Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny

by Sadhguru

The old songs and poems of the East, from the ancient love lyrics to pop songs in cinema, extolled lifetimes—janam janam (life after life)—of togetherness, not merely for romantic reasons. Continuity and stability were valorized because they ensured a firm and reliable basis to your life from which you could aspire to the ultimate. Marriage was not just about two people’s little romance and their little families. It was about two people coming together for their ultimate liberation. This is why so many traditions view marriage as a sacrament. In traditional Hindu ritual, the mantras chanted while the couple circles the sacred fire is about consecrating the relationship and energy of two people so that they can both grow together to their ultimate possibility. Today, at Isha, we are conducting what is known as the bhuta shuddhi vivaha. This is a marriage based on bringing about an elemental cohesiveness between two people. In a world where couples see relationships as more and more hard work—where love has become labor—this kind of marriage creates harmony on the most fundamental level possible, making it a more lubricated and graceful partnership. When a certain stability in physical, genetic, emotional, and social relationships is attained, individual human life can grow to its peak. When there is instability, the physical memory grows confused and, over a period of time, can create serious psychological and physiological imbalances. If your ultimate aim is liberation, if...