Long back, a Babaji came to meet me from Gyanganj (a village en route Kailash Mansarovar, where many yogis dwell). He was in Delhi for treatment of cancer, which was yet to manifest in his body, but which had been intimated to him by his Guru. He spoke of a lake of crocodiles in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, where a Mata ji does her sadhna. The crocodiles do her no harm. I said, “I will go to meet her.” Babaji replied, “What will you achieve by meeting her? Her sadhna is her state of mind, the level you are at, you will not be able to comprehend.”

Yoga is not about achieving more in the physical, it is the journey of leaving the physical and achieving sidhhis to go beyond. You need not leave immediately, but the desire to leave should be there in you.Rahim in a couplet explains that bishop, a powerful piece in the game of chess, can never become the queen. He walks diagonally, kills powerful pieces, achieves physical feats, but cannot achieve the ultimate (the queen in chess). While an ordinary pawn, walks straight, has little capacity, but if its focus is fixed on the last square, it becomes the queen. Similarly in life, if you have focus and desire for the last square, you too will achieve that. It is Guru and focus on desire for the Ultimate that will take you up the pyramid of evolution.

Today innovative terms like ‘love guru’, ‘business guru’, ‘management guru’ are popular. Earlier there was just Guru. This is indicative of the wrong thought process. Even pilgrimages have turned into picnic spots, where people go in the hope of fulfilling material aspirations. If your desires are rested in the physical, then you need not go to a Guru. Simple charity and service and following the laws of creation are enough to achieve physical desires. Guru is needed when you want to understand what lies beyond.

—Yogi Ashwini is the guiding light of dhyan foundation and can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com