Ashram Newsletter

Apr
2019

“Who you vote for

is your choice, but
vote you must.”
Blessings,
Sneak a peek into a potpourri of expressions
from Hollywood to Bollywood, from iii to
Alandurai, from engagements with some of
the most influential people on the planet to
eleven women from Dhanikandi, from ExCel
London, to the excellence of creating Adiyogi
Darshanam, and more!

Here, for you, is another loud edition of

Isha Whispers…
Truth Beyond Economics
for the Youth of LSE
Exploring truth, After offering himself to nearly 3,500
seekers striving to touch the dimension
not with the of Samyama, followed by a series of
meets with the various limbs of Isha in
seriousness of the ashram - i.e. Ishangas, brahmacharis,
and various trustees - Sadhguru headed
gospel but with to London to empower the youth of
the distinguished London School of
the playfulness Economics. Under the guidance of a
master, the eclectic group of students and
of gossip. professors in the packed hall explored the
various issues that they are facing today
and gained some much-needed nuggets
of clarity.
It was inspiring to see that these students
were eager to address factors in society
that divide humanity and form the basis
of conflict and war.
While responding to
a question, “How can
youth of Pakistan and
India work together for a
better future?” Sadhguru
urged the assembled
young people, “If you are
interested in the future
of this world - the coming
generation must do this
much: religion should be a
personal pursuit for people.
Those who wish to can
personally pursue their own
stuff. But this ambitious
way of approaching it, that
‘my religion should conquer
the world,’ must go.”
Inner Engineering in
the City of Angels!
Over 3000 participants and volunteers ride
the wave of bliss when Inner Engineering
makes landfall in Los Angeles!
“I’m trying to increase
the percentage of
ecstatic people on
the planet. You are
my hope!” exclaimed
Sadhguru in the opening
session, held at one of the
largest convention centers in
the United States. With over
3,000 people from all over
the world converging on the
west coast, some traveling
from as far as Brazil to see
Sadhguru live for the first
time, the hall was soon filled
to the brim. Excitement
spilt from the doors; the
anticipation was tangible.

From the moment Sadhguru
entered the hall, he created
a bond with each one of the
participants as they set sail
on an inner journey, the likes
of which they had probably
never taken. Always ready
at the drop of a hat to share
a story, Sadhguru’s jokes
and anecdotes sent waves
of laughter throughout the
hall while imparting practical
wisdom, which participants
received with resounding
gratitude. The final
initiation into the practice
of Shambhavi Mahamudra
unleashed the power of
the ancient yogic practice,
leaving participants drenched
in a magical experience like
no other.
“I depart from this
experience with a deep
knowing that my life
has just been touched
in a way which I can
not yet even begin to
comprehend,” shared
one participant. Alexa, on
the other hand, blissfully
articulated her experience
as “transformational,
enlivening and activating.”
“I feel blissed out, happy,
and grateful. To have
it happen so quickly is
just otherworldly,” she
shared…and still ended up
apologizing for the lack of
words to explain the impact
the program made on her.
Well, we can all empathize
with this, right?
Ganesh, an Isha Yoga teacher,
shares a special moment, an
expression of his gratitude to
the 650 Isha volunteers who
worked behind the scenes of this
spectacular unfolding.
“It was Sunday morning; I was
walking into the main lobby at
5:30 A.M. Now that is early for
L.A. – but we had our volunteers
standing at the crack of dawn with
bright faces and warm smiles all
throughout the lobby, hall, and Isha
Shoppe spaces, ready to welcome
the participants with folded hands.
I am pretty sure that the night
before, most of these happy faces
stayed up very late at the venue.
It was one of the most touching
moments for me out of the whole
program.”
A Yogi and Rabbi converse on
“Mechanics of Mysticism”

