no manager sitting up there and managing
you. Your life is your karma. The way you make… do it is the way it happens. There is no, no other way. Only because over ninety-nine percent is happening
unconsciously, it looks like some other force is manipulating you. All bad drivers are like this, when they get
into some kind of a crash,“I was driving properly only, something happened.” Have you heard this? “Something happened, something supernatural
happened and I crashed my car.” No, you're just a dumb driver (Laughter). So the same thing goes for life. The same thing goes for life that we constantly
reminded you, now in this generation it's lost in probably, maybe your mother or let's
say your grandmother's generation if they sit down, stood up, they say the karma, prarabda,
mukthi, moksha.
These are proper day-to-day conversation,
not spiritual conversation, yes or no? Every day. It's time you bring it back because karma
means you're reminding yourself, everything that I'm doing and not doing is my fundamental
responsibility. If you ask me, people have been asking, I
have not articulated this till recently, but some people have been asking me, so I'm these
days talking to them. I'm saying, “What is the mission?” they
ask me.
I say the mission is just this – religion
to responsibility. You think it is there? No, it's here. This is what karma means. That you understand. You're the source of your life. Is there no other force working in the universe? Yes, it is. But even to harness this… to harness that
is your business, isn't it? Hello? Even to harness that is your business, otherwise,
what's the point? So karma means your life is your making.
There is nothing else that can decide if you
take charge of your body. Let's say you have some mastery over your
physical body, fifteen to twenty percent of your life and destiny will be in your hands. If you take charge of your mental process,
fifty to sixty percent of your life and destiny will be in your hands. If you take charge of your basic life energy
into your hands, one hundred percent of your life and destiny will be in your hands.
Every young person must first explore this
dimension before you step out into the world and mess other people. Yes, very important. But what is the fix for the mornings bad karma
(Laughter)? You must understand karma is not like reward
and punishment system. It is just residual memory within yourself. Everything, every thought, every emotion,
every action every moment that you do in some way is recorded in the into this. This memory creates a tendency for you because
so much memory is gathered naturally, it's like software, you're writing unconscious
software, every moment. See, if you walk from here to here, I'm telling
you, there are at least twenty-five different kinds of smells. You're not conscious. Unless something is very strong, acute in
some way in a positive or negative way then you will notice, otherwise you're not noticing.You
will see if a dog passes, he is just figuring out you.What you have done, what you've not
done, your good karma, bad karma everything he is just figuring out (Laughs), yes or no? You also are conscious; your system also is
perceiving it because your neurological system is far more superior to the dog's neurological
system.
Do you agree with me? Hello, dog lovers, is it okay? Human neurological system is far more advanced
than any other creature. You are also capable, but because of cerebral
activity you're missing it. You do one thing just go live in the jungle
for some time. You will see suddenly your sense of smell,
you just know everything just by raising your nose a little bit. Sticking your nose out, you just know what's
coming, what's going. You will see in the villages in India they'll
say, “It's going to rain today,” you understand. Nothing, no sign of rain, no cloud no nothing,
he’ll simply (Gestures) and he’ll say, It's going to rain today,” and it will because
the changes that are happening in the atmosphere. So, because of this unconscious nature, if
you walk from here to here, these twenty-five smells for example, are all recorded in the
system and all like this visual inputs, audio inputs, everything is recorded, recorded,
recorded.
Depending upon the type of material you’ve
taken in, slowly you will develop an unconscious tendency. Suddenly you’re like this, not something
else, because of the kind of inputs you've taken in. These tendencies traditionally, because you're
coming from the scripture, traditionally we call this “Vasanas.” Vasana is a very good expression because vasana
literally means smell. So, depending upon the type of smell, accordingly
you draw that type of life towards you or you move in that direction, that's what they're
trying to say.
But this is essentially put… to put it in
modern terminology, you are building an unconscious software. So naturally it begins to function in a certain
way. It doesn't matter what is the software, can
you rewrite it? Of course you can. That is also your karma. So will you allow unconscious activity that
you have performed to rule the nature and destiny of your life or will you make sure
it is the conscious activity that you perform which will rule the destiny of your life? This is something you have to decide (Applause).
