Life After Isha Yoga

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Life After Isha Yoga

12-April-2011.

Experience of 7 Days Inner Engineering Program done, conducted by Isha Yoga Trained Teacher.

Readers may kindly, keep in mind, that, I already had much scriptural back ground having read all the devotional scriptures of ISKCON since at an early age[18 yrs] like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and attended this with just a pure curiosity as to what it involves since Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev [SJV] with his Logical oratory, discourses on World Space Satellite Radio was making too much hype and emphasizing too much on the word "experience". I am not the kind of a person who does something by anybody’s coaxing and I did not venture for Isha and Sadhguru because of any physical or mental problem. 

The Introduction involved a simple talk by the teacher who asked us “Do you know where you came” meaning how our landing on this planet happened and why we were doing all those things that we are doing in our life. Some answered for money, some for pleasure, and some for time pass. I kept quite as it was nothing for me having read the “Bhagavad-Gita “As It Is” so many times.

Then she said that in the seven days we are going to play a simple game. If we win it is good, but if we lose then also it is ok. All agreed and then she talked about how in the present age despite all material comforts one’s quality of inner life was going down and we all needed much inner peace to over come difficult situations. It seemed clear that she was speaking way ahead of her age playing theatre having had rehearsed everything. When I asked her in the end, if it was worth the effort for seven days even for those who had read the scriptures and had intellectually realized that one is not this body, mind, intellect she again repeated her Master Sadhguru’s word, "experience". On the Introductory day itself I could tell she was a zombie and a mesmerized disciple of Sadhguru.

Much later I learnt that she was a software engineer in Infosys technologies and had gotten trapped into the Isha Cult by Sadhguru and had become a Monk at a very young age may be less then 25 years. Any how I paid the donation of Rs 1,500/- and decided to do the program keeping an open mind and also keeping all the three eyes open. I opted for the evening 6-9 PM Batch ! 

On the 1^st day we were taught one Sanskrit Invocation of addressing the guru before the actual “Shambhavi Mahamudra” kriya started and another Invocation before ending the Kriya. Then Sadhguru gave a video lecture on how the human body is designed for vegetarian food and that food in yoga is classified as +ve pranic, -ve pranic, and zero pranic. All fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, nuts come in the  1^st  category.

Coffee, Tea, Alcohol, Cigarettes, Chewing Tobacco, Onions, Eggs, Meat, Fish, Garlic, Chillies, Brinjals come in the Second 

Potatoes and Tomatoes come in the 3^rd

Some of the highly pranic food stuff are Ash Gourd[White Pumpkin] and honey which has properties very close to that of human blood. I have been a strict vegetarian since my birth so this was again nothing new. Also 3 special periods called Sandhya Kala in a Day were told to us when our breathing would be in a uniform way if we observed it. This was 20 minutes before sunrise and 20 mts after sunrise, from 11:40 am to 12:20 pm and 11:40 pm to 12:20 am. If any Yogic Kriya was done during these Sandhya Kala's the benefit would multiply by a 100 times than other times. Night time was meant only for ascetics and not for normal people was a warning given by Sadhguru. So if one wanted to become a Monk, The Night time was the most suited. I did, all my Kriyas, at Night Time but still I am very much at my home even after 4 years but I am Single.

On the second & third day, participants were told to develop awareness, to external situations, like taking unlimited responsibility, for earth-quake, floods, in far off areas, leaking water taps, public lights not working at night, stopping at red light, even at midnight when there is no police man and told to write a home work about this for the next day. The point was, that certain good men/women, without any reward motive took the work upon themselves to construct dams, bridges which benefited the whole humanity, so whatever was possible, with in one's reach, one should do so. 

Then we were taught the Buddhist concepts of the doctrine of momentariness. That, this present moment is inevitable and as to how one can be in this moment within themselves is entirely in one’s hands. People always live via their past and the past is routed in one’s memory and this is the source of one’s misery, this was taught to us.

