In regions steeped in occult traditions, the enigmatic Naga dosha commonly inspires fear and imagination. Sadhguru cuts through the clamor to expose a susceptibility to unseen energies manifesting in unique ways.
Revered for their stillness, perception, and qualities tied to spirituality, snakes have traversed history alongside deities, embodying profound symbolism. This intriguing article explores distinct mystical forces and their enduring place in the spiritual realm.
Sadhguru: There is something called Naga dosha. Naga means a cobra. Dosha means susceptibility. You can acquire a susceptibility to certain forces in existence.
Generally, I have avoided talking about these things because there are people with overactive imaginations who will go crazy about these things and misuse them in many ways. There are already many people who claim for whatever nonsense they do, “Sadhguru is making me do this.” If I tell them all these dimensions, their imagination will run wild.
People who have sat at Dhyanalinga even for one moment cannot be susceptible to Naga dosha.
Regarding Naga dosha – at certain moments, one can become susceptible to such forces. People who have sat at Dhyanalinga even for one moment cannot be susceptible to Naga dosha. Those dimensions are fixed in a completely different way.
There is a whole science and art of creating forms for specific purposes and letting them loose. These are not ghosts, genies, or jinns, which are all beings. What I am referring to is not a being but a powerful form that was created by someone and allowed to roam the world. That is because these forms are needed to do certain sadhanas.
Various feminine goddesses were created in the past, and they still exist. Even today, they are powerful forces that can be invoked. Some of you might have heard of Rakinis, Dhakinis, Shankinis, Rankinis. These are all very powerful feminine forms created by Yogis of the past, representing different dimensions of life and qualities of nature.
There is a whole science and art of creating forms for specific purposes and letting them loose.
They are almost like living creatures, created for specific purposes. If you invoke them anywhere in the world, they will manifest in a very powerful way, even physically, and are used in many ways.
Similarly, various forms of the snake, mainly cobras, have been consecrated for certain sadhana. They could be anywhere, but most people will never come in contact with them. But sometimes, in certain levels of susceptibility, these things may affect them. This is Naga dosha.
The affliction of the snake mainly happens in this part of the world where Yogis created many forms. They tend to hang around here, and sometimes, people may become susceptible to them.
Those of you who were in earlier Samyama programs would have seen that at least 25 percent of the people became “snakes” crawling all over the place, at times with eyes closed. We never talked about snakes, but the moment I opened up the possibility, all those who had a little bit of that affliction were simply drawn here.
Especially in areas where certain occult practices were prevalent, Naga dosha is very common.
Generally, in Tamil Nadu, we took care of most of those who were afflicted by the snake. The moment we opened that energy, they came in hordes, even though, at that time, there was no ashram, no snake symbols. The programs were conducted in choultries and open halls, but so many of them were drawn to it. They were not exactly people with Naga dosha but those who had a strong dimension of the snake in them.
When people get this affliction of the snake, certain effects can occur in the body and mind. The mildest form is persistent skin ailments that do not respond to treatment. They just make three rounds around the Naga temple, and it is gone. Especially in areas where certain occult practices were prevalent, Naga dosha is very common.
Question: There are so many animals. Why is there only Naga dosha?
Sadhguru: Why only Naga dosha? In this part of the world, the snake was chosen as a symbol for spiritual processes because it has qualities that are connected to it. Right from ancient times, you see, for Vishnu to sleep, it has to be on a snake. Shiva cannot do anything without a snake; it has always been his company. For Krishna to fight, it has to be with a snake. For Eve to be tempted, it has to be a snake. This is not accidental – somehow, people were aware of these things.
In this part of the world, the snake was chosen as a symbol for spiritual processes because it has qualities that are connected to it.
Here, when people were talking about Shiva and snakes, it was very specific – they knew exactly what they were talking about, and it became part of the culture. In this culture, once a year, on Naga Panchami, you worship the snakes. Some people pour milk into an anthill[1] and suffocate the ants. Still people have not developed sufficient love for snakes, which is a tragedy.
But why did people on the spiritual path get involved with snakes and create snake forms more than any other forms? Why could they not do some other animal, an elephant or a pig? There are pig forms too. People consecrated pigs for specific sadhanas to attain certain levels of mastery over life, and even today, they are very much alive. Similarly, people can have Varaha[2] affliction.
[1] Refers to the traditional practice of offering milk to snakes that reside in anthills.
[2] Varaha: Sanskrit for “boar”
But a lot was done with snakes because, for anyone pursuing the spiritual process, the ultimate goal is to become so still that what you consider as yourself no longer exists. You as a person exist only because there is too much movement. If you become still, the limited “you” will disappear.
For anyone pursuing the spiritual process, the ultimate goal is to become so still that what you consider yourself does not exist.
The ultimate goal is to become still. One animal that is capable of stillness is a snake. If you sit for half an hour, you have to adjust. Yogis always envied snakes because they can sit absolutely still for hours on end.
Another aspect is that a snake has a certain sense of perception, especially a cobra. If you make your energies in a certain way, they get drawn to you. Many Yogis have experienced this: when they sat down and became meditative and a certain dimension of them became active, they found cobras around them.
The snake and spirituality got associated because in this culture, people always saw Shiva and snakes together. When he attained a certain level of experience and cobras were attracted by this energy, once again, it reinforced the connection between spirituality and snakes in people’s minds. The snake is very sensitive to certain dimensions of spirituality.
