Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev) – a man who knows all about luck and generously shares this knowledge. He ranks among the 50 most influential people of India, awarded for "outstanding and exceptional services". Ironic Indian mystic and Yogi writes books, talks in parables, creates his own "Garden of Eden" and teaches fashion designers, businessmen, housewives, soldiers and prisoners with the equal amount of kindness. After all, the main thing for him is the man.
Who can do yoga?
Yoga and meditation can be engaged by adolescents who are 14 and more, as well as adults at any age. Western culture imposes the notion of yoga as a system of physical exercises, certain postures (asanas), but in the fundamentals of modern yoga, the only mention of the physical aspect is: the pose that you are comfortable with is your asana. It is as if to start learning the Azerbaijani language with the letter 'A', to love this letter and not learn anything else. Is it called language proficiency? The same with yoga: people learned about the physical side and decided that this is yoga.
The word "yoga" means "union", "unity." In this world we exist in the Universe. But more often we oppose ourselves to the Universe, and this struggle is not equal. All insecurity, all the problems that a person faces, are due to the fact that people oppose themselves to the Universe.
Yoga is the conscious destruction of the boundaries of your individuality, it is the union of man and the Universe.
If your body is causing you discomfort, then you will not care what I say, even if I talk about enlightenment. To ignore your body, you must be comfortable in your body, and for this it must be healthy. If you are unwell, it will haunt you all your life.
Therefore, physical activity is needed: so that the body does not cause you inconvenience.
Work can be yoga, walking can be yoga, breathing and thoughts can also be yoga. If you do this in order to free yourself, it means that it is yoga. And if, on the contrary, you constrain yourself – then this is karma. Liberation means the destruction of its borders.
And how to achieve maximum liberation?
Achieving maximum freedom should not be your goal. You need to ask what the next step will be. And the next step for those who do yoga is practice.
You are speaking to businessmen. How can yoga help in business?
Whether you pump oil or collect computers, all this is done for the welfare of humanity. Yoga is also aimed at improving well-being. You can use your activity not only for the benefit of mankind, but also for its destruction, if you do it unconsciously. Science, technology is a huge gift to humanity, which, unfortunately, turned against us because of our unconsciousness. Science and technology first opened up opportunities for us, but today they destroy our planet, because people are not conscious enough to use them. The same goes for business.
We think that commerce is a goal, but it is not. Commerce is also aimed at the benefit of mankind. It should be clear to us what we can sell and what not. Unfortunately, sometimes we sell ourselves.
Do you consider yourself a wise and intelligent person?
I'm pretty stupid. We need a lot of intelligence to recognize our folly. The difference between stupidity and intelligence is that smart people know how stupid we are. The idiot does not know that he is an idiot. That's the whole problem. Children are definitely more open-minded and life-loving than adults. Apparently, they should be our life counselors. Adults have a more developed brain, but they do not use it, limit themselves to the framework of social stereotypes.
What is the basic principle of inner engineering?
Inner Engineering is not a philosophy, but technique of creating external well-being. You can say that this building is well-designed only if it is convenient and comfortable. If the building does not suit you, then you will not say that this is a good building. Engineering means creating something the way you want it. It is important that your body, your mind and emotions work as you want. You need to build yourself so that your body, your mind, your emotions follow your instructions. Your body and your mind are the tools that you use throughout your life. If you can not manage it, there will be a catastrophe.
Who needs yoga the most?
Everybody. We teach our programs for academics, scientists, business leaders, soldiers and prisoners. Whatever you do, it is important that your body and your brain work the way you want it. I'm not making anyone a designer, business leader or a scientist, I just help anyone reach their peak. Our activity is connected with the world in which we live. It is important how you function internally, because what you do outside depends on it.
How to deal with the relationship, when love is gone?
Love is not related to someone, it is the sweetness of your emotion. You have a body, you have thoughts, emotions, images. These four aspects form you. If the body is nice, we call it health, very nice is pleasure. If the mind is pleased, we call it peace, if it is very nice, joy.
If your emotions are pleasant, we call it sympathy; if they are very pleasant, we call it love.
If your life is pleasant, we call it happiness, if it is very pleasant, we call it bliss. If your environment becomes pleasant, we call it success... It is the pleasure of your body, mind, emotions, energy, the world around you, which you are looking for in your life. And who decides whether you are pleased or not?
If all decisions are yours, you could hardly choose something unpleasant! In this pursuit of success, the main thing for you is love, the most pleasant of emotions.
How to get rid of fear?
Fear is something in the future that does not exist now. You have a fear of the future, because your imagination warns you that you can lose something. You do not have to learn to win, you need to learn how to lose, then you will have no fear.
Fear exists in your imagination. Our idea of heaven or hell is also in our imagination, this is a free cinema. Your fantasies, your thoughts run ahead of you. It is a privilege to sit and think about tomorrow, and we can think of dozens of options for tomorrow. If you like horror movies, you can invent horrors. You need to learn to enjoy the present. It is important to have a small space between yourself and your mind, yourself and your body. Separate yourself from your mind to understand its nature.
Do you celebrate the New Year?
What does "celebrate" mean? For some, it means drinking and eating, it brings them joy. I celebrate every new day as a new year, because I am always happy. I do not allow anyone or anything to bring me happiness or unhappiness – this privilege belongs only to me.
How do you like Baku?
It looks like a wonderful city.
What does money mean to you?
Money? All long have switched to cards!
Who is smarter: children or adults?
Mind and intellect – they are not the same.
Do you believe in the power of thought?
Doesn't everything that has been created by a man, in the beginning happen in thoughts?
How to deal with losing a loved one?
In no way. If the person is gone, there's nothing you can do about it. Just accept it and go on living.
For reference
◊ At 25, enlightenment condescended to Sadhguru, after which he decided to share his experience with all of humanity. Sadhguru devoted his life to enhancing the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of all people, combining the aspects of yoga teachings that are significant for modern life.
◊ Sadhguru lectured at Oxford, Stanford and Harvard, participated in the World Peace Summit, the International Economic Forum in Davos, the UN meeting and the TED conference, trained employees of Google, General Electric and Sberbank.
◊ Sadhguru has a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Mysore; he is the author of numerous books. In 2016, his book "Inner Engineering" became a bestseller according to The New York Times.
◊ In 1992, Sadhguru founded the non-profit spiritual organization Isha Foundation (Isha Foundation), which now includes more than nine million volunteers around the world. The foundation’s efforts – from large-scale humanitarian projects in the areas of health, ecology, education to yoga training programs – are aimed at improving all aspects of human well-being.
Interview: Ulviyya Mahmudova
Photo: Adil Yusifov
