Trust Nature And Master Breath With Guru Yogi Shivan

Guru Yogi Shivan shares his remarkable life story: born a hyperactive child in Kerala, India, he was channeled into Kalaripayattu (the ancient mother of martial arts like kung fu and karate), later becoming a third-degree black belt in karate, a state boxing champion, and a skilled healer using marma (energy points) activation. Working in Oman in the late 1980s as a popular healer for the elite, he witnessed the limits of money, power, and modern medicine against disease and death. This realization sparked a deep existential crisis, leading him to abandon worldly life, don saffron robes, search India for a true guru, and receive initiation into authentic Siddha/Kundalini yoga.

The discussion explores deep topics: transcending the mind through meditation, pranayama's role in controlling hormones/glands/autonomic functions, bhogi/rogi/yogi, and managing stress/anxiety via breath awareness, instinct-intellect union, and trusting nature's design.

Transcript

Wholeness,

Welcome.

This is Josh from InnerSkilled and today I have Guru Yogi Sivan with me.

I'm going to refer to you as Guruji as we talked about earlier.

How's it going today?

Perfect.

I hope everybody is doing very well.

Nice to be with you.

Thank you.

Very good.

So who's Guruji and what kind of work does he do?

Yeah,

The word Guru is a Sanskrit word which means a guide.

When you take your car to an unknown terrain,

If you feel it is a little risky,

You will try to find out a local person who can guide you.

Same way when we try to dive deep into the inner dimensions of the mind,

Definitely we need somebody's guidance initially.

When we become comfortable and confident,

Then we can have a safe journey.

So that initial guidance,

The guy,

The person who is giving that initial guidance for spiritual exploration is called Guru.

So to show the respect in India,

People add Ji.

That's why people call me Guruji.

That's right.

And even I think it goes beyond India too,

Right?

That formality or sense of respect,

Sense of admiration.

Yeah.

So very well.

Okay.

So were you born into this?

How did you become a Guruji?

Or not,

Well,

Maybe become,

I don't know.

How did that title happen?

Were you born into it?

Did you undertake severe austerities?

What kind of are occult practices?

So tell me,

At least starting off,

How this happened?

It happened naturally,

But unexpected.

Yes.

In our life,

Everything is happening without any expectation,

But many things are happening beyond our expectation.

Anyhow,

I was a hyperactive child and my father was an Ayurveda physician.

Ayurveda is the Indian traditional medical system.

So he was well-versed into our traditional things also like epics,

Vedas,

Then philosophical things.

When he came to know about many complaints from my school because of my extra energy,

He put me into a traditional martial arts school where I could use my extra energy.

I was a good student.

That martial art is called Kalari,

Kalari Paetu.

That is the mother of all other martial arts.

From that art,

Kung Fu,

Karate,

Aikido,

All other modern martial arts evolved.

So it is connected to or it is relying more on yogic disciplines.

So physical,

Mental,

Spiritual disciplines are practiced through certain rituals.

As a child,

I was so happy to go through that.

Then I was a good student.

Then when I reached to my school level,

High school level,

That was the time of the introduction of Bruce Lee.

The movie came here,

Enter the Dragon,

Then Return of the Dragon.

So I was fascinated with that modern fast movements.

I joined in a Karate school,

Then gradually I became a Karate master,

Third degree black belt.

Then in my college level,

I was a good boxer.

I became the Kerala state champion in 85.

Then I was a good dancer.

Technically what I am saying is,

Unknowingly I was using my body beyond the limit.

So I used to practice this very aggressive movements,

Violent movements but in a rhythmic way.

That is the traditional martial art.

Then when we do the dance and everything,

Everything is very fast and slow,

Unexpected movements but everything in a rhythm.

So gradually I came to know beyond the body,

Beyond the mind,

All violent movements are slowly guiding me to a perfect silence.

That,

You know,

Contradictions or that paradox was very,

Very interesting.

Then when I reached to this Middle East for making some money,

Usually South Indian people just three to four hours,

You know,

Fly from Trivandrum to Middle East,

Anywhere you can go.

We used to go there for better options in life.

I was also there in 89.

So there something happened unexpectedly.

I was a good Karate instructor and a healer.

In Kalari,

We have to go through certain energy point,

You know,

Activation.

It's called marma in Sanskrit,

Meridians in English.

So we have 108 meridians,

Energy points in the body.

By activating that,

We can clear many,

Many diseases,

Which is the theory or fundamental theory of acupressure and acupuncture in Chinese way.

Anyway,

I was a very busy person to handle the neck pain,

Back pain and all these things.

People used to call me as the guy with magic fingers.

I was very popular but there I was taken to the upper strata of the society,

Like ministers,

Under secretaries,

Royal family members.

People could buy everything,

Either by money power or muscle power.

I saw people,

But one bitter fact was they are facing me.

There are two situations where money and money power and muscle power miserably fail,

Disease and death.

I was witnessing many situations where these two things were miserably failing.

Doctors coming from different countries and saying this,

Okay,

After the examination,

They say,

Sorry,

Body is not reacting to medicine.

The moment medicine fails,

This person is helpless.

I could see the helplessness of the money power and muscle power,

Which confused me a lot because I came to know one day,

I am also going to be defeated like this,

The bitter fact of nature,

Reality.