Also we were given the Isha Foundation’s Monthly Newsletter, Forest Flower Magazine and asked to subscribe for the same for Rs 100/- per year. I did not! Then the teacher demonstrated as to what a Rudraksha Mala was and what the benefits of wearing a Rudraksha Mala were and how to test a genuine Rudraksha mala from a fake one. If a genuine Rudraksha mala was placed on a cut lemon it would rotate in a clock wise direction, if it was placed over cut garlic it would rotate in an anti-clock wise direction and if placed over a tomato it would be stationery. Along with this a story was told that in olden times when there was a fight between the Vaishnavas [Followers of Lord Krishna] and Shaivas [Followers of Lord Shiva] the Vaishnavas in order to reach Vaikuntha Planet 1^st , mixed negative pranic food and gave it to the Shaivas and so the Shaivas tested their food with the Rudraksha Mala so a seeker on the path of yoga must always have a rudraksha mala on his/her neck as this will create a cocoon of one’s energies and prevent evil forces from taking over one’s body.

On the 5^th day as we were going to be initiated into the Shambhavi Mahamudra by the Master Himself, some early morning surprise had been planned for us. This was a games program in the park with football in order to bring out the child in us and us becoming joyful and playful. But later, I realized that it was only for us, not to become resistive towards the actual initiation process. After this we assembled at the same venue and were given breakfast of banana’s and Raagi Malt type beverage to drink by the volunteers. In the entire program the dedication [brain-wash] of the volunteers was amazing. Then we were asked to come on the stage and share our experiences of the morning games etc. Before the actual initiation was to happen we were taught the chanting of A-U-M Mantra.

Then we were asked, as to whether, we were our bodies or something more than the body to which I replied that since in human anatomy the heart is the seat of all activities the source of life must be in the heart. We always say my hand, my leg, my brain, so that me is something higher than the body. All these I quoted from the Bhagavad-Gita. So again nothing new learnt here.

Then we were told to maintain silence for about 15 minutes, and some fruits and sweets which we had brought with white cloth as Token offering for the Guru before he initiated us was placed and a Guru Pooja was conducted in order to invoke the blessings of the Guru before actual initiation. After this in order for us to become the Buddha, A question was asked by the teacher to all of us; "As to what would it take for all of us to accept her as God". Some replied that if she could create miracles, some said if after the program their bank balance increased, I said If she could show me the Universal Form that Lord Krishna had showed to Arjuna in the Battle Field of Kurukshetra I would accept her and some said that in no way they would accept her as God which was a hopeless case. Like this it went on!

The point the teacher was making was that when ever something like an accident, or calamity happened it was always the unknown persons who came and helped us and not some hands that descended from the sky and that we should all be realists like the Buddha was who destroyed all the concepts of Soul, Atman, God, Creator and emphasized that whatever is there is me and that is also the ultimate truth everywhere and that in which ever position of life we are placed we must do what we can to alleviate the suffering of our fellow human beings. It was just an Indirect Be Good Do Good Philosophy.

Now the Most emotional part of the program:

After this we were asked to close our eyes and sit and Sadhguru in his deep voice asked us to look within ourselves and see if 1^st we had the ability to be a parent for 10 children, 100 children, 1000 children, and 10,000 children and then the whole world. His voice in A AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAAAA, boomed and he again forced his un-limited responsibility talk on the participants. This was done so that humans who had become almost akin to animals in the present age would have some softness of heart and feel tears. I did not but I got Sadhguru’s message intellectually.

Then Sadhguru in a video told some story about King Akbar and Birbal, Japa initiations and what its significance was and then asked us to close our eyes. We did and some drum playing carnatic vocal music sounded in the speakers and after sometime we slowly opened our eyes. After this we were asked to share the experience of the Initiation & the Buddha making and each one came and spoke that he would be a parent to the whole world which I felt was nothing as compared to the hype made a day ago by the teacher. We were further given information about the Higher Isha Yoga Programs especially the Bhava Spandana program[BSP] for which many people came on stage and vouched for their experience. We all were then asked to register for the Bhava Spandana. I did not as I already had other 2 month engagements.

I quote; "On the last day the BSP Program is hyped to such an extent and then the red carpet trap is laid. Victims resistance has been broken during 7 days of Inner Engineering". "So kindly be aware as it is an eye-wash. None will tell you as to what actually goes on in BSP." Read about this in my Life After Isha Yoga-2.

Then we were served raw vegetable food, poyas, and fruit salad for lunch, after Initiation was over. After this the sequence of the entire Kriya of Shambhavi was given to us and a group photograph taken. Nobody is allowed to write anything during the class.

The Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya involves simple yogic asanas and breathing techniques which have to be done for 25 mts each day twice for the 1^st 40 days and at least once a day for the rest of one’s life so that complete Buddha Hood becomes a reality. To download the full details of the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya please visit This Link  & This

Then, we were shown some videos, of Isha Foundation’s, social out reach programs, for the poor and rural people, of Tamil Nadu state, massive tree planting exercise and the Dhyanalingam yogic temple designed and built by Sadhguru. A request for donation was made and some membership forms were given to the participants. I did not give any donation. Then sale of spiritual goods of Isha Foundation namely Sadhguru's DVD, Books and Rudrakshas costing Rs 1,000/- to Rs 1,500/- was offered.

The last 2 days only involved in fine tuning the kriya and checking for mistakes and Sadhguru kept repeating his un-limited responsibility talk. So this was it.

My Experience and Benefits, after doing the Kriya, for the Past 4 years. In all I may have skipped it 10 times.

The Kriya started working for me only after 2 full years of practice. But apart from making the flow of energy in my body even the Kriya by itself did not do anything dramatic in terms of all around bliss, less fatigue, more inner peace, as all these had been achieved simply by reading ISKCON Founder Acharya Swami Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita “As It Is" and making my own life simply hassle free, in terms of less desire for money, ample time for myself, no marriage, children and relationships and no evil habits and cultivating the Philosophy of "Simple Living & High Thinking and Escapism from Life & considering the Human Form of Life Itself As A Problem ".

However after reading Sadhguru’s Book Encounter the Enlightened and seeing his videos I became less reactionary to things and began to take things as it is. In the past I was very much irritated if any form of wastage happened in front of me like leaking water taps, food wastage, now I definitely care less.

But the idea of helping downtrodden rural people [I.E Animals who appeared with 2 hands/legs in the shape, form, Voice of Human Beings, but the creator forgot to give them a Bear Body, A Lion Head, 2 Rhinoceros Horns, and a Cheetah Tail] appealed to me. I had a chance to put the teaching in practice. For the past 10 years I was seeing a poor young man of my age working over 16 hrs a day earning Rs 4000/-pm in a hotel where I was eating and this man wanted some money to build a house in a remotest part of the village and hence I offered him complete charitable financial help and his house was built. Instead of donating money to Large Institutional charities it is better to directly help poor people where one has the satisfaction of at least knowing that money has been well spent.

So for Rs 1500/- for 7 days it was a good experience I felt. However the dangers of getting caught up in a cult were very much there. The teacher and a full time volunteer [An MCA whose entire family had been Mesmerized by Sadhguru, I clearly felt]. For those interested in the Inner Engineering Program before registering and spending your money, please practice 3 Asanas 1] Cat stretch, 2] Patanga Asana-Butterfly Flapping of Legs 3] Shishupala Asana-Rocking The Baby for at least one month and practice sitting on the floor for 3 hours daily or else you will not be able to complete the program. 

The Asanas can be learnt from the Yoga Book of The Vivekananda Kendra Pratishthan, Chennai, India as shown

which has sold over 10 lakhs[1 Million] copies and is available, in any Ramakrishna Mission Book Shop, for  Rs 45/- or can be purchased online at Vivekananda Kendra ;  or from Ramakrishna Math Online Book Store. Click Here !

Now after 4 years, I realize, that the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya and the entire 7 days class contents, could simply have been printed in the form of a book/dvd and offered to the whole world at a much cheaper price with so much saving of people's time/energy/money/logistics. In fact, the kriya does not even need any initiation for it to work. The initiation part is just an over hype created to show people as if some rocket science is being offered in order for Isha to make Money.

The Program is worth only for Rs 1,000/- to Rs 1,500/- in India or maximum $ 100 in the USA and not more for 7 days.

Please do not take the program conducted by Sadhguru himself which is taught in 3 days because you will not be able to learn the Kriyas properly. Also the donation of over Rs 1500/- is not worth it. The online introductory for $ 289 is a complete waste of money as you would not be able to learn the kriya properly/completely.

Also before venturing for Isha Yoga please do your home work in terms of basic knowledge about Hinduism by reading the Book “All About Hinduism” written by Swami Sivananda downloadable free from  If possible read all the books written by Swami Sivananda downloadable free from DLSHQ ! In Hindi this book can be downloaded for free from.

