 Yoga, Yoga, Ishwara, Bhutabha, Shiva, Shivaasa, Shambha, Shivaa, Shivaasa, Shambha, Shambha, Shivaa, Shivaasa, Kalidare Visha, Kalidare Visha, Vashankarant, Shivaa, Shankar, Adi, Anant, Jaya, Jaya. Namaskaram. Namaskaram to everyone. The figures around the world are selling or speaking a very dire language. The worst hit country in the world has now become United States with over a quarter million confirmed virus cases. Fortunately, I would say it is kind of localized in a couple of states more than the rest of the country, which could be a good chance for the nation to control this situation. It's not spread across the fifty states. This is the time to really hit the brakes. Italy has slowed down a bit. Spain is still going full speed. UK, picking up speed. India also has piked. Still the numbers are small for its population. Seventy-seven fatalities, seventy-seven lives are not small. But in times like this, we are looking at it as a fortune that it's only seventy-seven. Because such a densely populated nation, it could go wild. But I think we've hit the brakes well ahead of time. Holding it there is important. Because once these things pick up speed, then it'll become uncontrollable. It once happened. Shankaran Pillai was living in Tennessee and he traveled up north. And he was driving on highway eighty-nine. A policeman pulled him over and he said, you clearly over-speeding or twenty-five miles above the speeding limit. He was doing ninety. He said, no, I am not speeding, I just now saw the board. It said eighty-nine. I'm just doing ninety. So the policeman said, I'm glad I stopped you right here because in other two miles you will be entering highway 301. It's very important we stop it when still it's not picked up speed and momentum. In India we have put the brakes early on. It's showing results except for a few irresponsible stuff happening here and there. Largely a phenomenal response from the people of India. We must congratulate every one of them. Well, those of you who are here at the yoga center or those of you who have the necessary space in terms of your own private gardens and stuff, those at the yoga center both here and in United States are fortunate because there's enormous space. But if you're stuck in a two-bedroom apartment with four people and you can't get out, it could tell on you various kinds of problems start happening. You know, however nice people are, when there is no space and they start breathing down each other's necks, it can get a little... People thought work is a problem, but now they're all realizing work is a great thing. Rest is a problem, home is a problem. So this is not to make fun of people, but with all these difficulties, largely majority of the population has behaved with immense responsibility and a sense of purpose. And of course today, they're all lighting a lamp to show that they are with the nation in handling these challenging times. Well, in the last century at least or maybe never before actually, globally, never before we have faced such a situation. Pandemics or epidemics have happened in localized areas, wiping out populations. Thanks to modern travel that today whatever happens anywhere goes across the world. So because of that, it's global now. Nearly two-thirds of the world is shut down. People are trying to look at the benefits of that. Definitely there are, one can use it for their own well-being. They say other creatures are very happy. People are posting images of whales and dolphins and of course you saw the peacock and like this many, many things. All that is true, but that should happen even when we are out. That is how we should be out gently, not stomping around the planet. Well, the statistics of over sixty-five thousand dead doesn't tell the whole story. They're expecting. Some of the estimates in the United States is saying in the next two weeks, anywhere between hundred to two hundred thousand people could die. So the numbers that you see right now doesn't really give you a whole picture of what it is. Everything depends on how responsibly every one of us behave. Little loose behavior will cost us immensely. At times like this, we should use statistics. As a drunk, a man who is very drunk, how he uses a lamppost, not for elimination, just support, just like that. Statistics are not everything. They give us a little sense of where it's going, but doesn't tell us the whole story. If we have identified a quarter million people in a country, there could be another two million who are already infected that will come out. Well, they're making calculations. All these calculations can go wrong. All depends on how responsibly citizens of this world behave, what they do in the next few weeks. In the next three to four weeks, as a generation of people, what we do on this planet will determine what will be the cost of this pandemic. How huge, how hefty will be the cost or how light it will be will be determined by what human beings do in the next three to four weeks. So, here we are. Fifth of April, today, India has called for a moment of solidarity. Maybe some of you don't call nine minutes as a moment. In the life of a nation, nine minutes is a moment. So, people are trying to read all kinds of