Sadhguru: Namaskaram and good morning to everyone
(Applause). Hey I said “Good morning,” hmm! Participants: Good morning (Sadhguru Laughs)! Interviewer (Shreya): Good morning everyone. Sadhguru: Hey she... she said… she said
“good morning.” Participants: Good morning! (Laughter) Interviewer (Shreya): I would like to thank Sounds of Isha
for this wonderful and mesmerizing performance and, (Applause) on behalf of IIT, Kharagpur,
I welcome the man of great prominence, who has taken upon empowering the mankind
with his knowledge and wisdom, Sadhguru (Applause). I thank him and his entire team for coming all the way
to IIT, Kharagpur for having this interaction with us. Thank you Sadhguru (Applause).
Sadhguru: Mhmm (Indicating acknowledgement). Interviewer (Shreya): And now without any further delay,
we'll start with the questions which IIT, Kharagpur is keen to ask to you and before that, I give my
introduction. Hello everyone, I'm Shreya Satra, a third year undergraduate from the Department
of Electrical Engineering (Applause). Interviewer (Idrees): Hello everyone. My name is
Idrees Islahi. I'm a third year undergraduate of the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering,
IIT, Kharagpur (Applause). Interviewer (Siddhartha): Good afternoon one and all.
My name is Siddhartha Menon. I'm a final year undergraduate student of the Department
of Architecture and Regional Planning (Applause). Interviewer (Shreya): Here we
begin with our first question. Interviewer (Idrees): So Sadhguru, the first question is,
you've been traveling all around the world, meeting many number of people and
affecting as well as helping their lives, for the past thirty-five years as far as I hear. In all
these years, you may have affected millions of lives. I feel it's also the government’s responsibility to take
good care of people and to help them. So my question is, why don't you establish a political party (Laughter)
and run for the people’s representer (Cheers/Applause). Sadhguru: Well, we have a very distorted perception
of what is politics, unfortunately, largely in the world, particularly in India. If something… If you do something
wrong, we say, “Oh, he's doing politics” (Laughter). See what he's trying to push me into (Laughs).
But the real perspective of this is, politics means it's about policy making. That means
you set the direction for the nation, as to where the nation should go, what it should achieve,
where people should get, essentially directing the ship. But if you look at a nation as a journey,
we are going somewhere, somebody has to captain it. Well, I think it is one of the most significant things
that needs to be done in the world in a most responsible and sensitive way. Well,
unfortunately, a whole lot of them have not earned this. That today, it's become like this,
if you utter the word “politics,” it looks like we're... talking about something dirty.
It's… It's almost like that. So having said that… You okay if I tell you a joke? It’s all right (Few Laugh)?
You are serious man, that's I'm asking you (Laughter)? This happened, three men who are in the older age who
are retired one was a surgeon, another was a general, another was a politician. They
met in the old age home, and they had a golf game, it went all bad. So they thought at least they'll
have some good gossip. Bad game what to do? At least good gossip!
So, they started this and then they said… the surgeon said, “Of all the professions,
the most important profession is that of a surgeon because it is only by cutting the Adam’s one rib and
making woman out of it, that this whole world happened. So what can be more significant than that?
Surgeons profession is the most important profession in the world.” So the General said, “Oh come on.
It is clearly said that there was chaos and then order had to be brought in before
this rib surgery happened. And who else but a general can bring order? Obviously
we were before you and only because we brought order, you could do the surgery.” The politician said, “You guys
are getting it all wrong but who created the chaos” (Cheers/Laughter/Applause)? Well, that's not how
it should be. That's not what politics means. Politics means sorting out problems, not creating
problems. So why should I not start a new party? You didn't tell me to join the existing ones at least,
so that’s a good thing (Laughter/Applause). So it looks like I have at least a thousand votes here
(Laughter). But that's not going to get you anywhere. But that's not the point. The point is this, there are
two dimensions to human life, one is arranging the external situations,
which is in a way policymakers business, and another is settling the interiority of the human being
In this culture we have always held settling the interiority of the human being
far more important than arranging the outside. Because however well you arrange it,
still if you are not organized well within yourself, still your life will be a mess. See all of you, I'm telling you,
I'm sure in IIT Kharagpur, there are 12,000 students. There must be at least 24,000 complaints (Laughter).
Hello (Laughs)? But the fact of the matter is, compared to any other generation ever in the
history of humanity, you and me are living in the highest level of comfort and
convenience and empowerment, isn't it so? Isn’t it so? Participants: Yes. Sadhguru: But still, no generation as ever
whined the way we are whining all the time. We're not enjoying this organization. Never
before in human history, human survival was this well organized as it is today.
So this is the time for a human being to organize the inner aspect of you so that the external
organization doesn't go waste. Why I'm saying this is, already there's enough
proof in the world that people can mess up… the most best organization on the outside can be
messed up by internal things. Thirty-eight percent... Thirty-eight percent of the European population
is on psychiatric medication. Why I'm picking on the European population is,
this is a society which has enjoyed longest period of economic and material well-being on this planet right now. All… almost nearly two hundred years they've enjoyed
material well-being like no other society in the world. How they got that material is another matter,
I don't want to go into that (Laughter), okay? But they have enjoyed material well-being
for so long and thirty-eight percent, if you just withdraw a few medicines from the
marketplace, the nation or the… all those nations can go crazy tomorrow morning. Yes. If
pharmaceuticals go on strike, really, everybody goes crazy. How is this? You call this
well-being? So one must understand, just organizing the external situations
is not going to bring human well-being. You can organize comfort. You can organize convenience. You can organize survival. You cannot organize well-being. Well-being is
something that you have to earn within yourself. I have taken it upon myself to bring human well-being,
because this is inner organization of yourself. This is very important, otherwise all the bounty that this
science and technology has offered us will go waste. And this bounty has not come free. Let's say we
are sitting in the comfort of this hall right now. If this hall has to come up, every worm, insect, bird,
animal, plant, tree has suffered, isn't it? Yes or no? For every convenience that you and
me are enjoying, haven't every other creature on this planet
suffered immensely? Hello? Participants: Yes. Sadhguru: And when we cause so much suffering,
at least we must be well. We sit in this comfort and we are miserable,
we had no business to cause suffering to them, isn't it? In pursuit of our well-being we did all this
in the world, are we really well? We are the most comfortable generation ever. But can
we claim we are the most joyful generation ever? Unfortunately no, isn't it? That's what I'm
trying to change. So politics, there are so many people eager to do,
we need to change them (Laughter/Cheers/Applause), that being in politics is not of personal
ambition, but towards nation’s well-being. This context we have to change in them, it is not a
profession, it is a certain service that you have to render. So if
this context changes in their minds and hearts, which we are trying to change, that will be bigger
than me starting another party (Applause). I think there are too many parties (Laughs).
Even the EVM machine is complaining (Laughter) because there are not enough slots for all the parties.
They are not able to find enough symbols. You know, all kinds of things, bicycle is
okay, it's a common man's vehicle. But anything and anything you know there are gas
cylinder, there’s a broom, and there is a whatever (Laughs). All kinds of things because they are not even
able to find symbols, what symbol would you give me, hmm (Laughter)?
So he says “Turban” (Laughs). Then only the Sardarjis will vote for me (Laughter/Applause). So there is no need for one more political party.
I would say there should be reduction of political parties in the country (Applause), to
two or three or four, not two hundred parties. It’s just confusing the people, they don't
even know whom to vote for. Because your chacha has started a party, how
can you not vote for it (Laughter)? You (Laughs)… You don't know what is his ideology,
you don't know what is his policy, what is his vision for the nation, nothing,
but he's your chacha (Laughter). So if I start, all the millions of people
who are in some way drawn to me, they will not know what is my vision, why I wanted to
start this political party, “Sadhguru, we will vote him” (Laughter). I don't want
to bring that nonsense (Laughs/Applause). Interviewer (Siddhartha): Sadhguru, I see myself
relentlessly pursuing goals with a kind of a go-getter’s attitude at times. And in other times,
I am deliberately very patient and I wait for things to unfold in their own unique
and beautiful way. I've had the pleasure of having… Sadhguru: What is it? You are talking about your love
affair or your profession (Laughter/Applause)? Interviewer (Siddhartha): And I've had the pleasure of
having wonderful experiences in both worlds (Laughter). So what I would like to ask you is according
to you, what is a better approach to things? Sadhguru: But where did you find this out of the
world girl (Laughter/Applause)? Both worlds he is saying (Laughter). We would like
to see the girl is she is here (Cheers/Laughter). Well see, in terms of doing anything in the world…
Well, we should know what we're doing, the capability, intelligence, all these things are there.
