Becoming the Color of the Devi

Questioner: Namaskaram Sadhguru, Could you tell us about the path of Bhairagini Maa and what “Bhairagini” means? And how is it different from Brahmacharya?

Raga means color. In a way, “Bhairagini” means one who has become the color of the Devi. Brahmacharya is to become vairagya – that means “colorless.” In the English language, the word “colorless” has a negative connotation, but it also means “that which is transparent.” So, a Brahmachari is looking at how to get into a state of vairagya, to make life transparent, where clarity is the ultimate goal – clarity which will see through life and death. A Bhairagini is like the moon; the moon is not shining by itself, but in reflection of the sun. The sun is powering the moon, but still, most people enjoy the moon than the sun. They will look up at the moon; it is more approachable, it has more variety and looks different every day. It has twenty-eight versions. The sun is the same every day – day in and day out.

These are two different paths. Until now, we have not focused on the path of Bhairagini much, we just have about half a dozen who are in the temple, but more could go into this as a path – not just to maintain and conduct the temple processes. It is just that Isha has a brand and image problem; we do not want too many people wearing red and walking around. It is not about what people will think about us, but for the effectiveness of what we are doing, image is important. In many ways though, we have crossed the time where we have to be worried about our image in the world. In the coming one or two years, more people could go on this path. It is a beautiful path if you give yourself totally. If you try to analyze it logically, you will go mad, but if you give yourself, you will be in an ecstatic and beautiful state.

So, for those of you who are proud that you have a big heart and no brain, it is a very good path to walk. Or, if your brain is subtle enough to go beyond the rudimentary logic of what is black and white, right and wrong, if your intelligence can slip beyond this and look at life, then it is a beautiful path. It takes a certain subtlety of intelligence to be able to look beyond logic in a logical way, otherwise logic will tell you this okay, this is not okay, this is in, this is out. Devi is both “in-out” and if you give yourself as a Bhairagini or otherwise – it is a different mode of energy completely. Dhyanalinga is not like that; he is the same every day - reliable. But she is going on in her own way. I live in her backyard, so I know.

The path of a Bhairagini means to take the color of the Devi, not just in clothes, but in every way. Your blood is anyway red, your head should also become red, everything should become red within you. You don’t retain anything of yourself. But should I lose myself? If you want to find something worthwhile in your life, you have to lose yourself; there is no other way. If you are trying to preserve the petty personality of who you are, then all the best. Right until the last days, the same issues will go on endlessly, believe me. I want you to look back and see – you may be in different atmospheres, but the struggle is the same, the problems are the same within the mindscape. The atmosphere might have changed, the content might have changed, but the fundamental has not changed and believe me, many people die like this.

It happened once. In his previous life, Shankaran Pillai was on his deathbed. He was in a state of conscious and unconsciousness, like when falling asleep and sometimes coming awake. In these waves of consciousness and unconsciousness, he became a little conscious, then he looked at his wife and said, “Where is my first son Ramu?” The first son popped up and said, “Father, I am right here, don’t you worry!” Then again he slipped into unconsciousness, and after some time he resurfaced and looked at his wife, “Where is our second son Beemu?” Beemu jumped up and said, “Father, I am right here! I will be by your side, I will not go anywhere!” Then again, he slipped off into unconsciousness and after a long time he resurfaced and asked, “Where is our third son Somu?” The third son held his feet and said, “Father, I am at your feet, I am right here!” Then Shankaran Pillai looked at his wife and said, “Then who the hell is taking care of the shop?!” It will go on like this.

Just to satisfy the urge of food and the urge to reproduce – an entire life will go. You can glorify it and romanticize it, but please understand, that is how it will go. I will not go on repeating this to you, I have said this enough times. For those of you who have a working brain, invest in something. I am saying that from my experience of life, the way I searched and struggled to know, this is coming too bloody easy for you. Yes! So, if you want to become a Bhairagini, it is a wonderful way to be. As everything else in Isha, I have not paid enough attention to them yet. I plan to shut down travel and these things will happen. Then you will start to wonder…when will Sadhguru travel again?