On a warm Sunday evening, Sadhguru met with the most influential

Rabbi in America, as listed by Newsweek magazine - Rabbi David Wolpe
- to explore the nuances of life in a wholly unique way. Here we have
Gita Desai’s exciting whispers of the impact of this conversation, beyond
the on stage conversation...
History
Repeats
Itself!
A couple of weeks ago, Isha
Foundation collaborated
with the Persian American
Women’s Conference (PAW),
for a talk between Sadhguru
and the world renowned
Rabbi Wolpe. I had the
opportunity to be an Isha
volunteer for this event.
Surprisingly, on a
Wednesday evening, the
venue – the Writers Guild
Theater in Beverly Hills - was
a full house!
A good 500+ people from
the Persian American
community attended -
mostly men and women
who had left Iran for
the States and had re-
established themselves
holding an unmatched
socioeconomic status here.
The beauty of Sadhguru’s
message of breaking
the compulsive ways of
existence and establishing
clarity and perception
through an uncluttered
intelligence struck such
a chord that all present
heard him with unwavering
attention.
What followed after the talk
was to me quite magical...
When I walked out into the
lobby, I was approached by
many joyous faces - mostly
women hugging me and asking
away about the US and India
ashrams, IE programs, and
above all Sadhguru’s schedule!
Morgan Hakimi, the President of
PAW, met with us and offered to
share all their 500 email IDs with
Isha. Their longing to receive
more of what Sadhguru was
offering was unquenchable, so
finally, we decided we would
plan an Indian lunch at my place
and have an IE Intro talk to
answer all their questions.
That night I was quite heart-
warmed, and could not but
replay all this in my head while
I lay awake in bed - a flash of
what I had read and seen in
photos went by and finally I
could put my finger on what
happened that evening. It was
history repeating itself!
Back in the late 1800s,
when Swami Vivekananda
delivered his eloquent
speech and wisdom to
thousands of American
intelligentsia, distinguished
women, and wealthy
businessmen, it seemed
he overwhelmed them
with this one larger
question - to seek the
meaning of life. They
had achieved material
success and were enjoying
opulence at its best, but
it was not enough. They
were seeking something
lasting... and “here is the
man who will show us the
way,” they said.
This is what I saw was
going on with those I met
at the talk. The Persian
American Women of LA
are certainly ready for
the magic of IE and I look
forward to an exciting
lunch with these inspired
souls!
 Tony Robbins Meets Sadhguru

Tony Robbins - life coach and philanthropist, listed on the Worth Magazine
Power 100 list - and his wife Sage spent a day with Sadhguru. Tony took
to social media, sharing his impression of Sadhguru, “He is a beloved man
with deep wisdom, a generous heart, and a sense of humor!” The day ended
with a wonderful meeting on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
1000 turn up at
Tennessee for
a long-awaited
darshan with
Sadhguru!
You heard it here first!
Whisper Alert: Devi is to
reach the United States
very soon!

Having a darshan with

Sadhguru was a privilege
like no other, as always. I
was ushering at the Abode
to make sure everyone was
seated neatly for the Arati.
During darshan, Sadhguru
explained the significance
of the path of devotion and
led us through a process
that was really powerful.
Sadhguru announced that
we would soon have Devi
with us here, and that he is
looking for people who can
prepare themselves to bring
her here. I hope I am able to
make myself capable in such
a way that I can help bring
Devi here. - iii Resident.
iii to House
More!
Another resident at iii shares
her excitement, not just
about how amazing the new
studios at iii look, but also the
experience of witnessing Punya
Pooja for the first time.
“We have 96 new studios
built now in a complex
called Laurel (it includes
three buildings). Watching the
construction in various phases
was really interesting to see
as the final outcome looks so
polished and amazing. Before
anyone could occupy the
rooms, Bhairagini Maa Leila
arrived and performed Punya
Pooja, along with 3 newly
trained sevakas. I had the
privilege to be a part of this
ceremony and since I had never
seen a Punya Pooja before,
I was surprised to see how
elaborate the whole process is.
“The number of items and
people that needed to come
together was, as is usual in
Isha, quite a lot! Till the last
minute the construction team
was getting the studios ready
and cleaning up the space. The
sevakas along with Maa were
very meticulous in preparing
the items for the pooja. What
overwhelmed me was how
Sadhguru has set up this
process, whereby performing a
seemingly simple yet elaborate
ritual, Devi becomes alive
within minutes in that space.
It was so beautifully powerful
and vibrant. I feel truly blessed
to have witnessed it and in
whichever small way, to have
been a part of this process.”
A Step into the
Latino World
Situated on the aquamarine waters
of Biscayne Bay, the Pérez Art
Museum Miami (PAMM) played
host for Sadhguru’s interviews
with Telemundo and Univision,
two of the largest Spanish-
language television networks. The
interviews seamlessly continued
with an intimate gathering of
Latin American media, journalists,
community leaders and influencers
in an event titled “The Power of a
Question”.
The types of questions that were being asked
of Sadhguru delved deep into topics of
consciousness and awakening. Many present
were completely new to Sadhguru, yet at
the end of the event, they didn’t want him to
leave. The warm and hearty Latino reception
concluded with everyone taking a group
photograph with Sadhguru.
This event was a wonderful first step into
opening the doors to millions of Spanish-
speaking people worldwide with tools of
wellbeing.
Sadhguru
on Impact
Theory
with Tom
Bilyeu
Tina from US shares:

