yeah it's watching really old episodes of coffee with Karan and then seeing how everyone's trajectories were in life and my favorite episode one of my favorites was the one you did I think with Arjun rampal in season one oh my gosh even I I don't even know what I was what was I like then very different when was that season 2004 holy wow would you like to know yeah as a podcaster yeah yeah I want to know I got it 2004 that means that's one year into me being an actor yeah um I feel you're even different from like three years ago because Lots has happened in those three years uh you're even more chill now yeah like I can I can feel that uh you were very like hyper kind of alpha when I last saw you in 2019 and in that episode you're deeply professional and whatever conscientious you were like that like you were just you're very professional I think Karan johar said hey you know well done and all your response was yeah I'm just


well done and all your response was yeah I'm just trying to do my best job guys it was kind of like that I'm so nervous I didn't know anything about the industry I mean the closest I had come to being in the business was taking a vacation to Bombay when I was 11 years old with my brother and was like Wow Bombay you know that Park where they have the shoe and the Hanging Garden yeah hang on I had photographs in the Hanging Gardens even now and that was like going to the beach was seeing the Queen's necklace all of that was all I knew about Mumbai the industry was terrifying to me and I think that's probably why I reacted like that it it's a great message for young people because lots of people idolize you now because of what you've done now without understanding that it takes something as simple as that when you're beginning just be professional or just give yourself a break it's okay you just have to do the best you can


okay you just have to do the best you can survive keep your head above water and slowly you'll see you'll be walking on it when did you realize that you're starting to become successful in life um it's a really tough question because when I won my first pageant which was Miss India I was like wow I've won the world I'm really successful then I won Miss World and I was like yeah they're not even like I had no computation of again 18 17 had had no understanding how it happened but what I did understand was the opportunity it gave me suddenly people knew me wanted to know me gave me new opportunities there were movies that were coming my way I didn't know anything about how how do you sign a movie my poor father was a physician he didn't know even more and he was like highly protective they gave up their practice and for two working doctors who were very successful in bareilly and this is something I didn't even think about till I was


something I didn't even think about till I was like 30 years old gave up everything to pursue my 19 year old dream my 19 year old opportunities that even when someone sees your life the way you speak about it there's a lot of blessings that like a lot absolutely points you believe in karma absolutely you believe in reincarnation I do do you think about what you did in your previous life to get this life now I hope so I do and I always think about it like if you think um why do I have why am I lucky enough to have the life that I do and some other woman somewhere else with the same opportunity with the same desires same Ambitions same you know needs doesn't have any of it I really think about that a lot I it makes me feel like there must be something I did right I wake up every day with a sense of gratitude and I wake up every day with wanting to give back whether that's with the person that is standing right


back whether that's with the person that is standing right next to me or whether that is a life choice that I might make but giving back I think is so crucial when it comes to being grateful I'm highly grateful for everything that I have and I do think that maybe I did something right that I've been blessed with the opportunity of having the life being born to the parents that I was being able to have the opportunity of making my own choices having agency in my own life if you think about women around the world so many don't have that like complete choices are made for themselves but my parents told me you have to have your opinion what a privilege yeah that's that's a part of the blessing being born to those parents I mean that's the biggest one probably yeah completely um wow okay hold on I gotta I gotta take my thoughts and just put them together I made you speechless no ah okay um with this whole journey and this is a question that's been


whole journey and this is a question that's been sent in from a lot of people who I spoke to before this chat uh I firstly I want to want to tell you that you inspire men women everyone it's not about you just inspiring women okay but I think you've shown a lot of women possibility like an entire generation needed to be shown possibility which has happened through people like yourself uh who's supposed to be born exactly in your age but I get to set the tone for like 80s born 90s born two thousands born right I absolutely agree I was talking to somebody else about this yesterday a young actor who was talking to me and I really did say that my generation of women changed the trajectory of the next generation of women my co-actors female co-actors that fought to be the face on the poster that fought for agency in the movies that a lot of women didn't get before us just opened the doors for the generation after us and I think not just for women


generation after us and I think not just for women but people our generation and every generation will always have a prototype that'll be better than us because we have changed the landscape right and that's a huge responsibility on all of us okay remember Mary gone being one of the first female-led films and now that's so many films that did um commercially well yeah at that time yeah I remember a mainstream yeah um and now there's so many female-led films and that's the thing like that's another sorry not to put you on the spot but films are films yeah and we still talk about female-led films as female-led films we don't say that's a male lead film this person's film Mama Khan's movie oh we're watching a male-led film today no I I hear you but I'm also talking on behalf of the Indian Masters completely but that's as a vocabulary we need to change that female athlete female politician female actress why actress politician athlete what is your message for okay I'm gonna ask you what's your


message for okay I'm gonna ask you what's your message generally and what's your message for girls and I'm also going to give you a supplementary point and say that this is not the end of time it's not the end of the podcast PC this one more to unpack but I actually do want to ask you a message uh for young ambitious women out there my sister um my girlfriend my my friends everyone had this exact question for you that what's the message for the girls you're starting out the careers oh I think it can be very scary um you know we I mean this generation of girls is fearless and there's so many girls that take charge of their own lives and they say you know I'm not going to fit into the cookie cutter mold that probably my mother did or my grandmother had to and it's so like I have Goosebumps right now just thinking about it I meet so many young women who have changed the trajectory of their families because of the choices that they've made


their families because of the choices that they've made um I think my message would be that there's a lot of noise around us narratives yeah and people that tell us to be a certain way that people that tell us that you know um I was talking the other day about someone that when I went to convent school I had this thing called moral science a subject called moral science which taught me how you know women shouldn't be uh women should be seen not heard um the lengths of asgards how we should sit with our legs um there's so much that has been told to women that to be a good girl you have to be a certain way Good Girls Don't Make History you know what I mean Bold Girls Make History bold people make history so if you want to be the lead actor of the of your movie which is your life you've got to take choices that might be contrary to what you've heard and that empowerment may or may not come from your parents may or may not come


not come from your parents may or may not come from your family or boyfriend or whoever you're around it comes from you and that no one can do you know I again was lucky maybe because my parents gave me that but I try to remind young girls specifically that if you don't have that if you don't have that encouragement in your home try to find it in your gut because No One's Gonna fix your life but you or try to find it from content and I'm not just speaking on Beyond no it's true it is really true try to find inspiration from people that inspire you I have been inspired every day by collaborators that I work with the reason I take new steps is because I see someone else doing something new and I'm like wow but I don't just sit with that I think about Mary's in the game idea okay what can I do that'll make me feel how I feel about this person it's about that feeling it's about imbibing from the people around you and


it's about imbibing from the people around you and it could be someone you admire on television it could be someone in your class it could be someone that you work with but when you see something that you admire about someone and buy bit um all this is exactly why I love that you're taking up entrepreneurship as your next step like very actively you've been an entrepreneur in the past but here you're going like all out and saying that okay this is like the next big step uh I also feel that uh people my age but actually younger than me gen Z deeply entrepreneurial everyone wants to start like their business uh and I'm sure you see this difference between like 80s and 90s born completely and then the next one uh how did this entrepreneurship things start PC like where did it start and how how far do you want to take it I don't know I don't think about the future I'm not someone who I plan for the future but I don't think about how far I can go


but I don't think about how far I can go I mean who knows what my future holds for me but what I can think about is my present um and like I said I like to imbibe from people that I know you know your future is so bright that this conspiracy theories about you that you've made deals with the devil to achieve this level of success that you're a satanic worshiper horrible it's that level of success you're very upset with me sorry but go on go on um no I I just think that like I told you I like to imbibe from the people around me when I was becoming an actor I didn't know anything about acting so I used to sit and watch my co-actors I used to sit and watch why they did what they did so this came from a really funny thought my mom as soon as I turned 30. she's entrepreneurial she's a doctor she created her own business um but when as soon as I turned 30 she sat me down and she said


