Inspire Your Child Inspire the World Read online

  Intelligence twisted out against our own wellbeing is no intelligence. Right now, human intelligence has become like this. This is not a blessing, it is a curse. Intelligence is the biggest blessing that a human being has, but right now it has become a curse upon humanity simply because the human being is not coming out as a well-coordinated being. he is dislocated the human being within himself. This intelligence is dangerous. If you were like a donkey, you would only kick, nothing more. The maximum violence you would cause is a kick with both your legs, nothing more. But now human intelligence has become so dangerous. What should have been a blessing has become such a big curse, and education is definitely playing a huge role in that.

  Whatever we wish to do with the youth, one thing that the older generation should understand is - what you are referring to as youth is that segment of humanity which is more alive than you. What I see is, if the world was guided by the young, it would be a better place to live. It is just that because youth means it is that segment of humanity which is in a high-energy state - because they are in a certain level of high-energy compared to the other part of the humanity, every little thing that they do is a little exaggerated, it is a little bigger than what the other people can do. If something constructive has to happen in the world, it has to be the youth. If something destructive has to happen in the world, it has to also be the youth, isn't it? Because they are much more alive than anybody else on the planet. So instead of always treating youth as some kind of a disease that needs to be handled, you must understand youth is much more alive than the other parts of humanity. It is better to be guided by the youth, than trying to fix them to do what somebody else thinks is right. It is just that, because they are in a certain state of listless energy, if there is no inspiration, if there is no proper guidance, it very easily turns negative. But otherwise, definitely they are closer to life.

  Actually, it would be wonderful if this world was guided by little children, because they are closer to life than anybody else. See, after all, everything that you wish to do on the planet is just for human wellbeing. Human wellbeing means human happiness. If you look at your children and yourself, definitely your children are a lot happier than you. Isn't it so? they are capable of more happiness than you in twenty four hours' time. Yes? So when that is the case, tell me who should be a consultant for life, you or your child? Definitely the children, isn't it?

  You are carried away in your thoughts and emotions; they are much more close to life. If only the world learnt from children, rather than trying to teach the children, this would be a very beautiful place.

  So youth is not a disease. Usually, the older generation is trying to handle youth as if it is some kind of a disease that needs to be fixed, that needs treatment. It does not need any treatment. It is people who have gone away from life who need treatment. Those who are close to life don't need treatment, they have to just live.

  One big lapse that is happening today in the world is our educational systems have become 100% informative - there is no inspiration. Without inspiration, no human being raises beyond the limitations in which he lives. it is only when he is inspired that a human being wants to go beyond the limitations in which we're existing in right now, and today education has become totally bereft of inspiration. A teacher is not somebody that is worth looking up to unfortunately, because when all that is given is information, you can as well get it from an audio, or a video, or internet or wherever. You don't really have to listen to a teacher. A teacher is not the best means of transmission when it comes to pure information. A book is better, internet is even better. Only if the teacher's role is to inspire people to learn, to create a thirst for knowledge, only then a teacher's role has something to give. If he is just trying to transmit information, the other means of transmission are better than a human being, because human beings can always misinterpret, isn't it? Making the whole education system purely informational has caused an enormous damage, and that time of life when you are youthful, when you are capable of many things, that span of life unfortunately goes to waste simply because the necessary inspiration is not there.

  Generally, most leaders in the world have always inspired people only by creating an external enemy. If you create an external enemy, you can inspire everybody on the street. Action, isn't it? But when you point out to people that the real enemy is within you - your limitations are your biggest enemies, your fear, your anxiety, your anger, your hatred, whatever the limitations from which one suffers - when you say the enemy is within you, then to inspire you need much more commitment and dedication. Unfortunately, dedication and commitment have become such scarce material on the planet. Everybody is thinking of doing one big mela one day and getting the youth inspired into wonderful states. Such things will not happen. It needs a daily committed and dedicated work. it is a lifelong thing. it is not that today you do something and everything is fixed. There is no such possibility. it is like nurturing a plant; it is like nurturing a tree. If you want it to bear fruit, you have to nurture it every day. Every day you have to water it, every day you have to take care of it. If this dedication is shown by the adults, the grown-ups, you will see youth will do miraculous things. Only because such dedication is missing in the general population, youth seem to be disoriented, they don't know what to do, they do their own things, short-term things. Because everybody is working on short-term goals, youth also work on short-term goals.

  See, after all, every human being in the world is concerned about human wellbeing, isn't it? If you think, "No, there is a criminal, no, there is a thief, no, there is somebody else," see, they are also concerned about human wellbeing. It is just that their idea of human wellbeing is just this human being (points at himself). Yes? A criminal is also concerned about human wellbeing, but his idea of humanity is just himself. Somebody's idea of humanity is him and his family; somebody else's idea of humanity is him and his country; somebody else's includes the whole world. Everybody is concerned about human wellbeing in different proportions.

