Another mystery unfolds as Sadhguru throws light on an esoteric aspect of Yoga and reveals how yogic practices need to be structured, and what role a Guru plays on the path to ecstasy.
Sadhguru: As there is medical physiology, there is a whole yogic physiology. One aspect of yogic physiology, which is supported by modern neuroscience, is the pineal gland in the brain. In Yoga, it is recognized as agna. The secretions of the pineal gland hugely control and moderate one’s mood and experiences. If you have a stable and active pineal secretion, having a pleasant mood within yourself is not a problem.
There is another little-known aspect, which is not yet recognized medically, but yogic physiology considers it as another part of the brain – the bindu. The word bindu means a tiniest point that is not further divisible. If you draw a vertical line from your earhole to the top of your head and a 45-degree line from there toward the back of your head, the point in the middle of that line is the bindu.
Many cultures around the world have recognized the presence of the bindu in the brain, and there is an understanding that this point should always be protected. In India, Hindus traditionally used to keep a tuft of hair at that point so that it is protected. In other cultures where people shaved their heads, they are wearing small cloth caps to cover that area. Wherever you go, you will see that at least when people are doing a certain type of activity that they believe is spiritual, they want their bindu to be covered.
Everywhere in the world, someone has been aware and probably spoken about it at some point. Somehow, they were aware that this part needs to be protected and activated. In the Hindu way of life, when Brahmins initiate young boys, they shave off the rest of the hair and leave a tuft at that place. Every time before he does his practice, he holds his tuft, twirls it around, pulls it, and ties it tightly. Initially, it will cause pain, but after some time, it will cause a deep sense of ecstasy within him as his practice improves.
This is because the bindu is a small point in the brain surrounded by a certain secretion. I do not know when the brain surgeons will come upon it, or if they even will because it is so small that they may ignore it. But if you pay a certain attention to your own system, you will notice it is there all the time. The bindu has two sides to it. It has another point to it that also has a secretion, but that one is poisonous. If you tip the wrong side by doing improper things with life, then poison will spread through the system in such a way that you will be miserable for no reason. A lot of people have done that to themselves.
There are many cultures around the world who have been aware of this – some are wearing caps, some have tufts, while some take other kinds of care. You will always notice that the level of mental imbalance in those cultures is phenomenally low.
The yogic system has devised the initial phase of the practices in such a way that it is aimed at stability, which is more important than ecstasy. If ecstasy comes before stability, you are heading for a crash. If stability comes first and then ecstasy, it is fantastic and beautiful. The processes of ecstasy were never written down or transmitted as a teaching. Only in the presence of a certain being do those things happen because they are very subjective.
Some books on tantra are there, which is very irresponsible. Those who wrote it down were usually ignorant people who did some guesswork. Suppose you read a book, and the first two chapters describe simple practices to stabilize yourself, while the last five chapters talk about practices to take you to ecstatic levels – which ones will you do? You will be asking for trouble.
When people go for ecstasy without stability, they will go crazy. Never aspire for anything that is not yet in your perception because you will aspire for the wrong things. Just do your simple sadhana. That is why traditions have always insisted on trust because if we explain something beforehand, naturally you will imagine wrong things and go for it.
That is why we usually do not talk about all those things in the basic program. This cannot be logically worked out. It needs a little fixing of life.
A man walked into the court. He was the defendant.
The judge looked at him and asked, “Do you have a lawyer?”
The man said, “No, but I have some good friends in the jury!”
You cannot logically work it out. That is why the Guru came into the picture because without a little bit of fixing, nudging, and shoving, you will not cross the line.