I turned 30 she sat me down and she said look you're in Bollywood your shelf life is over you know nobody all these 50 year old actors only want to work with the girls in their 20s so after 30 you're not gonna have a job very much you know just like if you start planning for your future so what about making your own movies you know starting production and that at that time is really funny considering I'm 40 and I'm still have a very active acting career but it was foresight on her end um in an industry which kind of told women that that you know when you're 30 sorry you're too old um so I started getting interested in production just thinking about the fact that I was going to lose my day job um and then that became really interesting to me the business of entertainment started becoming in this really interesting to me I used to talk a lot to my producer friends producers that I was working with what are the choices they make how are movies made so you have


choices they make how are movies made so you have a cost of production you have to recover your cost of production to make profit so I started getting into what margins looked like and just understanding that and that was fascinating to me because it's so creative um there are so many ways to be able to create something and I think once I started doing production um and I started working in America I I knew my manager happened to event be a venture capitalist and she was really into Tech and stuff so I was very interested in and at that time she was just a collaborator but I really got interested in Investments um and I started with small investments in little things and then those things became really big like Bumble so when I brought Bumble into India I mean Bumble changed the dating scene in India especially for girls and and that just showed me the power of being able to have a new idea and the idea at that time was when Bumble was launched around the world and Whitney who's


was launched around the world and Whitney who's a dear friend of mine and launched it she left Tinder to make bumble because she saw the Gap in the market that you know we want to be able to create a safe space where women have the first opportunity where women can take the first step and that was such a brilliant plan and what I said to her was India needs it the most because of especially the unsafe circumstances within which girls have to survive and live in sometimes in India and it's being used in tr3t04 absolutely how beautiful is that like again I have Goosebumps just thinking about the fact that this came from an idea so ideas are what was really interesting to me and then being able to work with people who can help me execute ideas is what really started the entrepreneurial um journey in me first I started with Investments and anomaly is my first brand that I founded myself with the help of Mesa thank you for the help of me so that were um


you for the help of me so that were um who are Market leaders and leaders in incubating new brands specifically in Beauty um and and then Nica of course bringing them but I really lean on my partners to learn from them and I just love the fact that you can have an idea today and monetize it why not it you're not record you're not just um reduced to I wouldn't say reduced to because I come from a family of doctors and Engineers but at that time in my parents generation and the generation before that it was Doctor engineer lawyer military government job like those five or six things that everyone had to aim for but today like I think my generation of parents are not going to have those boxes for our children right you have an idea let's run with it I have this little crystal ball with me everywhere that I go that only I can see and it shows me the future oh yeah I think you're gonna be a multi-billionaire going from your mouth to God's ears please remember


going from your mouth to God's ears please remember the moment we had before where she would began I said I don't want to talk to you until the camera starts Rolling On The Lights windows [Laughter] but I also I also generally want to talk about that crystal ball a little bit and what it tells me everyone knows that going to America was very good for the career the material aspect of life I feel it helped you a lot as a person as well America does have this very different entrepreneurial energy it's got like this little like accepting energy as long as you're willing to work hard the country just accepts you uh you'll be able to create further opportunity yourself but now I will let you unpack I just I feel I feel it's been great for you and uh that the harsh truth I'm gonna say it online is that India finds things cooler when they become cool abroad and then come back I mean that's a fact it's like Swami Vivekananda is used as one


it's like Swami Vivekananda is used as one example that's our that's our Colonial background we still haven't been able to shed that you know imported you know we have a lot of equity on um on things that come from the West that I agree is a fact um but no it's not it's not the easiest thing to be an Indian in America yeah it's not easy it's not younger Chopra said that I mean yes I've had a I started working in the states in 2010. and in 2008 20 after 10 years of working in the industry I started with music and then pivoted into acting in America so started in 2010 for context in 2020 I got my first leading role how long did it take me 10 years so people don't think about how much hard work how much consistent knocking on doors how much humility it takes to go to another country and start from scratch I had built an incredible career here an amazing credibility here and um I got an opportunity to do music


here and um I got an opportunity to do music and people were curious about the fact that because I could sing what that could be and I'm a big fan of the music industry anyway we um in India monopolized by Bollywood when it comes to music so much for now I hope so I hope so that we've not really been able to bifurcate into pop you know pop music or pop culture when it comes to music it's still very Niche so I was really a big fan of like music and musicians and um very excited about that opportunity went there worked with the most incredible musicians and quickly realized that I'm not as good as them you know and I should go back to my day job I don't know I'm very astute when it comes to I don't lie to myself I'm very honest to myself so I did the music I love the music that I did for myself but it wasn't my standard of Excellence it was good it was fun played on the radio


it was good it was fun played on the radio it was successful sold a lot of CDs but it wasn't my lane and that made me want to dabble in acting as well and see if there was an opportunity there but it required me to strip every single thing that I knew in India and The Laurels that I had achieved in India the awards that I had won the movies that I had done the box office successes that I had seen it required me to walk into rooms with extreme humility and introduce myself to people to take my Show reel and say this is the work I have done I would love to work with you I would love to see if there's an opportunity with you um I remember I had to do I mean I've done so many small roles in big movies in Hollywood but that's what it took for me when I started here too A lot of people used to say to me oh she's left um doing Bollywood movies to do small roles in Hollywood it started


movies to do small roles in Hollywood it started with every new actor starts there you have to start with from the beginning and I don't sit with that um you know if you're if I'm successful in one country that everyone in the world should treat me like I'm a queen it doesn't work that way so which is the case for a lot of big stars you know most people and I don't know about that but most people expect and anticipate that if you are treated a certain way or if you're making a certain amount of money um in a certain country you're going to be treated the same way because everyone is waiting in Hollywood to cast you right they're just waiting for Priyanka Chopra we were just waiting for you to come only Priyanka to change the trajectory of movies of course Hollywood is not the same without you it doesn't work that way you have to go you have to pound the pavement you have to walk in you have to be rejected you have to audition


in you have to be rejected you have to audition and you have to work around the culture of a new country and that was so hard I had to swallow the humility pill and I was willing to do that hard work and then 10 years later I finally got my leading role in a movie I finally got the same renumeration as a man which I never did in Bollywood I have never got the same check as my male co-actor even if my part is the same even if I've held the movie as much as I can finally I got it in 2021 after 21 years of working so it seems like oh my gosh Mark was so great for you and Hollywood is awesome but the tears that it took when you moved to a new country with no friends no family working with people that don't know you and don't know what you are able to achieve when I first started doing Quantico my co-actors did not understand the hoopla around me they were like why is like who is this person


they were like why is like who is this person like why are you you know the leader of that was the first time I got a lead role in a television series and they just couldn't understand why and it it required me to just you know be humble and say I'm okay this is a new environment it's it's easy to go you know fishing from your boat but when you have to go deep sea diving it's a completely different thing so you have to learn according to your environment so no it wasn't easy it was very hard it took a lot of sweat tears and blood from me to finally be able to reach where I have reached So when you say you know I I don't want to pass off um the work that it took to get there and the time and the commitment that it took to get there but look at you now look at me now but I'm still at the beginning that's what I'm saying it's the first movie that I'm doing with as a lead


the first movie that I'm doing with as a lead part who knows where else I'll go again the the mainstream narrative though on you is that things have just gone upward so I love that you're saying this because I'm not someone who um talks about my struggles too much why don't we talk about your struggles that's good okay you have to ask me the questions did people try jeopardizing your career here they at any point because that's the one thing I'm slowly learning about success like the moment you start climbing that ladder there's too many people who don't like that you're climbing the lado and try pulling you down I don't know unfortunately I feel like in India we've been taught that mindset we are not people as a people very few of us are happy for somebody else's success because we we again I think my hypothesis and I don't know I'm I'm not someone who's a expert on the field but my hypothesis is that you know we were


but my hypothesis is that you know we were colonized in 1947. I agree we just about not even been 100 years we've just about been our own country our own people it's divide and Rule but on an emotional level exactly and our generation has to recognize that our generation has to say hold on hold on why is my natural instinct when someone is successful is to be jealous why is my natural instinct when someone is successful to be envious why is my natural instinct not saying wow you've done so great let me add on to this person let me push you forward because then you're pulling me forward there is such a strength in numbers which we don't recognize if we only collectively band it together and supported other successful people in our fields we would be unstoppable in the world we are one-fifth of the world population but we've never been able to take our own stand because of that reason I feel this is something we can learn from the West they hear each other more than what probably


the West they hear each other more than what probably probably I don't know about where that learning comes from but I just I just like you I've also had people wanting to jeopardize my career like walking away from I don't know take away from work make sure that I wasn't cast just because you know I was doing well in what I was doing but that's not what stop I don't sit and wait and um hop on I mean maybe I'll cry one night or the other when an opportunity was taken away from me but I don't sit in the [ __ ] you know you can sit in this [ __ ] and then you'll start smelling of it and then you don't even know you're smelling of it because you've got so used to it so then you just become dark and negative and you'll never move forward you have to shut off the noise there are many people that will want to pull you down but don't focus on that focus on the one person that believes in you focus on


on the one person that believes in you focus on the light little sliver of light that you might see a little bit of inspiration that you might see and that's the hardest thing to do because you're bogged down by baggage you're bogged down by shackles of people holding you down so you have to really push forward and that's just individual do you have that inside of you to fight that fight for yourself or are you going to wait for somebody else to do it that's an individual Choice let's talk about that little sliver of light I don't know how else to put this but is that God for you is that the higher power I I mean a lot of it is I really do believe in destiny I believe in I'm I'm someone who has a lot of faith um I pray a lot what do you how do you pray and what do you pray for I do Puja almost every day I do but what what attitude what's your interaction with the higher power thank you and starts