So I told myself,

No,

No,

No,

I don't want to be defeated like that.

There was the turning point.

Right from my childhood,

I heard the many,

Many stories about immortality.

Indian,

All traditions are speaking about immortality,

Ageless body,

Higher consciousness,

Liberation.

So I left that colourful life in Oman.

Oman is a part of Middle East.

Then I came back to India.

Then I wore my saffron,

I became a monk by myself.

Then I searched for a Guru all over India.

Nine months I just wandered.

Finally,

I found a Guru who could guide me in this journey and he initiated me in Siddha Yoga or Kundalini Yoga order.

There are many lineages.

So I wanted to take the most authentic one.

I selected that and my Guru was happy to initiate me.

After the initiation,

I went to a forest.

I was completely surrendered to that search.

I lived in my seclusion for four and a half years,

Only for inner search.

There,

I was searching for the experience of death.

We can create a near-death experience.

You might have heard about that.

Some people who were seriously ill in the ICU,

Then sometime they felt they came out of the body,

They were taken into an endless cave and finally they came back.

Many things they say.

Actually,

That is an out-of-body experience or near-death.

Once it is happening due to disease,

Spontaneously,

This is what is called Roga in Sanskrit,

Disease.

But you can create the same condition through practice.

Near-death experience you can create.

That is what is called Yoga.

When you create death,

It is Yoga.

It happens,

It is Roga in Sanskrit.

So I created that.

I saw the body,

Saw my body as ICU.

It was a fantastic experience.

I rushed back to my Guru and asked for further advice and he said,

My requirement was,

I didn't want to have a body anymore that time because just being out of body or being in the nature without a body is an amazing condition.

That time it was very,

Very nice.

So Master told me,

This is only a turning point.

You either go to Himalayas,

Just meditate further and you will find different dimensions for you.

But otherwise you can be in the southern part of India.

There are two lineages,

Northern style and southern style.

It's not geographical,

It is ideological.

So take this southern part which is more connecting to material life,

Be with the society,

Share this wisdom with others and have a normal life.

And then I decided,

Yes,

If we can conquer death,

Why should we worry about a disease,

A loss or simple conflicts.

This is what I wanted to share.

So I started my center where people can come and stay,

Learn these things to find the inner potential.

Whether it is a physical problem you are facing,

Come on,

There is a way out.

They are coming from within.

If you have a mental problem,

Come on,

Deal with it.

If you have a spiritual confusion,

Yes,

Find the answer from within.

So three-dimensional health can be provided and it should be learned and gained by the practice.

This is how from an ordinary village boy I was transferred to Guru.

Well,

That's an incredible,

Amazing story.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

It seems so inspirational to me too,

You know,

And somewhat foreign but also having some familiar background with certain things that have come from India.

So much has come from India,

Right?

So much wisdom,

So much amazing experiences and so much mapping of the mind and heart that's so far advanced even of modern neuroscience and everything,

I feel.

I mean,

It's just incredible.

What I want to know right away is,

Did your Guru,

Did your master teach you how,

And I'm not asking the instructions or the formula for doing this,

But did he tell you how to create this near-death experience or out-of-body experience or did you discover it on your own while you were in the forest meditating?

He taught me.

It is a lineage.

It's like maybe the first person could find something.

It's like any other science.

Now we have ultra-modern aircraft but first aircraft was invented by Wright brothers,

A single engine but which could go against the gravity and fly a few kilometers.

That's all.

That was the first invention.

Then from there he shared or they shared that technique to the next generation,

Then generation to generation to put their contributions.

Now we have ultra-modern aircrafts.

Same way,

Maybe a primitive man could have found this technique how to go beyond your intellect.

So that technique he taught to somebody or discussed to somebody,

Then finally refined,

Refined,

Refined.

Now nobody knows how many thousands of years ago this is introduced,

But my master told me very clear instructions.

I was not ready to just fall into that instruction blindly.

Being a science graduate,

My subject was geology.

The subsidiary subjects I learned physics and chemistry.

So I was not ready to just fall into a belief or a primitive instruction.

I verified it and I put for my reason and it is permitted and recommended in Indian tradition.

This clearly states that when you reach to a master,

A guru,

Just first listen to him sincerely,

Then think carefully.

Vimalasya Radheseswarna is saying that you critically analyze your guru,

Your master.

Then you decide what you have to do.

So he taught me the technique,

Then I verified it,

Very simple logic,

That if you are not breathing more than two and a half minutes,

Means if oxygen supply is arrested to the brain for more than two and a half minutes,

You will die.

Brain will stop functioning.

If oxygen is blocked more than three minutes,

Heart will stop.

This is what modern medical system declares.

But I can show many people who can bury themselves,

You know,

For many days.

There is another tribe near the Indonesian and Malaysian seaside,

They are called sea nomads.

They are born and they are living always in water.

These guys can go underwater,

Many minutes for fishing.

The world record is 13 minutes.

A guy could spend his life underwater for 13 minutes.

Why this guy is not dying?

According to modern science,

Oxygen supply is arrested.

So through practice,

Everything is possible.

So the philosophy or the technique of yoga is,

Slowly,

It's called pranayama,

Extend the breath,

Minimum 13 to 14 times a minute deep breath.

This is how we supply oxygen.

But consciously,

You extend that.

