07:24

When Intelligence Gets Hijacked by Hormones

by Sadhguru Jaggi

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talks
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Meditation
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"We spend a lot of time in our life thinking about the other sex and sexuality..." Sadhguru addresses this topic during a question and answer session at the Isha Yoga Center during the Wholeness Yoga program. Yogi, mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serves as a reminder that yoga is a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times. For more Sadhguru's insights, follow him on twitter and facebook.

IntelligenceHormonesSexSexualitySadhguruIsha Yoga CenterWholeness Yoga ProgramYogaBodySufferingMental HealthHormonal ChangesRespecting Body LimitationsNon FalsehoodMental Health CareCompulsive BehaviorsSpiritual MastersUnfulfilled LivesContemporary Science

Transcript

My question is again in the world of the mind.

I don't know if I'm strange but I think most people are like that.

We spend a lot of our energy in our life thinking about the other sex and sexuality and all that stuff.

I would likely hear something about this.

Nothing strange about it,

It's just that your intelligence has been hijacked by your hormones.

It's not you,

It is just compulsive behavior,

Isn't it?

When you were a child,

It didn't matter what reproductive organs a man or a woman… somebody carries,

Didn't matter to you.

The moment the hormones started playing within you,

Now you can't think of the world beyond that.

Your whole intelligence has been completely hijacked by your hormones.

And you will see beyond a certain age,

When this hormone,

The play of hormones goes down,

Once again it doesn't matter and you look back and see you can't believe you were the one who were doing all that.

Body knows only one thing – survival,

Procreation.

It doesn't know anything else,

Isn't it so?

Does your body know anything else?

So if you go by the way of the body,

Some pleasure may come to you,

Not that it won't.

Nothing wrong with the body,

It's just limited,

That's all.

Nothing wrong being limited but it's not the ultimate,

That's all.

Is it anything… is it a crime to be limited?

It's not a crime,

Nothing wrong about it but you will always live an unfulfilled life,

That's all.

No matter what you have,

How much you have,

You will still live an unfulfilled life.

Now you are thinking about the opposite sex all the time.

Let's say tomorrow I'll grant you a boon,

All the women in the world are after you.

You will see,

You will still live an unfulfilled life.

Yes,

You will still live an unfulfilled life.

So definitely it's not going to get you beyond the bar.

It will make you… maybe a pleasant little bit of pleasure,

Little bit of pain will happen.

Nothing wrong at all with it.

I'm not trying to make it dirty,

Make it something else.

No,

It is fine,

It's perfectly fine but you will live within the ambit of the body.

If you live within the ambit of the body,

Body knows only survival and procreation,

It doesn't know anything else and body… every moment of your life,

No matter where you think you are going,

You think you went up the mountain,

You came down the mountain,

Body doesn't know all that.

Body is straight walking to the grave every moment,

Nowhere else.

Isn't it so?

Every step body is only going walking straight to the grave,

Nowhere else but the grave.

So right now because you are young,

Because of the play of hormones,

You've forgotten that.

Slowly as time passes,

It becomes more… it will become more and more apparent that it is walking towards the grave.

If all that you have known is just the body and anyway you're going to lose the whole of it,

Fear becomes just the way to live.

If you try to make the limited the unlimited,

You will suffer.

There is no other way.

The body's ways are very limited.

If you try to make it the everything,

You will suffer like anything.

So you don't make it all,

You being in little bit of emotion,

Little bit of mind,

Little bit of society and try to manage it somehow but it doesn't matter what you do.

If you are sincere with your life,

You will see you are still living an unfulfilled life,

Isn't it?

So nothing wrong with the body,

Nothing wrong with the ways of the body,

It is just very limited.

It can only play that much role in your life.

If you try to stretch it to all your life,

You will suffer because you are trying to create falsehood.

The truth of life is body has to play only that much role in your life.

Now you are trying to stretch it all over,

You will definitely bring suffering to yourself.

Suffering will come in a million different ways.

People who think they are just perfect,

Nothing will ever happen to him,

Such people you will see after some time what will happen to them.

Life has its ways to bend you and break you and knead you and grind you in a million different ways.

In most unexpected ways it will do it to you.

Yes?

Have you seen it happening to people around you?

So nothing wrong with your hormones but it's compulsive.

Once you live a compulsive life,

You are living the life of a slave,

Isn't it?

Yes?

Do you want to be a slave?

Something within you never wants to be a slave,

Isn't it so?

There is something within you which cannot be a slave,

Whether you are slave to something or somebody or whatever.

But once you are a slave,

Unknowingly slowly you will become a long face.

When you were a child you were like this because there was not so much slavery.

Slowly as different kind of compulsions take over,

Without knowing why everything is going on fine with your life.

Your business is going fine,

Your family is good,

You have good relationships,

You are making money,

Everything but slowly face is becoming longer and longer.

You are doing desperate acts to be happy.

As people get richer and older,

You will see they start doing more and more desperate things to be happy,

Isn't it so?

Yes?

So the more desperation comes because you are trying to make a small aspect of your life everything.

It will not work.

And today especially the culture is becoming like this,

Especially the western cultures have made body into everything.

Suffering is untold,

Please see for no reason they are suffering.

Everything is well,

Physically everything is well.

You can't think of more arrangement physically,

Everything is well arranged,

Healthcare,

Insurance,

Cars,

Everybody's got everything to do but people are suffering immensely where almost every second,

Third person is on some kind of medication just to maintain mental balance.

That's not joy,

Yes?

Where you have to take a tablet every day to remain sane is not joyfulness,

Isn't it?

Definitely you are on the verge of breaking down every day because you made a small aspect of your life the whole of life,

That's all.

Life is just taking its toll,

Nothing else.

So don't go that way.

Everything has to play that much role in your life,

That's all.

If you try to make it the whole,

It'll not work.

Meet your Teacher

Sadhguru JaggiMcMinnville, TN, USA

4.8 (481)

Recent Reviews

Nerdy

June 13, 2025

🙏🏼 Thank you Thank you Thank you 🙏🏼

Kayleigh

November 16, 2019

Besides the claim that we have good insurance in the western world, a pretty good assessment

Carina

April 28, 2018

Incredibly insightful as usual!

Parham

March 7, 2018

A bit of issue with the accent but the core message and its delivery is fantastic. I have recommended his lectures to others (and to myself) in the past. Glad to have found him in this platform.

Nicky

March 6, 2018

Excellent thank you.

Roxanna

March 4, 2018

Everyone needs to hear this 🌻

KM

March 3, 2018

Fantastic. Thank you for the simple and piercing explanation of focusing only on the body for happiness. It’s a lot to think about and it makes so much sense.

stefano

March 2, 2018

As always straight to the point, clear, concise and absolutely amazing thank you Sadhguru you're making everyday my life better!

Megan

March 2, 2018

Always love listening to your talks🙏💕Thank you

Dean

March 1, 2018

Keep the body from becoming the focus.... thanks

Syra

March 1, 2018

I always take so much to reflect on after listening to your talks. Thank you 🙏🏽

Cindy

March 1, 2018

As always, little gems of wisdom spark from this man and excite my understanding

Alexander

March 1, 2018

One of my favorite talks from sadhguru! He decodes the human system from within you and helps your realize.

Ralph

March 1, 2018

Very practical. Very true.

Kit

March 1, 2018

Such true words 🙏

Irina

March 1, 2018

Thank you so much for your talk it's always so knowledgeable and true to the point

Judy

March 1, 2018

So true!!! Thank you

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