Jagadish "Jaggi" Vasudev (born 3 September, 1957), also known as Sadhguru, is an Indian guru and founder of the Isha Foundation, based in

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

, India. The foundation, established in 1992, operates an

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

since 1982. He is the author of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestsellers '' Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy'' and ''Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny'', and a frequent speaker at international forums. Sadhguru also advocates for protecting the environment against

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, leading many initiatives like Project GreenHands (PGH), Rally for Rivers, Cauvery Calling, and the Journey to Save Soil. In 2017, he received the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

, India's second-highest civilian award, for his contributions to spirituality and humanitarian services. Sadhguru has been criticized for promoting a number of

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

claims.

Biography

Early life

Vasudev was born into a Telugu family on 3 September 1957, in

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, Mysore State (now in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India). He was the youngest of five children to Susheela Vasudev (mother) and B.V. Vasudev (father). His father was an ophthalmologist at the Mysuru Railway Hospital and his mother a homemaker.

Education

After completing his formal education, Vasudev was uninterested in post-secondary schooling. One year later, however, he enrolled at the

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

, where he studied English literature. While studying literature, Vasudev received second rank. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education with postgraduate studies, Vasudev disagreed and began a career in business.

Work

After graduating from the University of Mysore, Vasudev went on to build his first business, a poultry farm, in Mysore. Vasudev explained that his motivation to start a poultry farm was driven by the serenity it yielded in the hours he was not working. The business required minimal attention throughout the day, so Vasudev was able to pursue other interests during his time off, like writing poetry. The business grew profitable, but his family repeatedly criticized and opposed his decision to work with poultry. This led Vasudev to enter the construction industry with a company named Buildaids. He started the company in partnership with a friend, who was a civil engineer. Though Vasudev had no formal engineering training, he used the experience gained from building his poultry farm in his new endeavour. At the age of 25, after a series of spiritual experiences, he shut down his businesses and began to travel and teach yoga. In 1983, he taught his first yoga class, in Mysore. He began travelling across

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

on his motorcycle, conducting his style of yoga classes, known as Sahaja Sthiti Yoga, subsisting on the income from his poultry farm rental and donating the funds received from his students. Also in 2017, Sadhguru consecrated the

Adiyogi Shiva statue The ''Adiyogi'' Shiva bust is a , and steel bust of Shiva with Thirunamam at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It is recognized by the ''Guinness World Records'' as the "Largest Bust Sculpture” in the world. On 23 September 1982, he drove up Chamundi Hill, and as he sat on a stone, Vasudev had his first spiritual experience. He explained that, "All my life I had thought, this is me...But now the air I was breathing, the rock on which I was sitting, the atmosphere around me — everything had become me." After about six days, Vasudev had another similar experience at home. Six weeks later, he left his businesses and travelled extensively, in an effort to seek insight into his spiritual experiences. After about a year of meditation and travel, he decided to teach yoga to share his inner experience.

Personal life

In his earlier years, Vasudev had a love for driving motorcycles. One of his favourite places to drive was the Chamundi Hills in Mysore, though he sometimes drove much further, including to Nepal. Vasudev advocates

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, but whilst traveling with no vegetarian food sources available, he eats

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

.Subramaniam, Arundhathi. (2010). ''Sadhguru: More Than A Life''. Penguin Books India. pp. 216-217. He practices the

Sun Salutation Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar or Salute to the Sun (, ), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though s ...

for 40 minutes a day. Vasudev married his wife, Vijaykumari, in 1984. In 1990, Vijaykumari and Jaggi had their only child, Radhe. Vijaykumari died on 23 January 1997. A complaint from Vijaykumari's father alleged that Vasudev killed her, but was later dismissed by police. Radhe trained in

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

at the Kalakshetra Foundation in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. She married Indian classical vocalist Sandeep Narayan in 2014.

Isha Foundation

In 1992, Sadhguru established the Isha Foundation as a platform for his spiritual, environmental, and educational activities. In 1993, he began searching for a location to establish an ashram to cater to the growing interest in his yoga classes. In 1994, he purchased land near the Velliangiri mountains in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and inaugurated the Isha Yoga Center. Since establishing the Isha Foundation, he remains its head. The foundation's activities are run mostly by volunteers. The organisation offers yoga programmes, known as ''Isha Yoga''. The foundation aims to improve the quality of education in rural India through an initiative called Isha Vidhya.