your interaction with the higher power thank you and starts with thank you it starts with thank you for my health thank you for my life thank you for my family thank you for my life uh lifestyle thank you for my ability to um be a nice human being to be a grateful person um and then I'll ask for a few things too what are you asking for now PC um manifested I don't know I I mean I don't know I don't think that I believe listen a lot of people believe in the secret and the vision board and all of that but it's not something that ever worked for me I tried it I had a vision board I put [ __ ] up on it and I was like okay this is what I want to achieve but I didn't focus enough on it for it to work for me what has always worked is having the small next dream you know uh the next step so that you always have to take a step up in the ladder to be able to get to the top


the ladder to be able to get to the top you can't get to the top by flying up human beings don't fly it's a way of saying manifest something achievable yes and then slowly you'll turn around and say oh whoa look at this Legacy I've created but if you have unachievable dreams something that seems too out of the ordinary then you're waiting for a miracle and miracles don't happen very often you have to create it for yourself so what's the next step in your big dream so if you want to buy a car say for example you have to figure out how much it's for foreign so if my goal is one thing I'll work backwards and what is the first step in that goal I'll take that then the next step in that goal and slowly you'll buy your car what would you like to change about this whole journey till this point is there anything you'd like to do differently yeah I'd like to tell my younger self not to have stressed out so much


younger self not to have stressed out so much I used to have a lot of anxiety around losing my job losing my position losing time that's no because that's a very very common thing now with teenagers with college everyone's afraid that they're getting too old when they're 18. I mean I'm Not Afraid at 40 of getting too old yet um yeah well that'll that's your glass ceiling for you right there what do you mean I mean you're telling yourself you're too old are you team it's like everyone's aging that's the one thing as a fact we know birth and death that's going to happen to all of us you have to age you have to like that's something to really come to terms with early on in your life I feel aging feels really nice like it makes you feel very chill why are we putting so much equity on Aging that's the one thing we know that is going to happen what is the stress around it you're gonna get older I mean yeah I feel like


gonna get older I mean yeah I feel like I did when I was still 18 but like I'm going to get older and who am I right now at this age is what's important what is my best opportunity at 18 at 25 at 35 at 60. who is it that you want to be I was just doing an interview with a fall Green Iron she started and started Nike at 50. like that was our idea and she built it into an Empire today so aging nothing but a number that's a real real fact we put too much equity on age it just doesn't matter what matters is what you do about your life in the moment right now yeah it's also the people around other people are telling them that they're getting too old so then don't keep those people around you break up with them bye peace out keep the people around you that are your Champions and maybe this is also something I realize when I'm older but I tell young people this all the time do not hang around with poisonous people


the time do not hang around with poisonous people do not keep people around you that are toxic that mess with your brain keep people around you that are genuinely happy with happy for you only people that are genuinely happy for you and whether if that's two people you're a rich person yeah meeting you was a very big turning point for me I mean I'm saying that again in what way saw what you are in truth you know in in reality who you were right so many people put on masks on the show even today no I've done so you are 12th episode I've done 400 now wow and we still have lots of people putting on mass and you're just the same person you're very real very professional very very polite like I can sense people can sense the kindness and that's the joy of podcasting that you really get to know yeah who the other person is over a long nice conversation like this um but it's not easy to be a public person like you know I we we talk


a public person like you know I we we talk a lot about and we point a lot of fingers at Celebrities and public people say it's a really hard job it is so hard to be dinner table conversation every single day it is so hard to walk into a room and know that somebody is going to be talking about me when I leave good bad ugly not my control it is so hard to wake up every morning and know that I am for public consumption and my it can be an opinion that is completely the opposite of who I am people could think I'm unlikable people could say that I am a horrible person people could say I'm unprofessional that's not my truth but I can't change that opinion so if I sit and read every comment or every you know negative thing on social media or keep wondering about the paranoia when I walk out of a room what is someone saying oh my God I'll never be able to achieve anything but it's so hard got people a break


anything but it's so hard got people a break cut public people everyone aspires to be a celebrity everyone is like oh I want to be famous and I want to be in that position but nobody sees how hard it is like it is so hard when you are going to a Shadi suppose your family and everyone is talking about you and pointing fingers at you can you imagine how you'll feel do you still go for family functions and all that can you can you because of the same Fame angle means you read like this level of Fame I I can't imagine you you're saying I'm not going to dance on the bar out of my brother's wedding maybe of course my cousins my brothers we family is most important to me my fame is a byproduct of my job it does not define me my fame is not my job it's very clear to me I am not famous for a living I work for a living and fame comes with it so it's not something I can


comes with it so it's not something I can control that's something that's thrust upon me the reason I'm asking you such like incisive questions is again I'm trying to learn like her yeah like you're setting the bar for the media professionals and that's what I meant the last time as well I realized that this is what it takes you know this this kind of professionalism is this kind of energy uh so don't get me wrong I don't get I'm not getting you wrong at all I'm just trying to elaborate on something that people don't really think about sometimes you know um public people even though you're seeing a celebrity or someone every day on like Billboards or or magazines there's still a human being behind them they also like to eat they also like to sit in a like we also like to sit in a palti and dance at the Barat or your cousin and make sure that you get you know great food the desires of a human being is the same the needs or at


a human being is the same the needs or at least the people that I know I keep my friends my family I'm a very grounded person I come from the ground and I'm gonna stay there and the day I behaved a certain way my mom would put a tupply on my head and say come back to earth buddy does it happen now because I don't need it I don't come from a place of arrogance okay gotcha I never did I mean I may have had a little bit of that when I was in my early 20s where I was like wow I'm famous everyone knows me and then quickly I realized when six of my films flopped that it doesn't last buddy you have to consistently keep working so I never rest on my Laurels that's the that's that's your downfall right there all right too much to absorb here I do have one final too much this is great that's how we get the views thanks for the views PC uh so anyway views are like drugs


views PC uh so anyway views are like drugs for YouTubers but and true okay uh so the hill is my honest question uh in terms of success I genuinely mean it when I say that like in the modern day one of the most successful human beings on this planet after seeing so much success whatever you understood about the meaning of life what does life become after this like why do you have to keep going why can't we all just go to beaches or meditate or become monks you can okay what's your meaning of life I think the meaning of life is having purpose we're born and we'll die what you do in between that is your legacy and if your legacy is you know walking with sand between your toes and living in a shack and and being happy and meditating sure it's an individual Choice success is very subjective to each person as their own My Success might be completely not attractive to somebody else's success you know so the equity that we put on you know your most successful


equity that we put on you know your most successful one of the most successful people on the planet whatever great that's my version of it um you know but somebody else's version of it could be completely different but I really believe that what your purpose in life and what you do between birth and death is is what counts so the pursuit of anything else is just futile the pursuit should be what am I doing in my life what do I want to do in my life who do I want to be who do I want to touch what do I want to create do I want to create or maybe I don't want to create and all of it is fine as long as you are at peace with the choices you make so make choices that make you feel peaceful gotcha all right we see another epic episode any signing of notes um well the only thing I'll say is the one thing you didn't talk about was I'm very excited about um the multiple things that I do but the one thing


the multiple things that I do but the one thing I'm really and the reason that I I I've come back and I really wanted to come back to Bombay but launching anomaly in India really helped me um you know have a reason to come back right now because but you know like becoming a founder was terrifying because that's not what I do it's not something I knew um but creating Hair Care understanding why do I want to get into beauty makeup skin which one should I do what is the gap that learning of creating a brand which I'm so proud of and not for the fact that oh I've created a beauty product but the fact that I found a white space which I could create a product that you would have spent five times more money to buy and Indian uh the Indian new consumer is very aspirational you know we want to take care of ourselves we want to look our best we want to get the best brands in the world we're aware um especially that gen Z that you're


we're aware um especially that gen Z that you're talking about but we're also aware about what we're putting in our systems we want to eat good we want to try good stuff so I'm very proud of anomaly because it hits that Trifecta it's sustainable we make all our packaging from 100 recycled trash from Ocean bound plastic to landfills so we pick up trash and we create these bottles and because we're making our bottles from plastic trash we didn't spend too much on it that gave us more of a budget to have really excellent formulas and when you use it you will know please keep yeah you will um and another thing is that marketing has always told us Men's Hair Care needs and women's haircut needs are different hair is made of the same stuff don't fall for this marketing thing anomaly is for anyone who has hair on their head um please use um and also the fact that it is clean it has none of the bad stuff that usually form um formulas and


of the bad stuff that usually form um formulas and shampoos do if you read the ingredients of any shampoos you see things like sulfate silicones like that stuff should not exist in your shampoo mineral oil exists in shampoos mineral oil goes into your car why is it on your head can you imagine what it is doing to your scalp and your system it's crazy but to be able to create something which is clean affordable sustainable and excellent at the same time something I was really really proud of and um when we brought it to naika we on the first day so sold one anomaly product every seven seconds and that just was amazing to me and then we had repeat customers and in the last three months where the top 10 Hair Care brands on Nika and they have like some 400 500 Hair Care Brands so it just makes you feel really proud of the fact that you've made something good and whenever you make a good movie it's the same feeling or when you I'm sure


