Feb2020

The only reason why people have

such a fear of death is they know

nothing beyond the body.

2 | Feb 2020

A Peek Into Sadhguru’s Diary

4Eight Significant Questions Media Raised to Sadhguru in DavosGet a panoramic view of Sadhguru at Davos + a peek into Sadhguru’s vision and plans to create a global nation.

12

16

Why can’t I sit with my eyes closed? Why so much activity?If you have ever been enamored by the monks who meditate all day, you must read this short excerpt to know the reality of who we are.

Discovering the Elusive Clarity during Darshan“Every understanding is a misunderstanding,” Sadhguru has said, then how do I know if I am getting clarity on my path.

How to get a sense of purpose if we don’t identify with our country?Overwhelmed by depth of “Inclusivity”, a naval commander asks Sadhguru if a defence person can be truly inclusive.

17

11Sadhguru Addresses the Jal Yoddhas of the GovernmentGet to know who are the Water Warriors.

3 | Feb 2020

A Peek Into Sadhguru’s Diary

21Indian Yoga Association at IYCWhat do other gurus/spiritual leaders say about Sadhguru? Read about the impact Sadhguru had on the six spiritual leaders who were in the ashram for the board meeting of Indian Yoga Association.

Vijaya Kumari - Victory’s DaughterKnow what Sadhguru said about Vijji Ma soon after she attained Mahasamadhi.

Remembering Vijji Editors Pic: This is a heart-warming sharing of a few old-timer ashramites about Vijji Ma (Sadhguru’s wife) – includes a rare sharing by Vijji Ma herself.

IN PIC: Magic of MahashivaratriHere we have a quick snapshot of some highlights of behind the scenes of Mahashivaratri in pictures.

24

30

34

19 Why 70% of Women Suffer from PMSIf you suff er PMS, or suff er because someone else is experiencing PMS, it is a must read.

4 | Feb 2020

A Panoramic View of Sadhguru at Davos

5 | Feb 2020

Sadhguru returns to center stage at Davos after a decade. The Summit was special as it was the fi ftieth anniversary. Sadhguru got a personal invitation from the founder of World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab; and the forum was the perfect combination of ecology, economy and a place for Sadhguru’s wisdom to shine on the path for the world to follow. Sadhguru championed the 1 Trillion Trees Platform, a major new initiative led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the World Economic Forum Summit in Davos, on Feb 22. The goal of the initiative is to plant 1 trillion trees by 2030.

The illustrious group that included leading voices from around the globe, including conservationist Jane Goodall, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff , and the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, unanimously agreed that this initiative requires unprecedented levels of mobilization, collaboration and empowerment at the grassroots level.

Being the only one with a track record of astounding success in mobilizing 162 million to vote for an ecological change during Rally for Rivers campaign, and

having meticulously developed a sustainable agroforestry model over 15 years, which has transformed the lives of nearly 70,000 farmers, Sadhguru emerged as a powerful voice in making this initiative become a reality. And, Cauvery Calling was also upheld as a compelling model for the tropical world to replicate.

Sadhguru also conducted three morning meditation sessions and a half-day Consciousness Retreat for participants. The world’s most infl uential leaders in politics, business, academia, and global organizations were in attendance.

The people that Sadhguru met and came to greet him are more than just “diverse”: Indian political leaders like Rajya Sabha MP, Suresh Prabhu and Karnataka CM, YS Yediyurappa, to global leaders like Wilbur Ross, the US Secretary for Commerce and the President of Colombia Iván Duque interacted with him. There were delegates from Pakistan and Azerbaijan who wanted a photo with Sadhguru, proving that the spiritual thirst of the world knows no borders.

The list of people also included Formula One race car drivers, businessmen and diplomats

from Saudi Arabia. Mukta Joshi, a business woman from Britain, said she came just to meet Sadhguru, and she attended all his sessions. She immediately put her photo with Sadhguru as her status photo. Another unexpected encounter was with a Moroccan dignitary wearing Kanchipuram silk, who said she follows Sadhguru online.

Not just the world infl uencers but also Swiss commoners recognized him. Even a member of the usually stern Swiss guard loosened up and asked for a selfi e with Sadhguru. He said he knew him from the videos!

From the Indian corner, a candid declaration “He is not a man. He is God to us,” by the caterers for the Karnataka CM who came all the way from Visakhapatnam, revealed the divinity of Sadhguru’s presence. The caterer presented Sadhguru the ultimate Telugu delicacy pootha-rekulu. Also present was an Isha meditator whose smart city company is going to give 93% of their revenue to Cauvery Calling and Isha Vidhya. Another interesting meditator who got to meet him in person is Ashish Goyal, a visually impaired macro investor with a very impressive career of his own.

