Are you intrigued by occult tantric practices like the Pancha Munda Sadhana, which involves the use of five skulls? Join Sadhguru as he separates myths from reality and explains why it is important to temper your quest with a sense of humanity and involvement with life around you.
Questioner: Sadhguru, I have heard of tantrics doing Pancha Munda Sadhana; is it real? And if it is, why are they doing such things? What are their aspirations?
Sadhguru: Oh, Pancha Munda. Pancha Munda means five skulls. They usually use the skull of a snake, frog, fox, tiger or dog, as well as a human skull. Ladies, do not worry – it is always a male skull. Why are you interested in Pancha Munda? Do you wish to sit on five skulls and a dead body, and perform sadhana? This is an academic question, not for personal pursuit. We will teach you a nice practice that will help make you a balanced and beautiful human being.
So, why this Pancha Munda? There is a relationship of ascending order from snake to frog, frog to fox, fox to a larger animal, and finally to a human being. This is also because of the different Devis that are related to this. Traditionally, various Devis have been represented by certain animals, or at least those animals are their vehicles.
Chamundeshwari rides a tiger, Dakini rides a fox, and there are other Devis that are less known today. Such deities were created for five different purposes and aspects of life. Likewise, there are pancha vayus [1]; through the yogic system, one can learn how to use them for one’s benefit. And there are also people who want to use the same pancha vayus for some freaky exploration.
This exploration, even when it is scientific, can sometimes be very cruel. In previous generations, scientists in Europe and Asia have conducted experiments on living human beings that were very cruel. Pancha Munda and related practices are not necessarily against anyone, but if they require a skull, they have to somehow procure it. Even a frog or a snake values its skull very much, but no one will wait for them to die naturally. In the past, even human sacrifices have occurred all over the world – not only to satisfy the spiritual quest, but also the scientific one.
It is extremely important that your quest is tempered by your sense of humanity and involvement with life around you. Otherwise, it will lead to wantonness. There have been explorers who wanted to know, so they traveled all over the world and wrote books about their travels. And then there were explorers who went all over the world, wantonly killing people. It is essential that your quest is humanized.
I was told that the knowledge derived from the terrible experiments that were conducted on human beings during World War II is still valued by the scientific community today, even though they do not approve of the methodology. We are all benefiting from the knowledge acquired from these experiments, but we do not want to take responsibility for the pain we have caused. Life does not work in this way; it comes with both. Likewise, the process of Pancha Munda may have some value, but it is not something you should pursue.
So, the question remains, “What are their aspirations?” Human aspiration for power is limitless. People may make money, do scientific research, educate themselves, stand for election, or pick up a gun – all in search of power. Pancha Munda and similar practices are also about that. They want to acquire powers that will give them control over life around them. But what will you achieve by controlling people around you?
The goal of life is liberation, not control or power; to be free from oneself, from one’s acquired rubbish, from the ways of body and mind, from animal nature, and from the polarities of life. So, let us leave such practices because they are more about acquiring powers.
I have never been involved in such things, but I have met individuals who have. I was intrigued by people talking about ghosts, and wanted to witness it myself. So I went and sat in the cremation grounds for a long time, but the damn ghosts never came – only dead bodies came.
The goal of life is liberation, not control or power; to be free from oneself, from one’s acquired rubbish, from the ways of body and mind, from animal nature, and from the polarities of life.
I went to many places to witness the ghosts that everyone except me seemed to be seeing. People claimed certain places were haunted. So, I went to all these haunted houses and sought permission to sleep there, hoping to meet the ghosts. But when I went there, no door opened or closed by itself. I waited, but no ghost came.
Then there was another person who said that every Amavasya, he would feed the ghosts with his blood. His thumb was half eaten up, which served as a living proof. I went with him for two Amavasyas, but the ghosts did not come.
After that, I went to another man, who had brown and amber colored bottles. He said he had caught a few ghosts and bottled them up. He was working as an officer in the Mysore City Corporation, but in the evenings, he was a tantric wearing a black robe. I befriended him and sat with him. He said all kinds of weird things, while I was waiting to get one of his 15–18 bottles. But he was so cautious that he never let me near them.
He drew a kolam [1] and put eggs in each of the five corners. All the five eggs burst with a sound, which he said was proof that the spirits had come. This truly intrigued me because I had seen it with my own eyes how the eggs, which were at a distance of about 8–9 square feet from each other, burst. There was no way he could have planted small explosives in them. They were ordinary chicken eggs. I kept looking and thinking, “What is this?”
I went into the backyard, walked up and down, thinking and looking at everything. Then I looked at a guava that was hanging from the tree, clapped, and it fell. I realized I could knock off guavas with a clap. I brought a friend of mine and said, “Watch this.” I was just 17–18 years old. I pointed at a fruit, and after a clap, it fell to the ground.
Then a deep level of revulsion or disgust, which was not mental or emotional but chemical, went through my whole system, and I knew I would never use these things like that again. I never went to that man again, nor did I want his ghosts in the bottles.
There are many kinds of explorations. Explorations that lead to one’s liberation are one thing. Explorations that benefit all life are another thing. And then there are explorations that simply reveal certain things without necessarily benefiting anyone.
This type of sadhana is done to acquire certain powers that can be used in many different ways. Well, I am still clapping my hands – not to knock you down, but for a different purpose altogether. These claps are not about power but a sacrifice of one’s own life.
It is important to deeply invest in your humanity before you touch anything powerful because it will help you use it for the benefit of others, rather than your own benefit.
When exploring mysticism, it is important not to get overwhelmed by it. There are many people who have invested themselves in these types of sadhanas, and they have been tortured and consumed by the same Devis or spirits they were worshipping or trying to exert power over. When you try to subdue or dominate something, you do not always win. It may subdue or dominate you. But that is not the nature of mysticism that I am talking about.
It is important to deeply invest in your humanity before you touch anything powerful because it will help you use it for the benefit of others, rather than your own benefit. If it is just a book exploration, leave it there. Do not even go to such places, as there are some situations that you may not know how to walk out of.