Speaker: For a woman who chooses not to be
a mother, who doesn't plan… Sadhguru: Oh, I’ll give you award (Laughter). Speaker: So she has chosen you as an advocate
for a case and you have to fight her case. So what are the… Sadhguru: I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Speaker: So there's a woman… Sadhguru: Yeah, she doesn't have a child. Speaker: …who doesn’t want to be a mother
and she has chosen you as an advocate for her case, and you have to fight the case.
So what are the arguments that you would give
for a woman who doesn't want to bear a child? Sadhguru: I said she needs to be awarded. I have already announced in India, young woman
who are capable of childbearing chose not to do it we will institute an award for them. Because right now the greatest service you
can do in the world is you are not extra populating this planet, okay (Applause). If suppose you were a tiger woman, I mean
to say a female tiger then I would have encouraged you please breed, please breed (Laughter),
because it's an endangered species.Well, you know, see we are not endangered (Laughter).Wherever
you go, there is a crowd. Well, to protect a nation you have to build
a wall otherwise people are coming. Obviously, there's too much (Applause). Obviously, there is too much population everywhere,
isn't it? So, this is something we need to look at in
a very fundamental way.
This is happening because the need… the
need is inbuilt. The reproductive need is a very inbuilt need. Whatever arguments they have, at one point,
the body dictates. Fortunately, there's lot of pain and stuff
involved, otherwise I don't know what would have happened (Laughs). So this need if it… one has to transcend
instead of forcefully putting it down, if your identity naturally shifts beyond your
biological self, you will see these needs will completely disappear. Right now, I want people to understand what
you're looking for is not a child. What you're looking for is involvement. Right now your problem is you simply cannot
involve with people unless they came out of your body. Your… your identity of biology is so strong
you can't simply include these people as yours. “Oh this one came from my body.” This is mine, this (Gestures), this is because
you're trapped in your own biology. That's all it is.
Today, I must tell you in the Isha Foundation,
there are hundreds of couples who have all chosen not to have children. I said, “You want involvement? You want children? I'll give you hundred.” Why one? You take care of them, why should it fall
out of your body, not necessary. Human being has the ability, this is a animal
instinct. This instinct is needed for the survival of
the race, of course. But now the survival of the race depends on
consciously controlling the population a little bit. From the beginning of twentieth century, in
1910, our population was just 1.58 billion. Let’s say 1.6 billion. Today we are 7.6 billion. By 2050, they're estimating we will be 10.3
billion. When it's 10.3 billion I don't want to be
around. Hello? I want you to just imagine another fifty percent
rise in the world's population, you can imagine what all problems you will face.We are ensuring
that our children cannot live well on this planet by producing more children. It's very, very important.
We must understand why this has happened is
not just because of unbridled reproduction. No, that is not true, it’s controlled. It is simply because our life expectancy is
extending itself. It's fantastic. For example, in India, when the British left
India, our life expectancy was twenty-eight years. How many of you are over twenty-five, twenty-eight? I'm sorry. You're all dead (Laughter). That's what it meant. I want you to understand, twenty-eight years. Today it has reached seventy. It’s a phenomenal achievement in seventy
years of independence (Applause). So when we take death into our hands, should
we not take birth into our hands? I'm not propounding any philosophy. I'm just talking simple arithmetic. Hello? When we take death into our hands, should
we not take birth into our hands. If we don't do that, if we do not consciously
contain our population, nature will do it to us in a very cruel way. You want to wait for that day? You can.
But being human beings it will be nice if
we do it consciously, isn't it? Speaker: I personally feel Sadhguru that there's
this phenomenon of castration anxiety in India. Sadhguru: I am sorry. Speaker: Castration anxiety, something related
to male ego. We see that this male ego has… Sadhguru: Where in Harvard University, they’re
trying to castrate? Speaker: It’s kind of everywhere. Sadhguru: (Laughs)
Speaker: It’s kind of everywhere. So, this male ego has been somewhere, you
know, hidden behind the rapes that happened, the sexual harassment that happens, a lot
of gender disparity. I wouldn't say this is the only reason but
it’s somebody's hidden behind and we never address it upfront. And all of these acts are acts of shame. But there is a sense of pride associated with
it. How can we change the sense of pride to a
sense of shame? Sadhguru: See in the question there is a contradiction,
if there is a castration syndrome there shouldn't be rapes.