The list above is far from exhaustive and we can go on and on!

6 | Feb 2020

Eight Signifi cant Questions Media Raised to Sadhguru

in Davos

7 | Feb 2020

2#1#

Sadhguru: “This particular year the focus has been eminently on ecology, which is very signifi cant at a time like this. Because if policy makers and business leaders don’t participate in that process - if economic forces don’t participate in ecological restoration - there will never be success, only talk. Activist talking and protesting on the street side is not going to change a thing. Business leaders, businesses, governments have to think diff erently. In that sense I think it is making a huge diff erence. This time we have launched this one trillion trees initiative. People should understand one trillion is

What is the Signifi cance of World Economic Forum 2020?

just an inspiring number, it is not an absolute. It is something to aspire for to bring a large part of the world under green cover. Without an inspiring idea you can’t get people behind it. So that is being done. Right now good teams are being formed, and I am also very much part of it. So let’s see how to take this ahead.”

How do you feel when you see what’s happening to the planet?

Sadhguru: “Well we can sit and cry, but if we do the right things we can turn it around in this generation. That's what we are looking at.”

Questioner: What are the right things?

Sadhguru: “Everybody is talking about carbon in the air and stuff . Yes, all those things are important, but the most important thing is restoring soil. If soil has vitality and is healthy, life can bounce back any time. But if we deplete the soil - which we are doing at a tremendous pace - well, some scientifi c studies are saying we have topsoil only for the next sixty harvests, that means approximately forty-fi ve years. So that is the level of degradation that has happened to the soil. If we don't revive the soil by putting back substantial organic content, which can only come from the leaves from the trees and animal waste, we are defi nitely looking at something very dark.”

3#To preserve the ecology, what changes do individuals need to bring in their behavior?

8 | Feb 2020

4#Sadhguru: “We are on a short window; we have to do something drastic in the next ten to twenty fi ve years. Otherwise what we will face will not be pleasant.Especially poorer nations, tropical nations like India and Bangladesh, and African nations will suff er immensely. Richer temperate climates may manage. And every one of those nations will have to build walls because people will migrate in a huge way that you cannot control. You understand? You will have to use armies to shoot down people, that’s what it will come to.

“So it is best that every-body invests, not only those poorer, tropical na-tions. Nations who are fi nancially competent must invest because we are investing in the planet. This the right time for us to think beyond national borders and identities and invest in the future of this planet, in future of humanity. It is very important. And small changes - you use a little less water when brushing your teeth or you did this and that for your satisfac-tion - are not a solution. For a solution to happen, policy must change, government machinery must be behind it, large budgets should be allocated for this.”

How to make governments invest in long-term ecological solutions?

Sadhguru: “We want to make at least three billion people conscious about ecology. So we are working with UN agencies. Right now the material that is out there about the ecological crisis is all PhD material; most people cannot make head or tail out of it. You read the UN document which runs into hundreds of pages - after weeks of reading, you don’t know where it started and where it ended. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but most human beings don’t have the intelligence to perceive this kind of complex process. So I am looking at how to articulate what needs to happen in diff erent parts of the world, in equatorial, topical regions, subtropical, temperate regions. We want to reduce it to this

level of simplicity - fi ve things that must happen in your country. Everybody who lives in that country, the men, women and children who walk on the street, must know these are the fi ve things that must happen. If they are happening they should know that the right things are happening. And they should know the two or three things that should never happen in their country. If it is happening they should know that this should not be happening.

This plan will unfold between 2020 and 2021.”

5#Will the fourth industrial revolution technology help us tackle challenges like climate change?

9 | Feb 2020

Sadhguru: “See technology is a wonderful instrument, but it is a double-edged sword. Who is holding the sword determines whether it makes life or destroys life. So we can go on coming up with more and more technology. Yes, they are wonderful tools, but if you do not transform the hands which hold these tools, then every technology could work against us.”

6#How to create a fair world for everybody, equal opportunities to everyone?

Sadhguru: “Well, the WEF has become a prime platform on the planet today, where business leaders, policy makers and social infl uencers are all participating. Defi nitely this attempt to create a wider base for the economic growth in the world is very important. As everybody knows, today the verticals of economy are too small, too narrow, standing on the shoulders of just a few people. It needs to spread for its own stability and, above all, for the larger wellbeing of humanity.

If this equal opportunity has to come, there are many areas of the world which are considered impoverished, where nobody wants to invest.

So if we have softer, easier money, which can be invested with longer gestation periods, this massive problem of migration that we are facing can be avoided. Right now it is estimated in the next decade there could be a migration of 1.6 billion people. Why would people want to leave their homes and go somewhere? Simply because there is no livelihood and economic opportunity. If policy makers can provide the necessary incentives to

invest in impoverished areas, providing softer and gentler credit and other facilities, businesses can invest in areas where the returns are not necessarily quick, but will be a more humane and compassionate way of running our economy. This is very needed, and I hope that the World Economic Forum will play a signifi cant role in making this happen.”

