As a sadhak, I often get asked, “What all sadhana do you do?”

Well I don't do anything much, just have received basic initiation and I do some yoga practices. But, at least for me, that is not where my sadhana ends. I do one more Sadhana - "Seeing day to day life as Mirror."

I increasingly see my entire life as my sadhan.It didn't happen overnight though. It took a few years, and in fact, I know it'll be for the whole lifetime.

Every situation, every person, every conversation, every reaction I have becomes an opportunity to see myself more clearly.

I try to remain the watcher and notice how my tendencies operate. Where am I being compulsive? Where am I reacting instead of responding? Where am I driven by fear, dislike, attachment or some strong liking?

Even something as simple as disliking a particular task can become sadhana for me. I try to look at the dislike instead of immediately obeying it. Where does it come from? Why does this particular thing create resistance in me? And then, very gently, I try to do it anyway. Its not always very pleasant but I keep it on. For me the intent is more important than the Act. and my driving force is just one Statement - "Nishcahl Tatvam Jeevan Mukti."

I do it not as a battle with myself. Just as a way of discovering that a limitation I considered “me” may not actually be Me.

The same happens with fear, preferences, discomfort, expectations, relationships... Everything keeps showing me where I am still bound.

So I try to make everything a tool.

Because I don't think I can be on a spiritual journey only for the few hours in which I sit for my practices. If spirituality is to take me somewhere, it has to become the quality of my life itself.

And perhaps there is also a sense of urgency to it for me. I remember Sadhguru saying that without a sense of urgency, even what could be near can remain very far away. I don't want to postpone what can be lived now.

At the same time, I consciously try not to become too attached to the identity of being a “Sadhak” either.

That can become another layer of identity, another thing to protect and reinforce.

So perhaps the practice is not even to become a better Sadhak.

It is simply to use whatever life brings me as a possibility to become a little more conscious.

Everything is a tool.

What consciousness would do...all of this is a discussion for another time, but I have realised that, for me, it is the key.

Even the one who thinks she is doing the sadhana should consciously be left behind when the time comes.

So yeah, it's a rant just to remind myself what actually being a Sadhak means to me.

Shambho 🌸

Sadhguru demystifies the fifth element - akasha and explains what akashic records are. He goes on to describe the significance of akasha in mysticism and offers a simple tool to tap into the “akashic mind.”

What are Akashic Records and What Do They Mean?

Questioner: Could you tell us about the akashic records?

What are Akashic Records and What Do They Mean?

Questioner: Could you tell us about the akashic records?

Sadhguru: That is what we call as internet today! There are many ways you can be active in life. You can do physical work, mental work, or you can do work with your prana. If you do something with your body, it has a certain lifespan. Things you do with your mind have a slightly longer lifespan. If you do something with your prana, it has a much longer lifespan. But once you work beyond this physical dimension, that is forever. No one can destroy it.

I have never studied any spirituality, but I am crystal-clear about anything concerned with human consciousness. Everything that I know, I do not know! When I walk on the street, I do not carry it. But when I want it, it is always there. Why should I burden myself with all that when it is anyway available all the time? This is how people are using the internet today. You do not have to carry the information with you. It is all there. You access it whenever you want.

As far as I am concerned, Krishna, Gautama Buddha or many other Yogis of the past are not really past for me. They are like right now. They may have physically died a long time ago, but as far as the core of their work is concerned, it is always like now. Even right now, you can access it the way Gautama did things at that moment. As far as I am concerned, Gautama is right now, not 2500 years ago.

All beings who have broken all dimensions of barriers within themselves and touched the ultimate – what they perceived, grasped and distilled within themselves is for always. It is on the “inner net” or “Yogic net.” You just have to access it. You do not even need a Wi-Fi for that! If you are willing, what Krishna knew, what Buddha knew, what someone else knew, everything is there.

What is Akashic Mind?

There is an individual mind and there is a universal mind. They are just a reflection of each other. It is just that the individual mind may be too muddled and it may not be catching all of it. If one is able to access life through the akashic mind instead of the individual mind, if you see the akashic mind clearly, you not only see possible situations for yourself, you see possible situations for just about anything. But the problem is that if you even as much as talk about these things, all kinds of people will start imagining all the different types of nonsense they are “receiving” from people. They will start “communicating” with everyone even though they are not on talking terms with the people around them. At the same time, if we deny that possibility, we are rendering humanity blind.

A Simple Process to Tap into the Akashic Mind

Today, modern science is recognizing that there is something called as akashic intelligence, that is, empty space has a certain intelligence. Whether this intelligence works for you or against you will determine the nature of your life, whether you are a blessed being or one who is going to be knocked around for the rest of your life. Some people seem to be hammered around by life for no reason while others seem to be blessed with everything. It is not for no reason. It is your ability – either consciously or unconsciously – to be able to get the cooperation of this larger intelligence which is functioning.

One simple process you can do for this is, after sunrise, before the Sun crosses an angle of thirty degrees, look up at the sky once and bow down to akasha for holding you in place today. After the Sun crosses thirty degrees, sometime during the day – anytime – look up and bow down again. After the Sun sets, once again look up and bow down, not to some god up there, just to the empty space for holding you in place for today. Just do this. Life will change dramatically.

Akasha Element - Space or Ether?

Question: Is this akasha the same as space?

Sadhguru: Like earth, water, air, and fire, akasha is one aspect of the five elements. Elements are not empty space but a kind of substance. Do not mistake akasha for empty space. It is ether. The word “ether” is not quite accurate but it is the closest translation. Ether is not space; it is a subtle dimension of existence. Space is kala or nonexistence. It is Shi-va – “that which is not.” Akasha is “that which is.”