But one important aspect that especially when you're young you try to miss is,
the timing. If you don't time your actions right, even the best actions will go waste. Timing it, is there…
so people who don't know how to time it, they will look… look at the astrological chart and say, “This is good time,
bad time, or auspicious time, inauspicious time.” Because it's nine o'clock, your girl was coming,
it’s rahu kala, you don't look at her (Laughter). Hey it’s bombed, your love affair is over (Laughs).
So those who don't know how to time their life, they will start looking for standard charts what is
good time, what is bad time? There is no such thing. Timing is most important. This is something
I'm constantly striving with people around me to understand the significance of timing. They all
think… the significance of the action they understand, but they don't understand most of the time,
the significance of timing. If the timing is right, even a small action
will produce a huge impact. The timing is wrong, even if you push so hard,
only little will happen. So timing is very, very important.
How do you arrive at this? This is a complex affair, because you first
of all… let's only handle one aspect because if you go into the other you will fall into the astrological
charts. One aspect is, see you as a human being... Let's say you take twenty-four hour time or
if you want to take a longer time, let's say a week or a month, if we take. In one month,
twenty-four hours every day, one month long, thirty days, are you in the same state of physical and mental
competence? No, it's all the time going here and there. So when you want to hit a important shot, you must
be at your best. So this timing you take care of it. Outside timing is there, that'll take a lot
of experience and wisdom to time with the world. But at least with you, you time it. When you are at
your best, you do important things. When you're not so good, you don't do it. Just three
days ago, somebody in Bangalore was telling someone else here about his
experience of driving with me. Many years ago, almost eight years ago, he still
remembers because it's so terrified him (Few Laugh) because my right leg is heavy (Laughs). So he said,
“The way he was driving that day, I said ‘Sadhguru, don't drive like this.’” He said... it
seems I said, I don't remember maybe I said. I so… Because I look at it like that I should have
said (Laughter). On a particular day when I'm on, I know today
I can do anything and I will do it right, anything. Another day, I'm little not there, then I know today I’m…
I step back and I go little more cautiously like everybody else.
Otherwise I go boom. So I'm driving that day like that and he is
terrified. I said, “Don't worry, today nothing will
happen because I'm in this condition. This day, nothing will go wrong for me, I'm
on today.” So this timing at least… there is also timing
with the rest of the world, the situations. That will take much more experience and observation
to hit the right thing at the right time. But at least the timing with yourself that you are at
your best when you want to do important things, you are at your best, this must happen.
Once you understand this then you will realize it's extremely important to keep
yourself at your best every moment of your life. Because every little thing that you do, if
you learn to do it with as much significance as the so called big things that you do, then
you will see the cumulative impact of that over a period of time is so big, you didn't
do anything big, you did only little, little things. But these little things add up to something phenomenal,
simply because you took care to do those little things with absolute intention and attention, intensity
of expression of what you're doing. So one fundamental thing, before you realize
and read all these things properly within yourself and around yourself, one simple thing
is just this. You don’t decide what is important, what
is not important. Just pay as much attention to everything the same way
and apply yourself with the same level of intensity, if God comes, same intensity, if an ant comes,
same intensity of attention and involvement. You just do this, everything will sort itself out. But
right now the biggest problem with human beings is, they think this is important, that's not important,
this person is great, this person is no good, this is okay, this is not okay, this is God, this is Devil.
This is their problem. In this, they are becoming half-a-life. Because
half the time they are not there, because they think it's not important. Tell me,
you’re breathing right now, is it important? Interviewer (Siddhartha): Very important. Sadhguru: Yes. So you must do it with total involvement
and intensity. Then we'll say... we'll call you a yogi. Do you understand? You… you… at least a beard
is coming (Laughter). You better learn to breathe properly (Laughter). No, no.
The beard doesn't just grow on a yogi, it grows on every man (Laughter). Why they have
removed it you must ask (Laughs). Nobody knows. So if it is not important, you must stop it,
isn't it? Just do this one thing – there is no such
thing as important and not important. Whether you look at your friend or you look
at somebody you don't like, you… you… doing something important or important in
socially or not so important socially, as far as you are concerned as a life, every
moment of your life is equally important. Everything that you do is important.
What is not important, just don't do it. Why are you investing in your life? Why are you investing
your life in something that you think is not important? You're doing something silly, let's say. I think
it's not important, it doesn't matter. But you think it's important. Only if you think it's
important you must invest your life in it, isn't it? Otherwise why? If you do this, you will
arrive at the timing, it will take a little time but you'll arrive at the timing
and that timing is extremely important. Extremely! You have… you watched games, let's say maybe
cricket or golf, if you watched, always everybody is talking about the timing of hitting
the ball. Strength of hitting the ball is not the thing, it's the timing. Somebody hits the same ball with
great amount of, you know, wasting energy. Another person just flicks it, it goes to the same place.
So timing! That is true even in your life. Timing is the most important thing because
the time that you have in this life and the energy that you have in your life is limited. It's a limited
resource. Nobody has endless energy, isn't it? Nobody has endless time. So, you have to time it right.
First thing is to ta… start observing yourself. When you're at your best you must do, and
now if you observe yourself sufficiently, you will see you have to be at your best
every moment. There's no such thing as “this is important,
this is not important” (Applause). Interviewer (Shreya): So Sadhguru, there are times in life,
when I’m just doing excellent, doing to my fullest. But then suddenly a feeling creeps in, which
tells me that your downfall is near. It bothers me and… Sadhguru: Maybe you just landed (Few Laugh). Interviewer (Shreya): Yes and with this feeling
getting into the system, my performance actually starts to deteriorate. So Sadhguru, how do
we find these inner monstrous voices? Sadhguru: How many monsters do you have
(Laughter) within you? I thought there's only one monster, that's
you (Laughter). This we must be very clear. See, if you are hearing two voices within
you – an angelic voice and a monstrous voice, this doesn't mean something fantastic
has happened. This means you're either schizophrenic or you're
possessed (Laughter). Yes. You either need a psychiatrist or a exorcist (Laughter).
So, this is very important. This people are doing in the name of religion,
in the name of spirituality, in the name of so called modern solutions to everything.
In many ways, this is finding expression. In India, we have a huge vocabulary for these things.
If you say anything to anybody, “Oh, this is my ahankara, this is my ego doing this, this
is my… this is my soul, this is my this, this is my that.” Well, if so many people are speaking from within you,
if so many people are stuck in this one body, this is a ailment, isn’t it? Hello? If there is more than
one in this body, is this an ailment or no? Only one. This body is designed for one, isn't it?
This is the most fundamental thing you must do, there is just you and you and you in this.
There is no another. The moment there is another, this is a trick. Initially
you play this trick, when something happens well, “Of course it's me.” When something
didn't happen, “I don't know some other voice, somebody else,
my ego, my (Applause)…” All kinds of other creatures which don't exist,
you manufacture in your mind. You can call it atman, para-atman, God speaks
within you, Devil speaks within you. See, whenever people said “God spoke to me,” disasters
unfolded (Laughter). Yes. Have you seen this? The President of United States at one time, about fifteen
years ago or eighteen years ago, said “God told me…” Oh, what a disaster! 600,000 people died and a
whole nation destroyed. That is the kind of things always happened
when God spoke (Few Laugh) because… because I want you to understand it's not about God
speaking, when you want to say something absolutely illogical and unreasonable, you bring the
God and the Devil (Cheers/Applause). So, if there is more than one voice, you have
to kill the other voices. For this you must understand there is a complexity
to human mind. That's what is fantastic about us. If you had the brain of an earthworm, of course
you would be eco-friendly (Laughter), but there would be no IIT (Laughter).
Isn't it (Laughs)? I’ve nothing against the earthworms,
they are fantastic creatures (Few Laugh), but there would be no IIT, for sure.
