The word “Kashi” literally means “a tower of light”. It is an instrument, a powerfully consecrated Yantra created to connect the microcosm and the macrocosm, or the individual and the universal. This is an immense human form created so that it can connect with the cosmic form. It had 72,000 shrines at one time, just as the human body has 72,000 nadis. People went there for realisation and transcendence because there is an energetic process there. If you become available to it, it transports you to dimensions that are beyond normal human experience.
Everyone may not be steeped in the spiritual process but there is no human being in the world who does not have a longing to touch aspects of life that are not yet in their life. Some people may invest their time and energies to do that consciously. Others aspire for it every now and then. So how do they find expression to their longing?
In this culture, we created instruments through which even ordinary people, who are not steeped in spiritual sadhana, can also have an opportunity to transcend and transform their way of being. So, it was said that every ordinary human being, no matter how they lived throughout their life, must go to Kashi at least towards the end of their life, because transcendence is available free for every human being. That is the significance of Kashi.
A Subjective Exploration
Recently, I was talking to some of the top scientists in neurology, physics and other subjects, who are part of our centre at Harvard Medical School. I was telling them that the latter part of the 19th century and the entire 20th century has largely gone in studying the physical aspects of existence. The 21st century and the future must be dedicated to the subjectivity of the human being, the subjectivity of life itself. Without science addressing the subjectivity of life, life will have no meaning. So much technology has come but unfortunately, most of the technology is being used against life, not for the wellbeing of life. Not by intent, but simply because of a lack of an inclusive approach, lack of awareness of the significance of subjectivity.
Kashi, a few thousand years ago, has addressed that subjectivity. It is only by addressing the subjectivity, that human beings will experience the fullness and richness of life. Otherwise, we will have everything but we will have nothing. It is time scientific focus also moves towards subjective explorations. This is what Kashi and this culture represent.
For the first time, we have a younger generation that wants everything to be logically correct. They are not willing to take dogmatic teachings and philosophies, which have no relevance. They want to live well here, they do not want to go to heaven. This is becoming a strong movement everywhere in the world. I have been travelling across the world, and I see that everywhere, in every university that I go to, they are fascinated by what Indian culture has to offer because nowhere else has anyone looked at the human mechanism and the possibilities of being human with as much profoundness and detail as this culture has. If we present it properly, it is the future of the world. And that is exactly what is being done in Kashi right now.
The first time I went there in 2012, some journalists asked me, “Sadhguru, what is your impression of Kashi?” I said, “It’s fabulous and filthy at the same time. But if you do not address the filth, the fabulous could get buried in the filth.” Here we are, at last! If not the whole system, at least a part of Kashi is being revived. For many people who used to aspire to be there but could not, simply because of the way it was being conducted, this is a huge step in making it accessible to them.
The time has come in the world to move away from divisive dogmas, philosophies and ideologies. India is on the cusp, where if we do a few right things in the next few years, we could bring about a cultural renaissance for the entire world.
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. Sadhguru has been conferred the ‘Padma Vibhushan’, India’s highest annual Civilian award, by the Government of India in 2017, for exceptional and distinguished service. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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