By My uncle, my cousin and I had gone to Isha Yoga Centre in Vellingiri hills, Coimbatore. As it is situated at the foot of green, forest-covered hills, it had a pleasant feel to it.
At first, we went yo the Yoga Centre. We entered through a beautifully decorated archway, passed a couple of stalls and made our way towards the Centre. To our left, we were flanked by tall paan trees. We also saw an occasional peacock among the trees, much to our delight.
We soon reached the centre. We had already kept our footwear in the car, so we didn’t have to go through the hassle of filling a form and depositing it to the concerned authorities. The Centre was huge and shaped like a traditional mandapam, with a high ceiling and numerous, tall pillars and columns. As soon as we entered, we found a huge steps leading to a huge subterranean pool called Surya Kundam where we bathed in the chill waters and offered our obeisance to the metal Lingam placed in the water. We also bathed in the waterfall that fed the pool.
After this, we visited the Dhyana Linga, a place for meditation and worship, where a huge deity of Lingam stands, surrounded by niches in the wall where people can meditate.
Soon, we took a path away from the centre that led to the humongous and impressive 112 feet deity of Shiva, Adiyogi. When we reached there, my cousin who hadn’t been there before, unlike me and my uncle, was visibly awed by the pitch black bust of the first Yogi, Shiva. With his handsome countenance, dread lock hair and peaceful aura, the statue seemed to be a living thing!
We were also blessed to see Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of Isha delivering a speech to the people in front of the massive Deity, as it was Guru Poornima on that day.
He spoke of his dreams and hopes for a better education system where each child’s individual talents are recognised, Yoga serving as a universal platform. He also spoke of Tamil Nadu’s dying rivers and the farmers who suffered because of this. He asked us, the common people, to help those who bring food to our plate in whatever way possible.
The way he spoke was soothing and calm and what he spoke made sense. We enjoyed his style of speaking wherein he would throw in humour from time to time and not make everything seem serious.
All in all, it was a wonderful and enriching trip. In Tamil Nadu, India this is certainly one of the must see places.
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