There would be no technology. They would be just eco-friendly, earth would
be good with earthworms. But so many things, possibilities wouldn't
happen. So the complexity of who we are, is the greatest
gift we have, isn’t it so? There is a cerebral complexity, which is what
makes us who we are. This is the greatest gift. But this is what
every human being is suffering. I'm asking all of you though you are in Kharagpur,
when was the last time you were stabbed by a dagger? Hello? Even in Bengal, it can didn't happen
(Laughter/Applause)? No, they're really ignoring you. Okay (Laughs)? Maybe the biggest thing that happened to you
is a mosquito bit you (Few Laugh) that is the level of suffering that the world is
inflicting upon you. Rest of the suffering is all on self-help,
isn't it? So why are you suffering like this? Because… I'll ask you a simple question, tell
me yes or no. Because I'm also going to bless you according
to your question. Do you want your intellect to be sharp or
blunt? Participants: Sharp. Sadhguru: Okay. Participants: (Few responses) Blunt… (Laughter) Sadhguru: What department are these guys
(Laughter/Cheers/Applause)? Oh. Is it political science (Cheers/Applause)? Is it one of the
disciplines, sir? Is it one of the disciplines in the… No. Then how (Laughs)? There’s infiltration in your
college (Laughter). So, you naturally want your intellect to be sharp. That
means intellect is a cutting instrument, it's like a knife. The sharper it is, the better it is, isn't it? So there
are children who’re being tortured here (Laughter) by me, by me. Parents have come out of their eagerness,
but I'm not singing a lullaby or anything, I'm talking like this (Laughter). So suppose there is a
very sharp knife here, would you give it to the child? Why? Because, not because a knife is dangerous,
because the child may not be steady enough to handle such a sharp instrument. It could hurt itself,
or it could hurt somebody. So right now, out… after millions of years
of evolution, we gave you an intellect. Tch. “We” means I’m on the side of nature,
okay (Laughter)? We gave you a sharp mind. Now you're cutting yourself all over the place,
and you're complaining about it (Laughs). No, no, when something is sharp given to you,
you must learn how to hold it, isn't it? You have to learn how to handle it. If you hold
it at the wrong end, or if you move irresponsibly, you will cut yourself. Right now… these are
all individual expressions of “someday I feel like this, someday I feel like this.”
Human beings, essentially, are going through a whole lot of suffering. Somebody’s
in the war zone, somebody’s in a famine zone. I will leave those human beings, because that's
a different scene. But the rest of the people are all suffering
only one thing, their own intelligence. If you took half their brain away, they would
sit peacefully (Gestures) (Laughter). Yes or no? No demons, no Gods, no voices – peaceful.
Yes or no? So we are complaining about the greatest
gift that we have. The only reason why, compared to all other creatures,
we are dominating here, is because of our cerebral capability, isn’t it? You’re not as
strong as an elephant, you’re not as ferocious as a tiger, but the poor tiger needs to be protected
today (Laughter). It’s no more a “Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night” (Referring to William Blake’s Poem “The Tyger”)
(Laughter). Poor tiger, we need to save it, because…
because of the sharpness of our mind, we are able to just about do anything.
And this has become the problem. So this has become the problem because we
gave you a very complex machine, and you not bothered to read the user's manual
(Laughter), and you're trying to handle it blindly. Now, all kinds of things will speak. I want you to
understand this in the cases of schizophrenia, the largest number of personalities that have happened
or manifested in one human being, that they have studied, there could be more somewhere
else, but what has been studied and recorded is, thirty-two full scale personalities in one human being,
has been studied and recorded. Thirty-two. That is like thirty-two people are living
in this body and talking different languages, and incredible capabilities, this guy speaks Bengali,
that guy speaks Kannada, that guys speaks Malayalam like this, they just pick this up, because everything
that you heard somewhere is recorded. If you want each one of them, you can make
it into a different personality. Right now, maybe, there is no conscious memory
of here in this… I'm sure in this campus, so many people are
speaking so many different languages. If there are three Tamil people, and they are
speaking Tamil, you didn't understand a word of it, but it is recorded. If you want, you can make that into a
person of your own, and tomorrow start speaking Tamil. And that person knows Tamil. You as a person do
not know, that's how complex mind is. It has a million chambers. You will never
get to explore all of it. But the important thing is, you must establish
within yourself, there's only one you. Only then, you can use this. Otherwise it'll use you,
because it's too complex. Everybody is afraid today wherever I go (Laughs),
they're calling me for all kinds of artificial intelligence conferences in the world. And their fear is, “It will take
away our jobs, it will dominate our lives, it will take over the world!” I said, “Yes, if you
remain as stupid as you are, it will! For sure it will” (Laughter/Applause). Because
right now, your own intellect has taken over your life and destroying you.
Make you suffer for nothing. If I leave you alone in a room, all by yourself,
if you're capable of being miserable, this means you're in bad company, isn't it?
Hello (Laughs)? If I'm with you, and you suffered, maybe it's me. But you're sitting alone and suffering.
This means you're in bad company, isn't it? You have to fix that one thing. That this one
(Referring to oneself) is never bad company. This is the best company you have (Applause).
For this, there is a simple treatment. The simple treatment is just this. You start seeing
this much whatever happens to me in my life, good things happen, ugly things happen,
nonsense happens, great things happens. Doesn't matter whatever happens, and whatever did not
happen in my life, it's all my responsibility (Applause). Now, there'll be only one person. If you see this is
my responsibility, there will be on only one person. Otherwise God will speak here, Devil will speak there,
atman will speak from here, parmatman will speak from somewhere else (Laughter),
and they'll drive you crazy. See, most of the society is in different
levels of madness. If you're alone, and if you can suffer, you're
in some state of madness, isn't it so? Only thing is, you're in a socially accepted
level of madness (Laughter). You have to graduate to go into a asylum (Laugh).
But without anybody doing anything, if I am able to cause enormous misery to myself,
is this a case or no? Hello? This is a case, isn't it? But because everybody’s in the same state,
we think it's normal. No, it's not normal. Somebody coming and doing something good to
you or bad to you is a possibility. You should never cause damage to this
(Referring to oneself), isn't it? Hello? If you are causing trouble to this (Referring to oneself),
obviously you haven't figured out the fundamentals of your own existence. This is why it is very,
very important that I'm not starting a political party (Laughter/Applause). Interviewer (Siddhartha): So Sadhguru, I learned from
my mentor architect, that architectural interventions should not be just about minimizing ecological
disturbance, but it must be instead about enhancing the very life that resides
in a structure. So as an architecture student, I would like
to know if design has the ability to heal and improve the quality of the life of the
people occupying a structure. Sadhguru: See, if you look at the physical
world, whether it's your body or a blade of grass, or the planet, or whatever, the physical universe is all
about geometry, isn’t it? Just to give you an example, this about three years ago, maybe, and I'm walking
through the Yoga Center, which is… people generally think it's very well…
its architecture is unique and different. So I'm walking through for various details
looking at it. Then I see, in a place where lots of people come
every day, there is a tree branch, which was in a certain… this thing. So I looked at
this and I said, “Please cut this tree branch.” I did not explain to them, I just said cut
it, and I went on. Then the next day I was leaving the country,
and I was not there for about a month and a half. Then after two or three weeks, they wrote a very
apologetic note to me, saying that, “Sadhguru, you asked us to cut the tree branch.
But we thought, why would Sadhguru want to cut a tree branch?” When always I’m talking about you
would not going to cut anything which is not absolutely necessary. “We didn't cut it, but the rain and winds came
and it fell down.” Fortunately, there were no people. If there were people, things would have
happened, you know? “We're very sorry, we don't know why you
asked us to cut it.” See, how long something stands, or how well something
functions physically is only a question of geometry. I'm saying even your body. How you sit will determine
how long the different parts of your body will last. How you stand, how you walk… Today, for runners
and others do you know this posture correction has become a huge science. They got machines.
They got all scanning machines which will tell you if you stand like this, how your
vertebra are, or how your ribs are, how… if you do like this, where is your stomach, where is
your liver all this, because if you run the wrong way, you will damage yourself. This has come into sports in
a big way now, but yoga is always about this. The whole system of yoga is about aligning your
geometry with the larger cosmic geometry so that, you can function with least amount of friction. If we
say... there are mechanical engineer aren’t there? If you say a machine is well engineered, essentially
you're saying its geometry is well-aligned. A misaligned geometry means, lots of friction,
isn't it? So this goes for your body, this goes for every shape and form, everything that is
functional in the universe has to be geometrically in sync, otherwise
it will cause disturbance. So does the geometry of a building make a difference?
Absolutely. Especially if you're a little sensitive, it will make a huge difference. For everybody,
it makes a difference. Most people don't understand, not… don't
notice anything about themselves. They only understand the consequence.
They only understand “I'm not feeling good.” They don't know why they're not feeling good.
People don't notice that. But the very shapes and forms that you have
around you has a certain impact, because you are also a physical form. And how
this physical form is, how this is, how that is, all this has a certain geometric impact. If you… I'm
sure many of you have felt this, especially the girls, probably, would feel it more, if they walk into a building,
“I don't like this”, just like that. You know, it's always when men woman, husband
and wife, go to buy a house, the husband sees all the brochures and say, “This is
good, this is good, and it’s priced well, it's fantastic!” She walks in and say, “I don't like it (Laughter)!” “Why?”