There are rapes means they're not been castrated,
obviously. Yes. So we need to understand this, there are many
aspects to rape. It is a dangerous subject to tread into because
half the population could turn against you on the planet. And as you say, in the other half also, they'll
turn against you because nobody wants to look at it as it is.
Everybody is trying to make this into your
social cause. There's not a social cause. This is a very fundamental thing. Why is this happening? We need to look at it in a more fundamental
way. One thing is you need to understand, human
hormonal activity is real. It's not, it is not manufactured in your laboratory. It is not manufactured in your mind. It is real, it's in the body. So when does it start? Starts thirteen, fourteen years of age and
picks up momentum. Probably it hits it peaks between eighteen
– twenty-five. But… so life was structured in a certain
way to address this issue.
But today we got modern, what modern means
is totally messed up in your head. You don't look at life as it is. You make up a unreal reality in your mind
and you think that is… that is what should happen. Now we have an education system, where generally
by the time you're competent enough to get into life, you're like twenty-five. So today, maybe you have a lot of relationships
going in the university, but that's not the case everywhere. So the peak hormonal activity, there is no
outlet, alright? There's no any kind of outlet. Well, girls were getting married fifteen,
sixteen years of age; boys were getting married seventeen, eighteen, before twenty.
So it was addressed, even if it was not physically
addressed, it was emotionally addressed, that by the time you're twelve, they're telling
you see this is going to be your wife, this is going to be your husband. Emotionally it was addressed. So they did not look here and there. So now can we go back to that system? Not at all. It's not possible to go back there. What is the new system? At least we must debate, isn't it? If you leave it loose like that, a fundamental
force in human society is hormonal. We are born here. I want you to understand this. You and me are sitting here because somebody
got horny, all right? Hello? Oh, you're not supposed to say this. No, they love… fell in love with… Leave it, somebody got horny (Laughter/Applause).
That is why you and me are here. So it can't be wrong. You and me are here because of that. Only thing is how a human society can conduct
this dimension in a graceful and aesthetically sensible way. That's all we're looking at, right? We're not talking about against sexuality,
we are talking about how to conduct it in a graceful manner. To conduct it in a graceful manner, there
must be addressing human issue as a human issue. This is not a social issue. This is not for a sociologist to discuss;
this is happening in the body. How do we make a conducive situation for people? This debate has to come. Simply putting it under the carpet and thinking
something else and calling somebody rapist. You know, in the national media people are
talking we must castrate this boy, we must do this what, what's happened to us? This is not the way.
I am not trying to approve rape, but I'm saying
it is a genuine issue. It is not something somebody socially deviant
is doing it. It is just that you're trying to suppress
a basic energy within the human being, this will happen. Otherwise will you put them on some sadhana
where they will become like monks and be perfectly fine within themselves. You've not done anything like that in the
society.
There is no discipline of any kind. Everybody is, you know, by the time fifteen,
sixteen they're consuming alcohol, where their judgment goes away. All right, you're encouraging alcohol, you
encouraging titillation, all kinds of titillation through the movies. Pornography is like all over the place and
the guy is supposed to be like (Gestures). This is not going to work. Two drops of alcohol, the guy loses his judgment
and does stupid things. Is it right? Wrong? That's not the way to look at it. Are we brave enough to address human issues
as human issues and try to find solution? Is there an absolute solution? No.
There's no absolute solution. But we can create a society where these things
are minimum, right? There always is crime in every society always
has been. The question is how rampant, isn't that the
only question. Only a fool will think we will create a society
without crime. It doesn't happen like that. It is just that how minimal can we make it? Speaker: So last question Sadhguru. So, in today's society, many influential people,
judges or senior civil servants, armed forces officials, they don't express their personal
political views in public because the thinking is that they hold a post which should be beyond
any political party.
Now, what do you think the role of spiritual
leader should be when you're thinking about politics? Sadhguru: See, everybody as a citizen has
a right to express their opinion if they wish. But people who hold positions in the government
they're not supposed to take political positions. In personal life they can, but in public life
they cannot. I have imposed this upon myself. I need not, many people have not, but I have,
that in public I don't take political sides.
