Ever experienced that uncanny sensation of déjà vu, as if you’ve lived a moment before? Sadhguru explains this intriguing phenomenon, linking it to deeply embedded memory in your system. He offers a little-known practice that harnesses déjà vu to build a protective cocoon of conscious Karma, ultimately helping you lighten your Karmic load. Learn how to apply this tool to make your sadhana more effortless and travel lighter through life.
Question: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. I tend to get déjà vu quite often, especially when I am in silence. Can you explain why it happens?
Sadhguru: Déjà vu is a phenomenon that many people interpret as having seen or experienced something before, often in past lives. It is important to understand that déjà vu need not necessarily be about a physical or actual situation in the outside world. It can be an inner situation, in the sense of Karma, which essentially means memory.
All physical forms, whether atomic or cosmic, are a consequence of memory. Without memory, there would be no repetitive process of any kind. Atoms cannot sustain themselves without a specific type of memory that keeps them functioning in a certain way. While this is generally attributed to forces, the fact that these forces behave in the same way everywhere can be loosely described as a form of memory.
All physical forms, whether atomic or cosmic, are a consequence of memory. Without memory, there would be no repetitive process of any kind.
These forces behave in the same way in atoms, cosmic space, amoebas, humans, and every life, which means there is a certain memory that makes things repetitive. That repetitiveness gives us stability, but it can also create stagnation.
When something is going in a circle without you realizing it, you may feel like you are making a journey. But if you realize that you are going in circles, you feel stagnant. It is the same situation, but your perception changes. Going in circles means dynamic stagnation.
All memories and experiences happening within your psychological and physiological structures are repetitive in nature. Some repetitions occur when an earlier event of the same kind has faded into a vague memory. If the earlier event is still reasonably clear in your memory when the same thing happens again, it feels like the same thing happened twice.
When you close your eyes to do Surya Kriya, it should simply happen because you have built that memory so strongly into the system.
When it comes to physical Yogic practices, we want to create a strong déjà vu in the body. When you close your eyes to do Surya Kriya, it should simply happen because you have built that memory so strongly into the system that it feels like you knew it in another lifetime, and here it is happening effortlessly. Sadhana is a way of building this déjà vu so that you do not pick up too much new Karmic substance. It may take lifetimes to bring this into your awareness.
The idea of sadhana is to create a cocoon of your own conscious Karma so that outside things do not touch you and accumulate. The cocoon should be so strong that simple things, such as drinking water, feel like you have done them for many lifetimes.
If you accumulate too many outside things, you will not want to make a long journey. This is Karma – you will prefer to stay within your comfort zone instead of striving to scale the peak of consciousness.
The idea of sadhana is to create a cocoon of your own conscious Karma so that outside things do not touch you and accumulate.
All these tools are just to ensure that you do not gather new baggage and that you consciously dump the old baggage. Suppose the gates of heaven are not grand and pearly but a narrow wicket gate. Only those without baggage can pass through because if you try to enter with your baggage, you will get stuck. You cannot go through narrow spaces or climb steep slopes carrying heavy burdens. That is why it is important to travel light.
I want you to try this during your morning sadhana. When you do Guru Pooja or Surya Kriya, imagine you have been doing this for many lifetimes. The goal is to make it like déjà vu. In a way, either you learn to stay awake in your sleep or sleep through the day. Both are good. Otherwise, you exhaust yourself.
If you learn to sleep through the day, you simply do everything because that is what you have been doing for thousands of lifetimes. Every movement of your body and every function of your mind has been experienced a million times. If you make a conscious effort, you can make everything into déjà vu. You will do everything efficiently while you are sleeping through the day.
Awareness is good – to be in a state of abandon is better.
You may ask, “What is this, Sadhguru? All these years, I have tried to be aware, and now you are telling me to sleep?” Awareness is good – to be in a state of abandon is better. But it takes a lot more. If you cannot be aware, abandon may seem out of reach.
At least during the morning practices, try to establish this déjà vu by imagining that you have been doing this sadhana for many lifetimes. The idea is that even in your sleep, you can properly do your Guru Pooja, Surya Kriya, and chanting. If you bring that into you, it will do wonders.