  One big thing that needs to happen with the youth and with everybody, is that their identification with humanity should not be limited to just themselves, and that it includes a larger society and the larger world around them; this is missing in education today. The modern education is constantly training people only to think about themselves and nothing else but themselves. All the science that you see in the world - there is nothing wrong with the science itself - the way in which science is conducted, the attitude is like everything here is here only to be exploited for our wellbeing, isn't it so? Now we destroy wantonly, and then we talk about protecting the environment, then do something else; all patch-up jobs, because the whole process of science is only about how to use everything for your comfort, for your benefit. Initially, you use the planet, then the trees and plants, then the animals, then of course the human beings also. You use everybody to your comfort and wellbeing. That attitude has been deeply set with the process of modern education. So, as we are investing our time, resources and energies in transmitting informative knowledge, we have to invest a certain amount of time, energy and resources to inspire people - the inspirational dimension of the education which has not been done at all.

  For example, fifty years ago, this country, during the freedom struggle, had an inspired population. Suddenly people were willing to come out and throw their lives on the street for the nation. In fifty years' time, we did not do any work about inspiring people, and suddenly we are such a disgruntled and disoriented population. To get Indians to think as Indians is a huge problem, isn't it? Because the necessary inspiration has been missing. No organized work has been done. Haphazardly, small groups of people doing this and that has happened, but no organized work has been done.

  We need to do something about inspiring people in an organized way. Haphazardly, individuals doing this and that is fine, but a very organized effort to inspire people without creating an external enemy, making people understand the biggest enemy for a human being is a
lways within himself - this inspiration is what is needed. Every forum that stands up thinking about the wellbeing of the youth, or thinking about harnessing that enormous energy which we refer to as youth, must always think of integrating in terms of moving people to do things which are beyond limitations.

  When we are not inspired, we tend to function only within the limitations in which we are placed. Only when we are inspired, we go beyond and do things that human beings wouldn't normally do. Only then, the society surges ahead and does something worthwhile. Unfortunately, that happens only when strife happens. In normal peaceful situations, people should be inspired. It is very important. When there is war, people want to go and die, that is not the point. When everything is well, to be highly inspired, to keep and to create the situations that we want in the country and in the world is what is needed. And this is not one day's work, it is a lifelong work.

  Sadhguru

  Yogi, mystic, visionary and poet, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serve as a reminder that yoga is not an esoteric discipline from an outdated past, but a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times. Probing, passionate and provocative, insightful, logical and unfailingly witty, Sadhguru’s talks have earned him the reputation of a speaker and opinion-maker of international renown.

  With speaking engagements that take him around the world, he is widely sought after by prestigious global forums to address issues as diverse as human rights, business values, and social, environmental and existential issues. He has been a delegate to the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit, a member of the World Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders and Alliance for New Humanity, a special invitee to the Australian Leadership Retreat, Tallberg Forum, Indian Economic Summit 2005-2008, as well as a regular at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) for the year 2008 for Isha Foundation’s Project GreenHands’ efforts.

  With a celebratory engagement with life on all levels, Sadhguru's areas of active involvement encompass fields as diverse as architecture and visual design, poetry and painting, ecology and horticulture, sports and music. He is the author and designer of several unique buildings and consecrated spaces at the Isha Yoga Center, which have wide attention for their combination of intense sacred power with strikingly innovative eco-friendly aesthetics.

  Listeners have been ubiquitously impressed by his astute and incisive grasp of current issues and world affairs, as well as his unerringly scientific approach to the question of human wellbeing. Sadhguru is also the founder of Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the wellbeing of the individual and the world for the past three decades. Isha Foundation does not promote any particular ideology, religion, or race, but transmits inner sciences of universal appeal.

  Isha Foundation

  Isha Foundation is a non-profit human-service organization, supported by over two million volunteers in over 150 centers worldwide. Recognizing the possibility of each person to empower another, Isha Foundation has created a massive movement that is dedicated to address all aspects of human wellbeing, without ascribing to any particular ideology, religion or race.

  Isha Foundation is involved in several path-breaking outreach initiatives: Action for Rural Rejuvenation (ARR) enhances the quality of rural life through healthcare and disease prevention, community revitalization, women empowerment, the creation of sustainable livelihoods, and yoga programs. Isha Vidhya empowers rural children with quality education. Project GreenHands (PGH) initiates mass tree planting and creates a culture of care for the environment to keep this planet liveable for future generations.

  Isha’s unique approach in cultivating human potential has gained worldwide recognition and reflects in Isha Foundation’s special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.