Because if I take a side, I may move millions
of votes in one direction, which I don't want to do. Why I'm saying this is, my concern is this. If one individual can move, let's say a million
or ten million or hundred million votes, this means we will go back to feudalism, not democracy. The idea of democracy and secret ballot is
that every person will think for himself or herself and cast the vote. You are not even supposed to influence your
family, actually. I strictly maintain. My daughter asked me, “Whom should I vote?” I said, you just acquaint yourself what's
happened in the last five years. Do you see you want same people or not, you
make up your mind. Because if everybody does not think for themselves,
right or wrong, it doesn't matter. They doesn't… if they don't think for themselves,
then there is no democracy.
I would say, I'm sorry. But I think in United States is no democracy. It's feudalism, because my father was a Republican. I'm a Republican. My grandfather was a Republican, I am a Republican. The same thing goes for Democrats. How is it democracy? You're already fixed? I am pushing for this in India. I know everybody, all political parties will
be against me. I said, political party members should, should,
should be taken away. Political parties should not be able to enroll
members. Because now you have hundred million members. These hundred million people are simply voting
for you without looking at what you have done or what you're going to do. This should go. Every time, every five years, we must be willing
to evaluate what's happened. Is it worthwhile giving them another chance
or no. This evaluation should happen every, every
election time. But right now it is fixed. Because I belong to this party, anyway I'm
going to vote this party no matter what nonsense they do. This has to go. This is just feudalism, you’ve destroyed
democracy. So as a part of that, I have taken a stand
that I will never publicly give a call, this is the way to do.
But at the same time, everywhere I go, people
keep asking what has happened in the last five years is it worthwhile, I only tell them
see this is what has happened, it's for you to decide whether this is worthwhile or not. You must decide, I will not tell you, this
is great, you must vote for this party, because that will destroy the fundamental democratic
fabric. So judges and others they should not because
they're holding a position which will… which will become weak if they express political
opinion. That's not the right thing to do. But every other citizen has. Recently I was even asked why someone who's,
you know, has a religious whatever you know, like they're talking about the UP Chief Minister,
how can he be a Chief Minister? What I'm asking is, he's a monk, all right? Because he's a monk have you given him any
special rights? Can he drive without a license? Can he go without paying taxes? Is there any special rights? Can you travel in an airplane or a train without
ticket? No, no special rights.
Then why the hell are you taking away the
privileges that other citizens have? Like anybody else he stands for election,
wins the election, he rules. But he may impose his religion. Well, a whole lot of people are drinking alcohol. All right, ministers, chief ministers, are
they imposing alcohol on you? Maybe they will try. They're trying, not only trying they are actually. So if a man is meditating, maybe he will try
to influence, whether you meditate or not is your choice. Can he impose it on you? Does he have the mechanism to impose it on
you? No, these are just rubbish nonsense going
on all the time. Because there are two hundred news channels,
they have to fill it with something. If there isn't news, they got to make it (Applause).
Two hundred channels is too much of news,
isn't it (Laughs)? And everybody says we are the, what we are
right now broadcasting is unique and fresh. Only “We” are doing it. Speaker: I would have loved to ask a followup
question, but I think we're out of time. So let's open it up to the audience. So let's, let's do this. Let's take questions in groups of three and
then Sadhguru can choose how to, how to club them and answer whatever… Sadhguru: I normally answer every question. So just give me one at a time. Speaker: Sadhguru you speak so logically and
it makes sense to me. But at the same time, you're celebrating the
religious festival of Mahashivaratri in a grand way, at Isha Yoga Center. For a young person like me, these religious
festivals seem like outdated rituals.
So I want to know what is the relevance of
Mahashivaratri to the youth. Thank you. Sadhguru: What kind of festival would you
like? Festival? Maybe only the Valentine's Day or something
(Laughter/Applause). That is also religious, it’s Saint Valentine,
all right. So what is Mahashivaratri? You need to understand this there are certain…
in India there are three hundred and sixty-five festivals in a year (Laughter). Yes. Today due to economic reasons and the way
we have structured our work and things, a whole lot of them have died. Still about thirty to thirty-five are being
actively, maybe more than that, about fifty to sixty festivals are being celebrated by
different people. But that number also is decreasing. Largely, maybe about five or six are being
celebrated in a big way. So some of them are social. A few of them may be religious, but hardly
any religious ones. Some are all connected to the calendar. Almost every Indian festival is connected
to the calendar, what's happening in the solar system, we want to do something which is conducive
for what's happening that day in the rest of the solar system.