7#Is Sadhguru building bridges between East and West?

10 | Feb 2020

Interviewer: Many years ago there was another spiritual leader from India who was probably one of the fi rst people considered to be building bridges between East and West, and we are celebrating that. So, I think you are continuing the tradition of translating between diff erent traditions and cultures. What do you see as the role of spiritual leaders such as yourself in solving or creating the conditions for dialogue?

Sadhguru: “See my work is not about linking cultures as such. My work is about raising human consciousness. Only in our bodies we have race, ethnicity, cultural diff erences and all this stuff . In our minds we have all kinds of nonsense, but in our consciousness there is no such thing. Life is just life.

So, the raising of consciousness is naturally inclusive. Inclusiveness is diff erent from building bridges. Bridges means you and me are still separate but we got some arrangement. This is about experiencing life as one.

This is what Yoga means - everything has become one in your experience. So I am a yogi, the idea is to bring Yoga to people - the experience of Yoga , not twisting and turning yoga. To bring the inclusive nature of our existence. So, I don't see it as bridges. You can bridge two pieces of land, but you cannot bridge the space, isn't it? Your consciousness is like an endless space. There are no bridges there.”

8#How do we build a global identity? What kind of system change needs to happen?

Sadhguru: “One important thing we need to do is, in our schools along with our national anthems, we must have a global anthem to sing.

Children should grow up understanding they are a part of this planet, and a piece of the planet which we call as a nation cannot exist by itself. We are part of this planet, we are part of a global happening; life happens here as one, it cannot be separated. This must be understood by every child that's growing up in this world. Adults also need to know, of course, but many adults have crossed a certain point in their life. So it's extremely important that the next generation comes to an understanding and a larger identity which is beyond the limitations of tribe, clan, nationality, race and religion. Just having a human identity also is not enough anymore; our identity should be with every life on this planet otherwise we will not survive.”

11 | Feb 2020

Sadhguru Addresses the Jal Yoddhas of the Government

Jan 28, New Delhi: The ministry of Jal Shakti (Water

Power) of the government of India organized a national

review and workshop on 28th of January. In atten-

dance were senior offi cials from the Government of

India who have been im-plementing the Jal Shakti

Abhiyan in the most water stressed districts across the

country along with district administrations.

Param Iyer, the secretary of the Department of Drinking water and sanitation tweet-

ed, “A privilege to join the inspiring and enlightening

conversation on water@conservation between @

SadhguruJV and Minister @gssjodhpur at today’s national workshop on @

JalShaktiAbhyan. The in-sights on river conservation and management especially

were unforgettable.”

The Jal Yoddhas — the ministry's equivalent of

our Nadi Veeras — were inspired by the grassroots

ground up work that is the people’s movement of Cauvery Calling. And just

like our Rally for Rivers, the government is trying to make Jal Jeevan Mission a

people’s movement.

12 | Feb 2020

Sadh

guru

in th

e A

shra

m

13 | Feb 2020

14 | Feb 202014 14 || Feb 2020 Feb 2020

Why can’t I sit with my eyes closed? Why so much activity?

15 | Feb 2020

Jan 31, 2020: After addressing the business icons in the world at Davos, as soon he returned from Davos, the mystic Sadhguru held marathon meetings with the publishers of “Death: An Inside Story” book in Delhi, to get the book ready for print. After these three days of hectic schedule which ran into midnight discussions, Sadhguru returned to the ashram. And, of course, he enthralled the ashramites with a darshan at his favorite place in front of Chandrakund, sitting facing the Dhyanalinga.

Refl ecting on the fl ux of his hectic schedule in the past few days, he reminded us the activity is a way to expand ourselves, and a necessary sadhana in our path to enlightenment.

Sadhguru: “I'll bless you with a long life, but after you are dead, how long will you be dead? Endless amount of time. But we are alive only for a brief sparkle of life. In that people have time to get bored, get frustrated, want to kill themselves. How is this? I'm reminding you, you will be dead for a very long time, alive for a very little

time. So there's no time or room for, ‘how to do less.’ Not just work - life! Nobody should ever think how to do less. Less is a crime, for such a brief life, which is going to be dead for a very long time. There is a saying in Kannada where they say, even if you want to carry a dead body, there will be one guy who will just pretend to carry; he will leave the load on the other three. Just now somebody is dead, but he doesn't realize that he is also on the way.

“If you know some other way to simply close your eyes and expand yourself, fantastic! That's what I would like. But I would say ninety-eight percent of the people don't know how to do that; they need activity to expand.”