Instead of 13 times a minute,

First you make it one breath a minute.

It's very simple.

Everybody can do that.

From that,

Slowly extend,

Retain the breath,

Called kumbhaga,

Means the retention of breath.

Slowly you stop your breath for one minute,

1.

5 minutes,

Then slowly after a few months,

3 minutes,

2 minutes,

Like that you can cross 3 to 4,

5 minutes comfortably.

When you reach to that level,

Your sympathetic nervous system will be very,

Very confused and it will be activated.

This is what's happening.

The fight or flight mode can be activated in your system.

Then different types of hormones will be produced.

You can observe all these things because you are creating it.

It's not happening.

If it is happening by itself,

Beyond control,

It is a disease.

But if it is being produced and holding under the control,

That is what is called extraordinary powers.

So through that,

Yes,

You,

One day I saw my soul,

My,

The consciousness was not in the body.

It came out.

I saw something entirely different,

But I could recognize my body sitting there.

Then I came back.

It happened around 28 years ago,

But now this is,

I am just playing with that consciousness.

Many people ask me,

Guruji,

How you look always so energetic like this?

Because I don't have my bodily limitations.

My body is a simple component,

But I am not the body.

I am something else.

That thought,

You are what you think.

I think and I feel I am the infinity,

The formless energy.

This is how we have to,

You know,

Trace out or explore from within.

Matter is nothing but the manifestation of energy,

Quantum physics.

So we can experience that.

It is fascinating.

So quite a bit here,

Just on this topic.

I mean,

I practice with some really sincere practitioners and they are doing jhana practice,

I think in Uttaradhyayana.

So in the fourth jhana,

They don't breathe,

Right?

Or it will cut off,

Right?

And I have no reason to disbelieve them.

And there is actual physical proof of this.

When I was doing asana practice,

I never got into serious pranayama.

So I can't really comment on that.

But yeah,

It just seems common sense to me almost at this point.

But yeah.

And then once the fourth jhana go in,

The next one is the fifth,

And that's boundless space.

And then there's boundless consciousness,

Boundless nothingness,

And then neither perception or non-perception,

The formless jhana.

So these are the formless realms that are being practiced and attained.

And I practice with people that have jhanic mastery of whatever is of these 40 classic meditation objects,

Whichever ones are able to go into jhana.

So yeah,

I myself haven't done that because I'm practicing for a nimitta.

Maybe we'll get into that later and some advice there.

But yeah,

So this is all,

You know,

When I first learned about this,

It is really amazing.

Now,

But now it just seems more commonplace in a sense,

I guess.

Now,

You came to your path through death,

Right?

And I've met a few practitioners who,

And the Buddha himself basically was out to solve this problem of life and death,

You know,

Birth after birth.

And even we don't need to believe that.

But the problem of dying,

Like I would say the majority of people,

At least in the West,

They have no clue from their own experience,

What's going to happen,

Right?

But this,

What I,

It seems like what you're talking about is maybe what Western occult and esoteric practitioners might refer to as the astral body or an astral projection,

Or maybe even astral travel.

So yeah,

This is,

And then the one thing I wanted to ask,

If it's okay to go into more philosophical,

And this I can't do from my own experience,

But it seems like you're talking about an eternalist path,

Right?

That it goes on and on forever.

And you know,

I guess we can both then agree that nihilism is not helpful and is a very extreme and it's not,

It doesn't work like that.

And for me though,

I want to get your thoughts on eternalism,

Because to me,

It seems like not that it really works like this.

However,

To me,

It frightens me in a way too,

Because,

Okay,

It goes on forever.

I'm done.

I want to get out of that.

Nope,

Sorry.

No option ever.

And no,

No,

No,

I'm serious.

I really want to stop now.

I want to get off this wheel.

I don't want to keep going on and on and on and on forever,

You know?

So to me,

It could be a potentially another trap.

But how do you view this notion of eternalism,

Especially if we want to not keep taking birth after birth forever?

Yes.

Actually,

The word eternalism and nihilism,

Many isms are there in the mind.

First,

We should understand the fact that mind is mysterious.

Who knows what the mind is?

Have you ever heard about the explanation of the mind?

No.

So vast.

Yes.

Beyond vastness.

Yes.

So nobody knows what mind is.

Mind is eternal.

But we feel that mind is limited and it is beyond control.

Mind can make images.

We image or we imagine many things,

Even as you said,

Eternalism.

Eternalism means you are talking about infinity.

Infinity has no form.

If there is a form,

Even if it is a universal form,

It's finite.

What is infinity?

Infinity is formless energy.

That is eternal.

All other things other than eternal is finite,

Limited,

Mortal.

Okay.

So mind is mortal for everybody so long as we are entangled into the forms and names.

What is in your mind,

If you ask?

You know many things which are having a form.

Like if I say sun,

Oh sun,

Even though it's very big,

There is an image in your mind as the rising sun or shining sun.

If I say an elephant,

Ah elephant,

There is an image in your mind as elephant.

But if I say sound,

Then your mind is confused.

Which sound?

Then I should categorize it.

It's drum sound or a guitar sound.

If sound alone cannot give you a form,

This is what the yoga or what you said,

Eternalism is meant.

Let me interject real quick because I think most of the listeners will probably understand this.

