The Sathsang ended in a fervor of music and dance that vibrated and resonated across and around long after the Master departed. “If so, every situation will be like a prasadam.” The ashram, he explained, is a place where every circumstance is used for inner growth. Each house should be as an ashram and yoga should happen as a way of life. Somehow, whatever he spoke, you could almost hear the voices: “Isn't that true? Why didn't I think of this earlier?” Asked about the Sadhguru Sannidhis, he explained the science behind these sacred spaces which can be established in Isha meditator’s homes. He said: “So what if God is loving? If we are loving, it is nice for us.” Sadhguru elaborated on the uniqueness of Indian culture, how spirituality was different from communism, peace, social realities and how an individual can use every situation to grow, within. Sadhguru said, “You cannot determine the circumstances you live in but, you can decide how to be in any circumstance that you are in.” He further emphasized that pleasantness or blissfulness is not a teaching but the yearning of every life and that the meditators had been empowered for this purpose with the Shambhavi Maha Mudra. In the reverberating atmosphere, Sadhguru spoke about creating the wave of bliss (Anandha Alai) stating that, generally, “joy is treated as abnormal and misery is normal.” To quote: “Somebody who hurts himself, won’t he hurt another person also?” and “If you have not experienced tears of bliss, you life has not started.” Volunteers honored him in the Badaga way, offering flowers, and dignitaries of the town welcomed h im with the traditional Kalasam ritual. Soon, Sadhguru was in their midst, on the dais. After a half hour live concert by the Sounds of Isha, the participants did their Shambhavi practice. The sun above Kotagiri joined hands with the volunteers and meditators in welcoming Sadhguru.

The villagers who for the past 88 years have kept the tradition alive to honor Sadhguru Shri Brahma on this particular day with their very own Guru Pooja, saw this extraordinary phenomenon as S adhguru’s way of blessing the occasion. While dark thunderclouds hung over the whole area, just above Kotagiri where the Sathsang with Sadhguru was about to take place, the sky was blue. Meditators and residents of Isha Yoga Center, on way to the Sathsang, stopped by and the rain and hail evoked joyful dancing.

The welcome committee was formed of about 80 volunt eers in traditional Badaga1 attire.Ĭoincidentally, guru poojas were underway, at the Sadhguru Sri Brahma ashrams in the nearby villages of Naduvatti and Yedapalli. Two days of incessant rain failed to dampen spirits as, beneath an overcast sky, ebullient volunteers bustled to prepare the venue. In Kotagiri, one of the picturesque hill stations of the Nilgiri Hills, volunteers arranged to give the best reception for the Anandha Alai Sathsang with Sadhguru, for which more than 2000 were expected to assemble.

Badaga dance in kotagiri