Sadhguru looks at the science of vibhuti, the various ways in which it is made, and where we should apply it on the body.

Full Transcript:

So when a yogi uses bhasm or vibhuthi – vibhuthi means…the word vibhuthi means one who has attained a certain capability is a vibhuthi. So ash is being referred to as that which has attained a certain capability. Ash is made in different ways. A yogi always uses ash from a cremation ground.
So all the stories that you hear about how Adiyogi always resided in the cremation ground is because (Speaks aside – you’re looking terrified Maa. You…not you are okay? Cremation ground is okay, all of us will make use of the service some day. Okay. You may not go to a restaurant, you may not go to a disco, you may not go to a your golf course but we will all go…make use of that one service, isn't it? Yes? (Laughs) Other things by choice; this we will make use, isn't it? So there’s nothing to be terrified about. It's a place we have to go. So better go gracefully, isn't it? (Laughs)

so So because this ash causes so much distance from the body and people may not be able to handle it, for house-holders, people who are holding on to their houses; (Few laugh) for house-holders we made other kind of ash. We made it from the next best thing that we did was cow-dung; we burned it and made ash. This is also good, it does certain things. It opens up your receptivity in a certain way. So we said ‘don’t apply it all over your body, just in certain points.’ If that is also difficult then we did rice bran otherwise we did sesame seed ash; like this we produce more and more benign things. But when Adiyogi used he used cremation ground ashes. Even today many yogis use only that. But you should not do, that unless you’re properly initiated into the process and you know what to do with it and if certain things happen you know what to do with it. Because the ash – today you know this a dinosaur which died a few million years ago, if they find one enough fossil, if they find one little cell there is a possibility we could clone it and bring it back to life. Yes?.

See, right now to put the example very basic – I want you to understand this, don’t react to these things – now let us say you are a man. A woman came in front of you. It is not just the eyes, the whole body responds, okay? It depends who it is, what it is. Now if you look at her in a certain way, you may think it's your mother. If you look at her in another way you may be drawn to her sexually. If you look at her in another way you may be repelled because it reminds you of something. Reminder need not be necessarily in the mind, it's all over the body. So now you’re walking on the street, you don’t want to get entangled in all these things. If you see anything you want to receive this in a highest possible way. So you apply vibhuthi to make those parts more sensitive so that your receptivity is in the higher dimension of life not on the lower dimension of life. When I say lower I am not talking in terms of hierarchy, high and low; I am talking geographically lower in your body, okay.

It is not a question of morality, it is not a question of right and wrong; it is a question of entanglement. If you receive from higher dimensions within you, there is no entanglement. If you receive the same thing from lower dimensions, the same thing will become entangling in process. So because you want to be in a place where you’re moving towards your liberation not towards your entanglement you make the higher aspects of your body more receptive. Even all the women are, you know the Indian women are supposed to put a red-spot to make them receptive here (Pointing to the forehead) not somewhere else. If some other part of the body receives it response in a different way. I if it receives here it response in a different way. They must be using this red thing made out of turmeric but now they’re putting a plastic patch and making sure it is sealed. (Laughs) Really. You’re supposed to apply kumkum which is made out of turmeric, do you know this? But now they’re applying either chemical powder or many of them are sealing it with a plastic patch. It's a band-aid (Laughs), colored band-aid. You can fix on your forehead.

The idea is thate receptivity happens in the highest center for you because how you receive something determines the nature of your life. What you receive is important too but you receive it is vital important. See you could get poisoned with life in so many ways. You went somewhere, the way you responded to somebody or something could make or break your life, isn't it? Yes or no? Many times the way you respond to a certain human being or a certain situation could either make your life or break your life. Some people make it; some people break it, isn't it? So a little control over that just by making the higher aspects more receptive so that your – the lower aspects of your body are reactionary, they react – this is a response; it’ll give you a chance to respond to it sensibly rather than simply reacting. When you simply react you get enslaved and entangled to many things. When you respond you’re living your life by choice.