On the afternoon of 23 September 1982, a businessman sat on a large rock he knew well on Chamundi Hill above Mysuru. His eyes were open. He felt that only a few minutes had passed. When he came back to himself, about four and a half hours had gone by, and tears were running down his face. In his own words, recorded by Isha, "I did not know what is me and what is not me."
That man is Jaggi Vasudev, known today as Sadhguru, founder of Isha Foundation in Coimbatore. He is one of two living teachers in Gurushakti's series of 30 mystics. He describes his work as yoga, not as a religion: a set of methods for inner wellbeing that anyone can test in their own experience.
Life story
A boyhood on Chamundi Hill
Sadhguru grew up in Mysuru, Karnataka, which published accounts call his hometown. Chamundi Hill rises above the city. He has said that from the age of six or seven he trekked and camped there, spending many days and nights on the hill.
According to Isha, he met Swami Nirmalananda at the B.R. Hills ashram when he was 19. By 1982 he was a successful businessman.
The afternoon of 23 September 1982
The turning point came on Chamundi Hill, on the rock where he often sat. Isha's account of that afternoon is the one told in the Opening: open eyes, a sense that minutes had passed, and in fact some four and a half hours gone. The line between himself and everything around him had dissolved, and he wept.
In the weeks that followed, he has said, the state returned several times. On one occasion it lasted 13 days. In time he turned from business to teaching yoga.
Isha Foundation
In 1992 he founded Isha Foundation. Isha describes it as a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation open to people of every economic, cultural and religious background. Its centre is the Isha Yoga Center, at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Its best-known programme is Inner Engineering. Isha describes it as a course in yoga for taking charge of one's own body, mind, emotions and energies. It includes a 21-minute practice called Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya, which is taught within the programme. Readers who wish to learn it should go to Isha directly.
The Dhyanalinga
Isha says that Sadhguru's mission, entrusted to him by his Guru, was to consecrate the Dhyanalinga. Isha calls it "the mission of three lifetimes". The work of prana pratishtha (consecration with life energy) took three years of preparation. It was completed on 24 June 1999, and Isha marks the date every year.
The Dhyanalinga stands at the Isha Yoga Center as a space for meditation, open to people of every faith. Chants from many traditions are offered there.
Adiyogi and work in the wider world
On 25 January 2017 the Government of India announced the Padma Vibhushan for him, in the field of spiritualism, from Tamil Nadu. A month later, on Mahashivratri, 24 February 2017, the 112-foot face of Adiyogi was unveiled at the Isha Yoga Center. Guinness lists it as the world's largest bust sculpture. Its height honours the 112 ways to go beyond human limits that, in the yogic lore Isha follows, Adiyogi taught.
On 22 March 2022 he set out from Parliament Square in London on a 100-day motorcycle journey for Save Soil, a movement for healthier farm soil. According to the movement, he covered about 30,000 km across 27 countries. The journey ended in June 2022, with its close reported from Mysuru. Today he continues to teach from Coimbatore and to travel and speak.
Core teachings
Yoga is a technology
Sadhguru treats yoga as a tool. In Isha's article "Is Yoga a Religion?" he says, "Yoga is a technology." Anyone who is willing to use it can use it, whatever they believe. He points out that the yogic sciences came before organised religion. To make the point, he offers a comparison: "Yoga is Hindu just the way gravity is Christian." A law of nature belongs to no single faith.
Inner engineering
Most people try to arrange the world outside so that they will feel well inside. Sadhguru turns this around. The Inner Engineering programme, as Isha describes it, is about taking charge of one's own body, mind, emotions and energies. Wellbeing then rests on something within one's own reach. On the programme's page he puts it simply: "In touching your innermost core, there is transformation."
Experience over belief
Isha describes his approach as tied to no belief system. He does not ask anyone to accept a doctrine. He offers methods and asks people to try them and see what happens in their own experience. This is why his programmes are open to people of every background.
Adiyogi, the first yogi
In the yogic lore Isha follows, Shiva is Adiyogi, the first yogi. Over 15,000 years ago, this tradition holds, he gave yoga to seven disciples, the Saptarishis (seven sages). He set out 112 ways for human beings to go beyond their limitations. The Adiyogi bust at the Isha Yoga Center is 112 feet high to honour those 112 ways.