it's the same feeling or when you I'm sure you when you have a good podcast like this like yeah like this one hopefully like yeah man I did something good so it's a really good feeling yeah Priyanka Chopra Sharon have lessons with the world that's all I'll say I'll say one more thing though uh I think it's just the beginning of your business career and you're gonna like really flourish that same energy is going to enter this and it's like crystal ball [Music] it's telling me the truth uh you're one of those people who just touches something and it turns to Gold no it doesn't just turn to go in the long term PC you have to work towards making it go that's your perfectionism speaking it's just the truth you cannot touch something only Midas could do that you cannot pick up something and say it's going to be great it took a year and a half of research of trying anomaly on my friends my family my team they were all my lab rats


my family my team they were all my lab rats sitting and thinking about what the font should be where the rose gold should be should the trash be up front what the um smell of it should be all of that takes work you just see the end of it and you say it's gold it's gold because of the work that's gone into it yeah I I meant that you're a manufacturer of gold and you said you believe in reincarnation so what if the modern day Midas is like reborn as Priyanka Chopra oh boy what a thought I wish you I wish I had a collection of real gold buddy I'd be so rich I think you do it's just not the goal that the world recognizes as gold it's all the blessings that are with you the blessings that you spread yeah thank you for blessing TRS again thank you so the last time was a turning point this time it's gonna be a rocket I know it so uh I'm saying this extremely humbly but you're


I'm saying this extremely humbly but you're a good luck charm trust me thank you I hope so especially for our team but generally I wish you so much luck and love and I I know that you know you've expanded and done so well so far and I hope your trajectory is always just up thank you one day I will repay you I don't know how but I will means a lot thank you so much thank you PC of course so right after this episode I felt extremely enriched with information I felt motivated and I felt sure that the podcast is going to take off once again because of all that good luck that rubbed off on us My Hope and request to Priyanka Chopra is that he visits us in a home studio because this room and this studio brings out the best from guests sometimes we're limited on set because of multiple reasons mostly it's time constraints but I feel that the culture of podcasting is improving a lot in India I remember when we're done our first episode


in India I remember when we're done our first episode with her India didn't even know what podcasts were honestly I didn't know how to podcast if you go and actually listen to that particular episode you'll be able to tell how far we've come I said actually hold a sheet full of questions back then that's how early weight began this journey and now we're almost 400 episodes in with a Hindi language podcast as well hoping to have Priyanka Chopra on that one also hoping to have her on the English podcast once again and he was wishing her all the best for her entrepreneurial Journey with anomaly makes you check out the products we've linked them down below and also make sure to follow us on Spotify for Spotify exclusive every episode's available on Spotify 48 hours before it's available anywhere else in the world TRS will return soon with even more fantastic guests and even more heartfelt conversation [Music]


but formally if we say that how did Tantra originate a simple answer would be so one of the one of the original developments of Tantra that happened historically was from the area of Kashmir and also to some degree in the area of Eastern India near the kamakhya temple okay that is one stream of Tantra after this you start your practice of the dakshinach involves Mantra sadhana then there will be nyasas nyasa means you have to place mantras in your body different places ah there's a practice what does that mean write it no you chant certain mantras and you touch certain parts of the body and you keep doing that over time months and years not even months years and years to Resonance your body becomes purified by those mantras and the deity will approach you faster this is like a spiritual tattoo absolutely and these that is this from this stage on secrecy becomes important you cannot do these practices in front of somebody who's not meant to see that


front of somebody who's not meant to see that every year we find a guest who we know is going to give us more than 20 podcasts and trust me there's very few people that fit this category this is our first episode with rajashi nandi we recorded four episodes after this one I promise you this particular episode will leave you feeling dizzy will teach you the basics of Tantra and we'll show you a completely new perspective of going about a spiritual journey or even going about life whether you're interested in spirituality whether you're interested in Tantra whether you're interested in just expanding your own mind through someone else's experiences someone else's life someone else's perspectives this is an entirely mind-bending conversation it's not a conversation that everyone will find comfortable or safe because parts of the conversation do get a little scary a little larger than life but that's why this was one of my favorite guests of all time definitely the guest of the year the new discovery of the year for me a


year the new discovery of the year for me a first episode with rajashi nandi is about the basics of Tantra enjoy it make sure you follow us on Spotify or Spotify Spotify exclusive every episode's available on Spotify 48 hours before it's available anywhere else in the world before I let you slip into this episode I want to make a tiny announcement with all the love in my heart the last couple of years of my life have been dedicated to building a meditation app where I'll be able to put in guided meditations where we'll be able to help a lot of people begin their yoga Journey that app is called level Superman it's now live I'm linking it down below you'll earn yourself a free trial if you click on the link down below check it out if you truly immerse yourself into the discipline of yoga and meditation it'll begin a change in your mind it'll actually improve your brain power it'll improve your focus levels it'll improve your memory capacity lots more on that


it'll improve your memory capacity lots more on that app lots of fitness workouts as well an app built to improve your quality of life and we've put a heart into it please check it out and now I'll let you slip into one of the podcasts of the year this one is rajashin and Diesel on the 20 show [Music] welcome to the renvi show thank you so much there is a podcast every month that I look forward to uh you know when that month begins this is that podcast for me I've consciously not spoken to you until now so sorry I just made you sit in my house and didn't interact with you how are you sir oh I'm wonderful and today is a very auspicious day specifically for you know those who follow it so today is considered as the day in which uh bhairava who's one of the primary forms of Lord Shiva Affairs manifestation of Shiva intimately connected to the propagation of the dandrashastas he incarnated on this day so people


he incarnated on this day so people do worship wherever on this day and uh one of his favorite colors is black there are certain uh he is the guru through which the tantras have come out so there are various gurus in not just Divine gurus not just human gurus you know Divine beings who are like gurus like um uh dakshinamurthy is a guru bhagwan is a guru similarly bhairava is a guru and also protector of the path so today is specifically auspicious because uh today's the day he is considered to have incarnated and through his Incarnation even today we are you know receiving that blessings from him those who are it is upasara those who do any kind of reverence to him so that way it's wonderful this is the same as Carl bhairav there are many is one of the variables okay so uh what is today called jayanti okay so it comes on the ashtami tithi of krishnapaksha on the Karthik Masa


of krishnapaksha on the Karthik Masa or the mega siramasa depends on which calendar you're following so uh of the various bhairavas it is like the head of the paravas so there are it's like a how would I put it a chronology of emanations of wherevers that come out of you so there are 52 different forms from Carl bhairava there are eight ashtabharavas from there are more bhairavas in fact every area will have a bhairava Shakti he is the sort of the shatrapala the protector of that area Okay so any worship that happens has to have some invocation of the shatrapala as a protective energy very simple straightforward question to you yes but before I ask that question I just want to say that in this first answer you've given me so many tangents to take you on uh but the simple question for you is is this God is this an aspect of God how is this different from God so it depends on how you define the term God


so it depends on how you define the term God so if you have a let's this way we have the average understanding of the term God comes from uh certain Western perspective that there's one uh you know one entity super powerful Beyond everything Etc so bhairava in in our culture which is more uh where we worship multiple devathas I prefer the term devatha then the term God because sometimes what happens is when you use Indian terms and translate them some aspects are missed out yeah like I think the West would call devtas you know uh deities maybe sort of and uh they look at this deity worship as paganism yes and it's kind of almost a negative term right so it is yes because in their culture so that is the religious culture that comes from that side the abrahamic cultures uh paganism and worship of deities is looked down upon but in our system in fact it is entirely different uh each of the deities we call each of them both can have a very localized


call each of them both can have a very localized manifestation for anupasaka as well as can take on the role of ishwara which is that somebody who controls everything so this dual aspect is there in certain forms which we colloquially River for example meet um say Lord Shiva okay Ma Durga or Lord Krishna so you can be a PR you know he may have a personal chameleon with you at the same time he's also the ishwara aspectives there or the ishwari aspect who's the controller of all universes beyond your imagination so bhairava also is that he can be he can take on the role in certain cases as a shatrapala when he projects a smaller energy from himself at the same time at the other end of the spectrum he can be the Supreme Lord of everything is this a way of God showcasing his powers to make himself understandable for the local mind uh that's one way of looking at it yes or there is another way that this is how so


