Questioner: What is the science behind initiation? How does it work without the Guru’s physical presence?
Sadhguru: When you ask, how can it happen without the physical presence of a Guru? The physical presence of the Guru is actually a hindrance. Because right now you look at me and no matter what – because the very nature of the mind is such, it is making a thousand judgments as it sits here, isn’t it? Not all of it is conscious. But a whole lot of judgments are going on within you, because there is a person. A person means, you can like him, you can dislike him, you want him, you don’t want him, so many things. If I say something nice, wow. If I say something nasty, umm. All this will happen, isn’t it? Because a person is sitting – how he sits, how he stands, what he says, what he does not say, all this becomes important.
The physical presence [of the Guru] is not of any consequence actually
The physical presence is not of any consequence actually. If physical presence is everything, that’s called charisma, not grace. This is not charisma, this is grace. But I sit here, I don’t sit here, I can run the satsang the same way. Only problem is you cannot remain focused, that is your problem. If you’re willing to sit here simply focused as you are right now, no video, no audio, no nothing – we’ll still run the satsang wonderfully well, okay? It’s just that – what nobody! What are we doing? Because you have that problem, either I have to sit here, or a video has to play, audio has to come.
I’ll tell you, no video, audio, nothing. We can still initiate people, if you’re just willing to sit. It is just that the necessary attention is needed, that’s all. Even without attention, in your sleep we can initiate you. But benefit may happen, but you don’t know why it’s happening. You think you just got lucky!
