SADHGURU Saving the world

Sadhguru grew up as an intelligent child who experienced meditative states at a young age. He became utterly disinterested with school life and classed teachers as "talking about something that didn't mean anything in their life. It was just a job they were doing," Refusing to enroll in University and follow in his father's footsteps of becoming a doctor, Sadhguru decided to educate himself and spent a whole year in the library of the local univer- sity for this purpose. Eventually, when he did decide to enroll in col- lege and obtain a degree, he chose English litera- ture. Whilst he missed most of the lectures and The remarkable achieve- spent times in the college gardens, he formed the ments of a remarkable Banyan Tree Club with his friends, where they would share their passion for motorcycles and plan man: Sadhguru Jaggi how to make the world a better place. He then spent time travelling on his motorbike and Vasudev exploring nature, before passing his final college year exams without attending any of the classes. Words: Martin Gill Instead of furthering his studies, Sadhguru thought about making some money which would enable him to travel, and so set up a successful poultry farm, much to the dismay of his family and friends. India is a great nation, steeped in a rich cultural heritage that has provided four of the world's major religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism), 17 major languages, and ancient spiritual practices including and medita- tion. After China, it is the most populated country in the world, with the fourth-largest economy in purchasing power and the second-fastest growing economy, which is expected to continue through the rapid growth of informa- tion technologies. Despite this economic stability the country is facing a severe crisis. Statistics report that that almost 400 million of its 1 billion population live in poverty, 75% of which occupy the rural areas, and at least 40% of Indian people are illiterate*. However, there is one man who is at the forefront in the efforts to change this. He is a modern-day guru who dresses in jeans and rides motorbikes, and attracts crowds in excess of 100,000 people who flock from across the globe to hear his lectures on Inner Engineering or attend his Isha Yoga programmes. Sadhguru effortlessly touches the lives of the people he meets; whether addressing the United Nations Millennium Peace Summit, charring business events such as the World Economic Forum and the Indian Economic Summit, working with the business community for which he delivers Inner Wellbeing programmes to powerful organisations such as Time-Warner and Microsoft, or working with society's most hardened criminals as part of his Prison Outreach programme that runs in America and India.

* www.indiaonestop.com/povertyindia

10 YOGA magazine www.yogamagazine. co. uk He is a modern-day guru who dresses in jeans and rides motorbikes, and attracts crowds in excess of 1 00,000 people who flock from across the globe to hear his lectures

This lifestyle enabled him to spend time reading and writing poetry, ory" and the sceptic within him led him to meet the people and explore meditating and being by himself which gave him time to explore what the places that he had previously lived. The experiences began to recur had begun happening to him a few years later. It was not long after this more frequently and became a permanent reality. He clearly saw that it that his spiritual transformation began, which occurred on the 23rd of was possible for every other human being to also experience these states, September 1981. and began searching for methods to make this happen. This led to the According to his book, Mystic Musings, Sadhguru entered a medita- formulation of the Isha Yoga and Inner Engineering programmes. For a tive state and felt himself become part of the environment and the envi- while, he spent half his time divided between farming and travelling to ronment become part of him. This experience was attributed as being various cities and towns offering these programmes to people. Once that of samadhi, which literally means the "merging of the subject and there was a sufficient number of people who wanted to experience yoga the object." These "states" became more frequent and lasted as long as full-time, and plunge deeper and deeper in search of the ultimate, he 13 days. People who witnessed Sadhguru in these "states" held him in created Isha Foundation as an appropriate social mechanism to fulfill reverence, trying to touch his feet and adorn him with garlands. During the needs and aspirations of the people. this period, Sadhguru's body began to physically alter, and "changed so From this point, Sadhguru's mission was to develop Dhyanalinga. In drastically that people around me could clearly see that something was Sanskrit, Dhyana means and Linga the form. When a per- happening to me." Sadhguru was overwhelmed with "lifetimes of mem- son enters a deep state of meditativeness within, the spiritual energy