On April 4, Sadhguru
met entrepreneur
Tom Bilyeu, founder
of billion-dollar-brand
Quest Nutrition, and
filmed an episode for
Tom’s show, “Impact
Theory”, in Beverly
Hills, California.

Tom was named

one of Success winning musician Wyclef Jean, and work. Tom listened intently to
Magazine’s Top 25 a Top 10 YouTuber and soon to be Sadhguru about how one could
Influential People in a late-night talk show host, Lilly engineer oneself so that his or
2018. Singh! her experience of life reached the
maximum level of pleasantness.
Impact Theory Despite all the celebrities Tom
explores the meets on a daily basis, he was The guests in the Beverly Hills
mindsets of the absolutely thrilled to sit down with studio “ooo-ed,” “ahhh-ed,” and
world’s highest Sadhguru. laughed heartily as Sadhguru and
achievers. Tom discussed what it takes to
An ecstatic Tom told Sadhguru make this life a magical one.
Past guests for this that he was on his top five list of
massive, million+ people to meet in his lifetime and At the end, Tom and his
viewer show include: said he just wanted to be a “fly entire team, consisting of two
performance Coach on the wall” in a conversation TV studios crew and a fully
and Author Tony with him so he could absorb operational magazine design firm,
Robbins, tennis Sadhguru’s profound wisdom. were captivated by Sadhguru’s
champion Maria stories about cobras and
Sharapova, multiple Tom spent one and a half hours motorcycles. Tom’s staff even
Olympic snowboard with Sadhguru, longer than any TV requested a photo of Sadhguru
gold medalist, Shaun show format in the US, because on his motorcycle to keep as
White, Grammy he was so interested in Sadhguru’s their screen background for
inspiration!
Sadhguru Travels Across
the Seven Seas to Vote!
A Blissful surrounded him, holding
their mikes close to his
face. In competition with
Voting Day! one another, some came
so close that their mikes
April 18: It was nearly grazed his beard. Without
11 AM, when he arrived. even a facial twitch,
Sporting his passion for Sadhguru stood there
the nation, Sadhguru wore graciously waiting for them
his yellow kurta with a thin to adjust their audios. “As
tri-color silk cotton shawl. a democratic process this
As he walked towards the is the grandest event in the
rustic school building in world. India’s democratic
Alandurai, local villagers election where nearly ninety
took the opportunity crore people are eligible
to touch his feet for his to vote, is a fantastic
blessings. Many journalists process. Here and there,
from various Tamil Nadu there may be loopholes -
media, who had been we don’t have to highlight
waiting for the past one that, but what needs to
hour, surrounded him to be highlighted is every
catch the best shot. citizen in this country has an possible places they are keeping up
opportunity to vote within the booths and keeping it going,”
Gently greeting the reasonable distance, which Sadhguru said after speaking a few
villagers, Sadhguru is not a small arrangement. words in Tamil. As soon as he was
continued to walk. As he It’s being done on a war ready to leave, suddenly another
was nearing the voter footing. Finding fault with journalist shouted for him. Unruffled,
registration table, his such a large process is Sadhguru pulled back his extended
daughter Radhe, who was very easy, but facilitating foot and answered her patiently.
inconspicuously following such a massive process
him as just another member is not a simple thing. My As he moved out, the press followed
of the crowd, tapped his congratulations to the him eagerly; but somehow Sadhguru
shoulder and handed his Election Commission and managed to close his car door
booth slip over to him. all the officials involved, and drive off. Without a moment’s
The election volunteer, many teachers and distraction, I watched him from the
trying hard to hide his the different levels of time he stepped out until his car
joy, tenderly checked government employees had disappeared into the mid-day
Sadhguru’s ID papers, and who are involved in making sunshine – whether I could see him
showed him the way to the this election happen. or not.
voting booth. My congratulations and
Ah! Sadhguru came back from the
gratitude to all of them
US just to cast his vote, but left
Soon after Sadhguru for allowing democracy to
the same evening! -shared by an
emerged, the journalists function. In most remote
ashramite
My Vote is My
Responsibility
Missing the Fervor of
Mahashivaratri!