Let me just jump to the point then.

And a formless being though,

From my understanding,

What I've been told,

Not from experience and observation,

Is that formless beings even have a lifespan.

Even though it's humongously great,

That's due to lack of wisdom,

It said sometimes these really high formless realms,

They feel that they're eternal,

But it's just because the lifespan is so long.

But eventually that lifespan will end too,

Even in the formless realms for that formless being,

So to speak,

And then they'll have to take another birth.

You are right.

Okay.

It is the form,

Whether it is small or big,

That's why modern science is saying that micro and macro.

Even if you see the macro,

I mean it is huge,

But still it is limited.

Anything which is having a form,

Either small or big,

Is finite,

But the infinity cannot have a form.

So if you feel that you have a mind,

It is limited.

There you go beyond your intellect.

The moment you obliterate the boundaries of your mind,

You experience something which is formless.

The moment you experience that form or that formless state of existence,

You will smile.

Then no more confusion about matter.

This is why quantum physics is reaching to a state where mind cannot go beyond it.

Albert Einstein very clearly,

That's a very powerful intellectual person,

Declared that there is an adamantine wall beyond which my mind cannot go.

Dr.

Fritjof Capra,

Who wrote that book,

The Tao of Physics,

He declared that where the ultra-modern science has abruptly stopped,

There the Indian spirituality has got its beginning.

Yoga,

If you take the most authentic book on yoga,

It's written around 2300 years ago,

That sage,

That scientist is starting like this,

Chitta Vritti Nirodha Yoga,

Means first you learn to arrest the functions of your mind,

Obliterate it,

Then he start different dimensions of your experience,

Samadhi,

Means the experience of realization or the reality.

What I am saying is,

Whatever we try to bring under the domain of mind will become finite.

So,

We will think of many things,

We will imagine the infinite sky,

But still it is an imagination under the limit of the mind.

So,

Meditation means arrest all functions or obliterate or destroy the mind consciously.

You have two ways to destroy the mind.

You can have a powerful drug and destroy the mind or you can meditate and destroy the mind.

Both are same,

But one is destructive,

Other one is constructive.

This is the difference between this drug and meditation.

Many people,

They by mistake,

Initially they try to take,

You know,

Simple dose of drugs to get higher consciousness.

Gradually,

They will become addicted because experience and the inner experience and the joy almost same.

That is why it's called Lahiri in Sanskrit.

Lahiri means intoxication.

You can take,

You know,

Help from the artificial drugs or synthetic drugs or natural drugs and get that higher consciousness,

But experience will be same,

But the drug abuse or drug use will become an addiction.

But the other one,

Meditation,

You will meditate and experience it.

Along with that enjoyment,

Your knowledge and experience will be entirely different.

So,

What I am saying is,

Somehow we have to go beyond the mind.

So long as we are trapped and trapped into the limit of mind,

We can imagine only.

Imagination is reaching to intellectual knowledge.

That's why in India,

There are four types of knowledge or four types of practice.

Karma,

Bhakti,

Jnana,

Yoga.

Karma means you just do some,

You know,

Unconditional activities without any expectation.

You,

You know,

Keep on servicing,

Serving the society.

That is Karma Yoga.

Second is Bhakti Yoga.

Imagine that there is a supreme being as God who is creating all these things and he is the omnipotent God who created this world and controlling everything.

Surrender to the God and do the job and have your life.

That is Bhakti,

The path of devotion.

Third is scientific world,

Physics,

Chemistry,

Astronomy,

Astrology.

Many,

Many scientists are there.

They keep on thinking and try to find out,

To find,

You know,

The infinity in the mind.

Mind never understands that.

Like that Einstein said,

My mind is blocked with an adamantine wall.

There is something as blocked called Jnana Yoga,

The path of knowledge.

That fourth one is Yoga,

Raja Yoga.

How to stop the breath through that way,

You know,

Arrest your mind or destroy the mind,

Go beyond it.

That is the Yoga of or the path of experience.

Experience and knowledge are entirely different.

So this is what you have to practice.

And I will agree with that and probably be spent my time better practicing on the cushion,

But since I have you here and words can only point,

Right,

They are not the same thing.

You know,

To me,

This still does not get at,

If we take,

If one is reborn in a formless realm,

You know,

Then that lifespan will end and then there will be another and another and another.

So that is why I am interested in a way out of that as well.

Now,

If we look towards the other end,

Like you are saying,

Of destroying mind,

Then I look at,

Well,

Okay,

What is the intention behind that?

Because the intention behind the action is what drives the karmic results,

Right?

So like if we are into a habit pattern,

Maybe,

Again,

I am just theorizing,

But it seems to make sense that if I am in a habit pattern of destroying with wiping out,

Well,

Then what are going to be the results of that?

I mean,

Actually,

Is not that a type of clinging that can have us come back in order to keep destroying?

You know what I mean?

To have a mind recreate in order to destroy it again and again.

Just I heard a teaching not too long ago too about healing,

Which I would not ask you about,

Which it never occurred before that sometimes on the healing path and healing journey,

There will be some kind of,

There will be some satisfaction in healing that I will then maybe attract more instances in my life that I will then need to heal because I am now identifying and attracting things that I need to heal because I have now identified and felt kind of a desire for that.

So I thought that was a really interesting notion.

