A mystic from India. A marketer par excellence. A modernist spiritual guru. A neo-liberal Hindutva. A yoga and meditation guru. Sadhguru, the man and movement behind ‘Inner Engineering’.
‘Sadhguru’ meaning – One who derives from inner experience and not by studying the Vedas. He is the ‘uneducated guru’!
23 September 1982, Vasudev at the age of 25, rode up by himself to the Chamundi Hill and sat on a rock, where he had a ‘spiritual experience’. That’s what prompted his spiritual journey.
Jaggi Vasudev, fondly referred to as Sadhguru, works towards the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of all through the practice of Indian yoga and its kriyas to provide purpose and passion to empower human lives. His teachings are about looking inwards to understand life. He helps a seeker to deepen his seeking and not to provide the answers. His scientific methods for self-transformation and his teachings on Inner Science to master destiny have helped to bridge the gap between ancient beliefs and modern living.
In 1983, he conducted his first paid yoga class with seven participants in Mysore, later donating the proceeds to a local charity. He set up the Isha Foundation headquartered at Isha Yoga Center at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains, on the outskirts of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and, at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences on the Cumberland Plateau in middle Tennessee, USA.
What started as sharing a philosophy, a spiritual experience, and yoga with a few villagers in India, has now become a powerful Isha Yoga and Isha Kriya movement for self-transformation to reach one’s full-potential touching over 50 million lives around the world.
The exponential growth and worldwide recognition came with the Sadhgurus signature program “Inner Engineering” shared on social media. His understanding of a subject, his way of interpretation and his gift of the gab has nurtured hungry minds with hundreds of videos on YouTube.
His fan following grew further when he launched the book “Inner Engineering” in 2016 which soon became the New York Times Bestseller increasing his popularity in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In Inner Engineering, Sadhguru introduced Shambhavi Maha Mudra, which is an inner energy process (a kriya) to transform the inner self.
Sadhguru, the most logical teacher, explains it simply – Act consciously, change yourself and not others, do things in the way they work, and accept and experience life.
In 2017, Sadhguru Vasudev was awarded Padma Vibhushana by the Government of India for his contribution in the field of social services.
His social outreach projects included Rally for Rivers, Project Green Hands, Isha Vidhya, Sadhguru’s School for underprivileged in South Africa, and Action for Rural Rejuvenation Program.
He has been a guest speaker at World Economic Forum, United Nations, Ivy League University and numerous other international forums.
Being featured in interviews with BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, and Newsweek International and other TV shows in India, continues to give him international acclaim.
Sadhguru, whether a husband, a doting father, a yogi, an intellect or a media personality, above all, has the most magnetic personality.