A Mystical Concoction - Sathsang with Sadhguru at the Theerthakund

It was not an ordinary night at Isha Yoga Center. On 7 January 2009, after dusk, a few hundred Ashram residents, all dressed grandly, were huddled together on the steps of the Theerthakund, watching artist Shiva a.k.a. Udayraj Gadnis transform the cold stone floor below into his workspace. The five elements seemed to meet and merge that night. Sizzling flames, the stillness of the water, the mercury linga enshrined by giant granite blocks and the engrossed painter set the scene for a truly mystical encounter with Sadhguru.

As Sadhguru sat down, the artist performed a short offering to him. His voice filling the walls of the Theerthakund, Sadhguru spoke about that Being that we know as Shiva, the Adi Yogi. While Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is widely known as his abode, the story about Shiva coming down to the southernmost tip of the peninsula and gracing the Velliangiri Mountains was a relatively new revelation for many. His interlude in these mountains that were from then on known as the ‘Kailash of the South' gave added reason to why the Dhyanalinga and Isha Yoga Center were established in this particular space.

Detailing past attempts in history to create a super-perceptive being, he mentioned Yogi Sunira's foretelling that "this being would rise, not in the white peaks of Himalayas, but the green mountains of the South." The potent possibility of these mountains and the Dhyanalinga, Sadhguru said, could transform humanity.

Traversing from the green hills of the South to the snow-clad mountains of the North, Sadhguru shared his experience of his recent visit to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. To the eager ears of the audience, he revealed the truly extramundane phenomenon he had witnessed at Manasarovar in great detail, while the painter attempted to capture this preternatural scenery on paper.

Photos of the mysterious Manasarovar and Kailash flashing on the wall, the immensity of Sadhguru's presence, and his unfathomable words seemed to come from a different dimension altogether. As he spoke, the painter was busy dipping into bowls of thick paint, going through paper after paper. Sitting for hours, Sadhguru patiently answered questions, intensifying the meditators' thirst to experience the depth of his words. As it got late and he asked everyone to retire for the night, those present seemed too spellbound to move. Finally, at around midnight, the Sathsang concluded with a Marathi devotional song echoing throughout. The audience disbanded with the richness of a glimpse into the world of a mystic.