Misuse of Occult

There have been numerous realized beings in the history of humanity. It is often fascinating to be enraptured by their stories and legends. Sadhguru narrates one such story about the revered guru Matsyendranath’s lesson for his disciple, Gorakhnath, regarding the misuse of occult. Not only is this a gripping tale about the great beings of lore, but also carries powerful wisdom and insight about what various intense spiritual practices might do for devoted practitioners.

Sadhguru: “ Gorakhnath was a very accomplished yogi in the whole history of Indian yogic culture, he’s a star who stands out in many ways. His guru was Matsyendranath, who is looked upon by people as Shiva himself. He’s no less than him, just that he came a little later but he is as much as Shiva, that’s how he’s seen. Gorakhnath was fiercely devoted to his guru. Matsyendranath saw the young man is getting too soldier-like, you know, he’s becoming very fierce, his love for the guru is so intense that he’s becoming like a soldier, not like a yogi. So, he told him to go away into the Himalayas and do 14 years of sadhana.”

“He went away, but he’s made like this, for him, everything he does only because the guru says so. Because of this 14 years of sadhana he acquired many possibilities, he didn’t use it- he knew the possibilities. Then, he came back to the mountain which is the beginning of the Deccan plateau, just 160 to 200 km south of Bombay, now that mountain is called ‘Gorakhnath Mountain’. It is named after him. So he came down all the way back, you must understand the whole setup! Walking all the way up to the Himalayas, staying there for 14 years and walking all the way down with just one fierce thought and emotion- that he wants to be in the presence of his guru! That’s not a small thing, it’s not a small exercise!” 

“When he came, the cave in which Matsyendranath was staying, just outside there was a monk who stopped him.Gorakhnath said, ‘What? I cannot enter the cave? I can’t see my guru, I’ve been waiting for 14 years!’ He said, ‘No, you cannot enter!’ Gorakhnath lost his temper, he pushed that yogi aside and went into the cave. But the guru was not there, so he became distraught. So he came out and asked the yogi where he is. The yogi said, ‘I won’t tell you! I told you not to enter the cave, you pushed me aside and went. I will not tell you.’ So what Gorakhnath did was, he used his occult and whatever was on the Yogi’s mind, he got it out of him and went straight to where the guru was.”

“The guru had left instructions with another yogi, saying he needs to go for another 14 years to the Himalayas because he misused the sadhana that I gave him. I gave him sadhana for his spiritual growth but he used it to dive into somebody else’s mind, which no yogi should ever do! So Gorakhnath asked, ‘Is there any way to shorten the period?’ He said, ‘If you sit in an impossibly difficult posture, we will cut it down to half the years.’ This impossibly difficult posture is- he sat on his left toes like this, the heel in the perineum, the muladhara and the right leg crossed over. This is,even today, called as Gorakhnath Asana. So he sat like this for 7 years and then he came back.  There’s a whole lot of stories of how Matsyendranath tempered Gorakhnath’s love for him. Because he knows the potential of the man. This man is the kind who can change the world, he’s got that kind of capability but he’s too much fire without being stabilized and channelized. Gorakhnath later on, after the passing of his guru, went about establishing one of the most widespread spiritual movements in India.”