Q: The human body is a microcosm of the larger cosmos. By purifying the five elements in the human system through yoga, can we also help influence the environment? 

Sadhguru: There is definitely an impact. When it comes to the elements, there is no such thing as a well-defined body. Elements do not respect the boundaries of your body. They are in and out. If you transform the elemental nature of who you are, then what is around you is definitely impacted.

There are beautiful stories about how, when certain yogis walked in the forest, trees flowered out of season. Certain things have happened in our lives too – when we did certain things, flowers appeared where they should not have. By the normal seasonal prescriptions for the plants, they should not have appeared, but they did. We can attribute it to many things. Maybe it is just one of those freak moments for the plant or the tree, but it has happened repeatedly.

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If the entire humanity has mastery over their elemental nature, will the environment change? One hundred percent, it will change.

Today, I think even modern science is beginning to recognize that plants grow better in certain homes, where people are in a certain way, compared to other places where people may not be in a way that is conducive for the plant. Today we know that people are even playing music for their cows – not out of love, but because they believe the sound will make the cows give a better yield – and it is working. So, how you are within yourself definitely impacts everything around you.  
 
Can we cleanse the environment by changing the interiority of the human being? One hundred percent yes. The environment needs cleansing only because human minds, and consequently human activities, have become in a certain way. If we transform the way the human being experiences this world, so that one clearly know the transaction that is happening on the elemental level, then if the elements around you are not in a way that is conducive for you, either you will move to another place, or you will transform the place where you are. We would have never allowed the environmental degradation to go this far if people had some awareness of their elemental nature.

Now your question is, if one person has mastery over his elemental nature, will the entire environment change? It will, but in a minute way. Maybe it will not change in a noticeable way, but it may set a trend to do the right actions. Around such a person, the right type of actions and right type of living may naturally evolve.

This has always happened around yogis and sages in this country. Wherever they were, people naturally started living in a way that is conducive for the environment. If the entire humanity has mastery over their elemental nature, will the environment change? One hundred percent, it will change. But getting the entire humanity to reach that place – this will take a lot of work. 

Editor’s Note: "Body: The Greatest Gadget," by Sadhguru, is an introduction to the most sophisticated and incredible gadget on the planet. It is a first step on an intriguing and exciting journey that culminates in total mastery of the system, allowing us to stay rooted in the physical, and yet taste the beyond. Download the ebook now.