or there is another way that this is how so the way we traditionally look at it uh this is what it is so he can manifest at one point as the highest liberating agency he's a Divine Force who brings about complete Liberation from uh the ashtapashas and the various things that make you human take you into a more Divine condition at the same time he may have his manifestation in a in a specific setting as a shatrapala so what the way we look at it is that this is the reality that comes to us to the experience of the rishis and the people who have formulated the path now after that how you want to rationalize that in your mind whether you want to believe so there is one God and he is trying to show us that okay I'm I'm down to earth also as well as I'm transcendental um that's your rationalization that's fine there's no harm in this you can have some other rational resistance but first is the reality of the thing


resistance but first is the reality of the thing the reality of the manifestation and this is where we are indebted to the rishis because they the rishis uh the great beings were there not ordinary human beings at all it is their uh upasana their tapasya which manifested they understood the beings for the first time how would you explain the term Rishi to a Westerner yeah very difficult go for it go for it sir um Rishi is uh Rishi is this year he sees things which ordinary person cannot and not just sees things uh Rishi sees for yeah it's difficult to explain it's very difficult to explain because he sees things for um uh which have such kernel of Truth in them for five thousand six thousand years even now the mantras that he has seen is still working by the name of The rishidhara Vedic mantras uh just a little tangent I'm taking it because Vedas are entirely from the vision of the rishis okay they are the Mantra they have


the rishis okay they are the Mantra they have seen their mantras and written down even now there are mantras for invoking that we have to take the name of the rishis as as a kind of like you know that Rishi has seen it it is by his uh by the fact that he has seen it if that is true then today right now a little bit of the blessing will come here and it comes okay let me have an attempt at it and then you please add in and interject wherever you feel so God is all around us in the form of cosmic energy every culture in the world believes that God is omnipresent every culture that believes it right um now when we say God is all around us everything that is within God including all the information of the cosmos is also around us okay a human body and mind is like a machine which is capable of some sort of evolution you can keep working on it keep growing it uh you know uh people often think that growth stops physical growth


know uh people often think that growth stops physical growth stops when you're 21 years old right mental growth doesn't really stop and have any Neuroscience says this that your mind can keep evolving but there are certain processes certain exercises which allow you to hasten up that mental growth so when you take up a system like yoga which is a way of life and not just the exercises that the West knows of uh you improve your speed of growth so is it fair to say that rishis were human beings or beings which were able to take on yoga improve the speed of growth of the body and mind and then we're able to perceive that information that God has left all around us in the cosmos and bring it to us who are slightly less evolved beings that's a very good way of putting it actually that's I kind of agree with what you're saying that's not only that they were sort of you can look at it that they were they themselves are very powerful beings so


were they themselves are very powerful beings so we we uh we have this idea that inside the body there is the Atman okay there's the Jiva which incarnates which goes from Lifetime to Lifetime so these are souls of very high order they incarnated in the human flesh and blood so that they can form a link between the world of the spirit and the material world and show us if you do it this way if you do it this way this is how you invoke this this you how you you know get to this deity so they are the link and it is through their Vision their uh you know their power and their and their sadhan and their tapasya that everything the whole culture has survived because of that okay so um simple question again yes where does black magic come in all of this is Tantra a dark force what is a dark force what is Darkness all of that uh the source of dark so the world is always going to be a place of Duality so there's going to be


a place of Duality so there's going to be light and there's going to be dark there's going to be good and there's going to be bad so the term specifically that you're looking for what we call as black magic colloquially it's Sanskrit it's called avichara avichar kriya is basically something which produces a negative result okay now where does avichara get born I'll give you a simple example I am going to office I have a some office colleagues are there boss is there whatever is going on in between there is some office politics also happening which is very normal Etc and I don't like a certain person okay I think that if we just if he just goes away from the office it'll be more peaceful for me okay so the moment the thought is born it is already your black magic has started um your intention is the one that is caused so the world is based on both these aspects now where does Tantra come into the field in this in how does Tantra


come into the field in this in how does Tantra make an entry into this and not just and they also have certain aspects which deal with this so Tantra is a very specialized ideally it is a way of worshiping the gods the devathas which is apt for Kali Yuga this yoga Tantra says so okay whereas The Vedas are more for the uh the original the first of the yogas when corruption was less now very simply Tantra is saying that I am giving you a methodology of worship wherever whatever your intention is there is a greater chance of making it a success so if your intention is good you will get a good result if your intention is bad your intention is your responsibility Tantra is not fixing the intention it is up to you if you want to keep your intention free if you want to keep your intention without any malice without any malefic intent perfectly fine for example dandras like a sword and you can use that sword to cut vegetables


sword and you can use that sword to cut vegetables yes eat or even use it to kill yes and that is the uh the the technical aspect of the Tantra sadhana but when we go on the deeper the heart of Tantra it is entirely focused on worship of the devathas so that you attend to a very high state okay got it uh I think we should dive deeper into this Tantra topic sure um I don't know where to begin this conversation I don't know where to begin even questioning you uh I'm assuming that the beginning is in the other way because chronologically maybe Tandra was first mentioned there correct me if I'm wrong uh does have certain practices which are very similar to Tantric practices but formally if we say that how did Tantra originate a simple answer would be um uh so one of the one of the original uh you know developments of Tantra that happened historically was from the area of Kashmir and also to some degree in the area of Eastern India near


to some degree in the area of Eastern India near the kamakhya temple okay that is one stream of Tantra um let's boil it down the basics even further if you had to Define Tantra for a western audience again how do you define it is it um I'll tell you why I'm asking you this because a lot of Western audiences associate the word Tantra with sex yeah so that's I get you so that's one that's like you know taking out from uh from a wide range of different practices just picking up one out of context and making a ruha about it so that's what but Tantra basically is nothing but a methodology of worship which was given by Lord Shiva so why is Tantra important why is Tantra why does it work in the first place you may ask a question why do I need to follow them through I may as well Follow The Vedic path I may follow the quranic path so there is no conflict between the two by the way they're like two parallel streams


the two by the way they're like two parallel streams in the same land in the same space larger umbrella of Dharma there is The Vedic system of upasana there is the tantric system of basana and what does The Vedic system entail so Vedic system entails that which is inspired from The Vedas which includes the puranas and the other texts and so average when we do a worship at home say during ganpati so popular in Mumbai right so ganpati Festival if you have a panditji coming and doing a Puja more or less you are doing it as per The Vedic system got it like which is the traditional traditional G13 yeah version of Hinduism right and it is also useful and very practical uh it is what has sort of held us together in a lot of space and probably 99 yes Hindus Follow The Vedic system yes correct what about the one percent so Tantra is something that starts with so we we have to understand this that it is Shiva who gives


to understand this that it is Shiva who gives out the tantras one more question yes when you say that Shiva gave us a tantras is this a man you're referring to is it a being you're referring to it's Lord Shiva which is what he gives the tantras through a set of rishis and rishi-like beings and he says that the age that we are coming in in this age devada upasana has will be far more effective if you do it through the tantric method of worship okay uh again to give everyone context here supposedly we're in the kalyug which is the darkest phase of humanity according to Hinduism so in this dark phase of humanity maybe some dark techniques work better for your own Evolution and growth but the same dark techniques may or may not be used for dark practice as well which could be to cause harm uh it that is there but I would not Define it as a dark practice okay so there is no practice called dark or white so there's


there is no practice called dark or white so there's a practice that works and there's a practice that does not work gotcha first of all it is is it effective yes number two does it cause harm or not no 99 of Tantra actually does not cause harm there are the actual practitioners of Tantra who are the traditional practitioners they did not think of this that as some sort of small time black magic not at all this is a properly ritualistically heavy method of devatha upasana okay worship devdas so so it's important to understand that it comes from Lord Shiva and because of that there is the it becomes a practice that is acceptable to the people and not just acceptable it works in the sense that there's a result that comes out of it of the upasana and that is why we have a string of gray to pasakas and Saints and our Charis who have practiced the tantric methods and reached now within Tantra there are classifications classifications means there are known as the


are classifications classifications means there are known as the seven acharamsarams means modes of behavior okay as you progress one after the other the basic mode of behavior it says is the vedachara vedachara is the average way of worshiping which we average person does which is perfectly all right say that that's how you start and the other thing is that this seven modes of upasana of acharam you need not cross it in one lifetime it will take lifetimes of efforts so it's not saying that you know you start today and 10 years later you'll reach the no nature will play its part in guiding you after you have successfully completed each of the acharas and integrated the knowledge and the tatva there inside in your mind and body and you carry it into your next yes you will the impression will be there with you so nothing gets lost okay now again from a more practical perspective I'm just going to share some maybe a spiritual input here often you'll see that certain people in their 20s suddenly