“I don't like it, that's all (Laughter)!” Because she doesn't feel good, that's all she knows.
She doesn't know why she doesn't feel good, she doesn't know what… what is the shape which is
causing this, but she knows this doesn't feel good. So the shapes and forms have a significant impact on
you, if we paid enough attention. So you must look at this. You're from South?
Well, you’ve come from Kerala, you must look at the South Indian temples,
how geometrically perfect they are. You take your laser measuring instruments
today and check it, it's perfect, you know? How important that the right angles are right
in this building, it's not right (Laughter) and how the shapes and forms make a difference, is
something that they examine to the minutest possible thing when they built the ancient
temples, particularly in the South. The North Indian temples are all brick temples.
They're done in a certain way, it looks like they've all been put up in a hurry (Few
Laugh), you know? No, why I'm saying this is, I think the northern belt took a lot of invasions, and the ancient
temples were destroyed. They all put it up in a hurry. When they could, they just put it up. But in South,
they took time and engineered it in a certain way, you can feel it, you don't have to believe anything,
you just go and sit there, you feel a certain… that space has a certain impact on you.
Our homes should be built like this. Our offices should be built like this.
Because it's very important that… See, we know this for plants and animals
and everything, the atmosphere in which they live is very important,
the habitat, otherwise they won't thrive, isn't it? The same goes for the human being. If you just want
to somehow live and die, you can live anywhere. But if you want to thrive, really, then it's
important how… what kind of spaces you live in. There is a whole science to this, which is generally called
as agamma. People think it's temple-building science. It's not about temple-building. It was to be built…
every human habitation was to be built that way. Whole lot of people couldn't afford it for their house,
they did it only for the temple, because it's… takes more involvement and care for this.
So this is the reason, this is one of the reasons why, you Kerala people, no matter what, first thing in the
morning, you shower, you go… see, you must understand, only the South this
instruction is still there, in the North, it's gone. In South, even today, this instruction is there if you
go to the temple, you don't have to pray, you don't have to appeal to some God, you just
have to sit there for some time. Hmm? Have they told you? You must sit there. But
what people are doing today is, they’re just touching their bottom to the floor
and going away. That's not the idea. The space has been built with such care.
You must sit there and experience this, and allow your system to make use of it.
Because this is a geometry too. The entire system of yoga is just this; Hatha
Yoga is all about correcting your geometry, constantly, that if you walk through the world, you will walk
through it effortlessly. If your geometry is not right, then you will see, every point you'll get tangled up.
So architecture in India is… right now, except a few, the new architecture that's been done,
unfortunately, we have a serious, you know, mental enslavement. Whatever is done in
the Western countries, we're doing it, not considering our weather, our… the temperatures and
everything, simply. Even our clothing is like that, largely. If you go out of IIT, probably, most of you will be wearing
a suit, with jacket, and... and a noose around your neck. In forty degrees temperature (Laughter), how
to wear a jacket (Applause)? I was meeting some important CEOs, and I told
them, “See, in your board meetings…” it's compulsory, in lot of companies, they
must be jacketed and tied up. I said, “A CEO means people expect he will do the most
sensible things (Laughter/Applause).” No, we must… we must understand, a large company
means people have handed over their own money, their savings, their hard earned savings to somebody
and expect this guy to do the most sensible thing. But this guy wears thick jacket and a tie
in forty degrees temperature. I don't expect this guy to do sensible things (Laughter).
So architecture is not just about the buildings, the very ways we sit and stand, the furniture, even
our clothing is architecture in a way, all right? We may call it by different names, we may call a design,
fashion, but it's essentially about shapes and forms. It's very, very important. It's time we bring it, because
last fifty years or so, since 1950, since this IIT, we've been in a survival mode desperately trying
to somehow make our people survive in this country. Now we’ve come to a reasonable levels of well-being.
Though it's not touched every human being, at least large segments have come to reasonable things.
This is the time that we need to look at more sophisticated way of existence, and it's not
always expensive, it is not. We can create something very wonderful.
You must come and see, we’ve create a buildings… See the… right now, I'm telling you the simplest thing,
right now this is a flat roof. I don't know what… (Talks aside: What is this roof outside? A-frame,
is it? It’s a A-frame.) So right now, between the roof and the gravity,
there is a fight. Going on or no? You may not see the fight, but it's happening.
There is tension here. And one day, someday, who do you think will
win, the structure or the gravity? Participants: Gravity. Sadhguru: Gravity will win. So we created structures
which are standing up, not because of the strength of the material, but
simply because of the perfection of geometry. So it's the gravity which is holding it up,
not gravity pulling it down. You must come and see these buildings, they’re
unique and fantastic. The one thing I'm very proud of that we created
(Laughs), the building is designed to last for at least a minimum of 3 to 5000 years, because
there is no material that are deteriorating, there's no steel, there is no cement, there's no
concrete. It's just burnt brick… See, even if you go to Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa,
or whatever the most ancient civilization what is it that you find? Burnt clay is the
only thing that survived. It's burnt brick and just lime which is holding
the thing up. It's not the strength of the material. It's the
perfection of geometry. Unless a very… it’s seismically-sensitive area, so
we put it on sand beds. So it takes small shock. Suppose a very major earthquake which opened
up the land happened, only then it’ll come down, otherwise it will not come down (Applause). Interviewer (Siddhartha): Sadhguru, I have a follow up
on this. But I think today, in today's scenario, we have a standard set of codes which are developed
(Sadhguru laughs) by the most premier institutes, and it seemed like nobody just wants to take the
responsibility of the work that they're doing themselves. They just want to put it on the code.
So if the building comes down, they say that, “You know I followed the code, and it was
not my fault,” and they just don't take responsibility of it. Sadhguru: See, for… they’re trying to
do everything by the thumb rule, all right? If you want to do things by thumb rule,
you don't need an engineer or an architect, you need a mestri (Referring to Mason) (Laughter/Applause). You... you call yourself an architect because
you think beyond the standards, and what they say, “This big member is needed,” you
engine… you… you get the geometry of it right, and put this big member and still make it safe, that is
where an architect is. Otherwise, a mestri (Referring to Mason) will
do it (Laughs). Interviewer (Indrees): So Sadhguru, in the
campus, we can find a large number of couples who spend almost all their time together (Laughter).
Now the matter is, when they separate, at least one of the two people has to go through
a time when they're completely alone. And at that time, because they don't have
the person they had for the entire day, negative thoughts start to come inside their head.
So the question a lot of us have to ask is, how can we be both happy and alone?
Because in my understanding, these are not two words that go along with each other (Applause). Sadhguru: Oh, it’s a popular question. Then you must
find somebody out of the world (Laughter/Applause). That means, she’s not in this world, you're safe
(Laughter). See… well, we must understand this. In the nature of human development, there is a body.
All of us have a body, we have a mind, we have emotions, we have energies. If you
put your body as the leading edge of your life, if your body leads you, then the only thing you
can think of is eating, sleeping, reproduction you may avoid the reproduction, but copulation (Few
Laugh). Yes. No, I'm not saying this in a negative way. I'm saying, if body is the leading edge, by the time
you're fourteen, you want to do something. Yes! Hello? Participants: Yes. Sadhguru: But suppose your mind developed in a certain
way suddenly, what everybody is excited about, looking at a boy or a girl, your mind is excited
about something else, because your intellect has become the leading edge.
Or if your emotions don't understand emotions, as only for each
other, emotion is beyond each other. You're capable of emotions all by yourself. That's
what you're saying, in a way, when you're alone, there are emotions. So emotion is not about somebody.
Well, somebody else may stimulate a certain emotion, but you can sit here, and create whatever emotion
you want right now, isn't it? All by yourself. So emotion is not about somebody, maybe you know
emotion only as a reaction to something right now. But emotion, intelligence, body, and energies,
are not about somebody. It is about this life (Referring to oneself).
This is all the equipment we got. We have a body, we have a mind, we have emotions,
and we have energy to support that. Now, you must decide in your life, which should be the
leading edge. This is not about getting rid of the body. Body is there, it’s very important.
Without this platform, we cannot exist. But do you want this platform to be the leading edge?
Right now, we're sitting on a platform. Should this one speak, or I should speak,
you must decide. Hello? You must decide, this should speak, or I should speak?