meanings to it. The most important thing is to understand, it doesn't matter whether we clapped our hands or we pointed our hand at the finger, at the sky, a finger at the sky, we did this, we did that, that's not the point. It's just that nation stood up as one and did something which is of tremendous value. I must tell you this story, this was one of Mark Twain's favorite stories. This happened a little over hundred and fifty years ago. When nobody had imagined that one day people could even aspire to go to the moon. So, they had a feeling that there are people on the moon. And, of course, we want to talk to them, you know, because we are not on talking terms with our neighbors. At least the moon people, we want to talk to them. So, they all came up with the plan. The entire planet got together and they decided, every one of us at nine o'clock in the night, we will come out and it's a full moon day. In one single voice, all of us will say, who? We want to ask them, who are you? But it'll be too garbled and you need a conductor to get it right. So, we will just say one word, who? And when all of us use all the lung power we have, except we will exempt those with corona infections. They have no lung power. All of us, if we use all our lung power, of course they will hear. And let's see what they say. So, nine o'clock, full month, everybody all over the world came out of their homes as nine o'clock was just coming, I thought, you know, who am I? I'm just a small person and my voice is not even big. She is there, big voice. He is there, very big voice. They are all there, such great people with big voices. Me, even with microphone, doesn't go very far. So, if I don't say who, what does it matter? They're all there, such big people, all wonderful people are there. But it's an extraordinary moment. Entire humanity uttering one word in unison. So, I wanted to experience that moment. So, I decided, I don't have to say it, they will all say it, big, big people are there. Who am I? I'm nothing. That moment came and it passed off as a silent moment on the planet because this is the problem with most human beings. When they have to do something, when they have to contribute, they will shrink and become such, reveal up into such small human beings. Who am I? I'm nothing. When they have to get something, they will become very big. So, tonight don't do this trick on the country. After all, who am I? Let me see, everybody will light the lamp. Let me see, you will see darkness. It's you who must do it. Don't worry about other people. You must do it. Others we will see. Don't worry about others. You must do. If you have some influence on a few people, you must make sure they also do. But if your word is such, if you say it, nobody will do it, then don't say anything. So, today nine o'clock, let's make it into a spectacular event. Forget about anything. Whole nation lighting up a lamp is fantastic. Country will look nice from the satellites. Please come out and light the lamp. If you cannot come out, you don't have a balcony, you don't have a garden, you don't have nothing, light it in your house, but light a lamp. There are many other benefits to it, we can talk to you about it later. Questions? Sadhguru, this question is from Karunesh. Namaskaram, Sadhguru. You have spoken in so many prestigious and globally recognized institutes, organizations and conferences. But still, there is a segment of yellow media which constantly dislikes you and dishes out most unreasonable and baseless trash against you. Why do you attract such inciderate criticism which no other spiritual leader in the country attracts? See, look at who I am, that's why. Well, say this is mango season, the tree is full of fruit. This is mango season. Only that tree which is full of fruit gets the maximum amount of stones, worms, insects, everything. Your tree with a thawney tree doesn't have a fruit. Who will throw a stone at you? Nobody will throw a stone at you. Nobody wants to waste a stone for you. If you're full of fruit, all the time they will be throwing stones. So that is an indication. It's a barometer, it's a thermometer that you have fruit. That's why I'm using the word thermometer intentionally. Right now it's the most valued thing. Everybody is asking, where is the thermometer? Not enough thermometers. So these people have been going at us for the last 27 years, all local, only nowhere else, only local stuff. I must tell you this, probably many of you do not know about these things. What has been the nature of this kind of stuff going on? This is in 1995, 1994. We have moved in here about sixty-five, seventy of us. Very... What to say? Very fiery, determined group of people and nothing, only one hut was there. Just one hut in which we are all living, one long hut. Only ladies have toilets, men are all going into the forest. At that time, some people are sitting in the mountains and looking at us with binoculars. Well, I'm... you know, this is my problem. If I just look like this, I see everything that's around me. I don't miss anything. That is also a lot of problem. Because if you're blind, people will have compassion. If you can see, they're envious of you. So I saw binoculars flashing. Then I