see that certain people in their 20s suddenly gather a lot of spiritual knowledge or maybe sometimes when they're teenage they're just exposed to spiritualism through life maybe the parents introduce them a friend introduces them the lap up spiritual books and this is often a case of someone possibly carrying Knowledge from their previous birth into this birth and then knowledge is just getting revised uh and often these same people hit a bit of a plateau yes that Plateau is the point where they have to actually begin accumulating new knowledge in this lifetime am I fair in saying that to an extent yes the way I look at it there is always a uh some amount of uh you know some things you might have done in your past that carries on now but to develop that further because there is the every time anybody is born in this plane there is a layer of Maya that is there Maya means you don't remember what you have done in the past okay Maya's the simulation that we're living in sort of the kind


the simulation that we're living in sort of the kind of a veil that is put on your memory okay otherwise you will not be functional if you remember everything you'll not be functional as an individual at the initial stages until you reach a very high stage but it's already stored in a somewhere it is somewhere it may be stored and that propels you into that we call it through my through various actions that you might have done there is something which is samskara samskara is your Tendencies so your Tendencies may drive you towards spiritual path okay that this is there but even after that you will still have to practice it and the method it has to be done without that practice that energy will remain dissipated and you will after spend years and years and suddenly feel that where I'm stuck exactly where I was because that is why the process is so important whatever the path whether it's yoga whether it's Tantra whether it's something else you have to have the right process follow it with discipline


have to have the right process follow it with discipline so I that's the one thing I always tell people that eventually the person who has discipline will succeed not the person who has experiences is that whole thing about uh a human that practices one gig ten thousand times is more powerful than practicing yeah that's that's right go on so uh so that's where the seven coming back to that uh sevens of Tantra first you start with the vedasara okay so you practice vedasara then there is so basically uh these are these still dakshinachara dakshinachara is actually basically is formal Tantra because uh to enter into dakshina you need an initiation so Tantra is very heavy on deeksha initiation so to practice Tantra you need to have the tantric initiation from a guru whoever you consider as a guru who has the authority to give the initiation okay you start practicing the tantric mantras and the methods of upasana even to sit down and do a meditation


upasana even to sit down and do a meditation at a place there are certain uh should these that has to be done purification of this place has to be done and these are like uh you know the guru will teach you basically how to do this Etc that's even before you actually start doing the Mantra personal mantras are the fundamental it's like the root of you so because we have a western audience as well you'll have to explain these terms a little more uh so Mantra is basically a chant chant yes a specific Divine chant through which you connect to the devda what do you think the logic of a mantra is so here is what we go back to the idea of the rishis so they see the Mantra in fact there are some mantras that will have meaning okay you can make out the meaning what is it saying exactly and there will be certain mantras like Vijay mantras they are sort of like a capsule of the same energy of the deity bija Mantra


of the same energy of the deity bija Mantra bija means seed seed it's like putting a seed inside your head and becomes a plant you exactly that's what it is you pla you take that seed and you plant it whether it's inside your head or whether somewhere else and then you uh you know through practice which is the right practice is the you you add some sunlight water and take care and whatever else you have to add and eventually all conditions set that can grow into a tree so that is what is the potential of a mantra mantra and these mantras sometimes may not even have a direct meaning in the sense they will have what is known as phonetic power so by chanting it you create an energy that energy has a resonance with that specific deity and this information comes to us from the rishis okay because ordinary person cannot create a Vijay Mantra are you comfortable sharing an example of a bija mantra that's a dangerous thing to do on a partner no it's not it's


to do on a partner no it's not it's these days everything is open you just Google it you'll find all the Vijay mantras there but to make a Visa Mantra active to you know to to work on a Visa Mantra there are certain rules if a person is uh say say let's just okay let's just take an example say Mark Ali okay so one of the Vijay mantras of mahakali string but I just blurted it out but when you are doing sadhana when you're doing there there are certain processes in which you in when you once you take in the Vijay Mantra you're so it's like when you're doing the sadhana division Mantra you're not to utter it out loud to the extent they will tell you traditional operators will tell you that the person in front of you should not even have the faintest clue without uttering a word if you can find out that what Vijay you are chanting that is fine and there are people like that but if you have


and there are people like that but if you have to tell it the moment you speak it out and something that you're serving the energy is going to dissipate from you cring that's one of the wages of mahakali so can anyone just start chanting no no you need to be initiated yes that's because uh there are these are very powerful if you if you keep chanting them without initiation so a lot of people may face certain you know it may trigger certain States and you will need somebody to hand hold you at that time so you don't know how to navigate this spirituality is not all about you know fun and games and Etc because the moment there are Altered States that start off even when you're worshiping a deity the deity may just give you some experience how are you going to integrate that experience how will you handle that experience that is where the guru is so important it could be a negative experience no uh negative experience means what see if you uh if you go


experience means what see if you uh if you go into a if you're going to fight a plane there are g-forces that start somebody who's not accustomed to it he feels very disoriented in that okay so is that a negative or a positive experience any experience if you are not able to digest it becomes negative that's all so I am I'm going out with friends and having a great meal and all that for some reason I'm not able to digest it becomes a negative experience I get a headache and some problem in the body and things like that so that's what it is this is where the guru is absolutely important specifically in these cases and certain other parts also in fact in the Indian tradition almost all parts will ask you to have a guru so that when there are certain experiences how do you safely navigate those experiences integrate those experiences into your practice into your mind into your life and make it into a give it a positive turn so that it helps you it's like a


turn so that it helps you it's like a uh look at an experience as like a fool in the car okay so the fuel gets into the car and then your car has to go from one place to other for that you will need a Clarity of Direction where am I going you need a Google map something like that okay just a very crass example I'm giving that is where your Guru comes in he will tell you from here you have to go you have to have complete faith on the guru and assuming the guru is capable and you are a worthy disciple of the guru so Guru will tell you from here you have to go this uh you know this kind of Mantra you are doing uh this kind of an experience some mantras May create a tremendous amount of heat in the body some mantras may have a different effect some mantras May trigger dreams there are certain personas that first initial stages will trigger all sorts of complexes and things that you've hidden inside you okay you


and things that you've hidden inside you okay you may function as an ordinary person in the world but there may be something or the other some Darkness inside darkness and not in negative sense but we all have some fear of something at this or that could be something like that it will suddenly get triggered because of that you have to navigate those spaces how does one navigate should the Mantra be reduced should it be increased is there any additional practice that needs to be done this is also important there is not just one devatha so the primary deity that you worship your Easter we call it the word ishta means good he or she who does good to you is your so you worship it could be any form of of the Dasa mahavidyas it could be ma Durga it could be matara anybody of the forms but along with them there are a Pantheon of deities who also need to be uh placated little bit so that they help you in the process just like that any upasana in Hindu


process just like that any upasana in Hindu culture we do not start without virtue of ganpati it has to begin with anything first is ganpati you give him little bit also you do you remember him you pray to him so that he removes the obstacles in your path in the upasana that you do and the funny part is that if you're doing ganpati upasana also they are also initially you start with ganpati okay I'll be worshiping you but so that I can properly worship you please remove any obstacles that may happen in the path so he changes his form initially as the vignartha vignakarta who removes the remover of the obstacle and then in the center he becomes ishwara mahaganapathi who is the Lord of everything so your conception of he changes his energy according to your necessity if you are sincere does ganpati have a dark aspect as well there are aspects of but worship is very Less in India why is it less what is specific


Less in India why is it less what is specific about that deity uh so less means first of all again I I don't like use personally I don't use the word dark dark has a very westernized connotation I mean it's the limitations of the English I understand I'm on the exact same frequency as you yes but I don't know as a podcast or what other terms right right so there is let's say there's a fierce aspect of ganpati also okay there are multiple Fierce aspects of ganpati from now on in this entire episode let's use the word fears yes that makes more sense okay yeah fears sort of we have the idea of ganpati as the very nice and very beautiful and very you know the chubby kind of who's the helper of uh everybody it's perfectly fine that's what he is but there are aspects of ganpati which were worshiped by the Tantra Basics see ganpati also makes a entry into Mantra full frigid all the devadas are there um as I


frigid all the devadas are there um as I had just to link back as I was mentioning Tantra is fundamentally a method of upasana fit for this age it is not necessarily that with Tantra you will worship only the goddess you can worship Shiva you can worship ganpati you can worship Vishnu you can worship any of the deities there are tantras of all the deities okay so it's a method of worship so ganpati has certain fears aspects also uh Agora ganpati worship simply cannot be done at home it is not fit to be done by a householder it has to be a sannyasi kind of somebody who has left society and it requires a use of as is there in in the higher than three kacharas which I I did not complete the thought there so after dakshinachara then there is where all the controversy comes in so uh same as another form is which requires there are more technicalities involved in the upasana then there is


