Just a year and a half after back-to-back emergency brain surgeries, Sadhguru completed the Kailash Yatra on a motorcycle, returning yesterday to a grand welcome at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. Locals and villagers welcomed him to the ashram, turning it into a grand procession of devotion and reverence.
During an online interaction with Bollywood actor Dino Morea, Sadhguru had earlier explained, “I am not going to see Shiva. For me, the dimension we refer to as Shiva—when I close my eyes, that is where I am. I don’t have to go to Kailash for that. Kailash is the most spectacular library, but these days I am not going even for that."
“I'm taking a few hundred people with me. People, when they wake up in the morning, do they say Shiva? No, they'll say stock market or cinema. So for those people with altitude and variety of other challenges, it lowers their concerns about stock market and we can get them to focus on something more profound,” he added.
Speaking to journalists at Coimbatore Airport, Sadhguru emphasised, “As per medical advice, I was not supposed to ride a motorcycle, yet I went to 18,000 feet above mean sea level. This demonstrates the power of yoga."
Describing how he overcame the challenges of the journey, despite the two surgeries and his advancing age, he said, “Yoga means you become one with the very source of creation, which is within every one of us. So when you are in touch with the source of creation, this is not a challenge. Effortlessly, I have done this at this stage.”
Responding to the question of US tariffs on India, Sadhguru commented, “When challenges are thrown at us, it's for us to stand up sharper and stronger, which I think India will do for sure. Maintaining India's sovereignty, its freedom to do its business the way it wants to do, is something that we cannot give up as a free nation.”
Sadhguru began his yatra on a motorcycle from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on August 9. He travelled through Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Thulikhel in Nepal, reaching the Nepal-Tibet border. He then proceeded through Zhangmu, Nyalam, and Saga in Tibet to reach Lake Manasarovar, from where he undertook a trek to visit Mount Kailash. The route was fraught with challenges, including landslides, continuous rain, rugged terrain, and high-altitude regions ranging from approximately 15,000 to 20,000 feet above sea level.