Why this is important is because what you
call as my body right now, what is human mechanism, is, has come out of this planet. Most people don't get it till you bury them. They think they came from somewhere. No, this body is… solar system is working
like a potter's wheel to generate this. So everything that happens to the solar system
happens to you in some way. So there is a very keen observation of what
is happening in solar system today.
Accordingly, we have crafted one kind of celebration,
and we do those specific things. So on Mahashivaratri night to cut it short
because there's an elaborate subject what you opened up (Laughs), on that day, which
doesn't fall on the same calendar you know, the regular modern calendar date. This time is on fourth of March. On that day, there is a natural… because
you know, planet is not spinning like this, it is spinning a certain way and there's a
precision to the planet you know, what's a precision? Hello? Not precision in terms of exactness, I'm talking
about what is precision in terms of the planet.
The planet’s axis is not simply rotating
like this. It is going like this. It is a wobble, there is a wobble to the planet
always. Because of that wobble it creates a certain
kind of situation on the planet. So on that day, especially in the Northern
hemisphere or only in the Northern hemisphere, there is a natural upsurge of energy. There is a natural upsurge… “Oh, all this energy I don't believe”
you don't, just go sit on the coast. If there is a full moon night, is the ocean
rising? Hello? So a new moon day, full moon day do you see
that the very ocean is trying to rise. Well over two thirds of your body is water. What makes you think body… water inside
the body won't rise. All the fluids in the body are also rising. So you will see these things are they're everywhere.
If you are in… if you ever been in a mental
institution (Laughter), no, you could have gone there ____ (Unclear). You will see on full moon days and new moon
days, people take extra care because those who are psychologically disturbed, become
far more disturbed. People think moon causes madness. That's why lunar and loony and all this stuff. Moon does not cause madness. It just pulls everything up. If you're a little crazy, it makes you more
crazy. You’re little loving, it makes you more
loving. You’re little meditative, it makes you more
meditative.
Whatever is your quality gets enhanced, because
it's kind of, there's an upsurge in the system. This particular day, after the solstice happens
in December. 22nd of December is the winter solstice, after
that the planetary precision is such that there is a natural upsurge on that particular
night in a very big way. If on that night if you lie down, this means
when the energies are trying to move like this, you're kind of obstructing it, it is
not only that you lose the benefit, you could also harm yourself in, in a very sensitive
way.
All these things matter to you only when you
want to be a full-fledged human being. When I say a full-fledged human being, you
want every faculty that can be opened up in the human… human being, you want it to be
opened, not if you are that kind by evening, you’re drunk and sleeping, what is there
also you want to kill it, that's up to you. But if you want to be a full-fledged human
being, you want full scale, everything happening to you, you observe all these small, small
changes that happen in the system and take care of that.
So you want to sit straight, you want your
spine to be erect on that night, when energies are moving upward you want to help it further
go up, not like this. So we created what is called as “Jagaran”
that means to stay alert and to stay erect. How to keep people erect? Just make them sit. You think they will? If I make you sit for another five, six hours,
you will simply sit? No, I have to entertain you (Laughter). So, that night we have a celebration from
evening six to morning six, twelve hours nonstop music, dance, meditation, various things being
done so that everybody stays alert.
Nearly a million people are in one place. But these numbers were exploding. So now we have large screens in over hundred
and thirty cities across the country in southern India, so that people gather there and too
many don't come here but still it will run into somewhere around 700 to 800,000 people
in one place and over eighty-six channels are telecasting it live. So how many millions of people are watching,
we don't know. Last year they said it could be somewhere
around six crore people could be watching. This time it's going to be much more, this
is also the twenty-fifth year of Mahashivaratri in Isha (Applause). Twenty-five years ago we started Mahashivaratri
celebrations in that place with just seventy people.