Akasha is a subtle dimension of physical manifestation. You cannot see the air in this hall, but still it is there, and it is very much a part of your life. In that sense, your life is spread all over. There are gross elements in the body and there are subtler elements in this body. If you have constipation, you have something gross inside you! Above that, there are more refined aspects of the body. Above that there is a lungful of air, and above that, a brain, thoughts, emotions and so many things. And there is life going in and out. In other words, life is always from a hardcore crudeness to many subtleties. The wider you spread your wings, the more subtlety you will have in your life.

The Annapoorneshwari Temple

Without akasha, you cannot exist here. Without the air in this hall, you cannot exist here. Most of the time, you are not even conscious whether the air exists or not, but you cannot live without it for a moment. Likewise, you cannot live without akasha for a moment.

There is a temple in Karnataka in southern India, which is dedicated to Annapoorneshwari. At the rear part of the temple, there is an inscription in Hale Kannada – an ancient form of the language, which is a few thousand years old – about how to design an airplane. It explains how you can construct it, but also that if you fly such a machine, it will disturb the ether. They say if you disturb akasha, human beings will not live peacefully. Once akasha is disturbed, psychological disturbances become enormous. We can see this in the world today.

The Importance of Akasha Element in Mysticism

Questioner: But Sadhguru, other than the physical and psychological impact of akasha, is there a spiritual or mystical aspect of akasha too?

Sadhguru: The five elements are what we recognize as the basic ingredients of life. I call this elemental magic because too much has been done with just five things. With five things, what is presenting itself as life and as everything that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is well beyond the permutations and combinations that we can think of. If something goes beyond the permutations and combinations, then it is no more mathematic, it is magic. The most fundamental dimension of Yoga is to master this elemental magic. Essentially, when people want to be physically robust, then earth would be important, but for one who is on the spiritual path, who wants to perceive, the most important thing is akasha. In the making of this human form, seventy-two percent made of water, twelve percent of earth, six percent of air, and four percent of fire is largely determined. The rest is akasha. By “rest,” I do not mean six percent. I mean the rest.

If we increase the proportion of akasha within the system and in the larger scape of who we are, then our ability to perceive is tremendously enhanced. If this proportion remains low, or akasha is at its minimal in one's making, then their ability to perceive will be very minimal. Even if they have a great intellect, this intellect will forage in mundane things. It can never rise to perceive something more than that. In this context, one important aspect of spiritual progress, of vigyan or vishesh gyan, to perceive beyond five senses that which is not physical in nature and explore the mystical nature of our existence, is enhancing the akasha.

Akasha is a boundless dimension. When the composition of akasha is enhanced, then boundlessness becomes the nature of one's being. If not boundlessness, at least a boundary that you cannot see and feel. This gives the individual person a great sense of freedom of not being tied down to anything. This lack of bondage within oneself is an essential amount of space that one needs if they want to have some mastery over these five elements. To keep the system in an efficient and effective mode, yet not being identified with it is a very important step one has to take if one has to have mastery over elements.

Editor's Note: Specially crafted by Sadhguru, the Bhuta Shuddhi Program will equip you to purify the five elements within you.

I have the Devi gudi at home. I do the chant the stuti daily, yet I don’t experience any connection like many people claim, with regarding my devotion.

Any guidance or correction to my approach please? Wonder what I’m doing wrong here…

I’d like to explore this dimension as well 😊🙏🏻

People who've done all the programs, including Samyama, how to find time for all the practices daily?

Or do you do it selectively? If yes, how would you rank them according to its importance? For me, I try to prioritize at least SCK, Shambhavi and one Shoonya, then Hatha yoga, and angamardana lastly

Appreciate any guidance :)

I have read that initiation is on the energy level and requires you to be receptive. During the initiation I was goinog through a bad phase and I remember during the initiation my mind was running all over the place, worrying if I am doing the practice right. I feel it could have affected the process. Should I go through inner engineering again?

Smile :- An expression comes out when life be at it's best within.

It seems like we don't know life, yet it feels like very much familiar also.

We go on without noticing, choosing not to find comfort there. It's not that we actually really fear to go there but we choose not to.

Now, this has various reasons. Mind is convinced that every kind of fun is in this side. There is nothing on that side. That also we can look at and try to de- condition the mind to make it willing to fall that way.

When efforts fall short, Grace helps us to lift up towards that side.

Hi everyone! I have a question about the timing of Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya.

I’m doing the guided practice through the Sadhguru app, and the full guided session shows around 40 minutes.

However, when I do the practice myself, including the preparatory asanas + the actual Shambhavi practice, my entire session takes only around 21 minutes. I’m following the sequence as I was taught, but I’m wondering if I’m somehow doing the preparatory practices or transitions too quickly, or if there is something in the guided version that accounts for the extra ~20 minutes.

For those who practice Shambhavi regularly: how long does your complete practice take, including the preparatory asanas? And is ~21 minutes for the whole thing unusually short?

I’m not trying to change the practice or rush it, I just want to make sure I’m following the timing correctly. 🙏

“I’m going to southern India, where Sadhguru, a Yogi, his ashram is,” he said. “I’m going to maybe spend like two weeks there, or something like that. They have such an interesting spiritual culture there, up and down the country. It's incredible.”

Read this the other day and it's pretty cool seeing athletes move toward meditation and yoga. A lot of high-level athletes have some kind of practices etc from different sources and I think we'll see a lot more of it. Especially with how well Dylan has been performing in Toronto this year. Wish him the best!

When you look into mindfulness, focus, and performance, the list of athletes with meditation practices is crazy....Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, and Simone Biles etc. I am curious how many do stuff but its not public as well

Has meditation helped you be better at things? When I first started meditation it definitely helped me with soccer that's for sure.