YOGA magazine 11 SADHGURU

Participants from all over the world gather at Isha Yoga Centre to attend the Wholeness Programme with Sadhguru takes the shape of a Linga. Linga means perfect ellipsoid which is scien- The basic thrust of the Dhyanalinga is to foster spiritual growth and tifically the only shape that can serve as a perennial storehouse of ener- evolution of a person. However, the shrine emanates 7 different: quali- gy. The construction of the Dhyanalinga Multi-Religious shrine was ties of life on the 7 days of the week, by which one may derive various completed in 1999, the first of its kind in over 2000 years. It was conse- benefits including synchronicity with nature, concentration, and the crated by Sadhguru through a 3 year intense period of prana prathista, quickening in the dissolution of karmic bondage. where the energies of all the 7 chakras were raised to the peak and Sadhguru formed a yoga programme called Isha Yoga which gave locked to prevent dissipation over time. It is expected that the energies birth to the Isha Yoga Centre and near , Tamil of the Dhyanalinga will last for at least 5,000 years. In the tradition it is Nadu, in South India in 1992. From this base, he further established always said that for one to experience meditation or dhyana, one has to the Isha Foundation, a non-religious, non-political, non-profit making be initiated by a Guru. Seekers do much penance or sadhana just to organisation that set up a number of social and environmental projects receive this grace. But, the uniqueness of the Dhyanalinga is that even planned to address India's problems. Its aim was to help the most those who are unaware of meditation can experience deep states of underprivileged people in the rural communities with the basic human meditativeness and feel the divine energy that radiates from the shrine. requirements of food, shelter and medical help and education. Besides Even those who are unaware of meditation can experience deep states of meditativeness and feel the divine energy that radiates from the shrine. As Sadhguru states, "Anyone who comes within the sphere of providing these necessities, the core of each project was based on Dhyanalinga cannot escape the sowing of the spiritual seed of libera- Sadhguru's notion of Inner Wellbeing as a holistic approach of uniting tion." According to Sadhguru the Dhyanalinga sows the spiritual seed the mind, body, spirit and emotion to create inner harmony amongst into the individual's etheric body which lasts forever, compared to other individuals and communities as the key to coping with difficult situa- practices which work on the physical, mental or energy bodies that only tions they will inevitably face in life. One such project is the Action for produce a Temporary transformation that can be lost anytime in life. Rural Rejuvenation (ARR) which was set up in 2003 to provide imme- diate medical care and support for rural com- munities. The methods of Inner Wellbeing focused on reinstating herb gardens for home remedies which will eventually reduce rural dependence on allopathic medicines, yoga pro- grammes to improve inner wellbeing, and the introduction of games and tournaments to develop a sense of community. The ARR has also been specifically designed to educate the villagers to become more self-sufficient and to take responsibility for their own lives and that of the community, which serves as a model of empowerment through participation. Another noble crusade, The Isha Vidhya project, focused on combating India's bleak educational future. At present, there is a short- age of skilled men between the ages of 18 and 50, and this alarming "trend" shows no hope of change, as backed up by the damning ASER report in 2005, which concluded, amongst other findings that 40% of children aged Isha Foundation's Project GreenHands is a grassroots environmental initiative that aims at restoring lost between 6 and 11 are deprived of primary ecological resources through large-scale tree planting and nature awareness campaigns 12 YOGA magazine www.yogamagazine. co. uk One of the boats made by the In-Home Boat Manufacturing Unit to help tsunami survivors to restore their livelihood

education. The first Isha Vidhya School was set up in June 2006, in 250,000 Indian children at once. It also aims to eventually provide one Sandegounden Palayam, Coimbatore. This groundbreaking institution computer between every 5 students, and to build up a library of learn- caters for over 260 children, all of whose scholarships are paid for by ing materials of print, audio and visual content, as well as eventually the Isha Foundation. The school intends to empower the next genera- developing their own teacher training centre and learning materials. tion of rural Indian children through education, preparing them to be Besides these and countless other social projects, the Isha Foundation able to compete on a global platform by producing English speaking, is also committed to tackling environmental concerns, the most auda- computer literate students. Although Sadhguru understands the impor- cious being Project Green Hands. Project Green Hands began in 2005 as tance of westernised learning, the schools will maintain its Indian her- a costal protection project to ensure in the future that rural villages itage through traditional dress and having the students sitting on mats would have the same protection as that afforded to villages saved from whilst in class. This model of "educational empowerment" serves as a the tsunami devastation because of their green-belt cover. The project blueprint for many more schools that will surely follow: in fact the Isha alerted the Isha Foundation to the desertification across , and Vidhya have confidently set a target of opening 206 schools (one for in October 2006 the project was launched to reinstate 10% of green each of the talks Tamil Nadu) within 5 years. Once running these cover. The project aims to plant over 114 million trees over the next 10 schools will be offering much needed education and hope for over years, and if planting this number of trees sounds like a tall order, it is worth mentioning that 852,587 trees were planted in one day; a feat that is expected to enter the Guinness Book Of World Records. Such is the inspiration of Sadhguru, that through the Isha Foundation over 200 thousand volunteers helped with the planting of the trees which were carefully selected to provide timber, shade, fruit and medicines for the communities. With such a massive operation, the Isha Foundation recognised the importance of involving the volunteers on all levels, including setting up children's eco-clubs and encouraging those who planted the saplings to care for them for the next few years, reinforcing an attitude of "caring participation" in their own environment and the Pupils with one of the many tools wider world. If this project becomes a success there are plans to intro- used in Isha duce the scheme in other under-developed parts of the world. Vidhya, a proj- It is clear to see that the Isha Foundation is addressing the most fun- ect to empower damentally long-term problems that India faces. But despite this com- underprivileged mitted effort the Isha Foundation is ready to help with more immediate rural children emergencies, as demonstrated with their heavy involvement with the with world-class tsunami relief work, where its volunteers provided food, shelter and education YOGA magazine 13 SADHGURU