Once Sadhguru opened the fl oor up for questions, a young Sadhanapada participant recounted her take away from this seven months process, and that she could see she had more intensity and more balance as was promised, but “How do I go about getting this elusive clarity?”she asked.“Clarity is not of the mind. Clarity is because you've distanced yourself from the mind,” Sadhguru replied. This clarity, he explained, “need not take time. If you sit here this moment, it can happen. But how much have you invested in your body and in your thought and your emotion, is the question. The more invested you are, the more it comes in your way.”

He added, “The reason why somebody thinks they are smart is because they know how to take advantage of a few things,

Discovering the Elusive Clarity during Darshan

of people around them. But if you pay substantial attention to the life process, you will see you are very stupid. If you know this, how will you get identifi ed with your thought process? If there is some value, you will pick it up, but once you know this is not it, naturally there is a distance. The body is a bigger struggle. People think the mind is a struggle. No, the body is a bigger struggle because you don't know where it is and where it is not - it is in everything. Thought, to some extent you can see where it is, where it is not. Body is much more. You are a body when you are walking in the world. This is why sadhana. Every day, every day, every day, if you sit, slowly a distance arises. This is the signifi cance of closing your eyes. The moment you close your eyes, you are there in spite of the body, not because of the body.”

How to get a sense of purpose if we don’t identify with our country?

18 | Feb 2020

Feb 4, 2020: “How to get a sense of purpose if we don’t identify with our country?” a commander at Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Welling-ton, raised the inevitable question; Sadhguru was speaking on the occa-sion of their Platinum Jubilee, and had fi nished expounding about the fundamental inclusive nature of life. To clear the apparent contradiction, Sadhguru explains with surgical precision…

“In this culture we evolved a simple process, which we have forgotten now, unfortunately. Be-fore a child’s education started, the fi rst thing that he utters is Aham Brahmasmi, that means

my identity is cosmic, everything belongs to me. Because if you are empowered with science and technology and you have limited identity, you are a disaster for every-body, isn't it? And that is all that is happening. Well, if you are a good Indian you will be fi ghting a good Pakistani. If you are a good Hindu you are fi ghting a good Muslim. The more good we think we are, the more fi ghting happens. Does it mean to say we have come to a place where we can simply embrace every-body and live like this? No, that's not the reality, but that is a possibility - we should never give up that possibility. But if you don't grasp the reality for

what it is, and you think a possibility is a reality, you will be a fool. We have been fools like this for a long time. So combatants are needed, unfortunately. Some day we are dream-ing of a possibility, but there is huge distance be-tween the present reality and the possibility we are seeking. Never obliterate the distance in your mind. There is a huge distance. If somebody does not un-derstand the diff erence between reality and their own imagination, and they start believing their imagination is real, then they will pay an enor-mous price. This nation has paid that kind of price again and again. Never again should it happen.”

19 | Feb 2020

Wh

y 70

% o

f Wom

en

Suff

er fr

om P

MS

Sadhguru was invited to the 63rd All India Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AICOG) on the fi rst of February, where he addressed a gathering of about 700 physicians in Lucknow. In response to a pertinent question, “70% of women in society are suff ering from PMS, PMDD, how to handle these natural processes with ease,” Sadhguru emphasized the need to keep the body physically active. “How we would have used this body a thousand years ago and how we are using it today, I think it’s less than 10% of what we

20 | Feb 2020

did then. Because of that it is giving us a lot of trouble,” he said, and then off ered a general solution, “In classical Hatha Yoga, there is a system called Angamardana which perfectly addresses this issue. And we have seen thousands of women, irrespective of their age, pass through the diff erent stages of their life more gracefully, without thinking that this natural process is an ailment. Natural processes of life should never be addressed as ailments. They are not problems. We are born out of it.”

Adding a yogic perspective to physiological problems of the female body, he said in terms of the fi ve

elements, a man’s body is more of earth, while a woman’s body is more water. For a woman, he said,“Because it’s a water oriented body, it sloshes. So there is a process called Bhuta Shuddhi to bring balance to our elemental nature. For women, there are processes in yoga, which will handle the water element alone. If you handle this properly, one can bring a lot of balance at an early age.”

Finally, he reminded us about fundamental change in the psyche of most societies these days, “We have come to a place where we think doctors should fi x our health. Well, then there is a problem.

When things go off the rails, you need a doctor; to keep it on the rails, you don’t need a doctor. You need to do it. You need to bring some discipline and practice into your life to make that happen.”

Dr. Priti Kumar, the organizing secretary shares, “The Organizing Committee of AICOG 2020 is thankful to you for giving your blessings. The hall was jam packed and it was also relayed in the other hall as well. Your presence not only gave positive vibes but also solved many queries of the delegates. The response and feedback of the delegates is overwhelming and is appreciated throughout the world.”

