Earth element; It kinda reminds us that when things get tough, we can always connect back to the ground beneath our feet, take a deep breath, and give our energies to its unwavering support. The Earth’s everlasting depth, power, and wealth are a direct mirror of the profound, inner wisdom that we all possess.
Taking it into consideration, Sadhguru has shared his insights on the significance of humans connecting with earth elements.
Sadhguru: I always tell people in the Isha Yoga Center, “No matter what work you are doing, you must stick your fingers into the earth for at least one hour a day.”
Do something with the garden where your hands get muddy. This will build a natural physical memory in you that you are mortal. If you are sticking your hands into the earth every day, your body will know that it is not permanent. The body has a memory of its own which is far more significant than the mental memory. Right now, the memory that your body carries is ruling you far more than the memories of your mind.
If you are close to the earth, you are constantly being reminded that you are mortal – physiologically, on the cellular level, and on the elemental level.
This reminder of mortality is the most key element in your spiritual process. You would long to know something beyond the body only because you know it will end one day. If this body was immortal, who would sit and meditate, who would want to know anything beyond this?
Even if you are not consciously aware, somewhere deep down, you know that your expiry date is on. Mortality is the fundamental of the spiritual process. If you are reminded of your mortality, you will naturally want to know.
Create a Stable Base to Experience Life with Awareness
Animals are very connected to the earth because they do not have the intellect and awareness that human beings have. When it comes to humans, their psychological space dominates over their existential presence. In a way, an earthworm experientially knows the connection to the earth, but it cannot consciously realise it. If you pull it out of the earth, it wants to go straight back into the earth. If you pull a fish out of the water, it wants to go straight back into the water. This is not only essential for survival but also just because of the familiarity of habitat. In that sense, they know the connection. But they are not capable of being aware of it when they are in the earth or the water, respectively.
When you breathe, there is not a certain quantity of air that is yours or mine. You cannot live without a constant exchange with your surroundings.
Most human beings are in the same state. Nature has evolved us to a different level of intelligence and awareness, but we are refusing to accept the promotion. Obviously, you cannot live without air, water, or earth. If someone tries to take any one of them away from you, you will desperately want to get it back. In that sense, you know the connection as an earthworm or a fish knows it. It is time you know it as only human beings are capable of knowing it.
There are ways and methods to do that, unless you are too engaged in a world of your own. Most people are living in their own world, which means they are living in a psychological space, not really on the earth. They get down to the earth only when they get buried or cremated. Their psychological space is much more important to them than the reality in which they exist. In other words, their own thoughts and emotions are working against them, because their intelligence has not been trained to be used in such a way that it enhances the way they experience life.
The whole focus of modern education and cultures is on how to use and exploit our physical environment including every creature and every substance. Nothing is being offered to enhance the way we experience life using our intellectual dominance and awareness. We have learnt to use everything around us, but wellbeing has not happened. If you try to enhance your physical situations, only those are getting enhanced, not you and your experience of life. When you breathe, there is not a certain quantity of air that is yours or mine. You cannot live without a constant exchange with your surroundings.
Even an earthworm knows this, but most human beings do not have that level of awareness. Our intelligence and awareness have turned against us because we have not bothered to create a stable enough basis for ourselves. This is why the earth element is so important.
-This article is a contribution by Isha Foundation in collaboration with Varnam Malaysia-
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