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CONTENTS
Lead Article
Now or NeverSadhguru on Grasping the One-in-a-Million Chance to Evolve Spiritually 4
MusingsA Perfect UnionSadhguru on the Geometry of Creation 6
Sitting StillSadhguru on the Human System’s Comfort Factors 8
Isha Hata YogaSadhguru on How to Enhance Your Sadhana Part 4: The Impact of Clothing, Jewelry, and Spectacles 10
Leela SeriesThe path of the playful – part LIV:Yoga of Devotion 11
News & Happenings
Yaksha 2014Celebrating the Magnificence of Indian Classical Music and Dance 13
Mahashivarathri 2014A Night of Divine Exuberance 16
Sharing Experiences
Miraculous Ways of DeviYantra Recipients Share their Experiences 20
Upcoming Programs and Events Isha Yoga – Program Highlights 21
Isha RecipesThis Month: Green Papaya Salad 22
Zen SpeaksSelf and Other 23
3ISHA FOREST FLOWERApril 2014
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Celebrating the Magnificence of Indian Classical Music and Dance
YAKSHA 2014
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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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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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
Program Highlights
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.
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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
5–6 Apr 2014 Shambhavi Mahamudra Sidney – Australia +61-432268672
5–8 Apr 2014Bhava Spandana (Ladies/English)
Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India 0422-2515300
9–15 Apr 2014 Inner Engineering Bandra West, Mumbai – India
98197 40540 [email protected]
9–15 Apr 2014 Inner Engineering Hyderabad – India 85000 64000 [email protected]
10–13 Apr 2014Inner Engineering
Retreat Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421 [email protected]
24–27 Apr 2014Inner Engineering
Retreat Residential Program
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India
0422-2515421 [email protected]
4–25 May 2014 21-Day Hata Yoga Program
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India
0422-2515300 [email protected]
16–18 May 2014 Inner Engineering with Sadhguru
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
+1-678-390-4742 [email protected]
26 June 2014 Yantra Ceremony with Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India
9442504720 [email protected]
27–30 Nov 2014INSIGHT: The
DNA of Success with Sadhguru
Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore – India
83000 84888 [email protected]
