Tools to Tap the Source of Creation

Oscar award-winning filmmaker Shekhar Kapur speaks to Sadhguru about the nature of Linga Bhairavi, yantras, and consecrated spaces.

Shekar Kapur: Sadhguru, when the consecration of Linga Bhairavi took place, you said, “Shekhar, as a creative person, you must come.” So my first question to you today is about the relationship between Bhairavi and creativity.

Sadhguru: The greatest masterpiece of physical creation, of what we know on this planet, is the human body. There is no physical mechanism that is as sophisticated and as fantastic as this one. And though there is an input from the masculine, it is essentially manufactured in the womb of the feminine. Bhairavi is the ultimate feminine nature – creativity in its essence.

Shekar Kapur: You’re saying my feminine nature is the source of my creativity?

Sadhguru: I don’t believe a human being can be creative. If we perceive creation around us with a certain profoundness, we can imitate in many different ways, in permutations and combinations, and seem creative in society, but actually, we are not really creative. Everything that can be created has already been done in creation. We are clever craftsmen at the most. If you define the word “creativity” as really creating something – whether you make a movie or you paint something or I build a building, I speak, or whatever else I do – this is not really creative – it is clever imitation. Because we have paid attention to different aspects of life, we are able to imitate in ways that others have not thought possible. Or if you don’t like the word “imitate,” you could say “replicate.”

Shekar Kapur: I prefer “imitate” to “replicate.” Or would you give me, as a creative person, the word “interpret?”

Sadhguru: No, I would give you “transmit.” In transmission, you can make some changes of color and form to it.

Shekar Kapur: Okay, I am going to replace the word “creativity” with the word “transmission.” Let’s talk about transmission. How do I transmit? Is there a relationship between transmission and Bhairavi? How do I become part of or how can I access the source?

Sadhguru: She herself is a transmission. We have always used the word “window” in yoga. Somehow, Bill Gates stole it from us, because we didn’t make it as popular as he did! It is all about opening a new window. If you open a new window, suddenly existence looks completely different. Suppose you have lived in a contraption of a home all your life. Now if you open one window, you will see the temple, and you will think the world is a temple. If you open another window, you will think the world is a mountain. If you open yet another window, you will think the world is a jungle. If you open a different window, you will think the world is a town. Similarly, you can open a million different windows and still it will be something new, because such is the phenomenon of creation.

Bhairavi herself is a window. Anything could be made into a window, but it has not been done. We established a window and keep it open so that more people are able to see. Through Bhairavi, people are able to experience, know, and achieve things that they would have never been able to do by themselves. You should listen to the stories of a lot of people who are every day in Bhairavi sadhana through the Bhairavi yantra – incredible! If you use her as a window, suddenly she opens up a new dimension for you, an enhanced level of capability and competence.

Another way of looking at it is all deities can also be referred to as yantra. In a way, a yantra is a machine. The word “yantra” actually means “form.” A machine is a complex arrangement of forms. Why do we invent machines? All machines that human beings have ever made are only about enhancing what we can already do in a certain way. We can do it in a small way – the machine can do it in a bigger way. We can walk, so we came up with a bicycle. If you were immobile like a tree, you would have never thought of a bicycle.

All machines, whether it is a phone, a bicycle, a car, a computer, or whatever else, are just enhancements of our own capabilities and competence. In that sense, a Bhairavi yantra is also a machine. There is a different way to work with her because she is not a physical machine – she is an energy machine. If you use the right code, a mantra or a certain way to connect with her, and she works for you, suddenly, in different levels, your capacity is greatly enhanced.

If you remember when you first learned how to ride a bicycle, the new level of freedom was tremendous. A bicycle is one of the most basic machines, but when you first ride it, this experience of shifting your ability to locomote to the next level is phenomenal. The only reason why human beings are in a dominant position on this planet is because we created tools and machines. You can’t run as fast as a panther. You can’t fight with a tiger. You are no match for an elephant at all. You are not even a match for a bull or a cow. Only because we have tools and machines, our lives are enhanced.

These yantras are machines that function in a completely different dimension. They are machines for inner wellbeing. Whenever I refer to the Dhyanalinga as a tool, people feel offended, “Sadhguru, don’t call it a tool – for us it’s a god!” I say, “It’s okay – God is also a tool.” When people go to the temple and say, “Shiva, do this for me,” they are trying to use him as a tool for their wellbeing. People do not understand how fantastic a thing a tool is. God is not so fantastic – tools are fantastic. Suppose I ask you to unscrew a screw in a piece of furniture – you may lose all your fingernails and a few teeth, but it won’t come out. If I give you a little screwdriver – done! That’s the power of a tool – it enables you to do things that you could not do by yourself.

You might have stood on your head, got into all kinds of pretzel forms, and still you were not able to meditate. Now if you come and sit at the Dhyanalinga, you will become meditative. So many people who have never been able to meditate in their whole life just sit there and become meditative. It is a powerful tool in that direction – that’s why it is called Dhyanalinga. Similarly, Bhairavi is a tool for wellbeing on a different level. Such sophisticated forms were created to take you to spaces that you by yourself would not be able to go to.

If I had not been to those spaces, I would not have been able to manifest Bhairavi the way she is right now. If everyone had to make the journey without a tool, without a machine, it would be an arduous task. Essentially, it is only because of tools and machines that if one generation leaves something at a certain point, the next generation can take the next step without having to start all over again or having to repeat the previous step.

These yantras are powerful tools. It is just that this form of science, which is far more ancient, far more profound, and far more complex than the present physical sciences, is subjective in nature. Today’s science is concerned with the physical nature of the universe alone. By changing the physicality, you will only change the appearance of life – you will not change the quality of life in any way. Suppose you start cycling, running, exercising, and building muscle every day, your appearance will change, socially something may change, but in your experience of life, nothing will change. You will be miserable with big muscles – that’s all.

But if you change the dimension that is beyond physicality, everything, the way you exist, the way you perceive life will change. Your very connection with the universe will change. After all, you can’t really make anything that’s life. Life is for you to perceive and experience. The choice you have is to perceive and experience it more profoundly. Unfortunately, that dimension has been completely ignored in today’s world because of this madness about the physical.

Editor's note: The next Yantra Ceremony will be held at Isha Yoga Center on July 31, 2019. You will be initiated into a powerful process and receive the Yantra in Sadhguru's presence. For more details, click here or call 844 844 7708.

This article is based on an excerpt from the December 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Pay what you want and download. (set ‘0’ for free). Print subscriptions are also available.