  The Foundation is headquartered at the Isha Yoga Center, set in the lush rainforest at the base of the Velliangiri Mountains in southern India, and at the Isha Institute of Inner-sciences on the spectacular Cumberland Plateau in central Tennessee, USA.

  www.ishafoundation.org www.ishaoutreach.org www.ishashoppe.com www.midnightswiththemystic.com www.ishausa.org

  Isha Yoga

  Isha Yoga is a customized system of yoga which distills powerful, ancient yogic methods for a modern person, creating peak physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Isha Yoga's flagship program, Inner Engineering, introduces Shambhavi Mahamudra a simple but powerful kriya (inner energy process) for deep inner transformation.

  Inner Engineering Online

  Inner Engineering is also available online. Inner Engineering Online is a practical approach to inner transformation in a fast-paced world. The online course designed by Sadhguru presents simple, yet powerful tools for an individual to experience life on a deeper level with more awareness, energy and productivity. It establishes a positive and open approach to life, by improving mental clarity and the ability to handle stressful situations, while generating inner peace and fulfillment. Interpersonal relationships are deepened, cultivating a greater sense of connectivity at home, work and in the community.

  To LEARN more and SIGN-UP visit

  www.InnerEngineering.com or call 1-877-831-2705

  Isha Kriya

  Isha KriyaTM is a simple yet potent practice created by Sadhguru, which is drawn from the wisdom of Indian spirituality. The word “kriya” literally means “internal action,” while “Isha” refers to that which is the source of creation. The whole purpose of Isha Kriya is to help an individual get in touch with the source of one’s existence, in order to create life according to one’s wish and vision. Provided as a free guided meditation online and available with written instructions as well, Isha Kriya offers the possibility to go beyond your limitations and live life to your fullest potential.

  ishakriya.com

  Isha Yoga Center

  Isha Yoga Center, founded under the aegis of Isha Foundation, is located on 150 acres of lush land at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains that are part of the Nilgiris Biosphere, a reserve forest with abundant wildlife.

  Created as a powerful sthana (a center for inner growth), this popular destination attracts people from all parts of the world. It is unique in its offering of all aspects of yoga – gnana (knowledge), karma (action), kriya (energy), and bhakti (devotion) and revives the Guru-shishya paramparya (the traditional method of knowledge transfer from Master to disciple).

  Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple

  The Dhyanalinga is a powerful and unique energy form created by Sadhguru from the essence of yogic sciences. Situated at the Isha Yoga Center, the Dhyanalinga is the first of its kind to be completed in over 2000 years. The Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple is a meditative space that does not ascribe to any particular faith or belief system nor does it require any ritual, prayer, or worship.

  The Dhyanalinga was consecrated by Sadhguru after three years of an intense process of prana pratishtha. Housed within an architecturally striking pillarless dome structure, the Dhyanalinga’s energies allow even those unaware of meditation to experience a deep state of meditativeness, revealing the essential nature of life.

  www.dhyanalinga.org

  Isha Home School

  Isha Home School, founded by Sadhguru, offers a stimulating curriculum which encourages a child’s natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. The school is affiliated to the ICSE Board for class X and to the ISC Board for the XIth and XIIth standards.

  Isha Home School aims at providing high quality education in a home-like setting. The child grows up in an atmosphere where students of multiple ages live together in "houses." Each child forms a sibling-like relationship with fellow housemates and each household is headed by house-parents. Certain subjects are taught by specialists, who visit the home to give instruction. The school allows the child to progress at their own pace, while also ensuring that they are prepared for the board examinati
ons at an appropriate age. The school does not place emphasis wholly on academic pursuits. It provides a well-balanced syllabus which gives children an opportunity to explore every aspect of themselves.

  www.ishahomeschool.org

  Isha Samskriti

  Envisioned by Sadhguru as an offering to children, Isha Samskriti allows them to explore their innate capabilities rather than imposing merely informative education on them. Essentially rooted in the ancient Indian yogic systems and sciences, it does not propagate any particular religion, but establishes the right situation for the child to seek a deeper experience and inner understanding of the fundamentals of life.

  As in the ancient Gurukulas of India, where students lived and learned in proximity of their Guru, the Isha Samskriti children grow up as an integrated part of the ashram amongst the Brahmacharis, Sanyasis and residents – all under the guidance of Sadhguru.

  Institute of Inner-sciences (iii)

  Nestled on a breathtaking mountain top in the beautiful Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee, Isha Institute of Inner-sciences (iii) is established as an infrastructure for raising human consciousness – fostering global harmony through individual transformation.

  The Institute offers a variety of programs that provide methods for anyone to attain physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It is a unique space created for human beings to deepen their experience of life, and to reach their ultimate potential.