Getting Ready for Adiyogi

ஆதியோகியை வரவேற்கத் தயாராகிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறோம்

W hen people ask me about the Adiyogi book, which we are going to release this Mahashivratri, I have to say it is a very unusual kind of book, with three different dimensions intertwined. One is this most incredible myth of Shiva and his life. Mythological, magical stuff doesn’t always stand to reason. Parallel to the myth is a dimension of pure science. The third dimension is my inner experience. Myth, science, and inner experience are woven together, which makes the Adiyogi book quite unique.

Just seeing a sample of the book, Harper Collins was eager to publish the English version of the book – so it must be good. The book will also be available in Tamil. We are planning to work on a revised English edition to suit an international readership. Those who are completely foreign to this culture would need a lot more explanations than Indians. In this culture, we more or less grow up with these stories, which have been transmitted orally from generation to generation. Anyway, through online stores, the book will be available everywhere, but we won’t publish it outside India for some time. I want to take a few weeks to revise it and add explanations. I have written this book with Arundhathi, who authored my biography More Than a Life. Her skeptical view on things adds additional texture to the book.

The three aspects of the Adiyogi book – myth, science, and inner experience – together form a well-woven fabric. It is a new genre, which does not fit into any of the standard categories such as mythology, science, or spiritual self-help. What adds to the mystical, if not to say ethereal character of the book is its geographical origin. It was conceived in the upper regions of the Himalaya, where Adiyogi first appeared over fifteen thousand years ago.

This book largely emerged from what I spoke while travelling through Shiva’s land, on the way to Kailash and back. That is why it also has a travelogue kind of feel to it. Above all, the book is about Adiyogi, the myth and magic of Shiva, and the science of yoga. It is about the possibility to take the very process of life into our hands. Adiyogi represents an ancient but state-of-the-art technology for inner wellbeing. Today, finally, the world seems ready to embrace the highly refined, non-sectarian science of yoga he offered. A science that is tailored to suit minds that are more questioning than they have ever been before. The aim of this book is to bring Adiyogi to the people, as he does not belong to the past. He belongs to the future.

Here, at the Isha Yoga Center, we are working day and night to prepare for the consecration of the Yogeshwar Linga, the consecration of the one hundred and twelve feet tall Adiyogi face, and Mahashivratri. I want all of you to be part of this historic event. This is an event like no other. I will be on full force and so shall be my Partner – the First One. This also is a step to preserve the purity of the subjective Science of Yoga, not by instruction but by establishing an Energetic Source.

Editor's Note: "Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga" by Sadhguru and Arundhathi Subramaniam, was released on Mahashivratri, 24 February 2017; it is now available for download on IshaShoppe and as paperback on Amazon India.