“Youth are natural seekers of truth. Time to empower them with the needed clarity, commitment, and courage to find their truth” ~ Sadhguru
Sadhguru, a bestselling author and mystic, recently embarked on a journey to meet citizens, leaders, and experts as a lone motorcyclist covering 30,000 km across 27 nations from the United Kingdom to India in 100 days for the “Save Soil” campaign.
As a part of his journey, he visited the IIT Kanpur on June 8, 2022, marking the 80th day of the “Save Soil” campaign. Volunteers from the Isha foundation were present on campus days before the event. This event, titled the “Youth and Truth” campaign, was hosted by Students’ Gymkhana in association with Antaragni, IIT Kanpur.
The event commenced with the songs of the “Save Soil” campaign by the Isha Foundation. To add more melody to the event, Chaand Baaliyan fame, Aditya Sirsa, mesmerized the audience with the Sounds of Isha.
Isha Foundation presented multiple video clips to increase awareness about the “Save Soil” campaign explaining the importance and need of the movement. Following it, the Isha Samskriti group gave a surreal Bharatnatyam and Kalaripayattu performance.
The performances were followed by a video highlighting the first 80 days of the campaign. Beginning in Europe, the campaign went through the Middle East, later coming to India, to be concluded in Coimbatore. During this journey, the “Save Soil” initiative was presented on April 5 at the United Nations in Geneva. It gathered support from WHO, the UN SDG lab (UN Sustainable Development Goals), and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
Just after the video presentation, Sadhguru made a stage appearance joining the panel of students. The panel asked questions on diverse themes and evoked some unique and a few questionable insights from Sadhguru.
Owing to the increasing relevance and awareness of mental health, Sadhguru was asked to give his views on why it is borderline offensive to suggest therapy to someone struggling with mental health issues. In response, he explained how the discourse around mental health is borrowed from the West and its understanding of psychology. He also mentioned the psychology of seeking attention and how human intelligence, as vital as it is, begins to work against us during mental illness.
The discourse then explained why students at IIT (especially the freshers) feel like a misfit. Sadhguru talked about the huge competition to get into IIT and how the facilities provided here are better than in other places. He then established the importance of interest in the field one pursues rather than the social stature of being at IIT.
In answer to his views on marijuana legalisation, Sadhguru dwelled upon the wastage of valuable time in intoxication. He talked about his beliefs that life’s purpose is to grow and develop, not fleeting away from reality. He also quoted a Telugu saying (to massive applause from the Telugu speaking audience).
In response to a question asked from the perspective of an introverted student struggling to socialise, Sadhguru compares one’s nature to a mask one puts on oneself. He responded, “It should be malleable and not a rigid concrete wall. Suppose an introvert disposes of the perception that they are an introvert and goes on in life believing that they are comfortable in socialising and networking; gradually, that becomes a part of their personality.”
He later addressed a question on the lack of emphasis on the aspect of compassion in movements of veganism and vegetarianism and over-emphasis solely on its health benefits. He stated how the quantity of meat consumed in the western lifestyle is way more than the amount typically consumed in Indian households. Thus it is logical in India for people to opt for vegetarianism on compassionate grounds rather than being motivated by its health benefits. Despite health-driven veganism movements failing to put forth a sympathetic stance in their campaigns, they ultimately succeed in attaining their purpose. Hence he believes lack of emphasis on compassionate grounds is not a big issue
The panellists then opened the stage for the audience. A professor asked Sadhguru about the waning significance of the “guru-shishya parampara” in modern times. Sadhguru talked about the undue importance of information transfer in contemporary education and the increasing influence of technology in providing information, replacing human teachers.
When asked by a first-year student about losing interest in spiritualism, Sadhguru mentioned how nature would prevent the discontinuation of such spiritual practices if it benefits humankind. This way, he tried motivating the student not to get ahead of himself in pursuing spiritual goals.
After the panel and audience questions were over, a zealous devotee burst with emotions and conveyed her devotion to Sadhguru. With tears of happiness, she gifted Sadhguru a shawl which he accepted respectfully.
Post the event, in interaction with the IITK Motor-Sports team, Sadhguru recalled how his motorbike often served as much more than just a vehicle.
“I literally lived on my motorcycle” ~ Sadhguru.
Later, the team showed their latest ATV “BAJA’20” mounter with “Save Soil” flags to Sadhguru. In their conversation with Sadhguru, the team explained that ATV possesses a lawn mower engine. Also, being lightweight, it doesn’t affect the soil culture as it moves on an uneven surface, thus in line with the save soil campaign. The team members and Sadhguru talked passionately about engines and how vehicles can be engineered to suit various needs. Sadhguru provided insights to the team for improving the efficiency of the vehicle and making it more environmentally friendly. The discussion ended on a high note, with Sadhguru giving the team a tour of his bike.
From there on, Sadhguru took off on his bike to the next stop at Jhansi.
Written by: Aditya Kumar Mishra, Mutasim Khan, Praneat Data, Shreya Nair, Vrinda Sharma
Edited by: Abhimanyu Sethia, Bhavya Sikarwar, Dev Barbhaya
Picture Credit: IITK Photography Club
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