We are sitting on the platform and speaking, isn't it? Similarly, we're sitting on this platform,
right now, as a life. Physical body is most important. If you don't keep it well, it will become
the most important thing in your life. If ill health comes, you will see, body is
the most important thing. All the time, twenty-four hours,
you’ll only think of that. So what should be leading edge in your life,
you must decide. Once you made that decision, whether it's your
intelligence, or your body, or your emotion, or your life energies… If you have to look at it this way,
your body can only speak this, it will talk about what to eat, how... sleeping,
reproduction. This is all it can think about. It cannot… It is not equipped to think about anything else.
Your intellect can do so many things but, that also functions only from the limited data
that you have gathered in your head. Right now, if you're thinking architecture,
that's because information has gone in. Right now, you're thinking that boy or that
girl, because that information has been recorded, or you're thinking about money, or position
or fame or name, because that data has gone into your
system, isn't it? So your intellect is only functioning from
the limited data that you have gathered. So it should not be the leading edge, because
then you will do only those limited things in your life. If you go by the body, you will do very
limited things. If you go by the intellect, you'll do next level
of limited things. If you go by your emotion, then you may do
something beautiful. But at the same time, you may get tangled
up in all kinds of things because emotion is not independent of the intellect. The way you think,
is the way you feel, isn't it? If I think you're just wonderful, then I have
sweet emotions towards you. If I think “This guy is horrible,” I have
nasty emotions towards you, isn't it? So the way you think is the way you feel. It's just that
emotions are little more sappier than the thought. Thought is agile, thought is dry. Emotion is little juicy.
They’re not different. But your life energies, every moment of
your life, no matter what the hell you did, what the hell you did not do, your life energies
have been constantly working for your well-being, never worked against you till now, isn't it? So you
must decide which should be the leading edge. All others will follow. All the four
ingredients all of us have, but what should lead your life, this you must decide.
If you want to be led towards a significant life, then your life energies should be the leading edge,
others should follow. If body is the leading edge, then the first opportunity
you get, you will get entangled with something, and of course, your emotion and your thought will
come and play havoc with all that. Is it right or wrong? I'm not somebody who looks
at these things in a moralistic way. But this is a time of your life when you must build
yourself up. You're in a little bit of a hurry to live. When you're in a hurry to live, you will lack wisdom.
And this will play out in so many different ways. It's like this the mango farmers in India
have a certain wisdom. (Talks aside: Bengal also produces
mangoes, right?) If you plant a mango tree, I’ve been a mango
farmer myself, if you plant a mango tree, within the first twelve months or fourteen
months, flowers will come. So we go about meticulously removing every
flower on the tree, not allowing it to fruit. If you leave it, fruits will come. So up to three years,
or four years, a wise farmer, up to four years, he will make sure not a single fruit comes. You
have to remove every single flower, otherwise, suddenly one fruit will come. If one tree among let's say,
you have a hundred, one tree came up with a fruit, within three years or four years’ time, you will see,
that is one tree which will not yield in the future. Because it lived too early (Applause). Questioner: So Sadhguru, I have one last question
from our side. Sometime back, I happened to be in a situation where a friend of
mine was drunk. So, when she was in the drunk state, she was repeatedly saying that, “Please
don't judge me as I'm drinking, please don't judge me” (Sadhguru laughs). Sadhguru: It is… but she has lost her judgment,
but you... she doesn’t want you (Laughter/Applause)… Questioner: So my question is, whether it is
alcohol or not, in life, why are we so apprehensive about being
judged by others, and how can we not let this come on our way of
being happy (Sadhguru laughs) (Applause)? Sadhguru: Look at me. See, I am always
stoned (Laughter). Never touched a substance, but always stoned.
You can judge me whichever way you want (Laughter), because one thing is, I am stoned in such a way that
I have not lost my judgment at all. And at the same time, whichever way you judge
me has absolutely no impact on me, because I am completely stoned
(Laughter/Applause). Having said that, why this consumption of alcohol and
drugs is growing the way it's growing in the world is… Well, nobody can really put a number on this,
but just for… just to say to what extent In the last twenty-five years in India, probably
alcohol consumption has gone up 10,000 percent. What do you think? Hmm? You know, I’m telling you,
when we were growing up, in the town, there would be just ten-fifteen people
who’d drink. In a small town, I am saying. People say, “In that family, they drink,
we won't give our girls to that family.” You know? But today, if you don't serve drink at your
wedding, nobody will come (Laughter/Applause). So why this need for alcohol and drug has
gone up so much? This is because the heavens have been
collapsing (Few laugh). Yes. I was in Bangalore just three, four weeks ago, there were
over 8,000 people doing a two-day program with me, and just casually I asked, “How many of you think you
will go to heaven?” Only five hands went up (Laughter). Then I asked, “Are you all the hell people?” No, it's
just that both heaven and hell have collapsed in people's minds. This happened.
(Talks aside: You okay? I can tell a joke to you?). One day, a nice Catholic girl, Mary, came
home and she was distressed. Her mother asked, “Mary, my baby, what happened?
Why are you like this?” She said, “Anthony proposed to me.” So mother
said, “Isn't that wonderful? You've been with him for so long, it’s good
he proposed to you. Why are you unhappy about that?” “Mama, he sins with me without any regret,
and he doesn't even believe in hell. How do I marry him? The mother said, “Don't you worry
my child, both of us together will prove him wrong” (Laughter/Applause). So, heavens have collapsed. When I say
“heavens have collapsed,” it’s like this, maybe you’ve heard this somewhere, you know
there was a Sunday school going on in Alabama. Alabama is a very special state in United States.
So, the local priest was going full fire. But unfortunately, the audience were not like
you, they were all tiny tots. Catch-them-young policy. Full force he was going. He was enjoying his
own rhetoric so much, he stopped midway, and asked, “What do you have to do to go to heaven?” Of course,
little Mary in the front row, stood up and said, “If I scrub the church floor every Sunday morning,
I will go to heaven.” “Absolutely!” Another little girl stood up and said, “If I share my
pocket money with my less-privileged friend, I will go to heaven.” “Correct!” Another boy stood up
there and said, “If I help people who are in need, I will go to heaven.” “Correct!” Little Tommy
in the back bench, stood up and said, “You gotta die first” (Laughter/Applause).
That's the qualification. If you want to go to heaven, you got to die first. So when
you die, whether you like it or you don't like it, unless you're Elon Musk, we usually bury your body here,
or burn it, or cut it and throw it to the birds, something we will do, depending on what tradition you
belong to. But we will put this body back to earth, because after all, we picked it up from this planet,
at least that much responsibility you must have. You should not take this body and go away (Laughter/Applause). So, fortunately, nobody can take it and go. If you have
not done anything ecological… eco-friendly in your life, this is one thing you will do. You’ll put this body
back onto this earth, it’s a very good thing. So you went to heaven and you… what is in heaven?
This you must know. In the Hindu heaven, food is very good (Laugh).
Yes, Nala himself cooks for you. If you are a foodie, you must go to
Hindu heaven (Laugh). In another place, there are those white-gowned
ladies floating in the clouds (Laughter). They usually don't have legs, they just floating. Because
to float, you don't need legs, common sense (Laugh). If you like that kind of ambience, that's where
you go. If you go to another place, you will encounter virgin problems. If that's
what you want, that's where you go. But the only problem is, you don't have a body.
When you don't have a body, what do you do with good food and virgins, I want
to know (Laughter/Applause/Cheers)? So… See, this is… this is the first time in the
history of humanity, that this many people in the world can
think for themselves. Otherwise your priest, your mullah, your pundit,
or a book was thinking for you. The first time that so many people can think
for themselves. Are they thinking right, thinking wrong, there
are many issues about that. But they are thinking right, thinking wrong,
but they are thinking. First of all, woman. Till about fifty or a hundred years ago, a woman was not
even supposed to think, she's not supposed to think. This straight away, fifty percent of the population
has burst into the thinking process, it’s a huge number. For the first time, this is only second, third
generation which is beginning to think for themselves. Otherwise, they were not even supposed to think.
So when so many people are thinking… See, when you talk to somebody, you think
somebody else is illogical, but in their mind, there is some kind of crazy logic functioning, isn't it?
