3. CONTENTS
Lead Article
Now or Never
Sadhguru on Grasping the One-in-a-Million Chance to Evolve Spiritually 4
Musings
A Perfect Union
Sadhguru on the Geometry of Creation 6
Sitting Still
Sadhguru on the Human System’s Comfort Factors 8
Isha Hata Yoga
Sadhguru on How to Enhance Your Sadhana
Part 4: The Impact of Clothing, Jewelry, and Spectacles 10
Leela Series
The path of the playful – part LIV:
Yoga of Devotion 11
News & Happenings
Yaksha 2014
Celebrating the Magnificence of Indian Classical Music and Dance 13
Mahashivarathri 2014
A Night of Divine Exuberance 16
Sharing Experiences
Miraculous Ways of Devi
Yantra Recipients Share their Experiences 20
Upcoming Programs and Events
Isha Yoga – Program Highlights 21
Isha Recipes
This Month: Green Papaya Salad 22
Zen Speaks
Self and Other 23
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13. YAKSHA 2014
Celebrating the Magnificence of Indian Classical Music and Dance
For the fifth year in succession, Yaksha, Isha’s annual celebration of music and dance in the week
leading up to Mahashivarathri, brought us an exquisite line-up of artists. We look back at the highlights
of seven evening performances that were a veritable feast for the ears and eyes.
Day 1 – Malavika Sarukkai (Bharatnatyam dance)
On 20 February 2014, Padma Shri Malavika
Sarukkai, the Bharatanatyam dancer par excellence,
opened this year’s Yaksha with an exquisite
performance. She presented some of her favorite
pieces, starting with a wonderfully emotive offering
to “the Lord of the cosmic dance,” as Malavika
put it – Shiva himself. This was followed by a
nrittanjali or pure dance, then “Shringaralahari,”
an ornamented dance in praise of the goddess.
Through a perfect choreography of gestures,
expressions, and movements, she told mythological
stories in a most dramatic and captivating manner.
This included an episode from the Ramayama, the
slaying and deliverance of the demon Maricha,
and an animated depiction of Krishna’s childhood
pranks. The final item was a tillana, a powerful
rendition of pure dance. The entire performance
was technically sound and yet very accessible. In
the beginning, the dancer had said, “I look for the
responses of wonderment – the ‘aha’ moment.” We
certainly had many of those!
Day 2 – V. V. Subrahmanyam (Carnatic violin)
For this evening’s performance, members of an
illustrious musical family that traces back to the
musical assemblage of the Maharaja of Travancore
took the stage: Carnatic doyen V. V. Subrahmanyam
(violin), his brother V. V. Ravi (violin), V.V. S.’s
son V.V. Murari (violin), and Ravi’s son Raghava
Krishna (vocals). They began their concert with
an especially composed tribute to Shiva, which
started off “Isham Girisham Jagadisham” and went
on to hail “Linga Bhairavisham,” the Lord of Linga
Bhairavi, which earned them appreciative applause.
Naturally, their program included pieces of some of
the greatest Carnatic composers, from Muthuswami
Dikshitar to Shyama Sastri and Tyagaraja. The
artists dedicated this evening to Linga Bhairavi, and
their masterful play seemed to reflect a divine touch
of ease and grace. As their program concluded and
Sadhguru thanked them, the artists were visibly
overwhelmed by the opportunity to meet him.
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14. Day 3 – Pandit Venkatesh Kumar (Hindustani vocal)
Before the concert, the soft-spoken Pandit
Venkatesh Kumar shared his first impression of the
Isha Yoga Center: “In spite of eroding values, in spite
of outside influences, it is God’s Grace that places
like this still find root in India. In some small way or
the other, we are able to keep this culture intact –
it never fully dies out.” Pandit Venkatesh Kumar
began his recital with the very old raga Shree,
which is particularly associated with Lord Shiva.
The array of hauntingly beautiful ragas included
Tilak Kamod with “Tirath ko sab kare” and Durga
with “Sakhi mori rumajhuma.” A faster paced
composition was the famous, well-loved “Jai Jai
Jai Durge maata.” He finished with the traditional
raga Bhairavi, singing a song much loved in Isha:
“Yogeeshwaraya, Mahadevaya.”