Here we have a very

special sharing from
Vaibhav Tatwawaadi,
a Marathi actor who
participated in the
Classical Hatha Yoga
Workshop leading up
to Mahashivaratri, and
of course the glorious
night itself...
Receiving few other meditations, I
happened to come across
around tried to distract me.
“Please not today,” I told them

My Guru! a banner about a four-day

Inner Engineering Retreat
politely. Some even made fun
of me, but I just stood there
at the Isha Yoga Center, looking out for Sadhguru.
“I will do Guru Pooja for
Coimbatore. I don’t know
Sadhguru personally,”
what came over me, and The moment I saw Sadhguru
I kind of declared to my
the next thing I knew I was coming in, time stood still. I
co-participants in the
there. The program had a felt as if I had known Sadhguru
Guru Pooja program. I
very profound effect on me. for a long time, and quickly
was so disappointed to
I loved the ashram ambiance planted myself next to him.
have failed the Guru Pooja
and the way volunteers “Where are we going?”
test. Even after I came
carried themselves. I soon Sadhguru asked. I eagerly led
back to Mumbai, I dreamt
went back to the ashram for him inside the hall with the zeal
about meeting Sadhguru
Shoonya and the Guru Pooja of an ushering volunteer. As
and doing Guru Pooja
program. we were climbing the stairs,
personally for him.
Sadhguru in front and I behind,
Back home I continued all my alarm rang. It was presence
“Within 15 days of this
my practices, and found time! “I am in Sadhguru’s
day-dreaming, I received
that there was a distinct presence at presence time,” I
a called from Kangana:
enhancement in my acting said it aloud, feeling excited.
‘Vaibhav, Sadhguru is
skills and involvement in my Sadhguru didn’t say anything.
coming for the special
scenes. I could perceive my
screening of Manikarnika,
co-actors much better, and Did I say anything wrong? the
please come?’
understood the scenes much thought wouldn’t leave me.
“Can I do Guru Pooja
deeper. I felt at ease with He doesn’t want to talk to
for him, please?” I asked
life, and I found that people me - his silence kept bothering
her earnestly. “You know
also wanted to be around me. I sat next to him while
we can go to a separate
me more! Even though I watching the movie also. All
room and all…” I coaxed,
had not seen Sadhguru, other actors and invitees kind
but she reminded me
he had become a big force of understood that I wouldn’t
of his time constraints,
in my life. After the Guru budge from Sadhguru’s side,
and we let it go. But
Pooja program, Sadhguru’s and this is how it was going to
my excitement knew no
presence became even more be. I was fine with this too.
bounds; I couldn’t believe
profound.
that I was actually going to
So I was sitting on his right,
see Sadhguru in person in
The DAY: It was 5:30 PM, and Radhe was on the left.
just 24 hours’ time!
and I was the first to arrive at Nothing else existed for
the venue - anxiously waiting me in those moments but
I had been interested
at the entrance itself for Sadhguru. But why is he not
in spirituality for the
Sadhguru to arrive. Sadhguru speaking to me? was still
last few years, and after
was due to arrive at 6 PM. rankling in my mind. In one
experimenting with a
Some of my fans that were of the scenes of Manikarnika,
 I posed as a scarecrow. During the
intermission, it so happened that only
Vaibhav
three of us remained in the hall, and लबों पे हंसीं,
Tatwawaadi is a the rest of the guests went down for
qualified engineer, आन्कोहों में सुरूर आ गया,
something else. “Hey, so you were the
MBA, and scarecrow, right?” Sadhguru asked. I लबों पे हंसीं,
award winning was filled with joy hearing him address आन्कोहों में सुरूर आ गया,
actor. He is the me directly.
आपने मुझे अपना कहा,
recipient of NBC
At some point when he was meeting अपने आप पे गुरूर आ गया.
Newsmakers
everyone, I took to volunteering again
award 2016,
and took his pictures with everyone. My lips are smiling
and Dadasaheb “Sadhguru, I took your picture with
Phalke excellence Joy is in my eyes,
everyone else, what about your picture
award 2018. He is with me?” I asked at last. “I don’t When you said
also honored as picture with scarecrows,” he joked, I am Yours
“Maharashtra’s and held me by my waist for a photo
I feel Worthwhile.
Most Desirable shot.
Man” in 2018.
The day was a dream come true. I
conclude with the following words for
Sadhguru:
 The Making of
Adiyogi Divya Darshanam
If your jaws dropped while watching the mind-boggling
spectacle of the Adiyogi Divya Darshanam, here is a behind
the scene story of what it took to make a vibrant 3D
projection show happen on a contoured and dark surface –
perhaps the first time such a feat was attempted in India.