So that is one thing.

And then that is not as important as what I want to get your actual experience here about.

Let me tell you really briefly about Wim Hof.

I had this Wim Hof breathing.

And since we've already talked about your center,

The rule about promotion is done here.

So,

And I only did this one time and after years and years of meditating,

I did this and I got scared.

Okay.

And I don't know why.

I mean,

I got anxious and fearful and I hadn't got like that in years and years.

And then reflecting on it later,

I thought,

Okay,

This is actually hacking into my nervous system.

And I'm just so amazed at yogis who can do this consciously.

They can control their heartbeat,

Their breath rate,

Probably digestion,

All sorts of physical things with the body are under their conscious control.

But what I found on reflecting with this is that I would have control over my nervous system and I wasn't ready for that responsibility.

So that's what frightened me because I didn't want the responsibility.

Even if I could have it,

I didn't want to have that,

Yeah,

That kind of weight on my shoulders to,

Because I have a misunderstanding that I would be,

I'd have to micromanage different processes in the body all the time.

And it didn't want to do that.

And I know that's a misunderstanding,

But for whatever reason,

It did trigger a fear.

So I guess,

How would you address that?

But also like your own control of your physical processes,

Could you talk about that?

I mean,

How much are you actually controlling your heart rate and your breath?

Can you choose to let that go on autopilot too,

And then choose to go in to control it?

But when you're not consciously controlling it,

Can you let it go back on autopilot and everything's okay?

So I know there's plenty of stuff I threw at you there.

So please take your time,

However you want to address any of that.

Yeah,

It's good.

So a curious mind only will find answers.

Fundamentally,

First question,

Why do you do this?

Ask yourself,

Why do you arrest your mind?

What is the benefit?

What is the purpose?

Why do I what my mind?

Arrest,

Stop the mind.

Oh,

Okay.

Well,

That's,

You know,

When the mind quiets,

Samadhi is possible,

Right?

Now,

I know some people do that more proactively,

And sometimes during lots of meditation,

It will just happen naturally.

Or staying on one object is another way to do it without consciously trying to cut off the thinking.

But yes,

And Samadhi is in service to insight,

To directly seeing and knowing truth and reality the way it is,

Not the way I want it.

In order for liberation.

Yes,

When we calm down the mind,

We try to quiet the mind.

Yes,

We can fall asleep.

When you have,

When you are in deep sleep,

Your mind is relaxing and you're more refreshing.

But why do you stop the mind,

You know,

Deliberately?

Because when we stop the mind only,

Consciously,

We can come to know from where the mind is evolved.

It is a science,

It is a search.

Like when before Isaac Newton,

Many apples were falling,

Everybody was enjoying eating it.

But only Isaac Newton started thinking,

Why the apple is coming down?

Why can't it go up?

How many people asked like that?

Only Isaac Newton.

From there,

We found or we came to know what gravity is.

So like that,

Millions and millions of people are there,

They are so happy without thinking about the meaning of life.

They are born,

If you ask them why you are born,

They say,

Fine,

I am born,

That's all.

They don't want to bother about the other side.

But people,

Very few people,

They cannot be satisfied by this life.

We are born,

We are growing and we are getting old,

One day we will die.

But why?

That question remains.

If you are curious to find an answer for that why,

Then this is the only path.

When we do that,

There is no destruction.

Actually without destruction,

There cannot be a construction.

If I have a small house,

I want to make a big house,

Means I have to first demolish the first one,

Then only I can construct a new one.

So we are born,

Means death also approaching.

If birth is creation,

Then the death is destruction.

That destruction will lead to another construction.

So let us go beyond this birth,

Death,

Birth,

Death journey.

As you said,

I am born and I will die,

Again I will be born.

Why?

Endlessly it's gone.

But a curious mind can look inside and see mind is activated only because of the you know,

Continuous flow of breath.

If the breath is blocked,

Mind can be stopped.

That means they are,

You know,

Interconnected.

In yoga,

Our masters wrote,

Means your breath power and your mind are really interconnected,

Almost same.

You cannot enter the domain of mind directly,

So find your path or open the door through prana.

When you do that consciously,

Conscious breathing,

When you do things consciously,

The level of joy you cannot explain.

There are again three categories of people in yogic science.

You can decide in which category you should place yourself.

Freedom is there.

They are called yogis,

Bhogis and yogis.

Yogi means the guy who does everything consciously and happy.

Bhogi is the guy who is enjoying everything compulsively and happy.

Yogi is going through everything compulsively and put himself into troubles every day.

So guy liberated yogi,

Bhogi is happy and fine,

Yogi is diseased and in pain.

What is the difference?

Just for example,

Suppose somebody gave us a mango.

We cut into two pieces.

I gave you one piece to you and I started eating.

So we both are eating.

If you are a yogi,

You know how you will eat.

You will see the mango,

Then immediately in your mind a process of energy will be manifesting.

A mango tree is opening its leaves as solar panels,

Absorbing sunlight by the root,

Through the root it's absorbing fertilizers,

Water and everything,

Earth energy,

Air energy.

It is combining,

Making union of five energies,

Earth energy,

Water energy,

Fire energy,

Air energy and sound energy.

It is producing a mango for you.

It's a combination of five elements and the ripe mango is kept in front of us and we shared it and you smelled the aroma,

Enjoyment.

