Jaggi Vasudev
Encyclopedia
Jaggi Vasudev also known as Sadhguru, is an India
n yogi
and mystic
. He founded the Isha Foundation
, a non-profit organization which offers yoga
programs around the world, including India, United States
, England
, Lebanon
, Singapore
, Canada
, Malaysia, Uganda
and Australia
. The Foundation is also involved in various social and community development activities, which have resulted in the Foundation being granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council
of the United Nations
.
was founded in 1992, and hosts a series of programs to heighten self-awareness through yoga.
(PGH), a grassroots ecological initiative which was awarded the highest Indian environmental award, the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
, by the Government of India
in June 2010; Action for Rural Rejuvenation
(ARR), a program aimed towards improving the overall health and quality of life of the rural poor; and Isha Vidhya
, an educational initiative, which aims to raise the level of education and literacy in rural India.
yogic temple, which offers a meditative space that does not ascribe to any particular faith or belief system. A large ellipsoidal dome
covers the sanctum sanctorum
. The dome was constructed using only bricks and cement stabilized mud mortar
without, steel or concrete. The dome is 76 feet in diameter and 33 feet in height. The lingam
is 13 feet, 9 inches in height and made of high density black granite
. The Sarva Dharma Sthamba, located at the front entrance, functions as an icon of singularity, with the sculptural reliefs and symbols of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Shinto inscribed as a universal welcome.
Sadhguru also regularly conducts Mahasathsangs
in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that include discourses, meditations and question and answer sessions with the audience. These Mahasathsangs are also used as platforms to encourage tree-planting activities. He also takes spiritual aspirants on annual yatras
to Mount Kailash
and the Himalayas
. The Kailash Yatra led by Sadhguru is among the largest groups to make the trip to Kailash, with 514 pilgrims attending the journey in 2010.
in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
He was a participant in the 2006 documentary film ONE: The Movie
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. He founded the Isha Foundation
Isha Foundation
Isha Foundation is a non-profit, spiritual organization founded in 1992 by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. It is based at the Isha Yoga Center near Coimbatore, India and at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences at McMinnville, Tennessee in the United States. The foundation offers various yoga programs...
, a non-profit organization which offers yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
programs around the world, including India, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Malaysia, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Foundation is also involved in various social and community development activities, which have resulted in the Foundation being granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Early life
Sadhguru was born as Jagadish Vasudev in a Kannada family on 3rd September,1957 in Mysore, Karnataka, India. His father was a doctor. Even as a child, he exhibited unique tendencies. At the age of 13, Vasudev began yogic practices such as asanas and pranayama under the tutelage of Raghavendra Rao more commonly referred to as Malladihalli Swami. Sadhguru excelled at school and was a very bright student. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from the Mysore University.Spiritual experience
At the age of twenty-five, he underwent a deep spiritual experience which was to change the course of his future life. One afternoon, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev went to the Chamundi hills in Mysore and sat on a rock with his eyes wide open. Suddenly, he had an out of body experience. He felt as if he was not in his body anymore, rather spread out everywhere, in the rocks, in the trees, in the earth. When he came back to his normal state, it was late in the evening. He wondered if he had hallucinated, but in the days that followed, this experience recurred and each time it left him in a state of utter bliss. This episode entirely changed his way of life. Jaggi Vasudev decided to dedicate his entire life to the sharing of those experiences.Isha Foundation
Sadhguru established Isha Foundation, a non-religious, non-profit organization entirely run by volunteers. The Isha Yoga Center near CoimbatoreCoimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
was founded in 1992, and hosts a series of programs to heighten self-awareness through yoga.
Social initiatives
He also founded Project GreenHandsProject GreenHands
Project Green Hands is a grassroots ecological initiative established by Isha Foundation in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The stated mission of the project is to plant 114 million trees throughout Tamil Nadu as soon as possible and increase the forest cover in the state to 33 percent...
(PGH), a grassroots ecological initiative which was awarded the highest Indian environmental award, the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar is an environment award instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India in the year 1987, in order to encourage public participation in environment...
, by the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
in June 2010; Action for Rural Rejuvenation
Action for Rural Rejuvenation
Action For Rural Rejuvenation is a multi-phased program aimed towards improving the overall health and quality of life of the rural poor. ARR was established by the Isha Foundation under the aegis of the foundation's social outreach wing Isha Outreach. ARR aims to benefit 70 million people in...
(ARR), a program aimed towards improving the overall health and quality of life of the rural poor; and Isha Vidhya
Isha Vidhya
Isha Vidhya is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, which is committed to raise the level of education and literacy in rural India and help disadvantaged children realize their full potential...