Swami Vidhyavasanta
shares:
“Are you satisfied? Do
you like it?” Sadhguru
asked Avijit, the project
in-charge, after seeing the
first demo show on Jan 31.
Avijit remained silent. “No,”
he said slowly, after a long,
uncomfortable pause. “Why
should we put lights on the
face of Adiyogi, unless it is
spectacular?” he questioned
the entire project, and none
could disagree with him. But
the question was, “How to
light a dark surface with so
many irregular contours?”
Flashback: Sadhguru had
asked for the Adiyogi Divya
Darshanam to happen last
year itself, but at the time
we were just two weeks
away from the event, and it
was impossible to do. This
year he opened this topic
about four months before
the event, and we were in
a good place to make it
happen. Avijit and his Korean
partner, who were hired for
this project, were skilled,
dedicated and committed.
Moreover Manish Kadam, a
renowned mapping engineer
from Bangalore, was also a
part of this team.
The team had tried this in
their studio in Kolkata and
sent us an animation film
of the show. Sadhguru had
liked the film. And just like
that, a generous devotee
from Switzerland offered to
sponsor the project! Since
everything seemed to fit
together so well, I assumed
that it was a done deal.
However, considering that
it was the first of its kind
and an expensive project,
Sadhguru was following up
very closely on its progress.
In January, as soon as he was
back from Gujarat, he asked
to arrange for a demo.
Fast Forward – now in
a quandary: Here we were
feeling gloomy after the first
demo. Obviously it didn’t
impress him, and neither did
we like it. “But what next?”
we all were thinking.
“What is the luminous
intensity strength of the
projectors we are using?”
asked Sadhguru. “We need
to make it twice as bright,”
he explained. To do that, we
needed 12 more projectors
– which meant 50% more
than the original costs. We
didn’t wish to invest any
further money until we had a
convincing demo projection.
The Epson, India, tried
their best to convince their
Japanese counterpart to
release the demo projectors,
but it didn’t work. They
asked for a full upfront
payment. So the whole project
went in a quandary. But no
one was willing to let it go
either… after much struggle,
Praveen Kumar of Epson
borrowed 9 more projectors
from his friends and business
connections. The team stayed
back for another demo on Feb
4.
Feb 4, Colorless Second
Demo:
The night before leaving for the
US for the Fashion for Peace
event and Youth and Truth
initiatives, Sadhguru came back
to Adiyogi for another demo.
This time the brightness was
acceptable, but the colors still
looked dull and unattractive.
“We will need to completely
change the color palette,” said
Avijit. But it was still an untried
venture, and Sadhguru asked
us to continue to work with the
demo projectors.
To Do or Not to Do:
Until then all 21 projectors
were housed in a temporary
scaffolding structure. If
someone as much as leaned on
it, or if a slightly strong wind
blew in that direction, it would
disturb the alignment – which
meant 7-8 hours work for Manu
Anna. It had been happening
frequently, but Manu, without
a wrinkle on his face, would
diligently fix it each time. To
avoid this extra work, we had
our construction team start
building the permanent
structures, though we
were not sure if the project
would actually happen or
not. Similarly, the electrical
department also got started.
The Final Tempo: The
entire team was back in the
ashram on Feb 15, and we
housed them in the Thennai
cottages. They worked
unbelievably hard - each
night around midnight or
brahma muhurtam they
would show us a test run of
one minute or so, and tweak
the animation during the day
based on our inputs. One
could say we became sort of
fanatical about every single
detail, but they incorporated
our feedback without
argument.
As the time for the final
demo for Sadhguru neared,
our expectations shot off
the roof, and we wouldn’t
settle for anything. Just to
give an idea, for even minor
