Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev visited Tampa as part of national book tour in support of the release of Midnights with the Mystic, A Little Guide to Freedom and Bliss. I was assigned the task of writing the review. I am not a writer by trade and I waited several days for the muse to strike. What finally came out was rather unexpected and prompts me to ask the question, “Who is writing this stuff anyway?”
On a warm and muggy night in Tampa, it was the end of a majestic and wonderful evening. As an Isha volunteer, I was one of the very last to have my copy of Midnights with the Mystic autographed. As Sadhguru signed his name, I leaned over and said, “Sadhguru, thank you for coming to our town.” To which he dryly replied, “How could I not come, with all the work that you’ve done.”
This magical and enchanted evening was the culmination of five months of intensive effort on the part of a small group of energetic volunteers. It all started back in March when we first heard there was a possibility to bring Sadhguru to Tampa for a public talk. Tampa is a rather new and recent center and we were not sure if we could host a grand event like this with the small base of volunteers. Nevertheless, knowing that this was a huge privilege and an even greater responsibility, our meditators committed themselves to making this possibility a reality that would happen in a grand way. So it was fitting that this event was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Tampa Bay.
On Sunday August 3rd, the evening program began at 6:30pm with a reception and music. The three piece Indian ensemble consisted of Gomathy Sundaram on Veena, Pandit Shastri Maharaj Ramesh Metha on Tabla and Leena playing the violin.
Sadhguru arrived at the hotel at around 6:45pm. Of course, Sadhguru handled the driving duties himself, with co-author Cheryl Simone being chauffeured to the event as his passenger. His arrival had the air of the red carpet at a Hollywood awards program with a throng of volunteers waiting to greet him with a garland of flowers and escort him to the grand ballroom. Grand Hyatt Hotel personnel were also present as greeters and so the last of the attendees and other hotel guests who happened to be present quickly realized that someone very significant had just arrived.
The program started at 7:00pm with a short video depicting the worldwide work of Isha Foundation and the many and varied humanitarian activities that make up a normal day for Sadhguru. As this was the first exposure to Sadhguru, Isha Foundation and its work by many of the event attendees, one could sense the audience knew they were in for something special.
At 7:15pm, as Sadhguru waited in the back of the hall, additional chairs were still being brought in to accommodate the overflow crowd. Even as the legal limit of chairs were set out, close to 100 were left standing in the back of the hall.
I watched from the back of the hall as Sadhguru took his seat on the dais, with the grandeur of 1300+ people waiting to hear him speak, the immensity of the moment finally took over as I realized the efforts of the Tampa volunteers had turned a huge possibility into an even larger reality. A wave of gratitude and inexplicable emotion came over me. It was hard to fight back the tears.
One of the local newspapers had this to say about the upcoming event. “This Sunday, local folks get the chance to meet Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a spiritually enlightened individual who also happens to be a renowned Indian yogi and mystic, as well as an author, teacher and peace delegate.”
The writer ended with this remark, “Rumor has it that Vasudev is a charismatic speaker, and he’ll likely offer some fulfilling insight to those feeling spiritually starved.” I mentioned the “rumor” remark to Sadhguru in the green room before his turn on stage. As he began his talk, he quickly demonstrated that his speaking abilities are no rumor. He immediately captivated the large audience with his easy-going and approachable demeanor, quick wit and humor. Sadhguru has a special knack for sizing up an audience and can extemporaneously tailor his talk to the mood of the crowd.
He started by putting everyone at ease poking a bit of fun at himself with the suggestion that he appeared to the only one who clearly was in the right line at the airport which had him being checked into the country as an alien. He then de-mystified what it meant to be a mystic. He made it seem as though he were having a one-on-one conversation with everyone in the room.
From there Sadhguru launched into his discourse on the importance of Inner Engineering as a process through which one could experience our true nature. The goal of life’s seeking is close, very close. All that is missing is the right technology to approach it. He drove home the point with great clarity that the creation and the creator is within each and everyone of us, and it should be our life’s work and purpose to realize and experience this for ourselves.
During a portion of the talk, a Tampa summer thunderstorm raged outside. It accentuated Sadhguru’s point that while we can’t always control our outer environment, we can control our inner atmospheres. And what a blissful atmosphere it was for those two hours.
As is the case whenever Sadhguru speaks, two hours went by as though it were a few minutes. During his talk, hardly anyone got up. This is especially poignant as much of the audience was seated at 6:30pm, which meant they had been sitting for over 2 ½ hours by the time Sadhguru finished.
The last half hour was devoted to a question and answer period from the audience. He fielded questions on a wide range of topics from the source of evil in the world and where does one go after death to how do we experience the true perception of ourselves. Not only did he answer each question thoughtfully and thoroughly, he had a clarifying answer for the part of the question that wasn’t asked. It was as if his response answered the unasked questions of the audience as well.
Sadhguru’s talk ended around 9:15pm and a long line formed quickly for the book signing segment of the evening. Cheryl and Sadhguru autographed books for forty-five minutes without any apparent signs of writer’s cramp.
As I listened to the conversation chatter from the people in line, I heard, “Thank you for inviting me”; “What a thought-provoking talk” and “I can see why my friend is so transformed by his experiences with Sadhguru.”
At 10:00pm, 100+ meditators were back in the hall seated on the floor for a special Sathsang session with Sadhguru. He continued some of his thematic discussion from the talk. A main point was that we should confront the challenges of life with emptiness, for emptiness is vast enough to hold everything. This was followed by a short question and answer period and before we knew it, it was 11:00pm. We concluded this intimate gathering by chanting with Sadhguru, “Brahmananda Swaroopa, Isha Jagadesha”. And then it was time to pack up and head home.
Cheryl wrote in my book, “Let’s make this happen”. On this night in August, we most surely did just that, beyond our expectations!
Yoga Means Union
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