21 | Feb 2020

Indian Yoga Association at IYC

22 | Feb 2020

A lot of us ashramites were caught gaping on the ninth of February as we watched Sadhguru chauff euring around other Gurus from across the nation. The spiritual leaders of India converged at the Isha Yoga Center for the second Council Meet of the Indian Yoga Association. One of the stars of the show is the very famous Baba Ramdev, who has visited the ashram multiple times. Ashramites had the good fortune of dining with Sadhguru and Baba Ramdev, sitting on the fl oor and eating from banana leaves —

the traditional way. Baba Ramdev was later taken to the Suryakund where he seemed content with a prokshanam (dipping hands and legs), but Sadhguru in a big brother tone commanded him to remove his dhoti and angavastram and take a full dip in the pool. Sadhguru also walked down to the lowest step and held his hand to help him out of the water.

“I was surprised to see Sadhguru, like a hired car driver, driving Baba Ram-dev who was sitting in the backseat of the car like the owner. It broke the image I had of what it means to be a leader. Sadhguru once again demonstrated that to be a hero you fi rst need to be a zero,” said one meditator who was pleas-antly surprised to see the two that morning.

23 | Feb 202023 | Feb 2020

After a marathon meeting of six hours, Baba Ram-dev was hurrying so he didn't miss his fl ight, but he graciously yielded to a volunteer’s request and shared about the signifi -cance of that meeting. He said, “The world is tired of materialism, religion, con-versions, fanaticism, and the only thing they have is a fake sense of freedom based in ignorance and the ego. The solution is yoga and spiritual prac-tices… We will draft a proposal on how the gov-ernment can encourage and not hinder the global growth of true yoga, and we will give it to the Prime Minister, who is also keen on the promotion of true yoga.” Speaking of Sadh-guru’s role in the associ-ation, the Baba explained with much admiration, “Sadhguru always thinks of things at a grand scale. His place in the associa-tion is that of a pre-emi-nent Guru. He reminded us to think 1000 years in to the future and not go in the wrong direction. With strong conviction, he motivated, inspired and gave direction to all; and all accepted that.”

Smt. Hansa Jayadeva Yogendra, Director, The Yoga Institute in Mumbai, too shared her happiness about having Sadhguru guiding the other members of IYA. “Such people can make things move in life. Such people are required. Sadhguru has made all the complicated things so simple. He gave a direction to this entire Indian Yoga Association, which was just throwing its hands and legs here and there by trying to make things more standardized, which is not possible because every yoga center is diff erent. Today's meeting made ev-erything so clear that I'm most happy. I really thank Sadhguru from the bottom of my heart,” she shared.

Hansa Di who had come with her daughter, strug-gled to fi nd the words to explain the beauty and divinity of the ashram as she experienced it. “I have no words to explain such a splendid and lovely place, a place where everything is so ethnic and so natural. Nothing is in excess here,” she said adding, “It's just fantastic, and when you come here you experience God only, because that is

the thing. You wish to ex-perience the divine touch, divine energy all over. I experienced that here, and so I'm very much glad about it.”

Mr. Subodh Tiwari, the CEO of Kaivalyadham Yoga Institute, too couldn’t contain his excitement about being in the yoga center, “You may hear or read about the energy of a place, but only when you come and experience for yourself you will know it internally. I felt the power of the energy here to be 100 times more than what I was expecting.” Meet-ing Sadhguru in person seemed to have left a deep impression on him. He shares, “The best part of the visit was sitting in Sadhguru’s presence. His clarity of vision is one that is considered very trans-formative in yoga. It is a unique experience, I hope many more million people come here and take their body and mind to perfect harmony. I congratulate Isha on the good work. I hope he takes Adiyogi and the energy here to various other places in India.”

24 | Feb 2020

MAGIC OF MAHASHIVARATRI!

25 | Feb 2020

Feb 17-21: During these four magical days, no one could miss the exuberant ambiance in the yoga center. After a 3-day off ering of music at Yaksha festival, the Honorable Vice President of India inaugurated the Mahashivaratri celebration in the presence of Adiyogi and unveiled Sadhguru’s latest book, “Death - An Inside Story.”

Relive the night in pictures here:

26 | Feb 2020

27 | Feb 2020

28 | Feb 2020

29 | Feb 2020

30 | Feb 2020

Remembering Vijji

31 | Feb 2020

This Thaipusam was the 23rd anniversary of Vijji Ma’s Mahasamadhi. As many of us in the ashram were not fortunate enough to experience the physical presence of this loving being, we bring to you a few sharings from brahmacharis and ashramites who were there, to show how she was with Sadhguru and everyone in the ashram.

