On 20th November 2019, Sadhguru was invited to speak on the Skavlan show, Scandinavia’s biggest talk show hosted by Fredrik Skavlan, a famous Norwegian journalist. First premiered in 2009, the show is currently one of Europe’s largest and longest running television shows with 3 million viewers per show, and offers interviews with some of the world’s most distinguished stars, artists, politicians, scientists and writers. As Sadhguru entered Sky Studios in London, the air was positively buzzing with excitement and anticipation for what was to come that night.

This edition of the show had other fascinating guests, including the Swedish models and singers Magdalena and Hannah Graaf (The Graaf Sisters), Kristofer Hivju, a Norwegian actor best known for his role of Tormund Giantsbane on the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Dr. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, a British firefighter known for her ground-breaking psychological research on decision-making under life-or-death circumstances. Sadhguru's interview lasted for a riveting 15 minutes, and was peppered with curious questions from the other guests.

The tone and timbre of the conversation can be best summarized by the very first question asked by Skavlan: “I wonder about the title ‘Guru’. Is that a protected title or could anyone become a Guru?” He followed this up by a tongue-in-cheek: “How important is it to have a beard?”

Watch the full conversation here:

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Interestingly, all the individual interviews eventually converged around the theme of death. Magdalena and Hannah Graaf shared their story of grief over the accidental death of Magdalena's son in 2014. Kristofer Hivju spoke about an incident when he nearly died while rock climbing at Haukjern and how this helped him experientially realize the inevitability of death and appreciate life in a deeper way. The audience was on the edge of their seats as Sabrina Cohen-Hatton shared about her 18 years of experience as a firefighter dealing with various dangerous situations such as fires, car crashes and terrorist attacks. Sadhguru’s timeless wisdom on life and death offered a glimpse into the magical nature of existence, which sparked the curiosity of the guests and captivated the audience. When asked about dealing with loss and suffering in life, Sadhguru shared that what happens within ourselves is 100% our own making and that we can choose to deal with any situation in a pleasant way.

Light-hearted and full of witty banter, the show ended with a segment called “Dilemmas”, where Fredrik Skavlan asked Sadhguru to choose between various “dilemmas”, such as a year without social media or a year without books, and a life without golf or a life without a motorbike. The studio was filled with laughter as Sadhguru rocked the rapid-fire Q&A session with his quick humor and wit.

Watch the rapid-fire “dilemmas” here:

 

 

Editor’s Note: Click here to watch Sadhguru rocking in the rapid-fire zone with Karan Johar of “Koffee with Karan” fame.