When you get into argument with people you see this, you think you are logically correct, but the other
person also thinks he is logically correct. He has his own crazy sense of logic. But they
have their own framework of logic. So all illogical things are naturally collapsing. Still
this generation has not fully walked away from it, still there is fear, they can't openly say,
“There's no goddamn hell or heaven.” They are still fearful about it, but they are trying
to make a little heaven for themselves here. So (Talks to audience: Hey, wait, wait, wait) (Laugh)… So naturally, when they are not able to do
it for themselves, out of their own intelligence, they will fall back on chemicals. Today, just
to take very affluent societies, because every society is aspiring to be like that,
let's say, you take United States which is the most affluent nation on the
planet, right now. I don't know if half the IIT after graduation,
will be in United States, because wherever I go in US, whoever I meet, they say, “I am IIT this, I
am IIT that.” (Laugh) So, seventy percent of US population is on
prescription medication, another thirty percent, of course, buying it off the
back streets (Laughter/Applause). Seventy percent on prescription medication
means, though… See, what is affluence, let's understand this. Why an
individual person or a society or a nation seeks affluence is, at first level,
it will give us a choice of food. If I am affulent, I can eat what I want. Eating means,
nourishment, I can nourish myself well. When a man is poor, the biggest problem is,
I am not well nourished. So at first level, it is a choice of nourishment,
at a second level, it's a choice of lifestyles. So you are the most affluent nation, you have
an enormous choice of nourishment, and an enormous choice of lifestyles, but seventy
percent is on medical… prescription medication. Three trillion dollars of health care bill, it can sink
a nation, all right? It’s bigger than our budget. Our… our GDP is only 2.7 trillion. Three trillion
dollars worth of health care in America, for quarter the number of people that we are.
Most affluent nation. Obviously, affluence is not working, to be healthful,
you need chemicals, to be joyful, you need chemicals, to be peaceful, you need chemicals, to be ecstatic,
of course (Laughter)… there is ecstasy. So, I am not even looking at it morally, it’s…
it’s never a moral issue for me. All I am saying is, if we become chemically
dependent… because there's also another scale. The food that we eat is full of chemicals,
the water that we drink is full of poison. Some genius came up with this idea that you can poison
the water, kill all the bacteria, and it won't poison me. I don't know where this idea came from.
Some genius idea this is. Because on this planet, all life, whether a single-celled
animal or the most complex creature, which is we, we are made the same way, essentially, the
fundamental design is same. What kills the bacteria also kills us, maybe
it takes a bigger dose, that's all. Water is poisoned, air is poisoned – air, I believe,
will get purified in the next ten to fifteen years’ time, because a whole lot of movement is
happening in that direction. Air we can handle very easily, the biggest
problem is soil and water. So that is another level of chemicals. If ninety percent
of this population right now, is on chemicals, believe me, the next generation that we produce, will be a generation
which is much less than us. If we produce the next generation less than ourselves,
we have committed a crime against humanity, because the next generation must be at least
one step ahead of us, otherwise we've lost it. We've lost the entire process of
civilization when, we produce a next generation which is actually
less than us. So we are heading towards this, rapidly, unless
we teach individual human beings how to simply sit here and be blissed out.
Stoned enough or no, just look at me? But am I… am I conscious enough, alert enough,
clear enough? If there was a way to intoxicate yourself without losing
your judgment, without losing your awareness, without losing your intelligence, it's a great thing.
Intoxication is a fantastic thing, only problem is, it takes away your judgment, it
takes away your intelligence, incapacitates you. That is the problem, isn't it? Because life is about
enhancement, life is not about crippling yourself. Now, in the name of intoxication, you are
crippling yourself, all right? This happened. Shankaran Pilai was walking
in London. You know London? He just came out of a Irish bar and he put one leg
in the gutter and kept on dragging and walking, late in the night. The London Bobby, the police
man, came looked at this and said, “Hey! You look totally drunk!” Shankaran Pillai said,
“Are you sure?” He said “Absolutely, you are drunk! Look at the way you walking, half in the gutter,
half on the street.” Shankaran Pillai said, “Thank you so much.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Because I thought I was crippled” (Laugh).
When people are drunk, they are crippled, isn't it? If you could be drunk without being crippled,
you could be enhanced, it would be great. Is it true, ask anybody, you are not in
the medical sciences, but ask anybody, is it true that this body here is the greatest
chemical factory in the universe right now, the universe that we know, at least? Hmm?
Only problem is, you are a lousy manager. If you know how to manage this (Referring
to oneself) you would be like me, always blissed out. Anybody can say what they want, anybody can
do what they want, this like this only. Because I have not given this privilege to
anybody, that somebody can make me happy, somebody can make me unhappy, somebody can
make me miserable. Right now, you are a consequence of other
people's opinions, where do you plan to go like this? Anybody can ruin you. You went outside,
somebody told you, “Shreya, you are the most wonderful human being we have seen.”
Then you were floating on that cloud (Laughter)… what number? What number? Nine? Oh, in South,
we do eleven (Laugher). You were floating on cloud whatever number, and you
came home, people at home told you who you really are, (Laugh) and the cloud will crash. No, no, it's very
important that neither this way, or that way… We listen to everybody, because we could be
doing something wrong. Hello? Any moment, we could be doing something wrong,
so we listen to everybody, but what they say will not determine how I am. Never, ever.
This you must fix, and you must tell your friend, when she's not drunk (Laughter), because
otherwise she won't understand. Speaker: Thank you, Sadhguru for answering
our questions (Applause). We want to ask you a lot more things, but due to time
constraints, we will move to the next section, of social media questions, where a lot of people have
asked various questions on the social media platform, and we would request you to answer a few of them. Speaker: So the first question is from Georgie.“Sadhguru,
we know that you are always game for adventure, but many young people mindlessly get into adventure
sports, and even lose their lives in the process. What is your suggestion for the youth who get
into adventure sports?” Sadhguru: Well… I have no right to advise anybody on
this arena, because I did everything that could have killed me two dozen times (Laughs).
But I'm here, somehow. So… see, when we say “adventure,” you can have
ventures in your life, or you can have adventure. Adventure means, you don't know where your
next foot is going to be, that's adventure. That means there is danger. No danger,
everything safe, there is no adventure, isn’t it? It’s a venture. I am not against ventures,
but you are talking about adventure, that means, you want to step into something that
you don't know, isn’t it? If you step into what you know and predictable,
that's not an adventure, that's just a activity. So, I must tell you this (Laughs)… why should I tell you all
this and make some crazy people do something crazy? Well, one thing, my father, the physician,
and constantly worried about me. His greatest worry was… he would knock
his head and say, “This boy has no fear in his heart, what
will happen to him?” I've heard this dialogue right from the age of five, six.
“He has no fear, what will happen? What will happen?” One day, I was around eleven, he said the
same thing, “He has no fear in his…!” Because about twelve foot long Cobra came,
I just picked it up and walked away. So he kind of… he… this is the first time
he’s seeing, I've been doing since I was six. The first time he saw. And then he had a Vespa scooter,
from the age of nine, I've been riding it without him knowing. I was
cleaning it for him, but I was riding it (Laughter). So one day, you know, in front of our house,
the road is slopey like this, I am just coming, and putting it in the neutral gear, and I am
standing on the seat and coming like this (Gestures) on the Vespa scooter,
he saw me and his heart broke (Laugh). So he said, “This boy has no fear in his
heart, what to do?” Then I asked him, “When did fear become a virtue?”
He said, “See, I told you he has no fear!” So why are we thinking that we have to enter
life fearfully? If you're fearful, fear is one of the worst
emotions that people go through in their lives. Why fear happens is, you are imagining something
that's yet to happen. Hello? You're imagining something. So what you are suffering
is not some situation, you are suffering your own imagination. No, imagination
is a fantastic thing, you are an architect, you must imagine… but if every building that you
imagine, if you fear it may fall down, it'll drive you crazy (Laughs). Even in architecture, there is adventure,
isn’t it? You must see Ranakpur. Have you seen Ranakpur, in Rajasthan?
You must see. Ranakpur also has Kumbhalgarh within twenty
kilometers. It's the second largest wall on the planet. Most Indians don’t know because we keep all
the things that we should be proud of a secret. The second largest wall on the planet, which,
if you look at it aerially, you would mistake this to be Great Wall of China, it's that big. But most Indians
don't even know there is a wall like this. It's in Kumbhalgarh, close to that is Ranakppur.
This architect is a madman, but he's a very super-sane madman, because
he knows what he's doing. See, if you build a building… this is a
temple with 1000 cogs (Columns?). If you are thinking about safety, what would you do?
Just in case, over a period of time, if one column collapses… because those days,
the material is only stone, there is no steel and concrete and stuff, you would
make sure if one column falls down, there will be an another column which will keep the temple up.
No, he built it in such way, the audacity of him is such, if you pull down one column, the entire temple will come
down. His pride in his intelligence and capability is such, that he made it in such a way, if one column comes,
the temple should not exist. And it’s standing for over five hundred, six hundred
years, without any issue. You will see something like that in the yoga center.