You tasted it,

Fantastic.

But you are aware of this cosmic play behind a piece of mango and then further your mind will see how it is taken inside.

Your system is mixing up with the digestive juices,

Then disintegrating that molecules.

Where there is a disintegration,

There is a liberation of energy.

So the mango tree integrated five energies,

Your body disintegrated that five energies and made use of your body and mind.

So it's a perfect conscious enjoyment of that piece of mango.

But as I am a bhogi,

I just take,

Ah mango,

Ah fantastic,

I ate and no botheration about the science behind it,

I enjoyed it.

Another day he ate carelessly,

Chocked and taken into hospital.

So that is a rogi.

So you ate as a yogi,

I ate as a bhogi,

The other guy who put himself in trouble ate as a rogi.

So life is like this.

You can have a life of a yogi or you can have a bhogi or you can be a rogi.

Now the question,

You look around all over the world,

How many yogis are there enjoying their life?

How many bhogis are there madly they are enjoying their life?

And how many rogis are there putting themselves into big troubles every day?

All are having one life.

So the question is your choice.

Wow,

You know what,

That's,

Yeah,

And I will agree there is a sense of worldly happiness with that.

And yeah,

Maybe I am too much on the yogi path.

That's,

Yeah,

I see.

So then,

Well then,

Then it commonly comes into,

Well,

How does a bhogi,

Which it reminds me of Humphrey Bogart,

His nickname was bhogi.

So,

But,

And rogi,

Like there's an English,

A rogue is someone who goes against,

Right,

They're always kind of on the outside doing things differently,

Right?

Yes,

Yes.

Right.

And,

But,

Okay,

Then the main question becomes the,

You know,

We talked about the problem of life and death and birth.

So it seems like you're not too concerned with that.

That's okay.

And I'm all about having a good life and having a joyful,

There's a sense of pleasure and happiness and satisfaction in that to some degree.

However,

Then how do we look at,

How do you approach what's called suffering or dukkha,

You know,

This unsatisfactoriness that no matter kind of what we have,

There's this sense that,

Oh,

This,

You know,

It's good,

But it's not really doing it or,

You know,

Yeah,

This is great,

But I could get better.

I mean,

There could be something better.

And to me,

It just seems like it doesn't end.

And maybe we should say,

Well,

Just pass and something good will come along or something like that.

But,

Or let's just,

Let's just take it very practical back to your profession and stress,

You know,

Let's just talk about stress then.

How do you deal with stress?

I mean,

We don't have,

We can put aside the philosophical and we can just talk about the impact of stress kind of on the body,

The mind,

The heart,

The spirit too,

And how you address that.

So we can just,

We can,

You can address philosophically,

Or we can just set that aside and now get into your bread and butter,

You know,

Your expertise of healing and what stress does to the,

To all these different spheres of being and how you treat people and work with people and also how to prevent as well.

So yeah,

You take over here with your expertise.

Yeah.

Again,

See,

Modern problems like stress,

Anxiety,

Fear,

And uncontrolled anger,

These are all poor management of the body machine.

Just again,

An example I can give you,

Suppose you are a mechanical engineer,

You know everything about your car,

You took the car and went for a long drive and a strange area,

All of a sudden a funny sound came from the car,

What you will feel?

Ah,

You will think it must be something wrong.

Okay,

You stop the car,

You know how to rectify it.

So no stress,

No strain.

But another guy who doesn't know anything about the car,

He knows only driving and he thought,

Oh,

I am going to this unknown terrain,

What will happen?

He's already stressed,

Thinking of something happened in future.

So in between,

Of course,

The car stopped and he's standing nowhere.

So what will be his condition?

He will be stressed,

Confused,

Anxious,

Everything is there.

Same way,

Body is a machine given to us by the nature.

It fills fuel,

It absorbs air,

There is 37.

3 degree centigrade,

Always all cells are sparking and the circulatory blood is circulating to cool and nourish and exhaust pipes are there.

Everything is functioning well,

But you drive the machine,

Body machine,

But you know nothing about it.

That's the problem.

So anything goes wrong,

Well,

In connection with nature,

We are confused.

But if we look inside and study the owner's manual,

Which is called meditation,

It's nothing to worry about this machine.

That is what is the benefit of yoga.

You set stress.

Stress is only a pressure variation in the brain,

Nothing else.

It can,

That pressure variation can happen due to many reasons.

Maybe you lost good amount in the business and some commitments are there.

When you think of that,

Yes,

Your hormone level will be different or somebody cheated you.

The moment you thought about that your good friend,

You thought your good friend,

But you never expected some behavior like this.

Then the moment you think your cortisol is increased,

Production is increased.

Because of that hormone,

You feel angry or stressed or depressed,

Whatever it is.

But if you know to handle the hormone production through breath management,

You can manage the machine.

There is no more stress.

Like one person came to me and he said,

Oh,

Whatever you are saying is stupid.

No,

Nothing is there.

You are simply,

You know,

Boasting things.

Actually,

What will happen?

My ears will take that vibration like sound waves will go to my memory storage and trace out all these things and I will have a conclusion about this guy is against my character and he is a bit,

It's a verbal abuse.

When I get into a conclusion,

My adrenal gland will produce more adrenaline that will shoot up my BP.

