In the yogic way of looking at things, there is no such thing as body and mind. There is physical body, there is mental body, there is energy body. The energy body comprises of 72,000 nadis. When we say a nadi, it means a channel or a pathway. Nadi does not mean a nerve. If you cut open this body, you will not see the nadis. There is no such thing physically. But experientially if you observe the nature of the movement of energy in the system, you will see that it always moves along established pathways, never randomly.
The energy body comprises of 72,000 nadis
So there are 72,000 ways in which it moves. 36 on the right, 36 on the left. 36,000 on either side. The right is called as pingala, the left is referred to as ida. These are also referred to as sun and moon. So these two, ida and pingala, or the sun and the moon, the right and the left – on the level of your mind signify the logical and the intuitive. When I say intuitive, intuition is not another dimension of perception. But just another dimension of computing. If you have the same amount of information within you, if you go logically, there may be 10 steps to get to a place. Intuition means you don’t take the 10 steps, you just jump to the 10th step.
Intuition is not another dimension of perception. But just another dimension of computing
But today modern education systems, 100% stomping on the intuitive dimension. Only the logical is developed. Anything intuitive is dismissed off as mumbo jumbo. For everything you have to think through. What your grandmothers just knew, today you have to do a billion dollar research to find the same thing.
When you have to think through, and everything seems to have multiple steps, now life becomes stressful. If one wants to be successful beyond a certain point, there are some things, where you should be able to jump the steps and arrive at it. Still the same information, still the same stuff – it is just that you don’t have to walk through that many steps every time. This makes life very stressful, because it is like you are driving your car on two wheels. The other two wheels unused and safe – I don’t know for when to be used! But, the two wheels that you are using will feel enormous amount of stress.
So in the yogic system, the significance of the intuition is as important as the logical. So bringing a balance between ida and pingala is a very important part of living a balanced life. Being able to conduct yourself through complex situations with ease comes only when the intuitive dimension of your mind is sufficiently evolved and developed. Otherwise small things will freak you because for everything there are multiple steps. Here, we will be doing a few things to bring a balance between ida and pingala, to give you an experiential understanding of this.
If you observe yourself through the day, you would have noticed that approximately between 40 to 48 minutes, the dominance of the breath will shift from right to left, and left to right
If you take your forefinger, place it beneath your nostrils and gently exhale. Find out in which nostril the breath is dominant right now. How many of you right? Left? Okay it’s either right or left. Okay, it’s either right or left. Only two barrels, you know. If there were 25, how complex it would have been. If you observe yourself through the day, you would have noticed that approximately between 40 to 48 minutes, the dominance of the breath will shift from right to left, and left to right. Have you ever noticed this? Have you? Why this is happening is – within the system, the dominance of energy or prana, which is the vital force in the system, is shifting from pingala to ida, and ida to pingala every 40 minutes. Once the energy shifts, within the next eight minutes the breath will shift. If you’re in a perfect state of health and well-being, it will shift within a few moments. Or we can say instantaneously.
This shifting is happening every 40 minutes. But during certain times of the day, which are referred to as the sandhya kalas, which means the twilight zones. 20 minutes before sunrise, 20 minutes after sunrise. Oh that’s okay Sadhguru, tell me if there are other times. 20 minutes before noon, 20 minutes after noon. 20 minutes before sunset, 20 minutes after sunset. 20 minutes before midnight and 20 minutes after midnight. 40 minutes at a time, four times during the day, there is a certain transition happening. These are called twilight zones or sandhyas. Because at this time the balance between ida and pingala shifts very rapidly. Because it’s shifting rapidly within yourself, it’s very easy to bring it to a balance at these times. To an extent, almost everywhere in the world any spiritual process or practice means – morning, evening. Sandhya has become synonymous with spiritual practice. The time has become synonymous with many practices. So, bringing a balance between ida and pingala is important for a balanced development of a human being.
Bringing a balance between ida and pingala is important for a balanced development of a human being
You feel truly comfortable, only when you are in balance. In some way, if there is any kind of imbalance, there is discomfort. Yes? When you are experiencing any kind of imbalance, there is discomfort. Only when you attain to a certain balance, you feel really comfortable. So comfort is never really determined by what you are sitting on, or where you are. Comfort is determined by how balanced you are within yourself. This basic comfort that every human being must have, unfortunately has been denied to too many people. Just to sit with total ease in one place, is not there in most people right now, isn’t it? Simply sitting in ease, complete ease – it is not there.
So, when there is no ease, it’s a disease. Whether you are medically diagnosed or not, it is a dis-ease. If the dis-ease continues over a period of time, it will manifest itself in the body as a malfunction, which gets labeled as some kind of disease. Incredible names they are coming out with, for every kind of problem. The fundamental reason why the system doesn’t last it’s span – it’s designed to last it’s span – but it is not lasting it’s span, because we are keeping it in various levels of imbalance. You drive your car on just two wheels all the time, you know, something will break down.
Only when you are totally balanced, you can be still within yourself
So, similarly the whole system is not being properly kept. There is not enough balance in the system. Only when you are in balance, there is comfort. Otherwise there is no comfort. One will not know comfort unless he knows some sense of balance within himself. Only when you are in balance, you can be still. And man is ill, human beings are ill, only because they do not know how to be still. Stillness will not come unless there is proper balance. Only when you are totally balanced, you can be still within yourself. Otherwise that will not happen.