So it's grown that big because people find
the benefit of what it is. You do one thing, on that night without getting
drunk or drugged, just sit alert. You don't like celebration, so you simply
sit like this. It’s up to you (Laughter). So, you need to understand this, a human being
needs celebration. If celebration has to happen in your life,
you need some sense of playfulness. Otherwise there's no celebration. Most people can celebrate only if you get
them drunk. I will show you a million people in one place. Not a drop of drink allowed anywhere but you
will see full night not one person will sleep, everybody's on, on, on, okay (Applause). Speaker: So I have a question for you. Speaker: Sadhguru, your, your, your thoughts
I would say or I could say your answers about the questions on pregnancy or whether your
thoughts on like what it means for women to bear children or not bear children and the
choice there of was a beautiful answer.
I, I could Sadhguru: Please come to the question. Time is very… Speaker: The context is slightly necessary. I'll keep it short. And your answer about rapes and increasing
cases of rapes or them being sort of a social crime but also there is the association of
pride, etc. that was a question and both the answers in and of themselves were honest answers
but together… Sadhguru: Arre, this is not a commentary just
come to the question. Speaker: But together, but together, is it
possible that there was in your two answers, perhaps unconscious bias or double standard? Because in in the answer to pregnancy, you
said, “Oh, it is just your primal instinct, your biological need for an identity to care
about a certain person, you should grow beyond it.” And you know, answer about rape. You said, “Oh, humans have this… Sadhguru: I know what I have said please. I know what I have said, why don’t you just
ask the question.
I know what I have said (Applause). Come to the question. Speaker: Is it possible that in these two
answers, there is perhaps a subconscious bias or am I reading it wrong? Those two answers to me seemed like, “Oh,
this is biological. Let it go. Oh, this is biological, it won't go.” Speaker: Why don’t you make your point. So let’s hear his answer. Sadhguru: Oh (Laughs), let's understand this,
the hormonal impact on human biology is such it subjugates one's intellect, subjugates
one's knowledge, subjugates social order, and acts beyond that. Is that the way to create a society? No. The whole idea of creating a society is that
all these things will fall into a more graceful slots so that they will function smoothly
to everybody's benefit, not against anybody. That's the whole idea of trying to bring a
civilization to a society is just that.
That's the effort. Have we ever in these whatever thousands of
years, have we ever succeeded one hundred percent in this effort? Have we? No. At certain times, these things have been well
handled, at certain times they've been badly handled. Only thing we can do is how well can we handle
it in our time. That's all there is in our hands. You're thinking of these things as some sort
of absolutes. These are not absolutes. Don't think there is a man who is a rapist
and is a man who is no rapist. It's not like that. It's just that when he goes out of control,
he will do ugly things.
When he is in control, he behaves well. When he is in love, he behaves well. When he is joyful, he behaves well. When he gets frustrated, he behaves horribly. This is the nature of the human being. If you think it needs my endorsement or not,
then you're living in some la la land. This is the nature of the human being. Are we going to create a system where there
is going to be minimum friction among people is the continuous challenge for every generation. Yes, it is a continuous challenge for every
generation. No generation has ever arrived at one perfect
system that it worked absolutely for everybody. Always somebody was exploited. If you don't know the reality of the existence
and you're living in some other psychological state of absoluteness, then that's not the
point. But pregnancy is a choice. And especially now with that, it would… I wouldn't have said it's a choice hundred
years ago, because it just happened. It… just the hormonal thing happened. But pregnancy is a choice. Even if you're sexually involved, still, you
don't have to get pregnant that is possible only for this generation.
If you do not understand the impact of that,
that is the biggest thing that's happened. For a woman that's the biggest thing that's
happened. That is there is birth control, that one can
exercise their choice, whether I want to go into it or not go into it. So that is of a different kind. This is of a different kind. That's why I said if you want to bring both
of them in one category, you come to me I will initiate you into brahmacharya, I'll
give you sadhana, you do that. Both will be by choice (Applause). Speaker: Thank you so much for coming here. I just wanted to ask you about how we can
contribute back to society and give back because everyone keeps talking about contributing
and contributing but it’s really hard for each person to come up and just want to hear
your thoughts on that. Sadhguru: See, when I talk about giving back
something to you, that means I’ve stolen something from you already (Laughter).