Isha Yoga even though being branded and advertised as Non-Religious and Scientific Yoga Practice is just a 7 Chakra Shakti Yoga System based on the Hindu Demigod Shiva and Shakti Devi [Energy]. The Philosophy has been given in the book “All About Hinduism".

And if possible please read ISKCON Founder Acharya: His Divine Grace  Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita “As It Is" or Click Here For Small Size PDF ! 

After reading the above book. All your questions on Life, Creation, Creator, suffering will be answered and you will be more matured and enlightened and even save yourself much damage before venturing for Isha Yoga.

Warnings:

Do not offer to volunteer or bring new people to the program as they would ask you to fill a closure sheet on the last day of the program. Please remember that Isha is a Cult and not, any run of the mill, Yoga class,teaching simple yogic postures & breathing techniques. 

It is simply a take over of one's mind, thinking, intelligence, and body in order for one to Surrender Their Egos/Individuality and oneself to Sadhguru who’s Acts recently have been anything but holy.  Refer Guruphliac Forum 

If you are requested to act as a volunteer for future programs then please decline as it will completely ruin your family and professional life and also drain you financially and physically. The main purpose of Isha and Sadhguru are to break one's family and make them full time teachers, monks and volunteers at the Ashram and a Slave so that Sadhguru can lead a King's Life for himself and Build His Own Empire. 

The Moto of Isha is that "If one has come to Isha he/she has come here as a last resort when all else has failed for them and he/she can freely part with his Cash and Labour for the Cult." And remember that Volunteering for Sadhguru's programs is a paid activity. One has to pay money for his/her own labour.

Also please do not send your teenage daughters or sons to do the program. Parents need to understand that Sadhguru preys upon their children. He will seduce them.  He will ever-so-subtly convince them that the only way for them to continue and progress is to surrender to Isha and to him.  And he will encourage them to come and leave it all behind.  Everything AND, he may likely seduce them physically.  He will tell them that it is "necessary to lock their chakras."  And they will believe him and they will let him.

Now this warning is not just for parents, but also for spouses who are not Isha-involved married to those becoming involved.  He will eventually remove your spouse from the relationship and tell them it is for the benefit of both of you. Again, your spouse will believe him, because as you deal with the shock of their growing distant, you will be confused, upset, angry, despondent, and you may place very strong demands upon them for an explanation for their choice of actions, and they, in their Isha-induced false bliss will say to themselves that it's a good thing you are parting ways, because "you just don't or can't get it."  Your spouse will feel justified...by the confusion, the sadness, the utter turmoil that their decision has caused, because they will feel above it all.  And he, the Sadhguru, will support them in that delusion.

He will remove choice from their lives.  He tells you to be Silent, you will be silent until he tells you, and you may speak again. Readers may not realize as what extent to which he uses this tool called "Silence" to keep people in line at the ashram?  It's pathetic, because people buy into the punishment thinking they've been rewarded by the Sadhguru with a blessing. How wrong they are. They are just being controlled and manipulated in the worse way they think it's a gift. Now THAT is mind control!

Just take advantage of the basic program and then leave never to return again. If you feel you have to do higher programs then please do it in order given below, even though everyone would be asking you to do Bhava Spandana even before 40 days of the Shambhavi to start yielding results! However please do not surrender your mind, intelligence and rational thinking to Sadhguru and accept everything that he/his teachers say. Always remember Isha is only one of the ways and not the only way and whatever is being taught in Isha has been written in any number of yoga books over 80 years ago by true saints like H H Swami Sivananda ! 

1-Inner Engineering

2-Hata Yoga [Usually this is conducted in Winter outside the Ashram ] or at the Ashram and again this is very strenuous for 3 days and without any body loosening can land you with very high fever.

3-Shoonya Meditation and Shakti Chalana Kriya [At the ashram only] 3 Days.

4-Bhava Spandana [This is purely a body breaking and emotional breakdown with intense physical activity for 3 days after which there is a chance you may become mesmerized] and your respect for Sadhguru might be over after this. This landed me in hospital or 15 days.

5-Samyama [8 days Silence] I have not done this till date.

For some people The Kriya has backfired seriously and not worked. For More problems with Isha Yoga Read my blog post Isha Yoga problems after effects warnings in April 2011 of this blog post.

This post is continued under April 2011 as Life after Isha Yoga 2

Swami Aniruddha !

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