tweaking, the rendering of
the show took 6-7 hours…
Avijit was very convinced
within himself that it would
work, and his enthusiasm
and conviction kept the
whole team going. He didn’t
hesitate to borrow money to
purchase the balance three
projectors.
One effort that also needs
special mention here is the music
for this show. Since we were
editing and finalizing the visuals
every day, second by second,
the full show was not ready until
the morning of Mahashivaratri!
So major kudos to the Sounds
of Isha team for managing to
arrange the music, piece by
piece, without having the entire
visual sequence on hand – they
pulled off a wonderful feat on a
tight deadline.
Feb 27, Yes or No: The night
when Sadhguru arrived in the
ashram, he came for the final
demo. As the show started, we
stood there biting our nails, and
looking nervously at Sadhguru
watching it. And guess what?
The power went off…
I dashed away to the projector
room to see what had happened.
In the meantime the lights came
back, and the show started. Still
we couldn’t show Sadhguru the
full show as we didn’t have time
to fully render it. After the show,
Sadhguru patted Avijit’s back
and nodded in approval.
None of us could hold back the
tears welling up our eyes!
Mar 4, The Darkest
Moment: A few seconds
before the show, we had to
switch off all the lights, all
the way from Sarpavasal to
Malaivasal. This meant syncing
the volunteers’ positions at 50
locations, and also worrying
about fear reactions among
the lakhs of people present
there. But Sadhguru had no
apprehensions about that, and
asked us to do it in 3 seconds
– all lights off to happen
twice during the night. We
rehearsed and rehearsed and
brought down the time from
1 minute to 3-4 seconds. And
of course, not a single chaotic
incident happened during the
darshan.
The project had poignant
effects on all the team
members, though except for
Avijit none had done any Isha
program. One person who
deserves a special mention
is Praveen Kumar, the head
of Epson Chennai Office. He
was so touched that each time
he crossed the Yogeshwar
linga, he would fold his hands
and bow down to it. Usually
a person of his rank was not
needed to be on site for such
a project, but he stayed on
for the entire week before
Mahashivaratri, and had made
many earlier visits.
The Adiyogi Divya
Darshanam will
happen every weekend,
on Amavasyas and
Purnimas and
auspicious days,
starting May 4.
Samskriti students celebrate Tamil New Year
Inner Engineering Completion in ExCel London
Here we have Priya Rao
sharing some ‘Grace’ful
Experiences!
In London, the rainy April
air was abuzz with spring
blossoms unfolding. Across
the city and beyond, Isha
volunteers were excitedly
preparing to receive over
2000 participants, to
enable them to experience
the beginning of a
transformative journey with
Sadhguru.
“What Am I to Do?”
Amidst this happy, hectic
atmosphere was a very
anxious woman. Mitra, an
Isha meditator and earnest
volunteer, a single mother
with two tween boys. She
had signed up to volunteer
at the Inner Engineering
Completion (IEC) program
over the coming weekend
at ExCel London. Where would
the boys be? Home being over
50 miles away, a commute was
not an option. Mitra considered
a nearby hotel for her and the
boys, but the additional expense
was frightening, making her falter.
They had barely returned from
the Mahashivaratri celebrations
in Coimbatore and she had
also signed her boys on for
Angamardana – all of which had
depleted her resources. As she
passionately explained - I then
reached out to Sadhguru and
asked him, “What am I to do?
Please show me the way!”
“Sadhguru Fixes
Everything!?”
Sadhguru did not show the
way - he made the way for her
and the boys. Over Tamil New
Year celebrations a week earlier,
an old friend hearing of her
volunteering plans and hard
hotel options, claimed the boys
for the weekend. Another
volunteer mentioned his
friend, an IEC participant
who lived not far from
ExCel who would happily
host her for the two nights.