We built an elliptical dome, no steel, no concrete, and at the top, it's only eight
inches thick, and just to freak people, I left a nine feet diameter hole. People said,
“This is going to collapse.” It will not collapse. If you don't have any adventure in your life, in whatever
you do, it doesn't matter, in every sphere of life there is room for adventure. This means you must
trust your capability and competence, and step one step more than that. There is a risk, of
course. If there is no risk, there is no adventure, isn’t it? So will young people get killed?
Yes, unfortunately, sometimes it does. Before I became thirty-five years of age,
at least twelve, thirteen of my friends died. Some in motorcycle, some in hang gliding, and all the
things we were doing together, some of them died. Well, they didn't kill me but, could I live
without having done all those things? No. Even if one of those situations had ended
me, still I would do it. Not simply out of egoistic jingoism that you want to
do something others cannot do, it's not about that. It's about stretching yourself beyond your
limits, somewhere. But today, the world is far more organized,
there is a whole lot of equipment. When we were doing it, crazy things, we had no
equipment of any kind, we just did things, just like that. But today, there is safety equipment, there are systems,
there are mats, and there are so many things. Well, one of you should start a venture in adventure,
and bring the right equipment and everything. See, right now, some of the young boys, when
they get the two wheeler, they want to do some stunt, as I was doing. Standing on the scooter and riding.
They want to do those things. I am saying, if you cannot stop them, only
thing is, they should not be doing it on the street. We must create a space where they can do it
with a reasonable amount of safety. Is it one hundred percent safe? No. Nothing is one
hundred percent safe, all of us are mortal, isn’t it? But we must create reasonable levels of safety,
where youth will go through adventure with minimum amount of risk. No-risk adventure,
there is no such thing. I was one person, people were very surprised
when I spoke for Jalikattu in Tamil Nadu. They said, “Sadhguru, you cannot say this.” I said,
“See, are you capable of building sports arenas in every village? Can you make
them play football, this one, adventure sport, everything, in the villages,
can you? There's really nothing. The only thing that they have is a traditional
sport, where once a year they play. Which is risky, of course, but it comes from
a tradition of doing something. It’s not risky for the animal, it's risky for the man.
Actually, more risky for the man than the animal.” When I spoke for it, everybody resisted, “You
can't say this.” I said, “See, youth without any sense of
adventure are not youth. You can always… you can already bury them
as old men.” They have to do something. But this does not mean they have to do wild
things on the street. We can create situations and spaces where
they can do this with reasonable amount of safety, there's no absolute safety (Applause). Some of the
parents who are here don't approve of this (Few laugh), but… otherwise, they'll do it somewhere where you
can’t see. This is one thing I noticed in United States, especially we have… our center is in Tennessee, so I
am just seeing this, if you go to your shop… I go to a motorcycle shop, and I see they
made motorcycles for three year olds, they actually built motorcycles for them. Three year
olds are riding full on in the dirt bikes. I thought this is great, parents are standing there, fully
helmeted, jacketed, everything, they are riding. This is great, because this needs to happen, otherwise
they will do something wild when there are fifteen, sixteen, without any training,
without any preparation, without the safety equipment, then we
don’t know how it will end. Speaker: Thank you Sadhguru. Now, the audience is very
ecstatic about asking questions to you, and now we open the floor for the audience.
First question, please. Questioner: Hello. Hello. Hi Sadhguru. I am Dheeraj. So… (Talks aside) Sadhguru: Microphone, you must hold
it like Lady Gaga, like this (Gestures)… (Laughter). Questioner 1 (Dheeraj): Hello? So my question is we live
in the times when artificial intelligence is poised to surpass human intelligence. And even people
from the scientific community, they stand divided on this front that whether it will be proven as a threat
or just an enhancement, as you spoke. Even Elon Musk is skeptical about that. So what
are your views on it, like where do you stand? Sadhguru: See, do you remember, when they installed
lifting cranes and gantries in the ports of Bengal, the trade unions all protested “They're going to take
away our jobs.” Do you remember those times? That… that was a time where thousands of
men would carry sacks out of a ship. One ship unloading means, fifteen days, twenty
five days, like this. Those were… at that time, the ships were much smaller,
sacks, one-one man carrying one-one sack, and all kinds of problems with it. Today, I was recently
visiting one of the largest ports in the world, in India. You must find out which one it is. And they told me,
a tour… right there, they were unloading this vessel, it is a 225,000 tons. I asked, “How long does it take to
unload?” They said, “We have the record in the world that we unload a ship like this within twenty-four
to twenty-six hours, because the cranes and the gantries are such, they
will lift that kind of weights and just put it out, everything is in a container, it’s just coming up. But
when these containers and lifts… these cranes came, the labor unions across the country protested,
because our jobs are going to be taken. I'm sure now they're all happy, they don't have to carry
those bags. Similarly, if artificial intelligence comes… I'll tell you my experience of artificial intelligence. I was
probably twelve, thirteen years of age, thirteen I think. It's not like you people – all of you have
smartphones and stuff. Those days, somebody shows me a flatbed calculator.
Those days, only two companies making this calculators, at least in India, what was
available, Sony and Panasonic. For this also to get it, you need Haji Mastan
(Indian mafia gang leader) he has to smuggle it in, otherwise you won't get it
(Laughter). By normal means you can't get it (Laughs). So, Sony was very expensive – hundred and
twenty-five rupees. Panasonic, if you went and bargained in that so called
Hong Kong bazaar or Burma bazaar or whatever, you will get it for ninety rupees. So you buy this
calculator and somebody brought it, first time I am seeing. They do tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk and
tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk, tuk (Laughter)! I said, “What? Why the hell are they torturing me in the
mathematics classes? When this stupid machine, ninety rupee machine, can do
this, why are they torturing me for ten, twelve years, teaching me how to add, how to multiply” (Laughter).
So that day I sat and dreamt, tch, if there was another machine like this, for science,
for chemistry, for physics, for everything, I don't have to come to school (Laughter)! That was
my dream. It's going to come true shortly (Laughter). See, it helps! It did not come true when I was going
to school, but it's going to come true very shortly. Don't you find this Google lady, though you're in IIT,
this Google lady seems to know more than you, any given day? Hello? So it will come. What you're going
to learn in twenty-five years of education is in this (Gestures) much gadget. Today there are
phones with six hundred GB of memory, you’re not a match for that, isn’t it? So this is the
problem with our education systems. This is a terrible European influence on us,
that we have been made to believe… most human beings are believing that memory
is intelligence. Memory is not intelligence. Memory is just information. If you misunderstand
information as intelligence, then we will… whole generations have paid a price for this,
except a few human beings who spark in a big way, in every generation till now, rest are all a big drag.
I'm telling you, in every human being, there is a genius. The question is, they must find the right
habitat, right atmosphere for that genius to blossom. But right now, if you go on imposing loads
and loads of memory on their heads, their genius will never spark, because they
misunderstand memory as intelligence, because if you have some information that the guy
next to you doesn't have, and you just speak it out, he thinks he's a fool and you think you're smart. This is
the difference between a city boy and a village boy (Laughs), you know? A city boy is looking smart, not
because he is more intelligent, simply because he has more information in is head.
So these people who have been faking intelligence for a long time, they are all going to become
redundant once artificial intelligence comes, because a stupid little machine is going to have more
memory than you can ever imagine possible, all right? This… These are good times, because what you
remember in your mind, will not decide who you are in the society.
How much of a human being are you, is going to determine who you are.
I think fantastic times (Applause). I think fantastic times for humanity is just
about coming. I'm asking you, I'm asking you, suppose you
were working in one of the ports in Bengal, and you were carrying those bags, heavy bags, back
breaking loads, and after hundred years, you came back and saw, all these loads are just
being phuk phuk lifted and put on the truck, just like that in two minutes. What you carried entire day,
would you not be fascinated and fantastic? That's how you will feel if after the artificial
intelligence has come, you come, and you realize you don't have to go to school!
You don't have to gather all this nonsense. All these idiots who read two books and acting
very smart in the world, they will all go. You have to exercise your intelligence, otherwise
you will not survive. It's great time (Applause). Questioner 2: Namaskaram Sadhguru!
Sir, I have a personal question, sir. My name is Abhay. Sir, I want to ask
the… there's some event that happens to my… that happens to me frequently. Whenever I go to
somewhere, just like department, if I go to department and, it happens to me frequently,
whenever I return, I… if I met some person while going, I meet the same person while coming.
It was a random time, not at the… Sadhguru: You must be going into the restroom
(Laughter/Applause). Questioner 2: But it is… it happens very randomly.
Even if I go in the random time, I meet the same person on the same path, sir.
I don't know why this happens to me, from my childhood I have been observing this.