Day 4 – N. Vijay Siva (Carnatic vocal)
After the sound check, Carnatic vocalist N. Vijay
Siva met the Isha Media team and expressed his
appreciation of the ashram space: “As you come to
these hills, the mind quietens, and you know you are
in the presence of divinity.” As the sun went down
behind the hill, Vijay Siva opened the concert with
a brief invocation to Ganesha, followed by “Nada
tanumanisham,” in which Shiva is described as an
ever increasing embodiment of sound. This was
followed by a number of devotional compositions
addressed to Lord Muruga, Goddess Meenakshi, and
Rama, and a wonderful rendition of “Jambupathe,”
to Shiva as a representation of the element of water.
Another short, literary piece, “Aadum deivam nee”
described Shiva’s dance, as he picks up an earring
with his foot and places it in his ear. In a poem that
praises through derision, the poet questions the
wisdom of Parvati’s father in giving his daughter
in marriage to The Destroyer. A couple of Tamil
pieces completed this concert by an amazingly
accomplished vocalist.
Day 5 – Pandit Kushal Das (Hindustani sitar)
When asked to describe his approach to music,
Hindustani sitarist Pandit Kushal Das explained, “In
our classical tradition, we are taught to regard the
raga as a person. And we strive to become more and
more familiar with it. Once you achieve a certain
intimacy and proficiency, it can be truly meditative.”
For this concert, Pandit Kushal Das dedicated most
of his time to the beautiful evening raga Jhinjhoti,
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18. on to tell how Adiyogi explored and expounded to
the Sapta Rishis or seven sages 112 ways in which a
human being can access the ultimate nature of the
cosmos, and how he sent them to different parts of
the world to spread this knowing.
He explained that the whole cosmos is a complex
vibration of energy, and where there is a vibration,
there is bound to be a sound, and that Shambho is
that sound. He then started the Shambho meditation,
during which this key sound, chanted by hundreds
of thousands of people, reverberated across the
grounds at the Velliangiri Foothills.
He said that there is a constant longing for union in
human beings. But running after money, success,
pleasure, or intoxication are inefficient ways to
achieve this. The only enduring way to experience
union is when one arrives at a state of yoga. He
concluded by urging people to strive to achieve
this enduring kind of union.
Midnight Meditation
He said that if we grow in consciousness, we can
become a limb of Shiva, the vast emptiness, or if
we dissolve completely, become Him. After this
introduction, Sadhguru initiated the midnight
meditation with the powerful Maha Mantra “Aum
Namah Shivaya.”
Nirvana Shatakam – Sounds of Isha – Manipuri
Drums
This was followed by the “Nirvana Shatakam,”
chanted by Isha brahmacharis and brahmacharinis,
a Sounds of Isha concert, and a vibrant performance
by a Manipuri drum group.
Ashit Desai – Rajasthan Roots
With a mix of geet, ghazal, and bhajan, renowned
vocalist Ashit Desai and his ensemble delighted
the audience. In the early morning hours, the band
Rajasthan Roots stirred up the audience with their
energetic folk tunes.
Closing
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21. Program Highlights
Date Program Place Contact
1–4 Apr 2014 Shoonya Intensive
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India 0422-2515300
5–6 Apr 2014 Shambhavi
Mahamudra Birmingham – UK +44-973740773
programmes.uk@ishafoundation.org
5–6 Apr 2014 Shambhavi
Mahamudra Sidney – Australia +61-432268672
australia@ishafoundation.org
5–8 Apr 2014
Bhava Spandana
(Ladies/English)
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India 0422-2515300
9–15 Apr 2014 Inner Engineering Bandra West,
Mumbai – India
98197 40540
mumbai@ishayoga.org
9–15 Apr 2014 Inner Engineering Hyderabad – India 85000 64000
hyderabad@ishayoga.org
10–13 Apr 2014
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
ieretreat@ishafoundation.org
24–27 Apr 2014
Inner Engineering
Retreat
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421
ieretreat@ishafoundation.org
4–25 May 2014 21-Day Hata Yoga
Program
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300
hatayoga21day@ishayoga.org
16–18 May 2014 Inner Engineering
with Sadhguru
Atlanta,
Georgia – USA
+1-678-390-4742
register@InnerEngineering.com
26 June 2014 Yantra Ceremony
with Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
9442504720
yantra@lingabhairavi.org
27–30 Nov 2014
INSIGHT: The
DNA of Success
with Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center,
Coimbatore – India
83000 84888
leadership@ishainsight.org
These programs are conducted in English, unless indicated otherwise. Current at the time of print, however subject
to change. For full program schedules and updates, please visit our website: www.ishafoundation.org.
April 2014 ISHA FOREST FLOWER 21