Her Mahasamadhi... her gain, our lossIt spooks me sometimes to think I met Vijji for the fi rst time almost exactly ten years to the day before her Mahasamadhi. It was my initiation day and Vijji had come with a small group of meditators from Mysore. She had also brought her little niece along. Those days, while Sadhguru traveled to diff erent cities and conducted classes, Vijji was working in Mysore - but she was always there for the initiation weekends. She usually did the class accounts and the initiation arrangements.

Bangalore CucumbersBecause she did not trust the quality of vegetables in many places, she also got vegetables from Mysore. She was very particular that they be ‘right’. And one vegetable

she did not think was ‘right’ were the cucumbers available in Coimbatore. Later, when I was living in Bangalore, traveling to Coimbatore for the initiation weekends, her standing instructions for me would be to bring 30 kilos of Bangalore cucumbers. I would wonder why anyone would have to lug this all the way, and then she showed me the diff erence. Actually, if you observe, Coimbatore cucumber is more tender, but when it comes to coolness, taste and fl avor, it is a complete dud, and the real ones are hard to come by in Tamil Nadu. Even after so many years, I have not been able to accept Coimbatore cucumber as cucumber.

All the initiation recipes we use are from Vijji. Many people may not know this, but the original recipe and the process for making the famous Sanjeevini powder that is used regularly in the ashram and in many meditators’ homes is also her creation.

Burnt ChapatisOnce we – Sadhguru, Vijji and I – were the only people left behind after the initiation. We were at what is now the accounts offi ce in Coimbatore and decided to go out after having a quick dinner. Vijji was making chapatis – the triangular kind that is folded thrice with ghee smeared in between – and it was getting late. Sadhguru off ered to take

over rolling out the chapatis while she got dressed, and I off ered to cook them on the pan (the easier bit). Vijji left to get dressed and we were doing fi ne – until she came back to check on the chapatis, that is. She was aghast to see some black burn spots on the chapatis. (Not many, I assure you.) If it was Sadhguru cooking, she would have probably yelled at him, but she had a ‘volunteer’ there, so she really didn’t know what to say.

Tears welled up in her eyes and sensing something was wrong, Sadhguru looked up. He quickly fi gured it out and quietly told me not to worry, he would manage both the rolling and the cooking of the chapatis!

This was very weird for me. I remember thinking, “Every day she cooks chapatis for her husband. On one day if one chapati is burnt a bit (OK, three chapatis) why would she cry?” For someone who was then subject to the constant atrocities of a hostel cook, this was incomprehensible.

Being with SadhguruAnother time I saw this sort of thing was when Sadhguru would leave home on his travels. Vijji would come out, see him off and stand waving to him until he was completely out of sight. Every time. And sometimes he was not even going out of town! In the very early days when Sadhguru

32 | Feb 2020

and Vijji had friend groups, sometimes they would attend events and “hang out” with them. Apparently, even there they would spend most of the time with each other. This time it was Sadhguru who had to take the fl ak. Friends would ask, “What’s wrong with this guy, all the time he keeps talking to his wife!”

Stickler for fair playWhen the ashram was founded, Vijji began getting more involved with the people than the activities as such. It moved her tremendously that people left their jobs, families and joined the ashram full-time. She was always looking out for us. She was a stickler for fair play and had a strong sense of justice. She always set very high standards of conduct for herself and never took anything for granted or operated with a sense of entitlement.

One quality of Vijji that deeply endeared her to people around was that she did not hesitate to speak out whenever she felt something was not okay. As things grew larger and more complex she was not really involved with each and every thing, but one always felt reassured by her watchful gaze over all of us. It seems like she was here with us just the other day, but come Thaipusam next year, it will be twenty-four years since her Mahasamadhi... her gain, our loss!! -Swami Nisarga, IshaSanyasi

The Last “Lagori!”One place we greatly miss Vijji is during evening games sessions in the ashram with Sadhguru. Volleyball and cricket had not arrived on the scene and in order to include everyone we usually played some traditional Indian games.

Fitting DefenseLagori1 was very popular and often turned out to be very heated and contested. To be fair to everyone, even though all of us knew the game, the exact set of rules and practices diff er from region to region even within Tamil Nadu itself. So there are diff erent versions and because we are in a hurry to start playing,

1 Lagori - A rural game where one team strives to as-semble their seven stones on top of one another and declare “Lagori!”, while the opposing team strives to disrupt them and prevent them from doing so

we never fi x all the rules before starting and just get going. This would create lots of confusion because, once the game has started nobody wants to back off and give up an advantage because the opponent is playing with a diff erent understanding of the rules. And when you have Sadhguru participating, he was invariably the captain of one side and then would dubiously take up the role of the arbitrator also. Needless to say, this would be disastrous for the opposing team!

