At the recent conference THiNK, organized by Tehelka, Sadhguru headed a session with lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar, entitled “Faith, Reason and Inner Engineering”. Led by moderator Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of Tehelka, the discussion looked into questions on belief, rational thinking and the nature of the mind.

While Ms. Chaudhury questioned both Sadhguru and Javed Akhtar on several topics, the theme of the discussion centered on whether there was a dimension beyond the mind. Both lines of discussion – one from Sadhguru and the other from Javed Akhtar – seemed to run parallel, in the sense that they never met in agreement.

The ultra-rationalist Javed insisted that everything comes from the mind, while Sadhguru emphasized that logic was limited when compared with the larger sphere of life. He went on to mention that throughout history, the limits of reality have been pushed by those who dared to think outside the boundaries of contemporary “wisdom”. When asked by the moderator whether in light of these historical precedents, there isn’t room for something beyond the mind, Mr. Akhtar lived up to his reputation as a hard-nosed skeptic by saying that everything is the mind ultimately.

The nature of the mind and our perception of reality played a key role in the rest of the discussion, with other topics including fake gurus, human aspiration and science vs. spirituality. Sadhguru concluded by saying that science and spirituality have never been head on with each other, both looking to test and explore the boundaries of human perception. Mr. Akhtar unfortunately didn't seem too pleased by the way things ended though, because the session closed with him storming off in a huff.

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