Cosmic Consciousness

Tradition : Guru–shishya

Yoga & Meditation Lineage : Shiva (Adi Yoga), Shakyamuni (Dhyan/Zen), Isha Yoga

Organsiation : Isha Yoga Foundation

• In the yogic culture, Shiva is not known as a god, but as the Adiyogi or the first yogi – the originator of yoga. According to yogic lore, Shiva attained to his full enlightenment over 15,000 years ago. 

• Shakyamuni Buddha lived 2,500 years ago and taught Dhyan. The Sanskrit word ‘Dhyan’ translates as ‘Zen’. Bodhidharma carried Dhyan to China, where it became Chan. This Chan went further down into Far East Asian countries, where it became Zen.

• Patinjali lived approx 2,200 years ago and did not invent yoga. Yoga was already there in various forms, he assimilated into a format known as the Yoga Sutras of Patinjali.

• Jagadish Vasudev is also known as “Sadhguru”. He created The Isha Foundation and it’s programmes which teach the elevation of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. He is seen as a yogi, Mystic and a contemporary guru by his followers.

Sadhguru was born Jagadish Vasudev on 3 September 1957, in Mysore, Karnataka, India, to Susheela and Dr. Vasudev, in a Telugu speaking family. He has a brother and two sisters. His father worked as an ophthalmologist with the ‘Indian Railways’ and the family moved frequently due to his father’s job.

At the age of twelve, Jaggi became acquainted with Malladihalli Sri Raghavendra Swamiji, a prominent yoga teacher. Swamiji taught him a set of simple yoga asanas which he regularly practiced.

After completing his schooling, he enrolled at the University of Mysore and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. After completing his college education Jaggi Vasudev embarked on a career as a businessman. He opened several businesses, including a poultry farm, a brickworks and a construction business. He was a successful businessman by the time he was in his mid-twenties.

His life changed drastically on the afternoon of September 23, 1982, when he had a spiritual experience that forced him to re-evaluate his life and priorities. Within weeks of this experience, he asked his friend to take over his business and embarked on an extensive travel in order to gain insight into his mystical experience, he realized that he should teach yoga and spread the knowledge of yogic science.

He started conducting yoga classes in Mysore in 1983 and over a period of time, he began conducting yoga classes across Karnataka and Hyderabad. He refused payment for the classes and managed his expenses from the proceeds he received from his poultry farm.

Around a year before this in 1982, Sadhguru met his wife Vijaykumari (Vijji), she was an Indian yoga teacher, banker, and volunteer. They married in 1984 and their only child, Radhe was born in 1990. Their daughter, known as Radhe Jaggi,  is a famous Indian classical dancer, yoga teacher, and social media influencer. Vijji passed away at the Isha Yoga Centre 23 January 1997.

Jaggi Vasudev founded the ‘Isha Foundation,’ a non-profit spiritual organisation offering yoga programs under the name ‘Isha Yoga’ in 1992. Today, it offers yoga programs not only in India, but also the United States, Europe, Lebanon, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, Uganda, China, Nepal, and Australia.

The Isha Foundation is also involved in various social and community development activities. In 2003, it established ‘Action for Rural Rejuvenation’, a multi-phased program aimed towards improving the overall health and quality of life of the rural poor. The program aims to benefit millions of people in thousands of villages across Tamil Nadu, India.

The foundation established the ‘Project Green Hands’, an ecological initiative in Tamil Nadu in 2004. The objective of the project is to plant 114 million trees throughout Tamil Nadu in order to increase the forest cover in the state.

Jaggi Vasudev is a world-renowned figure. He delivers speeches at events around the world and has addressed the ‘World Economic Forum’ in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 and has over 10 Million followers on Instagram alone.

A prolific author, he has penned over 100 titles in eight different languages. 

There is a beautiful parable in the Indian lore. A man is sitting on the branch of a tree – the wrong end of the branch – and cutting the branch. If he succeeds, he will fail. Right now, the economic engine that we have let loose on this planet is just like that. If it succeeds, we will fail. How absurd does it seem that we should pray for failure? That is where we are right now.

Sadhguru

LINKS

About Isha Foundation HERE

About Isha YOGA & MEDITATION

About Sadhguru HERE, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

About Save Soil HERE

About Cauvery Calling HERE

About Action for Rural Rejuvenation HERE