So when the teams were being set up, there was always great demand for Vijji, not because she was a star player but because she was the secret weapon of the team opposing Sadhguru. Whenever disputes arose, which would be every fi ve minutes, Vijji would put a fi tting defense for the helpless team.

33 | Feb 2020

She had fi nally managed to put her seven-stones together and declare “Lagori!!”I particularly remember one such session of Lagori. Teachers’ Meet was going on in the ashram and in the evening, everybody in the ashram had assembled near the “Leaning Tree” for games. We split into teams and I was on Vijji’s team. Sure enough there were plenty of fi ghts and allegations of cheating fl ying back and forth, a lot of time just to distract the opponents so that the rest of the team can take advantage and make the Lagori. Once, it was our turn to build the Lagori, and sure enough Sadhguru was giving a lot of directions to his team to prevent us from making Lagori. Vijji put up a fi erce defense against Sadhguru’s onslaught, and at one point the game came to a standstill, because Vijji felt Sadhguru was going overboard and would not take it. Unfortunately, we did not win that game, because we ran out of time and the game had to be stopped.

That was the last time all of us met as a group. Four days later, she attained Mahasamadhi. Her strenuous eff orts had paid off – she had fi nally managed to put her seven-stones together and declare “Lagori!!” Even now, sometimes when I pass by the

leaning tree, or I see someone playing Lagori, I am reminded of that last game.

-Maa Karpoori, Isha Sanyasini

Her compassionate concern is still fresh within me

There is another incident that happened in Sadhashiva An-na’s life. He is from Erode and had been associated with Isha very closely for many years. He was going through huge loss-es in his business. Sadhguru and Vijji Akka were aware of it. Around this time they had gone on Karma Yatra. On the way back from this Yatra, volun-teers from centers that were on their return route were waiting to welcome them back.

Sada Anna along with some volunteers were also waiting. There was a satsang at Avi-nashi and after that Vijji Akka took Sada Anna aside and asked him to come to Ashram that night. But he did not go, a fact that he regrets to this day.The next time he came to Ashram was on the day of Sa-madhi. He again came for Vijji Akka’s Aradhana. At that time Sadhguru told him to wait after the function and meet Him before he leaves. So he went to Sadhguru’s house to meet Him. Sadhguru took a gold bangle from a silk bag and handed it over to Sada Anna

saying Vijji wanted to give you this.

Sada Anna was moved to tears and realized this was the rea-son she wanted him to come that night. He kept it at home in his shrine and says that within 8 months of receiving this ban-gle he made huge profit that significantly reduced his finan-cial burden.

-Lalitha Maa, Isha Teacher

“I have nothing more to say than what Bharathi and Jaggi have just described about the Karma Yatra. This 10-day trip has been a certain experience, tremendous amount of energy, and I can say I have taken one or two steps towards my growth. Certainly, it has helped me to become a mature person. And I consider myself lucky to be with these two people, which I think won’t have happened for many, many lifetimes. Both of them have poured their lives into me, and I really hope that I can be of some use to everyone.”

— Vijji Akka’s sharing with the ashram inmates after the Karma Yatra, about a month before her Mahasamadhi

34 | Feb 2020

35 | Feb 2020

Vijaya Kumari - Victory’s Daughter

36 | Feb 2020

Below is an excerpt from Sadhguru talk during a satsang on Jan 25, 1997, two days after Vijji Ma’s Mahasamadhi. It has always been hard for me to explain to people about what Vijji is. When I say Vijji, I am not referring to her either as my wife or as a woman. Even as a being, she has always been truly wonderful in my experience, but as many of you know, she is a person of very intense emotions. In her childlikeness, she never knew what should be expressed or what should be held back in a group of people. Whatever emotions were within her, they always found expression irrespective of the situation. Now, this Mahasamadhi, the ultimate aim of all spiritual seekers, she has attained with such eff ortlessness and has proved her worth. A Direct Intervention of the Divine This is not child’s play - even accomplished yogis will struggle to attain this. As some of you know now, Swami Nirmalananda, who spent his life in spiritual sadhana, in the last few days before his Mahasamadhi, was in doubt whether it will be possible for him or not, and he expressed the same to me when we went there for the last time. And that’s the reason he took to fasting. With the Lord’s grace, he attained