asked, who is this binoculars flashing? In this mountain, obviously it's directed towards us. So I sent our volunteers, who is this? Somebody must be here. Okay, some jeeps were parked here, found it. So we tried to talk to them. They were not willing to talk to us and tell us who they are. But they went out and spread all kinds of things in the town. They said, we saw in the binoculars, they are crazy, they are... they must be using drugs, they must be doing this, they must be doing that. The problem was people were freely poaching into the forest. After we came, we put a stop to that, that became a big issue. So this committed group of people who had their hobbies and their little businesses going based on the forest products got really messy with us. They hired media. Not the mainstream media, there is another kind of media which doesn't run on advertisement or the revenue that they get by selling their journals because nobody buys them. Even if you give it free, people won't use it. You can't even use it for rolling pakodi or vada or something because it's too full of shit for anything. Of course it can't be toilet paper because it's already soiled. This is going on. So, you know, there is a railway track from Sakalishpur to Mangalore. A 36-kilometer stretch, meter gauge railway track. Now I think they converted to broad gauge. In this 36 kilometers, there are over 100 tunnels and 300 bridges. So I had trekked this railway track a few times myself. So I had spoken to our people here and I said we should all go there once. So those days there is no temple yet, no compulsions for us. So we closed down our ashram. Closing down the ashram means what? There is no door to lock. It's just a hut, but we tied a rope. And buildings were just coming up. Triangle of building was just coming up at that time. So we decided we will go for a about twelve-thirteen day trek. So all of us went off, leaving the ashram. You can't imagine those times and now how we are. We could just close the ashram and go somewhere. So we went for a trek. After about twelve-thirteen days, we had to come back. By about ninth, tenth day people started calling us because we are in the media, big time. Why means we have killed somebody and buried them here and we have all left. Well, who did we kill? We did not know. Then we came back. By then, big buzz all over. Oh, they killed somebody and they've buried in the forest and gone. Well, of course this trash prints it, all this stuff. Then when we come back, the day we come back or just the previous evening, the forest department went about looking for the smell that was coming and they dug up a place and they found somebody had killed a python, a large python, skinned it, taken the skin and buried the body in the forest and gone and it's smelling. So these people made up the story that we killed somebody and we've left the place. So from then on it started. They're still going on with the same stories or similar stories. We've moved on, come a long way, but they are unfortunately in the same place. I want them also to move on, but you know, too deep in shit. I'll tell you, you won't believe the kind of things. The first batch of brahmacharis came. I told all the male brahmacharis, fifteen days you must go and serve in a old age home. All the female brahmacharinis, I told them you must go and serve in a children's home. So we found a children's home in Coimbatore, which was run by a old lady. I had stayed in the children's home earlier when I came to Coimbatore. Very rudimentary place. They went and stayed there. The food was very poor. Three of our brahmacharinis, three or four or five of them I think. The food was very poor and all of them fell ill. They had severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. So three of them had to be admitted in a local nursing home. Immediately this same media writes, so these people from the Isha Yoga Center, brahmacharinis have all come for an abortion in a nursing home. These are the people who want to do with them. They live in filth and sell filth. Because it doesn't sell, they have also realized once in three months if they put my photograph on their cow page, their rag sells a bit. It's their livelihood. What a horrible way to make you once livelihood. I wish they find better ways to do it. So it doesn't matter because I have consciously made myself like this that you can either love me or hate me. You cannot be in between because I don't like the in-between people. But unfortunately these people don't even hate you. They're just trying to make a living out of you. Parasite existence. Well, at least in these times of virus I hope they realize, but no, now they're making a controversy about the virus also. That virus originated from Isha Yoga Center. See, some of you were upset when I said, when I used the word want, but now our media is reporting virus originated from Isha Yoga Center. Not the mainstream media. Most responsible media is not doing that of any kind. But this trash is doing this. There are, you know, four page, five page articles. I'm on the cover page of this. I don't know why this kind of journalism was referred to as yellow, maybe because it's shitty. So I am on the cover page of