Please don't do that. If you don't do the first act, the second
act will not be necessary. As a part of this we had… we have started
this conversation in the business world. It's still picking up momentum but not enough
momentum. I'm talking about structuring businesses in
such a way that you understand in any… any transaction, you're talking about sustainable
business, not only ecologically the business also has to sustain as a business. If any relationship has to sustain, it must
be beneficial for both the parties, whether it's marketplace or marriage, I want you to
understand you’re not, but (Laughs) whether it's marketplace or marriage, unless it benefits
both the people this transaction is not going to go for long, isn't it? So to build a business in such a way that
always it's beneficial for both the parties if you do, first I don't have to take it and
then at the time of retirement, I want to give it back, what is this? This is like the old you know, even the mafia,
and Robin Hoods who steal from other people also give it to people because otherwise they
cannot survive.
So first, don't take it and then try to give
it back, why? Why can't our life process itself is useful
to everything that we do. Why can't businesses be built in such a way
that it's naturally beneficial to everybody. And if you make this happen, if you structure…
today, a lot of impact businesses are coming, which are all thinking on these terms. It is still not large enough as it should
be. But it's beginning to happen as a part of
this. Right now one of the biggest problems we need
to address in the world in the next few years is going to be migration.
It's estimated nearly 1.5 billion people will
migrate in the next five to ten years’ time. When 1.5 billion people start moving, not
one wall, people will try to build walls everywhere. And wall is a solution only till the tide
is of a certain level. When the tide increases, it will fall over
the wall. It will. Not… I'm not just talking to one country, I'm saying
everywhere. So what is the solution for this? The problem is just this, right now nearly
eighty percent of the world's investment is probably… probably in approximately twenty-five
to thirty cities on the planet. This needs to spread. If investment has to spread, who will risk
spreading their investment to a place which is harder to do business, you have to create
a fund which will allow a little more easy money. If you want easy money, you must invest it
in impoverished societies. So we are looking at this in a big way, trying
to work with the United Nations and the large businesses and set up a trust, where businesses
will be given soft loans for long gestation period – twelve, fifteen years, so that
you have time to go there, train the people, create talent and create a business and create
livelihood there, so that people don't have to go away.
What kind of business, well, businesses can
decide what kind depending on the terrain, people, the nature of everything else that
is their ecosystem. But if we don't do this now, that if we don't
spread the world's investment into various areas, you will see when one segment of population
is living with so much comfort and well-being, another segment has nothing, you cannot control
it. All these years you controlled it because
there was no transportation, you understand? Now everybody has transportation, one way
or the other they will come in.One way or the other they will come in. It doesn't matter what kind of barriers you
put up in the next ten years’ time they will come anyway, unless you put investments
in various places and create livelihoods. The businesses have to be structured like
this, young people who are studying business you must think of solving world's problems
rather than just thinking of some fanciful ambition.Your ambition, whatever it is, I
want you to understand this.
You will realize this as you go with your
life, but if you realize early it's better. In terms of activity, whatever activity we
perform in the world, how deeply… how deeply we touch another life is the most profound
satisfaction of activity. That's the purpose of activity, really. Do you want to write a book that nobody wants
to read? No. Do you want to cook something that nobody
wants to eat? Do you want to build a building where nobody
wants to live? When you do something, you want it to touch
somebody's life. So if this is the thing, young people who
are going into business, you must think on these terms, how to impact maximum number
of lives and where can we do it. If we don't create this opportunity and allow
migrations to happen, you will see terrible things happening when people migrate.
So you must understand this right now, between
Africa and the United States, Spain, Italy, all these places, every year, thousands of
people are drowning in the waters, they are not reported. Media will not report that. Nobody wants to report that because there
are unwanted people. But some deaths will be reported, deaths are
reported. Is anybody capable of reporting the human
suffering of leaving their homeland take… dragging their woman and children and going
somewhere that suffering can anybody report ever, I'm asking? Is death the only thing that matters? Human suffering matters, isn't it? Human suffering cannot be reported by news
media. Only if deaths happen, they will say hundred
people died, two hundred people died but that is not the real thing.
Those thousands of people who left their homelands
where they have lived forever and coming and desperately looking here and there, losing
their wives and children and husbands and searching here and there, this is not a small…
small thing. This is going to scale up in a tremendous
way if we don't spread investment, if we don't spread businesses into societies which are
struck… stuck in poverty right now (Applause). Speaker: I am… we are… we are out of time. It's 12:30, so on behalf of everybody let
me thank Sadhguru very much (Applause). Speaker: Thank you so much..