, an educational initiative, which aims to raise the level of education and literacy in rural India.
Dhyanalinga
In 1999, Jaggi Vasudev completed the consecration of the DhyanalingaDhyanalinga
The Dhyanalinga is a Yogic temple located from Coimbatore, India. The temple was consecrated by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a yogi and mystic. The temple is consecrated using prana prathista and is dedicated for meditation. Silence is maintained inside the temple. Dhyana in the Sanskrit language,...
yogic temple, which offers a meditative space that does not ascribe to any particular faith or belief system. A large ellipsoidal dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
covers the sanctum sanctorum
Sanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase sanctum sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term: "Holy of Holies" which generally refers in Latin texts to the Holiest place of the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel and later the Temples in Jerusalem, but also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the...
. The dome was constructed using only bricks and cement stabilized mud mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
without, steel or concrete. The dome is 76 feet in diameter and 33 feet in height. The lingam
Lingam
The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples....
is 13 feet, 9 inches in height and made of high density black granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The Sarva Dharma Sthamba, located at the front entrance, functions as an icon of singularity, with the sculptural reliefs and symbols of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Shinto inscribed as a universal welcome.
Yoga programs
The programs offered by Sadhguru are offered under the umbrella of Isha Yoga. The word Isha means the formless divine. Isha Yoga's flagship program is 'Inner Engineering' where individuals are initiated into meditation and pranayam and the Shambhavi Mahamudra. He is also conducting yoga classes for the corporate leadership to introduce them to what he calls "inclusive economics," which he says introduces a sense of compassion and inclusiveness into today's economic scenario.Sadhguru also regularly conducts Mahasathsangs
Satsang
Satsang in Indian philosophy means the company of the "highest truth," the company of a guru, or company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth...
in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that include discourses, meditations and question and answer sessions with the audience. These Mahasathsangs are also used as platforms to encourage tree-planting activities. He also takes spiritual aspirants on annual yatras
Yatra
' , in Hinduism and other Indian religions, generally means pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Tīrtha-yātrā refers to a pilgrimage to a holy site, and is...
to Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...
and the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. The Kailash Yatra led by Sadhguru is among the largest groups to make the trip to Kailash, with 514 pilgrims attending the journey in 2010.
Participation in global forums
He was a delegate to the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit - and a participant at the World Economic ForumWorld Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
He was a participant in the 2006 documentary film ONE: The Movie
ONE: The Movie
ONE: The Movie is an independent documentary about the meaning of life, created and directed by Michigan filmmakers Scott Carter, Ward M. Powers and Diane Powers, starring Deepak Chopra, Robert Thurman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Jaggi Vasudev, et al....
.
English
- Encounter the Enlightened, ISBN 81-86685-60-X
- Mystic's Musings, ISBN 81-86685-59-6
- Joy 24x7, ISBN 978-81-7992-914-8
- Pebbles of Wisdom, ISBN 978-81-7992-952-0
- The Mystic Eye, ISBN 81-7992-883-7
- Essential Wisdom from a Spiritual Master, ISBN 81-79928-82-9
- Flowers On The Path, ISBN 81-87910-05-4
- Himalayan Lust, ISBN 9788184950762
- Eternal Echoes: The Sacred Sounds Through the Mystic, ISBN 81-87910-02-X
- Dhyanalinga: The Silent Revolution, ISBN 81-87910-00-3
- Dhyanalinga: The Eternal Form, ISBN 81-87910-12-1
- Circus of The Mind, ISBN 81-87910-10-0
- Unleashing The Mind, ISBN 81-87910-08-9
- Good And Bad Divides The World, ISBN 81-87910-07-0
- Enlightenment: What It Is, ISBN 81-87910-06-2
- Sacred Space For Self-transformation, ISBN 81-87910-09-7
- Ancient Technology For The Modern Mind, ISBN 81-87910-11-9
Tamil
- Sey... Seyyathe! ISBN 81-84762-88-4
- Athanaikum Asaipadu ISBN 81-89780-05-0
- Moondravathu Konam ISBN 81-84761-55-9
- Unakkagave Oru Ragasiyam ISBN 81-89936-24-2
- Konjam Amudham Konjam Visham ISBN 81-84761-34-4
- Aayiram Jannal ISBN 81-84762-26-6
- Anandha Alai
Hindi
- Ek Aadhyatmik Guru Ka Alaukik Gyaan ISBN 81-84951-42-4
- Mrutyu Ek Kalpana Hai ISBN 978-81-288-2969-7
- Srushti se srushta tak ISBN 978-81-288-2970-3
- Aatm-Gyan : Aakhir Hai Kya ISBN 978-81-288-3495-0, {First Edition in August-2011}