Adiyogi is thus variously described in a recent book by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, co-authored with Arundhati Subramaniam. The book itself is called "Adiyogi". The main ideas are from Sadhguru but the co-author gets all credit for the masterly exposition and fine description of the questions and context. Fine here is in the sense of "refined", a superlative term. Not just average. Some themes from the book are outlined below.
1. Shi-va, according to Sadhguru, literally means "that which is not". A no-thing, with the hyphen being very important. This no-thing is the lap in which creation occurs. Yogic tradition, he says, has always held that beyond creation lies this realm of stillness, which is the substratum of all creation. It is interesting to see that modern scientists also now believe that some unseen dark energy is the source of creation which holds and shapes the perceived part of creation. While this point is impactful, it is equally important to also remember Adiyogi in his manifest forms. One is that of a God, around whom many myths may have been created, probably with lots of symbolic meaning. Equally important is his role as a yogi walking this earth, taking up a human form, training the seven great sages in the sciences of self realization and liberation, sending them to different continents to teach future generations, and leaving behind a gigantic repository of spiritual knowledge in the rocks of Kailash (mansarovar), Kailash of the south (Velliangiri mountains) and maybe other places too. This repository too, like the "inner intranet", is accessible to Sadhguru, and if there was a point to it, he could probably trace even the details of the personal life of Adiyogi from what remains still in those rocks. However, it seems more prudent to spend hours downloading the limitless spiritual knowledge and technology which has been left behind. Some of this knowledge/technology, he says, is for advanced yogis who have direct experience of higher realms, but it is very reassuring to note that a whole lot of it is also knowledge meant for those without any deeper spiritual realization. As recorded in the Shiva sutras, Shiva explained several paths to liberation to his wife and consort, Parvati. This is because although his own human body may have been only "taken on" or created by him, he was acutely aware of the possibilities and limitations of the human beings around him, and was clearly concerned with providing them with the knowledge and technology to transcend. Sadhguru says that a human yogi could spend a lifetime studying a small strand of what Adiyogi has left behind in these rocks. Adiyogi therefore remains way above the humans, although he uses humans like Sadhguru to transmit constantly. Those who have raised their consciousness enough can receive and understand the transmission itself, and others can learn from the re-transmission, so to speak, via the human gurus.
2. The need to re-tell Shiva's story is because the world needs it today. The threat to human evolution, he says, is less from the illiterate than from the so-called educated. The intellect, he says, works like an axe and is successful in cutting everything down via divisive reasoning. It is essential in places, of course. However, many things in life require a finer instrument. Stitching with a knife only leaves a cloth in shreads. Similarly, we need an elevation in human consciousness today because consciousness is fundamentally an inclusive phenomenon. Yoga is therefore for those whose "selfishness" is unlimited and includes everything and everyone. As it is natural to fix a hurt arm or toe, it then becomes natural and normal to fix what needs to be fixed.
3. The legend about the destruction of the three cities, Tripura, may have a psychological interpretation. The Tripura cities were created by power-hungry occultists. When their exploitation knew no bounds, the problem was brought to Adiyogi's notice. The three cities had to be aligned in a straight line and destroyed together, otherwise they re-generated themselves. So Adiyogi waited for the alignment to be perfect, and then just lifting his eyebrows, shot an arrow from his third eye which brought the three down together. Similarly, says Sadhguru, pride arises due to an erroneous sense of individual importance. This gets fuelled by greed and when it is threatened, gives rise to fury. The three devils have to be conquered together. Once the scattered energies are aligned together, they can be understood and shot down together by the adept master. Even the negative feelings, says Sadhguru, have no autonomous existence and are part of the larger flow of life energies. When they are understood together as such, they can be transcended, but not in isolation. The entire foundation of divisive consciousness has to be shot down together. It is not done piecemeal.
4. When Sadhguru camped overnight at Kumar Parvat, he couldn't help his body straightening up and dismantling the small tent he was sleeping in. It seems Kartikeya, one of Shiva's sons, after some years of fighting every injustice he could find, gave up his body here in a standing position. It took Kartikeya a little time to understand that in a state of rage, anything different from one's own notions can seem unfair. Therefore, to pledge to undo every wrong in that state of mind would mean killing everyone except oneself. In a sense, the inner demons are also as powerful as the outer ones. Therefore, at some point, he decided to stop killing the outer demons and focus on the inner one.
5. Legend says that Shiva roared when his "feminine energy", Shakti, recoiled and pierced into his chest. The roars finally led to manifest creation. Sadhguru says the 112 physical chakras suggest that Shiva roared 112 times. The two further chakras are non-physical, and much more difficult to realize. Interestingly, scientists also theorize that there may have been multiple big bangs which led to creation. A series of bangs can easily sound like a roar - like a car engine without a manifold, says Sadhguru. So the one who roared, the "Rudra", could be getting studied by scientists as a series of bangs which started off creation.
6. Creation is from sound and every form has a corresponding sound. Some sounds therefore have direct power over material creation. This realization us the basis of mantra science and these root sounds are also the foundation from which the Sanskrit language later developed.
7. The story of the "human" life of the great teacher told in the book sounds familiar to what we hear in the puranas. Only, they are often explained in very modern and scientific ways and language. Additinally, many may find it very informative to know why Shiva is also called lord of trees (Vrikshanath), lord of time (Kalpeshwar, Kala Bhairav, and Maha Kaal), the one facing south (Dakshinamurti), and not the least, Sadhguru's 50 percent partner in all his endeavours.
Sadanand Tutakne