I don't know why… what is the answer of this know,
why this happens to me (Laughter)? Sadhguru: No, when I said restroom, I was
not trying to say some bad place. This happened. It once happened Shankaran Pillai got
a job in Pentagon, you know Pentagon? Where it is decided which country should live and which
country should be destroyed and everything, big things. So, he sat in his appointed office for a few days.
Then he moved his table and chair to the corridor and went to all the penta-corners. After much moving
around, as he was moving around, the entire Pentagon staff became suspicious,
“Is this some kind of a agent or somebody, why is he moving his table and chair all over the place?”
His computer, his table and chair is moving all over the place, and then he settled down in the
men's room. Then they thought, “This is really something, because this one place
everybody goes. So he's really up to something.” They watched him, they checked his background,
they checked his emails, they checked everything, they didn't find nothing wrong. Then they told the Pentagon psychiatrist, “Just look up this guy. Either he's a super spy or he is crazy.
He must be something. Just find out.” Then the psychiatrist just walked into the men's
room as if he has to use it, and pretended to pee. Then casually struck up a conversation and
says, “Why are you sitting in the men's room? Table, chair, computer everything.
Why are you sitting here?” He said, “I moved all over Pentagon, but
this is the only place where people seem to know what they're doing” (Laughter/Applause).
So, maybe your department… Questioner 2: Today, I was not knowing that
you were coming. When I was going to department, I met one friend, but while returning from department, I
met the same friend, not on the same… regular time. I… leaved at random time, and immediately
I told him that Sadhguru is coming. So this has happened to me from… right from
my (Unclear) (Applause). Sadhguru: See, if you're in a specific department,
you usually tend to meet the same people (Laughter). You must change the department (Laughter/Applause)
and see you, you’ll meet… (Unclear) (Laughs). I... I understand what the confusion is about.
You seem to encounter the same people a bit too often. That will completely change when you leave the IIT and
go out (Laughter), all right? Before that, it is like this. I will tell you, I have been… these days, I'm not doing…
early on, my father is an ophthalmologist, okay? So he was giving glasses to so many people
and various kinds of things. So I discovered a simple method. There was one
guy in UK whose name was Bates. So, he has a Bates method of improving vision.
I saw this, and I saw, he had some sense, and he had figured out a few things, but there were
many things he had not figured out. I developed that into different level. I took off
spectacle, spectacles for thousands of people, people who had vision defects, today, they are all living…
thousands and thousands of people, who don't have glasses anymore. That includes my
daughter. She's still living without a… without glasses. Early on, when she was seven years of age, they
prescribed glasses. My father being an ophthalmologist, believes one hundred percent, once you have short sight
or long sight, there is no way that you can take it away. This is the medical conclusion. But I can show you
thousands of people who don't have glasses right now, because they
did certain things with themselves. In all this, I will just explain one thing.
See right now, there's a crowd of people. You simply just look like this, you will see,
the faces that you know… somebody that you know, that face looks very clear, rest of them are just a blur.
That out of the world… (Laughter/Applause). We would like to see her (Laughter), because
your vision is seriously aided by your memory. There are stories, we don't know to what extent,
because they were given to telling all kinds of stories, they say, when the first ships from Europe went to North
America, the tribes saw the people, but they could not see the ship. It took them some
time to actually see the ship, because there was no such form in their memory.
You try this. Those of you who have vision defects, take off your
glasses, take a book and let's say you see one word and you say, “Okay, this is Sun, Sun, Sun,”
you will build memory about it, and then you just look like this (Gestures) everywhere,
and look at it, you will see it only that one word will come up to you, rest of the words are not so clear.
So with faces also this is true. Once you have built memory about that, that face
always stands out, the other faces don't show clearly. So it could be possible, ten people pass by,
you don't pay much attention, but the face that you know, immediately you recognize,
immediately you notice that face to be there (Laughter). Now this problem will be solved when you leave
the institution (Laughter/Applause). Interviewer: People are very enthusiastic
about asking questions, but as we are running out of time, we will be taking one last question. Questioner 3: Yeah, thank you for this opportunity.
I am excited to talk. So my question is even if we are hundred percent sure
about the internals, like if even if I'm hundred percent exuberant, but still we cannot get the opportunities
we want and the luck factor is there in everybody's life. So is there somebody else, like other… from
the other dimensions or other than the physical, who's controlling it, or is it… does the
life just happened like that? Like the luck factor, and the opportunities
we get, we cannot control it. Sadhguru: What is the level of influence the
stars have on you? Questioner 3: No, no, no, I'm not asking that.
Like the opportunity… Sadhguru: No, luck means people usually people
look at the stars. You look up and see in this building, there
are few stars, there's a constellation, just see, look up… So how much role do they have? Questioner 3: No, I'm not asking that… like
the opportunities we get are purely luck…. Sadhguru: I get you, I get you. Questioner 3: So who controls them and can
we control it? Sadhguru: Mhmm (Indicating agreement). See, if you
have some mastery over your physical body, fifteen to twenty percent of your life and destiny will
be in your hands. Suppose a given situation, let's say a tiger walked into IIT Kharagpur. So,
somebody who is physically in a certain good state, within a moment, they will climb up the tree, sit
there and enjoy the wildlife (Laughter). Yes? Because they have a certain mastery over
their body. Somebody who doesn't have that becomes the
breakfast (Laughter), isn't it so? Life and death! Because you're physically in a certain condition,
you have some mastery over the body, you could be living, others could be dead. Yes or no?
In any given situation, it is true! Because you're physically good, maybe you'll
catch the bus, and somebody will miss the bus. And that missing the bus could be not just
a… actual physical thing, it could be metaphorical that you missed the bus, because you're not physically
fit. So fifteen to twenty percent of your life and destiny is determined, depending on how much
mastery you have over your body. If you just learn to sit right, breathe right, hold yourself
right, believe me, so many things will happen your way. This is what yoga is about, that you make sure
everything that you do with your body is by conscious will, not by accident, not by compulsive
modes. You sit, eat, breathe, in a conscious way. If you have mastery over your mental faculties,
sixty to seventy percent of your life and destiny will happen your way. If you have mastery over your life
energies, one hundred percent of your life and destiny will happen your way (Applause). Questioner 4: I have a very general question
to you… Sadhguru: I’m… she's the boss sir here. Questioner 4: Pranam to you first of all. I have gone
through your… most of your YouTube recordings. What I found that most of the questions which
you are answering about your inner experience because of that Inner experience, life has become very
beautiful, but when somebody tries to follow it, it becomes confusing. I’ll give you example, you’ve
said about searching the perfect timing Sadhguru: I got it. Questioner 4: let me explain… Sadhguru: No, I understand the question. Do I look like
somebody who cannot understand the question, you have to explain it to me (Laughter)?
So, there is an inner experience. Well, I’m… I’m glad you recognized that… it is the
inner experience which makes life lucid. That is everything is not a struggle. If you picked up
bits and pieces from so many people around you, if another piece comes, which none of them gave,
you will be again confused eternally, so you will naturally structure a life, structure your life in such
a way that your life becomes a cocoon where only expected things come your way, unexpected
things don't come your way. This is what most human beings are doing,
because unexpected things are seen as googlies which will get them out. So they try to remain within
the known. If you remain within the known, life becomes extremely limited and it's incapacitating
in many ways. All the human potential is lost. So how to get an inner experience which makes
your activity and the way you exist a more lucid experience of life? Well, YouTube videos are there.
That is only... for lack of vocabulary, I would say that is only titillation. That is only to
instigate you to look that there's another way to live. There's another way to structure your life. There's
another way to build yourself as a human being, you want to become an engineer, you want to become
a doctor, you want to become something else. That's a different thing. That's activity. For that you
have to learn something outside but what kind of a human being you want to be,
this has to be done from within, there's no other way. For this there is an entire scientific process
which we call as Inner Engineering, which we will not impart unless you come in a committed way. Because without commitment, these things do
not happen. All we want from you is twenty-eight to thirty
hours of focused time. But most people think their life is not worthy enough
that they can invest twenty-eight hours of focused time. What can you do for such lives?
Let them enjoy the YouTube. So people are saying, “But there is a cost to it.”
Yes, because it's being physically delivered, there's a cost to it. We have come up with a plan,
probably by let us say by sometime middle of 2019, we will be able to execute it where we can offer this
without cost to people. We are looking at a plan like that. There are certain
technological challenges we are… if we overcome that in the next six to eight months,
you will see Inner Engineering as a scientific process. Most of it… except the yogic part of it,
which needs to be initiated except that all of it will be available to everybody free of cost in about sixteen
different languages across the world (Applause).
