The New Teerth Kshetra in Bharat – Isha Foundation, Coimbatore

The towering bust of Adiy Yogi has totally changed the serene surroundings surrounded by high sacred hills of Southern Kailasa, locally called Velliangiri mountains, rising to nearly 6000 feet. Mandir of r Linga Bhairavi has created a halo of mysticism on the campus, with its rituals. Within no time, you feel you are transported to a spiritual teerth kshetras. Perhaps this is how Rishis of yore must have created teerth kshetras eons back.

You see brahmacharis and brahmacharinis buzzing around the campus with radiant smiles on their faces. You see saadhakas (students of yoga) cheerfully and purposefully moving around. The most interesting thing is that most of the saadhakas are young, obviously aware of the fashionable world outside the campus. Despite this positive spiritual environment, the sense of discipline is all pervasive. Nobody is shouting instructions to you. You see some people holding placards silently nudging you to follow certain discipline, whether it is in a temple or in a mess.


The eateries for those who are not satisfied with two meals a day provide excellent food that too, not expensive. There are tribals who have been given space to run their own small eateries and retail other goods. The main retail showroom has good quality products mostly manufactured by local artisans or manufactured as per the tough ecological standards of Sadhguru.

I also happened to visit an Isha Vidhya schoolVidyalay a few kilometres away from the main campus. It was one of the best-run rural schools that I have seen all over Bharat. The laughter and playfulness of the rural children is infectious. The most enjoyable part of the day for them is a 40-minute nap after lunch. Some children slept peacefully while some played during that time. But it was unusual by our British set standards. There are ten such schools, we were told and Sadhguru wants to open 100s of such schools. Nearly 60% of the students study on scholarship while others pay nominal fees. These are unaided schools but follow the Tamilnadu SSC board syllabus.

The Gaushalas are run by proud gwalas (caretakers of the cows and bulls) who show off their cows and kingly bulls that would remind you of Nandi, the great devotee of Bhagwan Shiva. The entire milk supply is used for the Isha Foundation members and visitors. The regular members total around 3000 while there are regular visitors and short-term trainees and visitors.

The evenings in the Isha Foundation campus bustle with thousands of visitors who come to watch the spectacle of laser show on the Adiy Yogi – Shiva. The show you see on TV is not even a fraction of what you feel when you see it live in those imposing surroundings of Velliangiri mountains. You are enthralled, so well is it made.
Everything, the smallest of details, the design, the execution is so well done that you feel enchanted, and they are proud that Bharat has such well run ashram, teerth kshetras, yoga centre – call it what you may. It is a place for spiritual seeker, for people who want a break from the hustle bustle and noise of the cities but are not ready to go into jungles.


There has been a sustained and well-orchestrated campaign to discredit Sadhguru with false and fake allegations. When I went there, the Hindu had published a story of Tamilnadu police claiming that people keep disappearing from the Isha Foundation campus. The truth is only 6 people have disappeared in 30 years of the existence of this ashram, of which 5 were traced while the only person not traced had been reported by the Ashram itself. A place where 7.5 million visited in thirty years, where thousands of yogis have gained wisdom and urge to serve the society is discredited for disappearance of one person. Just to give a sense of comparison, according to a report by NCRB 2021, Tamilnadu ranked fourth nationwide — recorded 6,399 missing children in 2021, a total of 1,769 juveniles remained untraced from previous years, taking the total figure to 8,168.

The charges of encroachment of forest in the Velliangiri mountains have been denied by the Tamilnadu government itself in the courts of law. The talk of this area coming in the way elephant trails is also denied by the state government. Then, what is going on?

Another claim was exploitation of children in Isha Foundation and its schools. There is no evidence, there is no case, there is no visible sign of such an exploitation orf lack of care, when one visits the schools and other facilities. I have met enough Isha volunteers in Mumbai and elsewhere to understand their look out about life and people. I talked to scores of volunteers, workers working in different departments in Isha Foundation too.

The reason, I am forced to write this small piece is that it is disgusting that we should be pulling down the spiritual and sewa work being done by Isha Foundation, under the guidance of Sadhguru. It is tragic that our society is so willing to swallow any story and its faith in sattvic nature of our gurus is so fragile. Yes, there are some philanderers who gullible people follow, but can we have some faith. Millions of young boys and girls’ lives have got a direction in life where they have found new meaning to life, they are ready to do something for the society. Who is responsible? Those who feel frustrated because their conversion business is suffering? Or politicians who are exploiting temple funds for political purposes, because Sadhguru has given a call to free temples? Take your guess.
I would simply suggest that you should take a three day break in Isha Foundation and then decide. Feel good, feel positive and feel inspired to do something for your fellow beings, for the society. I hope Sadhguru and other acharyas and gurus like him can create more teerth kshetras that will create a huge momentum for wholesome social life.