True Potential of Being Human- The Purpose of Yoga

Sadhguru looks at the true purpose of yoga, and explains how health, peace and joy are only the side benefits, not the true goal of yoga.

Transcript

What is Human?

Because what is human is not an established state.

It is a possibility.

It is not a fixed state.

If this possibility has to be made use of,

There is a whole system of understanding that needs to happen.

Understanding the mechanics of how this life functions and what we can do with it,

This mechanics,

This technology,

This science we are referring to as yoga.

I don't know what types of stuff you're doing,

But my experience in United States,

Particularly in California,

Lot of people believe yoga started in California.

Yes?

I met somebody who seriously believed it was Madonna who started yoga.

Yes?

So this mechanics of life,

This is as simple as this.

I'm sure almost all of you are carrying an instrument,

Some kind of electronic instrument,

A phone at least.

The more you know about this phone,

The better you can use it.

Is that so?

Last year,

The cell phone companies in India made a survey.

India is the largest self… you know,

Growing market for telecommunications right now.

Every month we are adding about five-and-a-half million cell phones.

In a year,

About sixty million cell phones are being added to the service because everybody is having three,

Four,

Five these days.

They made a survey… That's the second one,

You haven't heard the first one.

They made a survey and they found out that ninety-seven percent of the people are using only seven percent of the capabilities that are there in an ordinary phone.

I'm not talking about the smart phone,

I'm talking about the dumb phone.

In the dumb phone,

Ninety-seven percent of the people are using only seven percent of its capabilities.

So they were contemplating,

If we remove ninety percent of the electronics,

Still most people will never know.

And we can even give them a five-hundred rupee discount.

They will be happy,

We will be happy,

You know.

Maybe they've already taken it off,

We don't know.

Only if you try to use all of them,

All the functions,

Then you realize something is not working.

So,

In a little gadget you're using only seven percent.

This is the gadget.

Every damn gadget has come out of this.

How much percentage do you think are you employing this gadget?

Just make a guess.

How much percentage?

Two?

Five?

You're being very generous to yourself.

It's well below one percent.

Because for your survival process,

To conduct your life in the material world,

You do not even need one percent of what this is.

This is capable of perceiving the whole cosmos.

If you prepare it properly,

If you hold it,

It's like an antenna.

If you hold it in the right position,

It can just grasp everything in the existence.

It is just that we are doing all kinds of things with it,

Because right now our whole perception of life is limited to the physical nature of the existence.

Physical is like the peel of the fruit,

It has no purpose of its own.

In the sense,

If you have a fruit,

The moment you eat the fruit,

The peel goes straight to the trash can,

Isn't it?

The peel is only a package.

Only because the fruit is valuable,

Package is important.

Right now as you sit here,

This body is very important.

You have to feed this,

You have to clothe this,

You have to decorate this,

You have to pamper this in so many ways.

Tomorrow morning,

That's something inside which you never experienced.

If that goes away,

Nobody wants to have any business with this.

Yes?

Only because the fruit is inside,

This peel has become very valuable.

Now,

Yoga means not just about twisting your body,

Not about standing on your head,

Not about holding your breath,

All these things a circus artist can do better than most yogis.

Really?

Yes or no?

You don't think so?

A circus artist can do far better than most yogis in terms of twisting the body,

Doing this,

Doing that,

Holding different positions.

That is not the purpose of yoga.

Unfortunately,

If you utter the word yoga,

People think you have to be in some impossible posture.

Yoga is not about postures.

It is just a minuscule aspect of yoga.

Yoga means in your experience,

Everything has become one.

The word yoga means union.

What is the union?

What can unite with what?

As you sit here,

Your idea and your sense and your experience of who you are is very strong.

You're here as an individual.

But what the trees are exhaling right now,

You're inhaling.

What you're exhaling,

The trees are inhaling.

Or in other words,

One half of your lung is hanging up there.

Yes or no?

This is not just in terms of breath.

Today,

Modern physics is proving to you that as you sit here,

Every subatomic particle in your body is in constant transaction with everything else in the existence.

If this transaction stops,

You will cease to exist.

So yoga means to know it by experience.

Modern science is proving to you the whole existence is just one energy.

The religions of the world have been screaming for a long time that God is everywhere.

Whether you say God is everywhere or you say everything is one energy,

Are we talking about the same reality or a different reality?

God is everywhere,

Everything is same energy.

Are we talking about the same reality or a different reality?

Same reality.

It is just that a scientist has never experienced this.

He has arrived at it through mathematical deductions.

A religious person has not experienced it.

He believes it because it's written somewhere or it's said by somebody.

If you are a hard case that you are not willing to settle for deductions or belief systems,

Then you become a yogi.

Yes,

If you are a very hard nut,

You want to know it yourself,

Then you become a yogi.

You want to know the union of the existence.

You want to know the oneness of what it is,

Not believing it.

Like you experience the five fingers of your hand,

If you can experience everything around you,

Then we say you are in yoga.

Reviews

Wow! The constant exchange 🙌🏾

We use very little of our brain and potential for existence. ❤️🙏

This is a great description of yoga.

Every time I listen to this I love it more. ♥️

Peace and long life

Important stuff here.

Listening to Sadhguru is always a delight. Thank you.

Perfect, eloquent, wonderful. Thank you, namaste

Nice talk. Very insightful

This man is famtastic

I love his knowledge and I'm learning so much.

Mind and heart opening.

Very useful explanation

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ this!!!!

Important thoughts