I will feel anger.

It's only a consequence of this adrenaline,

That's all.

But the same guy,

Next day he can come and say that,

Oh Guruji,

I didn't know that you did wonderful jobs to many people.

So he started praising me.

Same thing,

Sound waves go inside memory storage.

Then finally,

My pituitary gland or pineal gland will produce some endorphins.

I feel goosebumps and I'm happy.

Both are the functions or reactions of my body,

Hormones.

That's why yoga says Pranapanur Granthi.

Granthi means gland.

Get control over your glands.

Only way,

Through breath management.

See,

According to modern science,

You can control all functions in your body by controlling the breath.

Except the menstrual cycle for ladies,

That's all.

That is directly connected to mood.

Otherwise,

Every function can be controlled by breath management.

This is what ancient masters taught the people.

So coming to your question,

Anybody who is coming to me,

Either with a physical problem,

Mental problem or spiritual problem,

I say focus on your breath.

Then you will come to know the cellular structure of your system.

The moment you come to know,

You become the engineer of your machine,

You will take the spanner and do the adjustment and the machine is okay.

That is what animals are doing.

If we may say animals are not intellectual,

They are not as intellectual as human beings,

But they are much more powerful instinctively than us.

Have you ever seen a tiger who is committing suicide because of stress?

Because they will also get diseases.

Yes,

Nature will produce ease and disease.

But when animals are affected,

Then what they will do,

Their inner system,

Because they are not depending on information,

They depend on their instinct.

The instinct will say,

Stop eating.

They will go to a fast.

You can see stray dogs and even in the forest you can see tigers,

You know lions,

They will go and eat.

Sometimes they eat some grass or mud.

They will eat the bark of the tree.

Why?

These guys will get disease,

Then they will stop eating.

After two or three days of fasting,

Their hidden glands will be activated.

They will be naturally attracted to certain things which are the medicines for them.

So the nature,

Their instinct will become the doctor for themselves.

But human beings,

We totally ignore the instinct and fully depending on the intellect.

Intellect is only information.

If I have a headache,

I know nothing about my machine,

I rush to the doctor.

Doctor will look,

Whatever he knows,

He studied,

Verify,

They compare the bookish things and my symptom and he will conclude that this can't be the reason and he will give me a medicine or not.

Otherwise,

He will send me to a neurologist.

He said,

I am not sure,

Find someone else.

Always we depend on information.

We need information.

That is why human beings are called,

Man is nothing but a social animal.

We are all having that animal instinct,

But social rules completely ignore the instinctive impulses and dependent on the intellect.

Yoga says,

Manage,

Enjoy your intellect,

But explore your instinct.

Make a union between the intellect and the instinct,

Then you will become a complete man,

Mean human being.

Very good.

Yeah.

Even science is recognizing now they see animals after some kind of severe,

Stressful incident,

Though some of them will go and shake,

Right?

But a lot of humans don't,

Certain traumas get locked in the body and there's all this different trauma release work with somatic experiencing and things like that.

But I want to talk about the breath here because I mean,

I spent years of my practice on Anapanasati and it didn't get very,

I mean,

Not as far as I want.

So I switched meditation object now to Earth Casino,

But we'll put that aside.

And I want to ask about breath here and prana because prana is kind of like an ancient science.

And I'm wondering if you've experienced any differences with it,

But the main thing I'm curious,

How many different types of breathing control do you teach?

I mean,

Are there secret ones too that you don't teach?

And also what happens,

Have you ever practiced where you let go of breath control and just let the normal natural breath and then observe the normal natural breath and how that differs from the different ways to control the breath.

So let's talk about,

Yeah,

If you'd like to,

Whatever you'd like to say about prana,

Breath control,

What all is involved in that,

And then stepping back and just working with the natural breath as an observer.

Yes.

Actually prana is a half word.

So full name is prana vayu.

Vayu in Sanskrit air.

We have two functions connected to each other make the respiratory system.

Like as we inhale,

Air is being sucked in,

Filling the lungs.

Then as we exhale,

Air is coming out through the nose or through the mouth.

That air is called vayu.

But who is absorbing the air?

Which energy is making the lungs expand and which energy contracts it?

That is the question.

That energy is called prana.

If you want to say you can cellular energy or any medical term you can use,

But there is a subtle energy which makes the lungs,

You know,

Expand and contract.

Due to that expansion,

Air is sucked in.

Due to that,

You know,

Contraction,

Air is pushed out.

That energy is called prana.

Air is going inside and outside called vayu.

So here pranayama is consciously extend that function of lungs.

Gradually after extension,

You learn to arrest it.

That is the fundamental practice.

Like when as children we used to jump in the pool and go underwater and hold.

Other guy will be counting one,

Two,

Three like that.

It's a competition.

So we try to go under the water and try to survive without air.

Like safe competition.

Same way you can try,

Just sit comfortably,

But the spinal cord should be vertical to the ground.

Many people think they can meditate on lying position.

No way.

If you want to meditate,

Sit with a straight spine.

Otherwise you will fall asleep.

So sit with a straight spine and inhale and hold the breath as much as you can.

Then once you feel that suffocation,

Just release it.

Simply observe your breath.

If possible,

Learn from somebody who are already established into meditation.

Learn the basic technique.