technicalities involved in the upasana then there is one form known as who rides a lion who's extremely potent for removing any sort of uh what is popularly known as black magic or uh anybody does on anything is to be invoked and worshiped and he will negate all that say if someone does black magic on you isn't like very deep bhakti of faith and God enough to clean it out nah then you have to it can if you are saint but even then it's not a guarantee so there are specific spells so look at it this way if you if you are a deep devotee of any devatha and you are a bhakti mark individual uh does that guarantee that you'll never have a accident you'll never have a cough cold fever or anything any any any devotee of any deity can he guarantee that he's never going to have single physical ailment in the body and generally speaking ok just like that and it may not be somebody doing anything I'm coming


it may not be somebody doing anything I'm coming down the stairs uh my friend is there I'm rushing I sleep and fall you can get injured right so so long as you are having a physical body in this plane leaving aside point zero zero zero zero one person who is like the mahavatar Babaji type of who is outside of our equation but the average human being you me everybody so long as you have the body you have the mind you will get hurt you will get physically hurt you'll get emotionally hurt and you will also make spiritual mistakes there is not a single person in the world who is not made a spiritual mistake it's not possible so when we read the biographies we have the very uh very nice sanitized idea of the Saints they are great Saints I respect all of them but they all went through some struggle or the other which is normal the moment you're born here you have to pass through the friction that's there given that can you get hurt by black magic


there given that can you get hurt by black magic yes you can get hurt can you get hurt by every character yes if the person is doing it has more more accumulated Shakti than you Shakti is the important term here bhakti can lead you to Shakti but it is not a guarantee in order because ordinary people's bhakti Gyan 's faithi is force force Power it's like saying I mean again I'm giving a Harry Potter analogy your spell would be the Mantra your uh Shakti would just be your power level uh and your bhakti would be your belief and sort of this is one Mage versus another right one way of putting it are you amazed I don't know that's one way of putting it yeah sort of uh if you want to look at it that way yeah again because we're catering to uh International audiences oh okay uh you said that you shouldn't perform a Gora ganpati uh rituals at home yeah what if you do uh so it's just


home yeah what if you do uh so it's just like asking that can I so um uh so we know mahakali is one of the popular devathas in Hinduism mahakali has many forms by the way okay people have this very idea that she's only one no so there are Smash and there is the bhadrakali and there are there are certain forms of Kali who are perfectly okay to worship at home but there is The Cremation ground worship of Kali it's mashaan Kali Kali who sits in The Cremation ground if you were to worship him at your home he's she's going to if not him sorry her you have to worship her at your home same way if you were to Worship in your home they are going to bring their energy into your home are you ready to take that that's the question what will that energy do division ground unless you understand what is going to happen full Thunder will happen in your environment is it like you're opening a portal inside your


environment is it like you're opening a portal inside your own house if portal means no not portal exactly it's like very typically a deity is who resides in The Cremation ground whose uh who likes that environment you are asking him that please come so it's let's put it this way a very rude analogy which suppose you have a very good friend and he's very powerful friend okay very powerful means he has capabilities and things like that but he uh he's the kind who likes uh things a little rough who's sort of uh how would I put it I mean it's not the right analogy it's not coming to my head but sort of like the um who likes fighting and who's kind of that kind of friend but he's a very good friend okay and you are inviting him can you please come and stay in my please come and stay in my house so he comes and stays in your house so uh there is going to be some conflict with the other family members probably something you may do that


the other family members probably something you may do that others won't like or things like that because that's his nature or even better energy suppose you are you invite a tiger into your home okay tomorrow the tiger bites somebody not even bites somebody is coming and petting the tiger and just one small scratch and half the arm goes Etc it's not the Tiger's fault it's his being natural same way uh uh a being of that power who you are taking out of their natural environment and bringing it home is also going to bring some elements of that environment into your home question is can you handle it that's all I have so many more questions for you yes I can go on all I can talk to you all day um and the listeners can listen to you already which is your own devta get into like a very Hindu specific thing but um depending on the phase of life you're in I believe that yesterday can change depending on what you need uh okay do you believe that uh that means


need uh okay do you believe that uh that means that you have not found yourself okay okay which is perfectly okay by the way it's uh we have we start of worshiping of a devatha uh with the basic tendency that whom do we like and you know that that natural inclination right and also some amount of it comes from the family so if you have a specific deity being worshiped in the family sometimes it happens that you develop a liking for that or in North India for example hanumanji is so popular okay so a lot of people will say that we they will swear by hanumanji in fact I've seen people who are more devoted to hanumanji than to Lord Rama even okay which is okay it's perfectly fine so simplest definition of is one whom you like okay and you start developing some bhakti towards the devatha that is the base stage of the sadhana which is like you are in Nursery level put it this way absolutely nothing just the liking is there


this way absolutely nothing just the liking is there now from that liking if you're if you decide that from the nursery level I have to become an upasaka what is the difference between is going to approach the deity in a way that the deity will be forced to respond to you your final aim should be that you reach a stage where the way you are sitting with me right now you're talking you are giving an answer there is a meaningful conversation the people seeing and saying that they're sensible thing you approach you finally reach a stage where you have that type of a connection with it is the highest stage and I'm not saying it's going to be easy not even that everybody can do it one in thousands and thousands but that one person the world will fall at his feet what is your intuition about who managed to Davis that is a question I would not uh take up here in but you have an idea uh so see these are things your Guru should be telling


see these are things your Guru should be telling you I I do once in a while when I meet people have some thoughts but the first thing that I learned in my life is that um so you absorb You observe nature you see things uh you enjoy uh but don't open your mouth nature is earning the job nature is a wonderful way of doing it I am a very ordinary individual I am just a simple upasaka but what's the downside to you talking about Maestra Dev on my podcast uh no no it doesn't work that way so no it's not about that let me explain to you sure so there is a concept in upasana and the higher levels of persona this is called the uh adhikara adhikara means the right to speak about something okay so I have certain I may have had certain experiences uh when when I was less careful when I was younger very happily I tell people about it and there would be a negative reaction to me speaking about that would come


a negative reaction to me speaking about that would come to me from not just the people no not the people people are not involved with it's the Nature's rule of things how things are adhikara means the right to a thing so nature is saying that uh technically you have a right to everything but after you have developed your Fitness to it okay this is one second thing is that when it comes to actual sadhana actual uh upasana methods and all that these discussions actually general questions are fine about a specific thing Etc um these are best discussed in private in in you know in a in a setting where you know the individual the individual knows you properly Etc then only it will work you can say 100 things but whether that leads same thing you you just drop a seed into a place and you don't nurture it properly it's going to die it's nothing is going to come out to make something fruitful out of it that is where all these rules which were developed by thousands of years


these rules which were developed by thousands of years of practice people see that okay if you do this then only it works if you do this generally works if you if you you know follow that so uh like right now only I I spoke the Visa Mantra which is something normally not to be done in Tradition even if you know they will use this they will use a language that is coded I will use a word which is somebody who's initiated in the process you will know what exactly I'm talking about I may say Maya Visa okay after Maya there's a culture here there's this video here the person who knows he knows exactly what I'm talking about and the person who does not know who doesn't have the initiation is not a part of the path you will not understand what I'm talking about okay so these filters were set in it is not a gatekeeping that's one of the you know uh misunderstandings but people have that it's a gatekeeping oh you're not sharing no


that it's a gatekeeping oh you're not sharing no all knowledge is free to anybody who displaces Fitness for it it's just like I you can enter into IIT but clear the exam that's all and then sustain yourself sustain yourself you show that you have the capability yeah if you want to do good in arts you show that okay you have the tendency and the capability for it so perfectly all right though all the doors will open for you okay um I'll give you a story I don't know if I've spoken about this on the podcast or not but I'm very comfortable sharing this because I think the listeners know my entire life by this point at least the regular listeners so um I have a very strong memory in terms of I can remember a lot of stuff from my childhood like from Junior kg onwards I it's very clear in my head but my earliest memory in life is this one photo of Krishna in my house okay and I remember when I was a kid I used to look at


when I was a kid I used to look at the photo and I used to feel like it was just looking at me and the face would smile and I have this as a very clear memory I remember the different lightings the different times of the day I remember seeing it many many many times that's my earliest memory my next memory is in a movie theater which was apparently my parents tell me it was when I was three and a half years old okay the movie movies hit a memory so I asked my mum this probably in my 20s I told her that I remember this Krishna painting thing when I was a kid and I used to feel like it used to smile at me and she was looking at me like I'm crazy so I said why are you looking at me like that so she said that there was a Krishna painting in that room but it was in that room when I was pregnant with you so before your birth we moved it to another room so does that mean that


moved it to another room so does that mean that some memories of my mom got interlaced with my mind I don't know the reason I bring this up right now is throughout my life I've always gone back to Krishna though I had the presence of different deities I have a presence of Mata right now a lot I don't know why maybe it's because of this podcast today but uh I have a lot of presence of different deities but it's always been Krishna I go back to Krishna the yoga school I'm a part of his yss which is krishna-centric again uh there's been such an impact of iscon in my life so I assume from my human capacity then maybe krishna's possible why not I mean if if uh if what you are describing is exactly how things happen that's very good chance that there definitely is some past life link whether Krishna is see the other thing is that whether Krishna is finally the deity who is going to lead you to the highest States


