Benefits of Burning Incense – Sadhguru

Sadhguru: Different shapes and sizes kind of create different kinds of energy structures. These energy structures can determine your psychological and emotional state. So, certain substances can change the atmosphere. It's a precious little material and you have to walk miles and miles to get substantial amount of resin. It just makes the atmosphere feel more lively. Speaker: This question comes from Ashley, in Memphis. Namaskaram Sadhguru, incense has been used for thousands of years in almost every culture to invoke Gods, support meditation, and for healing and medicinal purposes. Burning herbs and resins has been and especially big part of both Indian history, as well as Native American history. Can you please speak about the significance of burning incense and how incense should be used in modern times? Sadhguru: Oh, is that the reason I am being smoked and (Laughter)… And that question is from Ash-ley (Laughter). Incense is usually ash-ly. Without ash, you know, there is no incense (Laughs). Well, the significance of this is, there are certain substances when they burn, one thing is there is fragrance, of course, which is pleasant for the nostrils. And incense burning is about the atmosphere, not about you, because different spaces, indoors especially, in different spaces there are different kinds of… one thing it smells. There is also different kinds of energy structures which will happen. The shape and size of the room will do this. This is why there is such a attention to the shape and size of the room. In Indian culture there is a whole attention to the shape and size of the room in which you live, because the shape and size of the room in some way, if it is not heavily ventilated, when I say heavily ventilated from both sides, two walls are open, and it's happening; then it feels almost like outdoor, that's different. Most homes are not made this way, because they have neighbors. You can’t open too many windows (Laughs). Too many openings won’t work. There is weather, there are many things, all right? And there is air conditioning. Worse. So different shapes and sizes kind of create different kinds of energy structures. These energy structures can, if they become very strong can detem… determine your psychological and emotional state, which either can be conducive or can become an impediment in who you want to be. So, certain substances like sandal in India, there is something called “sambrani” which is a very powerful thing, which is used even when people are ill. First thing they do is this, and it is now been found it also kills certain types of bacteria in the air, and also on the surfaces, so especially if there is a sick person in the house, sambrani everywhere. If they want to do some auspicious event, sambrani all over the place. It's a certain kind of resin, which, us… a tree drips. Well (Laughs), in this pursuit of sambrani, you will see in the forest there are massive trees. People would have carved into the tree because the… the trees look solid outside but inside there is a cavity. In that cavity, it will be dripping this resin. We do not know, at least I do not know, what is the natural reason why these resins come out, but people go and gather this. It's a precious little material and you have to walk miles and miles to get substantial amount of resin, because these trees have to be mature. That means they must be at least over thirty to fifty years old. Otherwise you don't get it. This has a powerful impact on the atmosphere. It is not necessarily a fragrance. It is a different kind of thing that it clarifies the air. It just makes the atmosphere feel more lively. Fundamentally, it… whatever structures that are there, it will make indoor like outdoor. If you burn a mild amo… you shouldn't put too much, then you will sneeze and lose your brains (Laughter). Just mild sambrani in the house will make it feel like, though you're indoors, the feeling is of ou… outdoors because it's an un… unstructured space. Especially if death happens in the family, sambrani is burnt for up to eleven to twelve days, because they want to clear that air completely. These are subtler aspects, but I am little apprehensive of speaking about this in United States, because there is already so much a new age, you know, because first when I came to Nashville, someone in Nashville told me that, “Sadhguru, there is a spiritual expo happening.” I said, “What, spiritual expo?” Even in India, it happens only once in twelve years (Laughter). “No, no here every year we have.” I said, “I want to see.” They said, “Okay, let's go.” And then in the afternoon they came to pick me up and they said, “Sadhguru, we've gotten a slo… slot for you to speak in the spiritual expo.” I said, “Great.” For the first time I'm in United States, I thought, “Spiritual expo?” And I went there. A huge tent and when we went in there, country music was going on full… full blast. Obviously, this was a group which wouldn't find any other paid stage (Laughter). Maybe in the evening more known groups would come; in the afternoon, it’s a (an?) empty stage, anybody can use the sound system. So, they were banging away (Laughter). I said, “Okay, spiritual expo.” But it’s okay, music is just a cultural thing. Let me focus on the spiritual expo. I went inside. Somebody is selling a spiritual bath soap. I said, “Wow.” Somebody is selling a spiritual stone, a pebble from somewhere, which is spiritual. Like this, roots, herbs, this, that – I don't know if there was a toothbrush (Laughter)? Then I thought, “Oh, this is like the Indian shandy.” You know in the Indian villages there is a shandy, Sunday market or Wednesday markets or Monday markets like this. So, here there will be all kinds of exotic things being sold. There will be a root, just this much, its twisted like this, it should not be straight, you know, it should be… I can't do that with my finger. So, if you take this, this is a root that could make you invisible (Few laugh). You must go grind this along with the left jawbone of a female whale, and the whale should be alive (Laughter) – that means you actually swam in there, cut a piece of the jaw and came and together… if you rub this together, along with something and there is a mantra, you do this, and then that paste, if you put it in the upper palate, you will become invisible. Actually, if you go into the mouth of the whale you will become invisible (Laughter). Anyway, then I saw, oh, this is like an Indian shandy. There they were selling all kinds of exotic incense also. Incense has a certain impact, but don't overdo it. Don't think it will determine your spiritual nature, it can change the atmosphere a little bit. It should not be over-certified. It has certain impact. One can use it in a sensible manner. But, these days incense is being made with chemical stuff. Best you don't burn those things. It's very, very important before… you have enough chemical thing happening on the street, in the industry