Encounter the Enlightened (Sadhguru, a Profound Mystic of Our Times)

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In a milieu, where life is seen as toil, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev open an entirely new possibility-to play with life whichever way you want, to live life intensely but go through it unscarred.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, is an enlightened master, yogi and profound mystic of our times. In this book, he approaches the reader through rational thought and nudges one beyond the limitations of rational thinking to begin the journey of discovering the Self, to discover the unbounded and singular nature of all existence.

Since offering myself in service to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and Isha Foundation several years ago, I have witnessed the transformation of thousands of people in audiences as varied as humanity itself. Whether in the company of the world’s most prominent spiritual leaders at the United Nations, eighty million saints and pilgrims at the Maha Kumbha Mela, or surrounded by prisoners on death row, the Master has an ability to arouse passion for truth and an illuminating power that amplifies our hidden Divinity.

As he tirelessly teaches the fundamental elements of inner peace and harmony, which are requirements to deeper inner discovery, I have followed in his footsteps as a volunteer assistant. I am always mindful of what his energy contributes to every being he meets and how he changes the world through his interactions with it moment to moment. His presence makes deep impressions on all who see him. Even in the West, where Gurus and spiritual Masters are not part of our culture, every head turns as he passes. People, unaware of who he is, are compelled to approach him and seek his blessing. Small children call him “holy man” and relate hi wondrous presence to their innocent understand of omnipotence-Santa! Many compare him to Jesus due to his beautiful demeanor, but always people raises questions: “Who is this person, what does he teach and how can I learn more?”

As my involvement with Sadhguru expands, I am filled with love, gratitude, joy and the companionship of hundreds of thousands of the people who are also drawn to him. As the intensity and momentum of his presence continues to grow around the world, I feel an awed excitement as I witch the powerful impact he makes on our world. Yet in amusement, I reflect back on my initial encounter with the enlightened.

When I first met Sadhguru, I wasn’t even sure he could speak English, and I didn’t care. The energy transmitted by him coursed through my body, making every hair stand erect. Then he spoke. Simply, directly, with uncanny logic that can’t be denied, yet with words that seemed to portray a deeper meaning that penetrated my heart and soul.

For years I had ached for a spiritual guide, and with painful Intensity I prayed for a living Master from the East-One who knew Truth. 1997 those prayers manifested when Sadhguru made his first U.S.A., visit to Nashville, Tennessee, Shocking he was, to a Western who had ingested a lifetime of solace disguised as spirituality. Yet despite my lack of prior exposure opt, or intellectual understanding of the Eastern esoteric sciences and yoga his every word resonated with in me. I knew it was Truth. He disarmed me with his honesty and straight talk, burning through the cultural conditioning and resistance that separated me from Truth. His presence was like fresh water dropping on a parched spirit. He transformed me with his patience and grace and I feel an urgency to help make this opportunity available to others.

But how does one share an experience of Truth? Sadhguru says the unbounded is always there for all who can embrace it; yet like me, most of us take a series of small steps to approach the threshold of Truth. We need a Master to lead us through the process of identifying what we are not, in order to move into something greater. Using books and language for the purpose of dissolving into the formless Divine appears to be a contradiction. But when you have found water in a desert full of thirsty people, you must shout, “There is water here!”

Therefore, despite the limitations of using printed language to share this being we experience as Sadhguru, it is worth the risk. His knowing glance, the inflection of his voice, his wonderful humor, infection laughter and his powerful physical presence will be absent from these pages. But the mystery and grace of such a Divine Being can never be limited. I its the hope of countless disciples and Isha Foundation volunteers that this simple introduction to Sadhguru will ignite a flame of passionate inquiry within all who read his words.

Sadhguru, a very rare being, who dares not to conform to the accepted ambiguous norms just because the majority or the so-called spiritual dictum conforms to it. His teachings are but an outpouring of his inner being, which has risen from inner awaken in and not derived from textual scriptures. He is one who cares little for scholarly views and who embraces Truth and stands by it. No one single description can provide an accurate picture of this realized being whose teachings are simple and pristine. What can happen in this person’s presence, his energy field is difficult to perceive for those who are confined to just their sense perceptions.

From eons of spoon-feeding by elders, society, and religion, most people have become insensitive to tasting life firsthand. Fear of ostracism by society if their authority, their rituals and their domas are rejected, the fear of standing off has bound humanity today in many ways. An individual reared in today’s reality, never seems ot know when or where he got his opinions, nor does he seem to care as long as they are approved of.

I happen to be a product reared in this scenario who could never belong but somehow made my life pretty comfortable, just feeling a little stifled at times. Eventually, thought my life was complete. Then, very accidentally, I came across this devastatingly frank, unstudied and simple being, devoid of stiffness and restraint. An out and out skeptic, I just went as an observer to hear him talk. Only then did I become aware of another dimension of life to which I was totally oblivious, and ended uup certain that if anyone could succeed in waking me up from my sluber, it was he. The peeling of the shrouds of ignorance and conditioning began. In thirst of seeking the Ultimate, the conditions and conditioners lost their grip - a natural outcome this was and did not happen in reaction, but through intelligence and awareness. The catalyst in him triggered the dormant questions in me that I didn't even know existed, "Where have I come from? Where do I go hence?" The path I set on was not always smooth. I stumbled with confusions that arose in life within and without. He was always there, if not in person, then otherwise, working through many levels.

A Sathsang or even just a casual talk by Sadhguru can progress intol something much more than just casual and tends to get under people's skin, as at times the comments are scathing, more than brutal, but then the end is achieved. One is awakened from slumber. Many people who come merely out of curiosity to his talks, leave mesmerized, disturbed, awed, in love, angry and they always come back for more. Nobody has ever fueled their emotions, their energies and their lives in this manner. Requests and more requests kept pouring in to publish the talks, always duly negated by Sadhguru. When requests in turn became demands, a few of us forced out an "okay," a "go-ahead" nod from the Master.

The most unforgettable times with the Master were spent during a lengthy Wholeness Program when much of the Master's initial work went unrecorded during the formative years of the ashram. This work was definitely not wasted upon us. He would speak to a small group of us, about thirty to thirty-five, sitting under the "leaning tree", sitting on the sand heaps under the starlit sky, standing under the blazing sun in the middle of a ball game, or while walking in a light drizzle or the pouring rain. For the first time, rare glimpses of why this birth for him, the significance of his coming back again to be amidsi us, and why the Dhyanalinga, were revealed, some in words and some in silence.