Sadhguru Answers Questions About Destiny, Yoga For Beginners, And More

Question: Is there anything called destiny? Is everything pre-determined?

Sadhguru: Nothing is predetermined, not even death. Everything has been created by you. The problem with you is that you create most of it unconsciously so you think it is being heaped upon you from somewhere else. If you can create something unconsciously, you can also create it consciously. That is the whole effort of all spiritual processes – to see that you create your life consciously instead of blundering through it by creating it unconsciously.

Once you make that effort, you will see more and more of your life becomes self-determined, not pre-determined. If you have mastery over your physical body, 15 to 20% of your life and destiny will be in your hands. If you have mastery over your mind, 50 to 60% of your life and destiny will be in your hands. If you have mastery over your very life energy, 100% of your life and destiny will be in your hands to such an extent that you can choose the moment of death, as to when and how you should die – and I am not referring to suicide. You can choose the womb in which you will be born, how you will be born – every moment of your life can become self-determined.

Question: Does a guru put a disciple to test?

Sadhguru: I don't know about that but disciples definitely put the guru to test. Where is the time for the guru to put a disciple to test? He is desperately waiting for at least one disciple who will create the necessary opening for the guru to do something truly significant with him.

So, where is the time to test you? And test you for what? You want an A grade, is that why you are asking this question? I don't have to test you. When I see you through and through, where is the need to test you? Only if I can't figure out who you are, I have to test you.

I know there is this whole nonsense about God testing you. I think that is where this question comes from. Any test that you have passed in your life, if you give it to God, He will flunk it, because it is a completely different arena. Unfortunately, when you go to your maths exam, you are calling Shiva. That is the wrong guy, he could not count his fingers. He couldn't be bothered. You don't take such a guy to the examination hall. He is for a different purpose.

Your guru is for a different purpose. All this testing is irrelevant in the spiritual realm. If I have to give you some work on the physical level, definitely I would test you and appraise you. For spiritual purposes there is no need to test. A guru can clearly see every bag of karma for what it is. There is no need to be tested.

Sadhguru Answers Questions About Science, Spirituality, And Symbolism

Question: If you’re a beginner, what is the best practice to follow the path of yoga in its true form?

Sadhguru: Yoga is not just about morning-evening practice. Every aspect of your life – the very way you walk, breathe, interact – should become a process of yoga.

Yoga is not something that you do. Yoga is something that you become. If you cultivate your body, mind, emotions and energies to a certain level of maturity, a quality arises within you where being peaceful and joyful is not determined by anything outside of you, it is determined by you. Yogic practices definitely help bring this quality, but we should keep in mind that they are not the only thing.

For someone getting started with yoga, they can take up something called upa-yoga, which gives you physical and psychological benefits but doesn’t touch the spiritual dimension. It can be learnt in five minutes and can be practiced anywhere. Once people experience the benefits, they will naturally seek yoga in a more serious manner.

In vernacular languages, “upayoga” refers to something useful, but actually it means sub or pre-yoga. Yoga itself is not an exercise. It is a technology through which a dimension beyond the physical becomes a living reality within you. So, it needs to be handled in a committed atmosphere. But upa-yoga does not demand that nor does it cause problems if done improperly because you can’t do it improperly – it’s very simple – and the benefits are quite immense.