medical assistance on the very first day of the tragedy. Not only was Sadhguru responsible for leading the teams of volunteers and coordinat- ing the relief work, he took a hands-on approach and designed new housing for the survivors which were specifically created to withstand the threat of any potentially destructive waves. Sadhguru also intro- duced strategies of organising village volleyball tournaments and yoga programmes to balance the "inside" and to combat the mental traumas that the survivors faced. As with all of the Isha Foundation's projects, money is raised through Isha fundraising events, corporate sponsors and individual donations and therefore places no financial burdens on the Indian government. The Isha Foundation has forged strong links with national and interna- tional organisations such as the Times Foundation of New Delhi and the Covantas Energy Corporation of America, enabling projects such as the ARR to secure subsidised health care, and provide mobile health clinics and teams of medical staff. Through these business links the ARR plans to implement a second phase of building "rural development centres" of libraries, pharmacists, gymnasiums and health clinics. It is amazing to recognise that one man is responsible for organising numer- ous social projects with such vision and commitment. Sadhguru is truly a great humanitarian, a modern-day saint. core of the two other programmes; the Inner Engineering programme and As well as helping large communities at once, Sadhguru has developed the Wholeness programme. Inner Engineering is an Intensive 3-day pro- several Isha Yoga programmes that are designed to empower individuals. gramme offered by Isha Centres around the world. By contrast, the The programmes are based on the ancient discipline of Shakti Chalana Wholeness programme is an 8-day residential programme led by Sadhguru Kriya yoga which are "powerful and purifying breathing techniques at the Isha Yoga Centre, which incorporates some simple preparatory utilised to encourage the flow of vital energy into the central channel, or Hathi yoga practices and offers participants a deeper exploration, where sushumna." They implement deeply self-transformative kriyas like the the Kriyas can be described as more foundational. Both programmes offer Shambhavi Maha Mudra and Shoonya Meditation "an effortless process of simple practices that individuals can easily fit into their day, and are conscious non-doing" which releases the "physical, mental and emotional designed to improve health, increase energy and promote clarity of mind. blocks' which "activates spontaneous expression of one's vital energy". These benefits are also provided by the Isha Yoga programme for Children Carried out over a 13 day programme, Isha Yoga for adults "allows truth to that are run as an "exploration of fun, love and joy". be experienced, not just learned' and serves as "the corner stone for Isha Foundation's Silent Revolution of Self-Realisation." Isha Yoga forms the Several months after discovering the work of the Isha Foundation, I

14 YOGA magazine www.yogamagazine. co. uk to be joyful, and he reinforced the notion that being happy and joyful is not the highest goal in life, it is the "most fun- damental goal." Sadhguru serves as guide to encourage us to use the natural tools that we all possess to restore a sense of joy in each of us, a joy that we all naturally had as young chil- dren, yet has diminished in the majority of us as we grew older. The ability to experience and maintain a joyful state rests in our own hands. Happiness is just the ability to create our received an invitation to attend one of his Inner Engineering - Peak of own "inner situations the way we want it." Yet the majority of us allow our Wellbeing lectures and I naturally jumped at the chance to find out happiness to be controlled by other people, and external situations and fac- more about Sadhguru and the ethos behind the programmes. The lecture tors that are out of our hands. As Sadhguru stared, "We can never control took place in Euston in London, and the smart-looking hall was quickly these outside forces, but we can control the inner force of our own mind, filled with hundreds of people of all ages, races and religions. As 1 sat body, spirit and emotions. When the outside is not going the way that we there waiting for Sadhguru to enter, I must admit that on such a beauti- want it, is not important to make the inside go the way we want it?" What ful, sunny day, the thought of sitting inside for 2 hours filled me with Sadhguru eloquently referred to as "controlling the interiority" or "inner sci- dread, and I thought back to the times of many boring university lec- ence", and only when we have mastered this inner science to maintain a tures where 1 had to constantly battle to keep my attention focused for Only when we have mastered this inner science to maintain a joyful state, can we truly be of any good to other people and the planet. longer than 10 minutes. How wrong I was. As soon as this larger-than- life, yet unimposing, man appeared, my concentration was fixed, and even though I was sitting about 30 feet away from the stage, I could feel a strong energy about him. The lecture flew by as I absorbed every can- did word, and at the end I wanted to immediately sit through it again. Sadhguru is a remarkable speaker, who illuminated his philosophies with moral fables, jokes and hilarious tales that would make the most sea- soned comedian go green with envy. He covered subjects ranging from religion to snakes, and everything in-between, and fielded questions from the audience with ease on subjects including meditation, duality and cults, offering guiding answers but at the same time encouraging the search for their own truths. His visionary approach of changing the lives of individuals and the world for the good of mankind was narrated with a mystical wisdom that was accessible and easy to comprehend. He talked of a "natural human longing for expansion, not wanting to set- tle for what we've got." This longing, is the life that is within us that desires

