Sadhguru: As scientists find better instruments to study the human brain, one thing is becoming very clear: there is much more to be known about the mind than we right now know.

One aspect of yogic physiology that aligns with modern neurosciences has to do with the pineal gland. This gland was always recognised as being associated with the agni chakra. Today, neuroscientists say that the secretions of the pineal gland control and moderate one’s moods and experiences. If you have a very stable and sufficient pineal secretion, having a pleasant mood within yourself is not a problem.

Medical sciences have made it clear that chemicals can create pleasant and unpleasant experiences within you that are very real for you. Others may dismiss it as you causing it to yourself, but actually, you are causing everything to yourself. The only difference is whether you cause it with or without outside help. If you simply become ecstatic right now, you are creating it without outside help. If you cause the same thing with outside stimulation, it may be the same thing experience-wise, but the end result could damage the system. Unconscious experiences, however big they are, are of no significance for one’s growth and transformation.

Many Cultures Were Aware of the Bindu
An aspect of yogic physiology which is totally absent in modern medical sciences is something which I constantly keep “on” within myself, called the bindu. “Bindu” means a tiny point. It is a particular spot on the pineal gland surrounded by a certain secretion. If you touch the bindu, it will release secretions that make your body comfortable and make you feel ecstatic. To activate the bindu, there is a certain point at the back of your head. So many cultures around the world have recognised this, and there is an understanding that that point needs to be protected and activated.

Ambrosia and Poison
You will see, many times when people are in certain meditative processes, they become overwhelmed because the “glass of ambrosia” inside is tipping a little bit. They have still not learned how to drink from it in sips. If you give a glass full of water to a child, he will spill it all over the place when he drinks. Similarly, their glass is tipping because they do not know yet how to sip gently. If you do the necessary sadhana, slowly after some time, you could consciously drink from it. Once you can consciously drink from it, every cell in the body is ecstatic.

But the bindu has two sides to it. The bindu has another point to it which also has a secretion but is poisonous. If you tip the wrong side of the glass, then poison will spread through the system. It is not like poison that you drink. It will spread through the system in such a way that, for what looks like simply no reason, you are miserable. A lot of people have done that to themselves. They have become miserable by doing improper things with life.

There are many cultures around the world which have been aware. Some wear caps, some have tops, some have taken other kinds of care. You will notice the level of mental imbalance in those cultures is always lower.

First Stability, Then Ecstasy
No matter what you are pursuing in life – money, wealth, power, God, or enlightenment – essentially what you are seeking is an ultimate sense of sweetness within you. Either you hit it accidentally or consciously – that is the choice you have.

There are many simple methods that are devised not to go towards that ambrosia, but to bring the necessary stable foundation within you so that when you hit it through grace, you do not go crazy. Too much sweetness can drive you crazy, unless you are sitting on a stable foundation.

In yoga, the initial phases of sadhana are aimed at stability, not ecstasy. Stability is more important than ecstasy. If ecstasy comes before stability, you are heading for a crash. If ecstasy comes after stability, it is fantastic. The yogic system is devised in such a way that everything is aimed at stability to start with.

The Processes of Ecstasy Were Never Written
The processes of ecstasy were never written down. It is only in the presence of a certain being that those things happen – because they are very subjective. In some books on tantra, they have tried to write it down, which I feel is very irresponsible. Suppose you read a book where the first two chapters talk about some simple practices to stabilize yourself and the last five chapters talk about practices to take you to ecstatic levels – which one will you do? People will not go for stability, they will go for ecstasy – and they will break up.

Never aspire for anything that is not yet in your perception. Just do your sadhana. That is why traditions have always been insisting on trust. Just do the practice every day. It will produce results. If you did not know how a plant grows, if I show you a lump of filth and the beautiful flower and say, “These two things are the same. This comes out of that,” would you believe me? It takes a crazy sense of trust. That is why we usually do not talk about all those things. Because this cannot be logically worked out. This needs a little fixing of life.

A man walked into the court. He was the defendant. The judge looked at him and asked, “Do you have a lawyer?” The man said, “No, but I have some good friends in the jury.”

This is how it is. You cannot logically work this out. That is why the Guru came into the picture, because a little fixing is needed. Without the fixing, you will not jump. You will stand on this side forever. Without a little fixing, you will not cross the line.

Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service