Isha seeks to bring back classical yoga in its purest form – not studio yoga, not book yoga or the various innovations that are brought in around the world without an understanding of the basic principles – but proper classical yoga, which is a phenomenally powerful science. It is a system that is precisely and meticulously put together as a means of reaching higher dimensions.

Last week, in the Classical Yoga series, we saw how important the Guru-shishya paramparya (Master-disciple tradition) was for the proper transfer of yogic sciences across the ages. Today we take a look at the necessity for a powerful ambience for the transmission of classical yoga. Sadhguru talks about the Adiyogi Alayam, an 82,000 sq. ft. column-less hall, the largest of its kind in India.

Sadhguru:

The reason we created the Adiyogi Alayam is to bring back classical yoga in its purest form. Not studio yoga or book yoga, not the kind of things that are being done in the world today, but proper classical yoga which is a phenomenally powerful science.

Today, the reason we have our iPhones and other gadgets is because for the first fifty years of scientific development, scientists invested in fundamental physics. The iPhone is just a fancy gadget. I am not trying to pull it down, it is useful, but it is not science. Creating it is also not science, it is just a little bit of technology. When it comes to the world, there is only one science and that is physics. Fundamental physics is the science; everything else is just an offshoot. But how many people are studying fundamental physics today? An extremely miniscule number. You will see, after thirty years if there aren’t many people in fundamental physics, nothing new will come out of science because the basic scientific knowledge will be missing.

Similarly in yoga, there is a classical science which is the science. But right now, there is almost no investment in the concrete science of yoga. People are only trying to reap the benefits. It is like if you grow a cow, you can milk it. After a while, people will only be interested in the udder and not the cow. So they won’t have any cow. They’ll just have a plastic udder and soon, there will be no milk.

We want to re-establish classical yoga, we want to build people who are willing to invest their life into the profoundness of yoga; not people who hang upside down and think they are doing yoga. Bringing back that dimension of yoga is not going to happen by instruction alone; phenomenal energy is needed, otherwise yoga cannot be taught. If you teach yoga without creating a vessel of energy, then that is not really yoga. That is just a farce. That farce is going on all over the world right now.

The Adiyogi Alayam was created with the intention of making a powerful space. We wanted such a vibrant space that if you simply sit here, really tuned into what’s happening here in this hall, you must be able to know all the yoga sutras. You never have to open a book or listen to anybody, you just have to energy-tune yourself and it’ll be there. Of course, someone will assist you a little bit but if I say a word, if your energy does not throb with it, you don’t know anything about it. You just know words. Words are not yoga. If you listen to something, that must happen in the system; otherwise it is not yoga. To make that happen you need a powerful space.

Tomorrow, when we are not here, there still has to be a space that will teach yoga. Maybe there will be just a teacher, maybe there will be no guru here. Even if a teacher stands here, suddenly things should come out of them that they do not know. They should begin to say things, they should begin to feel things, they should begin to experience things that they themselves do not know. Only then can we transmit yoga.

Editor’s Note: Excerpted from Sadhguru’s discourse at the Isha Hatha Yoga School’s 21-week Hatha Yoga Teacher Training program. The program offers an unparalleled opportunity to acquire a profound understanding of the yogic system and the proficiency to teach Hatha Yoga. The next 21-week session begins on July 16 to Dec 11, 2019. For more information, visit www.ishahathayoga.com or mail info@ishahatayoga.com

Looking for more articles on Classical Yoga? Check out our Classical Yoga Series.