Consecrated space
Sadhguru gives weight to places charged by prana pratishtha (consecration). The Dhyanalinga, which he consecrated in 1999, is meant for meditation. People of any faith may sit there in silence. Chants from many traditions have been offered in it.
Principles for daily life
- Own your inner state. This week, when you feel upset, notice the urge to blame circumstances and ask what is within your own reach.
- Test it yourself. Take one practice you already know and try it daily for a week, watching honestly what it does.
- Sit still each day. Give five or ten minutes to sitting quietly, eyes closed, without trying to achieve anything.
- Care for the body. Treat the body as the base of all inner work: rest, eat simply and move every day.
- Look after the soil. Plant something, compost kitchen waste or support farmers who care for their land.
- Welcome every background. Like the Dhyanalinga, keep your door open to people of every faith.
Places of pilgrimage
- Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Sit in silence at the Dhyanalinga, and visit Linga Bhairavi, the 112-foot Adiyogi and the Suryakund and Chandrakund water pools.
- Chamundi Hill, Mysuru, Karnataka. The hill where he trekked as a boy and where his experience of 23 September 1982 took place.
- Sadhguru Sannidhi, near Nandi Hills, Bengaluru, Karnataka. An Isha centre with an Adiyogi, closer to Bengaluru.
- Isha Institute of Inner-sciences, Tennessee, USA. Isha's centre on the Cumberland Plateau, for visitors in North America.
Legacy today
Sadhguru is a living teacher, and his work continues through Isha Foundation, which he founded in 1992. The Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore houses the Dhyanalinga, consecrated in 1999, Linga Bhairavi and the 112-foot Adiyogi unveiled in 2017. Isha runs centres in India, including Sadhguru Sannidhi near Bengaluru, and abroad, including the Isha Institute of Inner-sciences in Tennessee. Inner Engineering is its best-known programme. Save Soil, the movement behind his 2022 motorcycle journey, carries his work into farming and the environment. In 2017 he received the Padma Vibhushan. Gurushakti is not associated with Sadhguru or Isha Foundation; for his teachings and programmes, see Isha's official website.
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Walk the path
Sadhguru asks people to test things in their own experience. This week, set aside five or ten quiet minutes each day. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and simply be still, without any special technique. Notice one moment when you blame circumstances for how you feel, and see what is within your own reach. As a small act of seva (selfless service), plant a tree or a few seeds, or care for a patch of soil. If you wish to learn his practices, please go to Isha directly.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev?
Sadhguru is a yogi and the founder of Isha Foundation, which he set up in 1992. He is based at the Isha Yoga Center, at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains near Coimbatore. He presents yoga as an inner technology open to anyone, not a religion. In 2017 he received the Padma Vibhushan.
What happened to Sadhguru on Chamundi Hill?
On 23 September 1982, then a businessman, he sat on a rock on Chamundi Hill above Mysuru. He thought a few minutes had passed, but about four and a half hours had gone by. He has said he could not tell what was himself and what was not. The experience returned several times afterwards.
What is Inner Engineering?
Inner Engineering is Isha Foundation's best-known programme. Isha describes it as a course in yoga for taking charge of one's own body, mind, emotions and energies. It includes a 21-minute practice, Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya, taught within the programme. For details, timings and enrolment, please refer to Isha's official website.
What is the Dhyanalinga at the Isha Yoga Center?
The Dhyanalinga is a consecrated space for meditation at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore. Sadhguru completed its consecration on 24 June 1999, after three years of preparation. Isha says the task was entrusted to him by his Guru. It is open to people of every faith, who sit there in silence.
Does Sadhguru teach yoga as a religion?
No. Sadhguru describes yoga as a technology that anyone can use, whatever they believe. He points out that the yogic sciences came before organised religion. He says, "Yoga is Hindu just the way gravity is Christian." Isha describes its programmes as open to people of every background.
Sources
Researched and written by GuruShakti, October 2026.