Environmental activism

Through the Isha Foundation, Sadhguru has launched several projects and campaigns focused on environmental conservation and protection, including Project GreenHands (PGH), Rally for Rivers, Cauvery Calling, and Save Soil. Sadhguru established PGH to address water and soil issues in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

through reforestation efforts. Launched in July 2019, the "Cauvery Calling" campaign focused on planting trees along the

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

river's 0.65-mile wide area to replenish water levels in the river and the groundwater table. In 2017, Sadhguru launched "Rally for Rivers", a campaign intended to build widespread support for river revitalization efforts across India, similar to the "Cauvery Calling" campaign. In 2022, Sadhguru completed a 100-day motorcycle journey from London to India to bring attention to his "Journey to Save Soil" campaign, which focuses on raising awareness about

soil degradation Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a soil health, stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession revert ...

issues and the benefits of using organic matter in farming. In May 2022, he addressed the leaders of 195 countries at the

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through ...

to speak about "Journey to Save Soil". Both Trevor Noah, host of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'', and podcast host

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

, have invited Sadhguru to discuss this movement. On World Environment Day 2022, Indian prime minister,

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

, attended an event with Sadhguru to discuss efforts to improve soil health. The UN FAO has stated that "90% of the Earth's precious topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050". However, views have been divided on whether the "Save Soil" campaign is addressing this issue. Maria Helena Semedo, deputy director-general of FAO, opined that "Organic armingmay not be the only solution but it's the single best ptionI can think of." Meanwhile, one environmental watchdog has characterized Sadhguru's approach as "

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization's products, goals, or ...

Speeches and writings

Sadhguru has authored over thirty books, including the ''

'' bestsellers '' Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy'' and ''Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny''. Sadhguru is a frequent public speaker who has been invited to address many prestigious forums and conferences across the globe, such as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' Millennium World Peace Summit, the British

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, and the

International Institute for Management Development International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business. In 2024, it named David B ...

. He has also spoken at the annual

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

in 2007, 2017 and 2020.

Honors

In 2017, Sadhguru was awarded the

, the second-highest civilian award from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in recognition of his contribution to the field of spirituality and humanitarian services. The same year, Sadhguru consecrated the

Adiyogi Shiva statue The ''Adiyogi'' Shiva bust is a , and steel bust of Shiva with Thirunamam at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It is recognized by the ''Guinness World Records'' as the "Largest Bust Sculpture” in the world.Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

. He stood 92nd in ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' list of 100 most powerful Indians in 2012 and 40th in ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

''s list of fifty most powerful Indians in 2019.

Political views

When

Ayushmann Khurrana Ayushmann Khurrana (born Nishant Khurrana; 14 September 1984) is an Indian actor and singer who works in Hindi films. Known for his portrayals of ordinary men often battling social norms, he is the recipient of several awards, including a Na ...

asked him how to choose the "correct political stance", Sadhguru responded by saying that he does not subscribe to a political party, and others should not either. He stated that, "party membership should be cancelled because this is becoming a tribe." Accordingly, he encourages individuals to vote for a given party after evaluating their performance in office to "see who makes more sense". However, his views are occasionally perceived as Hindu nationalist and thus close to the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

. In 2019 he referred to a Muslim student in London as a "

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

," for which he apologized after heavy criticism. After recognizing the failure in the "government's communication" of the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act in India, Sadhguru spoke in support of the act. In 2018, he accused liberals of being fanatics.

Pseudoscience

Sadhguru has made a number claims that are inconsistent with scientific consensus. Although India approved the ratification of the international

Minamata Convention on Mercury The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The convention was a result of three years of meetin ...

to ban its usage, Sadhguru advocates for the use of mercury in the context of traditional Indian medicine such as

Siddha medicine Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India. The Indian Medical Association regards Siddha medicine degrees as "fake" and Siddha therapies as quackery, ...

. He has also repeatedly stated he can solidify mercury at room temperature; a claim refuted by Australian scientist Sumaiya Shaikh. Sadhguru has been criticized for statements about the negative effects that a

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...

can have on the body's energy.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Isha Foundation's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasudev, Jaggi 1957 births Living people Indian Hindus 20th-century Hindu religious leaders 21st-century Hindu religious leaders 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians 21st-century Hindu philosophers and theologians 21st-century Indian theologians Hindu reformers Hindu revivalists Indian spiritual writers Indian Hindu yogis Scholars from Mysore Indian spiritual teachers University of Mysore alumni Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in other fields Indian environmentalists Advaitin philosophers Idealists Indian Hindu monks Indian Hindu missionaries Indian male writers Modern yoga gurus Hindu mystics The Speaking Tree writers