these magazines once again. Sir, Guru, the next question is from Jordan. Namaskaram, sir. There has been an increase in calls on smoker hotline from tobacco smokers trying to quit their habit. Despite their best intention, it is physically very difficult to quit because of their addiction to nicotine. Sadhguru, what are your recommendations for those people in their struggle? Well, this is not me. The medical experts are saying that the virus, if you get it, smokers die first. That should be a cure. I am not trying to be cruel to you. I am not somebody who is moralistic and say you should not smoke. I am not even looking at it as a moral issue as some people look at it. It's just that doing something that's against your system is senseless. Another thing is, suppose you form some pleasure in that and you're doing it, it's okay. I'll leave it to you. But the biggest problem for me is that you become compulsive about simple things in life. That is a big problem for me. You smoking, that's not a big issue for me. You're doing something compulsively. This is a big issue because you're throwing away the evolutionary benefits that this human being has that he can do everything consciously. But you are choosing to compulsively do something what you might have picked up as a fad or as a pleasure, as a simple pleasure in your life. You like tobacco, you like to smoke. I'm not coming in the way. All I'm saying is, don't throw away the evolutionary benefit because this Mother Earth and nature has worked for a million years to get you to this level of awareness, consciousness and intelligence, this size of brain. When people are using their brains today to see how to make a car that doesn't smoke, you're still smoking, what is that? Once in a way you wanted to smoke because you enjoy that. I will leave that. I will not enter your personal life to that extent. Well, it doesn't make sense but everything need not make sense. It's okay, but you're compulsive. That, no, no. Because there's millions of years of evolution is just going waste in you, going up in smoke. Literally. Now should I give it up, should I give it up? What is there to give up? See, if smoke was coming out of your ears, you should go for treatment, something burning inside. But you're taking it in and you're blowing it out. There is no treatment, you just have to make up your mind. You can only make up your mind because you've seen those Marlboro ads because you thought you're a real man only when you smoke. No, no, no, I'm not being gender prejudiced. Women also can smoke, of course. Oh, what makes you think only men can smoke? No, no, you can also be stupid. Being stupid is not only a man's privilege, everybody has a right. Only thing is, stupidity takes on many forms of hurting various lives. But the most basic form of stupidity is that you choose to hurt this life. Though there is physical pain and many other things involved, still you choose to hurt this one. This is not happening by choice. You might have started by choice, but after some time it's just one big compulsion. You, I want to give it up, I want to give it up, don't do all this. If you forcefully give it up, you will start doing some other crazy thing. This once happened. Shankaran Pillai one day was just leaving the office and his office colleague, a young woman, asked him, can you please drop me home today? He said, yes, it's like a gentleman, he took her, he opened the door, everything, they were driving. When a lonely stretch of road came, he stopped. And suddenly he became like an octopus. That means he had eight limbs. He was all over her. She pushed him away and said, you fool, I got into your car thinking you're a decent fellow. What are you doing? He said, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I quit smoking. So you don't do these things forcefully. If you understand, if you are beginning to understand that we are understanding that a bus which smokes heavily is not good, a car that smokes is not good. But in the evolution of an automobile, they are still in that place where they still have to smoke. Not all of them have become electric. In the evolution of an automobile, still smoke is all right. We are working towards a smokeless one, but still smoke is all right because the evolution of an automobile has still not reached that place where it's totally smokeless. But the evolution of this became very smokeless. Long time ago, it throws out carbon dioxide this is its nature. But now you want to inhale carbon monoxide or whatever it is. Well, you just have to see it's stupid. Once you see something is stupid, you don't have to give it up, it'll go. Right now, you're feeling little... you think it's very smart to do this. Especially when you are fourteen, fifteen years of age, when you smoked, you thought you're really doing some great thing. So whatever your age now, if you understand this is a stupid thing that you're doing, you don't have to give it up, it'll just fall off because you don't like to be stupid, I know that. Don't be one. Nine o'clock, let's light up. Not a cigarette, huh? Yoga, yoga, yoga ishvaraya Bhuta, bhuta, bhuta ishvaraya Alakalakal ishvaraya Shiva, Shiva, Sarveshvaraya Shambha, Shambha, Mahadeva