Soon Mitra was all set –
overwhelmed, blessed,
ready and eager to pay
forward all the blessings
she had received from her
Guru. But, there was more
in store.
An Encounter at Dawn
Day 1 of the program
concluded late for the
volunteers, with many
going home to grab just
a couple of hours of sleep
- acutely aware only of
the exhilaration, feeling
none of the exhaustion.
Next day, at dawn, unsure
of public transport, Mitra
called for an Uber. As she
got into the car, a young
driver, perhaps of Asian or Apparently all through the a huge favor and go do this Inner
African origin, with folded hour-long ride, they were in Engineering!” With his passengers
hands, like a ‘namaskar’, animated conversation - of dropped off, the driver went off, his
greeted her. This floored what had transpired that day, curiosity piqued.
Mitra, but before she could their manifold observations
respond in any manner, the and experiences, also of “Isha Allah, I will do it soon!”
young man immediately one unfortunate participant Somewhere between his rides,
wanted to know what was being admonished for he googled Sadhguru and Inner
taking her to ExCel this moving around in the midst Engineering, and a few hours later,
early? She mentioned that of a session. “Well, he again headed back to ExCel, and
there was a huge ‘yoga had it coming,” they said now sharing this information with
program’ being held, at jokingly! But mostly, they Mitra. In the span of a night, the
which the driver enquired – spoke of Sadhguru - of how young driver had come full circle,
“With Sadhguru?” Mitra was he spoke, what he said – but now seemingly, touched by
stupefied and asked how he they went on at length. By Sadhguru and Isha.
knew. then, the driver was really
curious about this Inner As Mitra reached her destination,
A Story Inside a Story Engineering and jumped into she emphatically reiterated Ram’s
The driver’s story was the conversation. One of the suggestion to the young man – “Go
fascinating. He shared that passengers, Ram, apparently do Inner Engineering.” His hearty
he worked the night shift. His folded his hands and told sign-off lingered with her through
first job assigned to him the the driver, something to the day (and stayed with the few of
previous night was a pick up this effect – “Hey buddy, I us she shared her story with): the
from ExCel - a group of four, can’t give you much. But this driver again did a namaskar and
returning home to Harrow. much I will say, do yourself said, “Isha Allah, I will do it soon!”
 I was in the ashram clinic for
routine a check-up, and while
strolling in the corridor, got
to talk to Swami Chidakasha
who was admitted there for
fever. Swami is a part of our
Action for Rural Rejuvenation
team. While exchanging with
each other what we had been
doing, Swami excitedly shared
Finally, here is a a recent story:
touching story of “Last year around
Eleven Women Mahashivaratri, we wanted to
create a women self-help group
from the nearby tribal village,
Sadhguru has reiterated Dhanikandi. We wanted to help
them to set up a small food
on many occasions that stall near the face of Adiyogi,
under-privileged people and give them a vehicle to
transport visitors from Adiyogi
don’t need charity, they to Dhyanalinga, and make
need to be empowered. some money. We approached
some eleven houses in the
Here we share a simple village, and tried to convince
story of just that from an them to take this up.
Considering the large number
ashramite. of people who visit Adiyogi on
a daily basis, and the prospects
of making good money, we
thought the villagers would
grab this opportunity. But the
reality was very different.
These eleven women, a mix
of young and middle-aged
married women who barely
were able to manage two basic
meals for their family, were
more than reluctant.
“I have never been outside
home without my husband,”
was the concern of one.
“We don’t know how to run a
food stall or drive a vehicle,”
voiced some others. Some
thought they will fight among
each other after a while, and