Then you keep doing that.

That is the only thing everybody should do.

Then another question will come.

Then what is the meaning of Bhastrika,

Brahmari,

Shritali,

Kapalbhai?

There are many,

Many pranayama exercises or methods.

Yes,

In the books it's all written,

But not for direct practice.

When you go through fundamental practice,

Certain violent and strange breathing patterns will be happening within you by nature.

Maybe one day when you meditate,

Some kind of jerks you will feel in the lower belly.

There you will feel some kind of pumping.

Spontaneously it will happen.

That time no need to be scared.

Then you take the book and see,

Oh,

Now Bhastrika is happening.

So when you become a witness of that,

Sakshi Rupena,

Don't take any responsibility of that.

Just unconditionally observe it.

Then you will come to know how muscles can move violently.

There you will come to know that violence can slowly take to a silence.

So beyond the body,

Beyond the matter,

You will experience something which cannot be explained.

Sometimes the air will be,

You know,

Moving here in the head area.

Spontaneously you will feel sneezing.

Actually that is Kapalbhati happening.

Sometimes you feel taking a deep breath.

You will really feel like that.

Then you will feel a different expansion of your tissue,

You know,

The cells.

Then you will breathe continuously,

Breathe out.

That is Ujjayi.

So these things are written in the books for reference and verification,

Not for direct practice.

Sometimes your throat will be pulled,

You know,

Inside towards the palate.

But no need to be confused.

That time Jalantara Bandhana,

The throat lock is being happened.

But I have seen many people,

They,

You know,

Like artificially they hold the,

You know,

Throat in like that and do the breathing thinking that they are doing throat lock.

Gradually they will,

You know,

Spoil the tissues over that area and it can lead to some other side effects.

What I am saying is learn from an experienced person.

But don't jump into any kind of things.

Your body,

You are as potential as a new born baby and protected also.

You know why?

When the child is born,

Coming out from the mother's womb,

Who is there to take care?

Even the biological mother cannot do much because this guy is very,

Very tender.

But mother nature is so careful on that child.

In the mother's milk,

The breast,

Already the supreme mother kept cholesterol and the most powerful medicine like antibiotics,

Everything is there in the first milk of the mother.

This guy,

New born baby who is,

You know,

Beyond all care and everything.

But this guy,

The moment he drinks that milk,

The child is getting immune.

Who is taking care of that?

The supreme mother,

We call mother nature.

So,

We all are protected by the mother nature.

That's what we call destiny.

There is a design by or made by the cosmic mother.

Nobody can violate it.

If I am supposed to die next moment by a heart attack,

Who can stop me?

Who can save me?

Can't bargain with death.

No.

If I am not supposed to die by nature for next 50 years,

Who can kill me?

No one.

So,

What I am saying is,

No worries,

Be as naive as a child in front of the law of nature and just focus on your inner potential unconditionally.

That is what is called yoga.

The moment we learn this technique or at least prepare ourselves,

Worries will vanish,

Anxiety will vanish.

But we should keep reminding because modern mind,

Modern brain is completely spoiled because of old information.

Yeah,

It's a double-edged sword,

Right?

It's so amazing to live in an age of information where like I can have this talk overseas and draw on your knowledge and ancient wisdom.

And at the same time,

I can almost get addicted to information,

You know,

And all the things I have accessible at my fingertips now.

So,

It takes discernment and balance.

And I always,

I love this saying that worry is the worst kind of fantasy because that's all it is,

You know?

It's a complete,

We might as well be fantasizing about something pleasant instead because it hasn't happened yet.

It's all a fantasy in the mind,

This worry.

And yeah,

I like this saying too that we'll get exactly what we need exactly when we need it.

Once I have that really deep trust and faith that that's the way things are,

You know,

And we can't make it out of here alive anyway,

So then there really is nothing.

It's just a waste of time,

You know?

Once we really see and have that trust,

Then yeah,

There's no even,

We don't need reassurance or anything like that.

It's just how it is.

And the vast laws and mysterious laws of nature are just so profound and mind-blowing too.

So,

I think this is a good place to start wrapping it up,

Guruji.

Take out the listeners and myself on a final message,

Please.

Yeah.

So,

First thing I would like to tell you is nothing is permanent,

Whether it is pleasure or pain.

So,

No need to be bothered about any kind of diseases because all diseases will lead to a state of ease.

Trust yourself,

Love yourself,

And be honest with yourself.

How you can be honest with yourself?

Find little time to meditate.

Shut off from all external things,

At least 20-25 minutes.

You just sit somewhere and look inside for your own safety.

That will solve all issues,

But if you do that initial trial,

The whole nature can provide you the best things meant for you.

And anybody who is suffering from any kind of illness,

If you feel that there is no cure,

No.

Everything is possible because here this traditional method is like a quantum healing.

When you focus your mind on something,

The matter will change as the power of the focus increases.

Same way,

When I feel my mind is focusing on my body,

Saying that body is made of matter,

Matter is from energy.

You are what you know or you are what you think.

Learn or teach yourself to think of infinity.

Then when you become one with infinity,

You are as strong as the infinity.

This is the message I would like to share with everybody.

So much Guruji and may all beings everywhere come to find their highest happiness and health and may all beings everywhere realize awakening and be free.

Bye everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Bye-bye.