To a person on the street, a mystic might seem to belong in the high altitude terrains of the Himalayas, but not in the high tech region of the Bay Area. It takes a special kind of mystic to build a credible zip line between the mountaintops of the Spirit and the valleys of the Intellect.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is a mystic who is as comfortable flying a helicopter as he is leading a meditation program. Sadhguru founded the Isha spiritual movement to propagate classical Yoga. He is also the visionary spirit behind charitable causes like education for rural children, environmental protection and even cultural events like the annual Maha Shivarathri festival of dance and music. In his ‘Conversations with the Mystic’ series of discussions in he engages with experts on a wide range of secular topics.
On a luminous spring evening, Sadhguru brought the ‘Conversations’ event to Silicon Valley. Sadhguru sat in conversation with B.V. Jagadeesh, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, at the Hewlett Packard Auditorium in Palo Alto, Calif., May 11.
The topic of the conversation was ‘Developing Your Inner Leader for Life Success.’ Sadhguru fielded questions from B.V. Jagadeesh and the audience, explaining with wit and wisdom, the fundamental nuances of leadership. He used anecdotes from his own life to illustrate his perspectives.
(Above): Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev planting a tree, May 11. [All Photos: Isha Foundation]
Turning the Ordinary to the Extra Ordinary. B.V. Jagadeesh started by noting that Isha Vidya volunteers for last year’s Sevathon were exceptional. Isha Vidya seemed to be an extra ordinary organization built with ordinary individuals. How did Sadhguru achieve this transformation?
Sadhguru replied that it is uncanny that Jagadeesh used the phrase “from ordinary to extra ordinary,” because, that was the byline for the very first Inner Engineering (IE) course that Sadhguru had offered many years ago. But to the surprise and delight of the audience, Sadhguru said that his take on ‘extra ordinary’ was ‘more ordinary’, not ‘exceptional,’ as commonly understood. “Wanting to be more special than the next person,” he said, “is a disease. It is the spirit of service and the willingness to embrace life without reservations that makes exceptional volunteers and leaders. Good leaders make their followers fall in love with them by first falling in love with the followers.” This is not a technique that can be found in any textbook on business.
He lamented that some of the biggest businesses on the planet dealt with weapons, diseases and alcohol. “It is time,” Sadhguru said, “for us to collectively turn our attention to the well being of the planet and all its inhabitants, because we now have all the tools and resources to achieve that goal!”
Achieving Balance. The next question from B.V. Jagadeesh was about work life balance. How does one balance the demands of career and family, the desire to do good while also doing well?
“Most people,” Sadhguru responded, to the audience’s amusement, “start doing good in retirement, when they are good for nothing else!” This is not the best approach. Everyone must do the best they can at what they are good at, but do it in such a way as to benefit the community. Being able to juggle family responsibilities with career growth is important because growth is impossible without the support from family. Similarly, social responsibility must be an integral part of all businesses.
(Above): Attendees during lunch break at a meet where Sadhuguru Vasudev spoke. [All Photos: Isha Foundation]
Women as Leaders. On the question of women and leadership, Sadhguru started by paying tribute to the women role models in his life, like his great grandmother. Even when women were predominantly homemakers in earlier generations, they were the ‘leader’s leader’ because not only did they devote their lives to bringing up the next generation, but also provided the steady home base for their husbands. In the modern age, there is no place for gender discrimination in the work place. “Those who say women cannot be leaders,” Sadhguru joked, “have not been married!” On this Mother’s Day eve, Sadhguru remembered the many little acts of love and care that his mother provided for her family.
Harnessing Emotion. “India needs a movement to get anything done, not a set of instructions, because India is an organic, exuberant chaos,” Sadhguru said in response to a question from the audience.
Inner Engineering. To wrap up the session, Jagadeesh requested Sadhguru to share some details of Inner Engineering.
Then, just as it started, the event was over with an endearing Namaste from Sadhguru. A representative of the City of San Francisco presented Sadhguru with a ‘Certificate of Honor’ in appreciation of his visit to the Bay Area.
The co-chairs of Sevathon, Anuradha Jagadeesh and A.G. Karunakaran, requested Sadhguru to light the Sevathon torch.
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