this wouldn’t work. Some men
even laughed at the prospect
of their wives running a
food stall, but some were
supportive as well.
Finally, after weeks of diligently
following up, they agreed.
So we registered them as
a self-help group with an
investment of Rs. 200/- each.
Isha constructed and provided
a shop. The village women
cooked some basic food items
like curd rice, tomato rice, etc,
and filled their shelves with
some snacks for sale. It was
sweet to see that they brought
some additional vessels from
their respective houses.
Over the months we trained
them to cook hygienically,
make dishes for the palate
of people of different
economic backgrounds, serve
aesthetically, accounting,
housekeeping - everything.
They were all very innocent
but enthusiastic learners. All
this paid off hugely. They
made a profit of Rs. 8.5 lakh
in just one year from the
stall and visitor transport.
Out of this profit, we helped
them buy a modern electric
8-seater vehicle, which could
fetch a little higher fare. They
also added a few more items
to their menu. Swami was
sparkling with pride while
telling me all this, and his
delight was contagious,
which got me thinking that
I must check in on these
women sometime soon.
Coincidently, just as we
were talking, three of the
women walked into the
clinic asking for Swami. They
were really sweet girls who
looked much younger than
their age. They brought
with them fruits and some
other items as an offering to
traditionally invite Swami for
the anniversary celebrations
of their shop and vehicle.
Swami looked so touched.
I also got myself invited!
The next day I cycled to
Adiyogi to attend this little
celebration.
They were all dressed the
same in beautiful blue
sarees. They had been up
since 3AM, decorated the
whole place, and prepared
curd rice, chakkara pongal,
and vegetable biriyani
for about 50 invitees
out of their own money.
Celebration was in the air.
“Nobody thought much
of our Dhanikandi before.
Now for the first time,
people from other villages
are looking up to us,” Usha
shared.
“I bought gold earrings
from my part of the
earnings,” another chuckled.
Kavitha said, “I want to buy
a scooty so I can go around
without my husband.”
“I bought a refrigerator for
my house,” said Sivakami
whose children study in Isha
Vidhya. Sivakami’s husband
added, “When I was studying
in a government school, my
teacher once asked us to list
what we had in our house.
‘Nothing,’ was my answer. But
now my children won’t have
to repeat this answer.”
After a brief Devi Pooja, they
personally served all the
invitees. I learnt that they
hadn’t eaten anything since
morning as they wanted to
first serve and then eat. I was
simply in tears just looking at
their simple way of living.
What they earned in terms
of money individually may be
relatively insignificant, but
the evident delight from the
simple empowerment that
“I have earned this on my
own”, and the joy of pure
involvement which does not
come with a price tag-- it is
the value beyond value.
How little it takes to make
a difference in one’s life –
just a heart full of love, and
relentless commitment like
that of Swami and others in
the team to reach out and
make it happen. At one
time an invitee asked
them, “Cooking variety
rice and tea, you may
already know, but who
taught you how to drive
the cart?” “Even cooking
is taught by Swami,”
Sivakami responded
quietly.
Gayathri’s father works
with Isha. Gayathri told me
later that she
is a daughter of
Muthamma. Muthamma
left Gayathri and her
brothers when they were
babies and moved into
another marriage, and
then another marriage
in different villages. “My
mother never cared for us,
and I have no relationship
with her,” she shared
woefully, adding, “She is
an alcoholic.” Muthamma
is no stranger to the news,
making false, ungrounded
and harmful accusations
about Isha illegally
occupying tribal land.
Anyways, the incidental
mention of Muthamma,
couldn’t dampen the
warmth I went back
with after meeting these
wonderful women.