"Now I don't experience this place as a prison, but as a place for reflecting on my life. " Coimbatore - Central Inmate who was enrolled on the 'Inner Freedom for the Imprisoned' Programme YOGA magazine 1 5 SADHGURU

Isha holds the 'Rural Olympics' which brings together people from all caste, creed, religion or economic status to promote social bonding and reduce addictions

\Wk joyful state, can we truly be of any good to other people and the planet. I was also fortunate enough to be granted a short, private audience The lecture was one of the most thought-provoking experiences I've with Sadhguru, and I could sense an intoxicating and captivating aura ever had, every word filled with great resonance that will stay with me about him. Within ten minutes of being in his company I now under- forever. stood why the Isha Foundation has over a quarter of a million volun- Afterwards, I chatted to numerous individuals who'd taken the next teers across the world. There was a great wisdom, compassion and joy step and enrolled on the Isha Foundation's programmes, and the pro- that emanated from his eyes, and the experience left me truly humbled found effects it had on their lives. Laurence Bloom talked about the with the acknowledgment of being in the presence of a truly great man; knowledge he'd received over the last 35 years from "many spiritual one who possesses an unselfish dedication to not only tackling some of teachers" but nothing compared to the lessons received under his guid- India's most challenging social, economic and environmental problems, ance. "Sadhguru is in another league in his ability to transmit the expe- but also aiming to help us all achieve inner peace and prosperity. It is rience of oneness that is usually so elusive. Having waited for such a evident in whatever Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is doing; he is doing out of teacher for a very long time, I can only say that attending the three-day love and a desire to share what he has experienced with every other per- programme was one of the best decisions of my life." son in the world. It is his wish to bring true wellbeing to every human Arun Patel talked about the transformations he'd experienced. "The being and this drives every activity undertaken by the Isha Foundation. Inner Engineering programme opened up channels of energy that I did- n't think I had in me. I found it easier to respond calmly to situations Sadhguru will be returning to London in 2007 to offer his "Inner that would have normally challenged me in a significant way." I also Engineering" programme, running from Friday the 2nd to Sunday spoke with Roma Iskander, who enrolled on the Inner Engineering the 4th February at the Piaisterers Hall in London. He will also be course after attending a lecture where she "heard and felt Sadhguru". "It giving two public lectures: "Inner Engineering — the Peak of was more than I could ever have anticipated," she said. "It's had a huge Wellbeing" on Monday the 29th of January at 7.30 pm, and impact on my life. I do feel more alive, have more energy, and a sense Mastering Relationships" on Wednesday the 31st January at 7pm. of freedom. I've become more passionate about climate change." She Both events will be held at the Conway Hall, near Holborn, Central then referred to her quest to acquire more knowledge about the envi- London. For more information about these events go to www.ishayo- ronment, and how she has now become "uninterested in making ga.org, email [email protected] or telephone 07941 646877 money". Since then, Roma has now become an Isha Foundation volun- teer and is currently involved with looking at alternative therapies with- www.ishafoundation.org in the NHS and is hopeful of developing an Isha Yoga programme for a www.ruralrejuvenation.org London borough. The Isha Foundation website is littered with count- www.dhyanalinga.org less other statements like these, bearing testament to the power of their Mystics Musings: Sadhguru - A Profound Mystic Of Our limes. programmes and the experience of meeting Sadhguru, as illustrated by Published by Wisdom Tree. the Chairman of Microsoft India, Ravi Venkatesan who described it as For more information or to order a copy visit "the defining moment in my life". www.wisdomtreeindia.com. 16 YOGA magazine www.yogamagazine. co. uk