who is going to lead you to the highest States of uh you know evolution of spirituality Etc cannot be said but the fact that you already have a memory of Krishna and that there is a some some how do I put it some link between you that you feel inside that's good enough to start to pass enough Krishna if you are interested or follow the path of and there are higher Morpheus forms of Krishna as well uh no there are uh uh Krishna the way I have interact I had once I had done an upasana of Krishna I've done a person of many deities one but there are in fact it's very interesting when you showed me mataras because just before coming to Mumbai I was I finished understand of matara just like for the people who are viewing this podcast on YouTube there's a matara uh statue like right in front of us which we kept on the table purposely for this episode so I so that was very interesting because uh sometimes this is


so that was very interesting because uh sometimes this is what we call in sadness means basically if your connection to the devatha is working properly through the anusthan so they will keep small signs they will keep sending it's like okay I'm there I'm looking at you okay this is at the initial stages and then there are many more things that happen Okay in the anubhava but yeah Krishna is um there are in my the way I look at it and this is let me clarify that this is entirely my perspective so I'm not saying that this is what the scriptures are saying entirely or not because I'm not a vaishnava I am a shakta but I remember Krishna very much I have had experiences of Krishna in him reverse for me but I'm so drawn towards chakra right now yeah great for the podcast that's great for the podcast yeah so um I was in Mumbai at that time and uh I had a I had a set of experiences very


I had a I had a set of experiences very strange experience experiences months okay let me explain anyway that's been a few years now so I can speak about it so I had a at that time I was I had a guru-like figure and then later on I figured that okay this uh perhaps it's not the right person for me uh I have been through all sorts of fantastic gurus I've seen and then the people whom I thought were good but later found out they're not so good so I had no qualms about leaving and moving on so that anyway so after that um I um I remember I did a 40-day anushthana of uh of bhagavati MAA Durga what is that anushthana is basically a a more concentrated form of fupasana you take a sankalpa okay sankalpa means a promise okay okay traditionally it's a promise to madurga okay 40 days I am going to do your Worship in this this manner considering that you're also working professionally


this manner considering that you're also working professionally yeah I used to go to my office was in hiranandani and is to go by train and then come back by train and with that I used to do so I had a 40-day sankalpa in my mind and uh means it's a promise basically your promise to the deity you can't you don't make a promise like like human beings see date is very different if you make a promise you better go through with it okay and if you don't oh then the trouble will follow you like what various kinds various kinds I mean depends on where exactly you are in this Asana if the initial stage is still little bit less amount of uh you know troubles you will pass off but if you're at a higher stage and you make a promise either you don't make a promise or if you make a promise you go through with it they are sticklers of Truth the deities like 100 not human beings human beings with my friends okay uh let's meet


human beings with my friends okay uh let's meet up somewhere Etc then right after that you know I call him and I couldn't come somebody I was busy or things like that's perfectly fine the latest doesn't work that way at the higher level whatever you say whatever you intend it's to be very clear and if you have certain doubts then and never ever try to be smarter than that you are okay in front of a devatha it doesn't work because the the ATC is not just you sees where are you coming from what were you in your past life how many lifetimes have you crossed what have you done and in the current momentum where exactly are you heading they see everything okay because it's got the power of God it has it is hwara it is God deity is God deity is the Divine there's no doubt about it it's absolutely no so then uh but today I did that understand and understand them with the promise that I need certain guidance from her from


promise that I need certain guidance from her from the you needed guidance for life I need my next PATH to open up which is your actual ambition ah my main focus had been my upasana from the time I had started uh got into I I had a lateral interview but that's don't want to deviate to that story but let's what does mean again is the method of worship upasana is just any any worship of a devotee I I am choosing these terms because it conveys the right sense though though we are speaking in English but these I believe that at one point if these terms become common currency it's easier to speak on these topics okay because in Translation something gets lost sometimes okay go answer so I did that and I took a promise and the promise has to be done formally which means that you take water and you drop it and you say that you are so and so okay and this is your name this is your gotra this is where you are staying you want to


this is where you are staying you want to worship XYZ devatha through this method for so many days for whatever results you want okay like that and then you drop the water basically it's it's keeping Witness sakshi whom are you keeping witness water on the ground that is the earth everything they are witness to your promise okay so you go back in your promise these two tatwas are going to react to you and not just that the deity himself herself will react with you okay so they they are like and the other thing that happens is yeah they test you once you make a promise so if you don't do a anusthan like that you just normally worship it's one thing once you do do an anuttanam um then what happens is the deity is also going to test you test you means are you pit for it but I remember when I did that 40-day thing very third fourth day I felt tremendous deal I mean I had like 100 203 fever but even then it has


had like 100 203 fever but even then it has to be completed three and a half hours has to sit and complete in terms of when you make a spiritual promise Maya or the material realm will keep pulling you away from achieving that yes various entities will try and pull you away various things will try and pull you away even the deity will pull deity will be aware that these are the obstacles that will come but he or she will allow the obstacles to come to see that how strong is your willpower it's like you're doing push-ups exactly it's a test of your commitment I are you just being frivolous are you just being here then anyway you'll you know not problems after that 40 day I completed and there were other small hassles but thankfully I was able to do it what about the small hassles one was this um I I had very high fever I remember and after having that fever even in that fever I had to complete the at the correct time I had to


to complete the at the correct time I had to sit that this time after coming back from office then one day I remember I suddenly started getting a call from somebody uh pretty high up in my office whom I had never had the uh never had any reason to interact with but till that point of time and I wasn't sure why he's even calling me at this time afterwards when some sort of issue had happened in office very peculiarly I had to resolve it of all people and and it made no sense because all these years I've been working in their company never had this issue come up neither has this individual ever needed to have a direct communication with me because he was pretty high up in the chain Etc and things like that and I am in the middle of the Puja the conflict that is going on mind is if I pick up that call I have to start again there are rules three and a half hours again I have to start and I'm already tired after office and coming back


and I'm already tired after office and coming back okay so at that time I didn't I it was like I had to take a quick decision so whenever I've had a conflict between work or any other aspect and my personal my focus had been on personal they will see you tomorrow whatever happens we'll see okay I I'll go through with this thankfully things got resolved but this is a very typical example of how the deities will test you when you're doing a person but after we completed there are few dreams I had to go to certain temples and do certain homas fire rituals did you feel fear in those dreams it was positive positive I knew that these are indications from the deity that I next paths will go through here so I uh went to one of the Tara temples in vindhyachal okay okay vindhyachal is in uttar Pradesh there's a very beautiful vindavasini Devi Temple and in the outskirts of that town there is a small Tara Temple uh


that town there is a small Tara Temple uh those who know about it they know the other it's not widely popularly known but somebody had suggested me and two of my friends had gone there and I remember once I entered into the Tara Temple there was one sadhu sitting there and there was a dhuni dhuni is a continuously burning fire small amount of fire will go on so you can do fire rituals on that dhuni okay and the sadhu was there and he told me suddenly that you should do a homeather and that fire was very different by that what did he say puma Huma is fire ritual basically when you do a ganpati Homa or something like that basically you light a fire you uh you uh you consecrate a fire and you worship the deity in the fire okay so when you're worshiping a vigraha murti you're worshiping the deity it's made of mad or wood or something like that when you're worshiping in a fire you are


that when you're worshiping in a fire you are worshiping the deity through agnita so like that all the fact that those can be employed in the worship so fire rituals are fundamental to Dharma it has to be there everywhere so uh that fire had a specific uh that's a different from the other normal fire because that specific fire was taken from a cremation ground okay so there are there is one fire which is the average we use for all whether for Puja purposes or whether cooking Etc and then the fire that comes from The Cremation which is touched a body a dead body Etc so that has a different property all together and it's normally not to be refilled with uh casually at all because it has a tremendously different kind of property and some kind of effect Etc just one note for international listeners in Hinduism Agni Dev is considered the distributor of energies yes Agni Dev is the god of fire god of fire the way of saying fire is a portal to


fire the way of saying fire is a portal to like higher Realms yes for higher energies yes and also in the very conception fire is the priest of the deities you have a panditji when you need to do a Puja you call somebody so fire acts as the priest he's the one who will connect you to the learning of the Gods so that's why fire is very important it's a deity in itself and he also connects you to the devadas whomever you want to worship fire will connect to if you do it in the right way if you know the right methodology of doing and this is known as a Homa but a heaven what we call a not havan or Huma and extended version in The Vedas called the agyas and all the things Etc so what I did there was a Homa Huma too the deity to the ma Durga basically but the fire was different the fire was a cremation ground fire that fire is normally not to be used until you know