Sadhguru has done what many parents dream of. He has drawn the young into spirituality. He speaks their language. Young influencers donning their Instagram best made their way to the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on the eve of Mahashivaratri. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter feeds were buzzing with the Mahashivratri dhamaka.
Sadhguru throws a celebration party for Shiva like no one else. Mahashivaratri is the day of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the day Shiva performs his divine dance, the Tandava. The 2024 celebration marked 35 years of Mahashivratri celebrations at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore.
Devotion matched by pyrotechnics
At 6:00 pm on March 8th 2024, the atmosphere turned surreal with the frenzy of the devotees matched equally by the pyrotechnics. The bust of Shiva, the Adiyogi with a Madonnaesque smile, eyes gently closed, lit up, and the crescent moon to the left of its head began to glow. The neelkanth or blue throat of the lord acquired a bright luminescent hue. Sounds of Isha, the band, threw up a tune and a sigh went up through the crowd of tens of thousands. Shiva’s gold earrings glowed and his gold chain threw rays of light on his handsome chest. Adiyogi is believed to be the first yogi, who offered the yogic sciences to the world over 15,000 years ago.
All-night musical extravaganza
Sadhguru delivered to all kinds of tastes and more. As Gurdas Mann, the celebrated Punjabi folk singer, said ‘Dil da mamla hai’ or “It’s a matter of the heart”. Each heart beats to its own tune. The thronging crowd stretched as far as the eye could see and throbbed with one heartbeat. Arms swayed in the air, fists pumped, palms clapped, lips chanted, and feet tapped in a furious rhythmic beat. The devoted partygoers transitioned to a state which Gurdas Mann calls “Mein Kamali Hai” or “I am crazed by the love of my Lord.”
Sadhguru led the multitudes into two sessions of meditation at midnight, and then the prime brahma muhurat or dawn at 4am to keep the crowd energized. “In is the only way out.”
Dhyanalinga and Linga Bhairavi
When day broke at 6am the party got ready to wrap up. Some made their way to the temples of Dhyanalinga and Linga Bhairavi. “Dhyanalinga is like a womb. It is the yoni of the Devi, a sacred space that all of us have to inhabit in the most crucial part of our making, a space that protects us and makes us,” said Sadhguru who has designed this temple.
The Isha Mahashivaratri celebration rocked all genres and generations. Engineering from within and without, Sadhguru drew diverse groups of people into the Isha fold worldwide. Dancing, celebrating, and stretching, the multitudes that joined the party wore beatific smiles.
Ritu Marwah wrote this series under the Chalo India Global Diaspora Campaign for travelers to explore the rich bounty of tourist destinations in India.