the highest on the fi fth day. Even a Gnani, who spent his lifetime in spiritual sadhana, struggled to attain this. To throw this life out of this body without injuring the body, it takes something else. One has to generate tremendous amount of energy, which requires intense sadhana. She knew the methods to achieve this and she was working towards this. But at this stage we never imagined that without my assistance she will be able to generate the necessary energy. Anyway she would have trodden this path, but the swiftness with which she has achieved this is too much. She just made this possible with her love, probably the only thing she knew.When I look at the whole series of events, it is very clear that there is a direct intervention of the divine. Seems like Shambho that her heart was crying for has taken her by the hand. Out of sheer love, she made it possible. Intense Desire to Leave Body in Full AwarenessThere were quite a few indicators telling us that this is going to happen, but somehow we failed to see it. In the month of October ‘96, when Raja was fi xing programs, they had fi xed BSP for the last week of January. I told him, ‘I feel this January last week programs

will not happen. I don’t like this. You push it to the fi rst week of February.’ He asked me if I had any personal engagements, I said, ‘No. I feel programs fi xed for that time may have to be postponed.’ To a few people who are close to her, many times she has spoken about this. Especially in the last four to fi ve visits that we made to see Swami Nirmalananda, she had been expressing her intense desire to leave her body in full awareness, without any sense of attachment. ‘I want to leave.’ This has been her constant mantra with me also. She Knew It BeforehandWhen we dropped Radhe at school on 19th of January she was telling her, ‘I may not be here for your birthday, which is on the 1st of March, so I will visit you in the fi rst week of February.’ I chided her, ‘Why are you telling this to the child?’ With a few of her close friends, she had said that she will be here only for two more Pournamis. The day we dropped Radhe and were driving down from Ooty, as she used to normally do when we are travelling, she was chanting Shambho. Tears were fl owing. Then she held my hand and asked me to stop the vehicle.She said, ‘I don’t know any other Shambho. There are

37 | Feb 2020

moments when I have seen you like that. Only you should help me towards my moksha,’ and she cried. I said, ‘Whether you know him or not, he knows you. You be sincere in what you are doing. You will defi nitely experience him and know him beyond my form.’ Prepared the Meal She Could Not ServeOn Pournami days she was doing certain sadhanas. Feeding the brahmacharis was also a part of it. Even on this Pournami, she wanted to prepare a whole meal but as all the teachers and many volunteers were here on that day, I told her, ‘How will you cook a meal for that many people? Just prepare a sweet.’ She, along with a few volunteers, prepared that also, which she could never serve. Victory’s DaughterOn the Pournami days she was into certain intense sadhana. At 8:45 in the morning she would have bath and sit. Again at 11:45 she would have bath and sit. Once again at 3:45 she would have bath and start her practices. On that day, I was with her all these three times, started these practices for her and went back to the class. At 6:15 in the evening, she dissolved into that utterance of Shambho and became His. Even now, when we feel the energy that she has left behind, it’s very clear she

found her exit through the Anahata - the heart center, the seat of love. For any being, to transcend the limitations of the physical body, there is really no better way. About that there is no complaint. For this being there is no more bondage of a physical body. Her name is Vijaya Kumari, which means ‘victory’s daughter’ - the highest possible victory for any being became hers.

A New Fragrance of Love AbsoluteThen, as Sadhguru’s sister - now as my wife - she has left my home empty but our hearts full. One important aspect is - she had a vital role to play in the consecration process of Dhyanalinga. Till now, the process was progressing in a glorious manner but now we are a little stuck. That Shambho who took her as His, He should only show us the way. The death is not a problem for me, but this energy called Love, that she has left behind, I am unable to bear. All the sadhana that we are doing here will take on a new fragrance of love absolute.

Age of Genuine Saints Will Never Be Over Here we are living in a diff erent atmosphere. For us, this situation is very natural but

in the society outside many doubts and suspicions will be cast upon the whole event. For all spiritual seekers, Mahasamadhi is the ultimate goal - the very culmination of their sadhana - to dissolve into divinity. Whenever you get an opportunity, let people know that even this kind of opportunity is available to man, that one can take hold of the very process of birth and death into his hands. Whichever way you can, please make it clear to people.

Generally, people believe that all these things were over with the sages and rishis of ancient times. Spirituality in its highest possibility is still very alive. The public at large has come to the conclusion that the age of genuine saints is over. Now, the present situation here is a clear proof that it is not over - ‘And It Never Will Be.’I did not wish that at this stage, anybody here should leave the body and go, but somehow she aspired for it. She has dissolved into the Mahamantra ‘Shambho.’ It is not for me or anyone to ask whether this is right or wrong. I am not big enough to question Him.

This is incredible, truly incredible. Without even my assistance, she transcended the bond of mortality. Out of her love, she has gone beyond. Out of our love we are required to be here and fulfi ll the task on our hands.

38 | Feb 2020

Vijji

She knew Love and nothing more

She was Love and nothing more

The Lord needs Love and nothing more

She wooed him with Her Loveand She is no more