Jagadish Vasudev, known as Sadhguru, was born in Mysuru in 1957. By his own account he was a sceptical young man running a business, with no interest in spirituality.
He has often described the afternoon of 23 September 1982. He rode his motorcycle up Chamundi Hill, sat on a rock with his eyes open, and found that he could no longer tell what was him and what was not. The rock, the air and his own body felt like one thing. He thought ten minutes had passed. It was more than four hours, and his shirt was wet with tears.
He founded the Isha Foundation in 1992 near Coimbatore. It teaches yoga programmes around the world and is run largely by volunteers.
The outward work includes rural health and education programmes in Tamil Nadu, large tree planting drives, the Rally for Rivers campaign of 2017 and the Save Soil movement of 2022. We include a living teacher in this list because the theme asks how awakening turns into good in the world, and that question is as alive now as it was in any earlier century.
What it gave the world
Yoga taught at scale, and large volunteer efforts for rivers, soil and rural communities.
At a glance
- Place
- Chamundi Hill, Mysuru, Karnataka
- Date
- 23 September 1982, at the age of twenty five
- Source
- His own account, given in talks and in the book Inner Engineering
- Work
- Isha Foundation, founded 1992
Why it is part of Enlightenment Day 2026
The theme of the 2026 conference is celebrating enlightening experiences, and the question it puts to every speaker is how enlightenment connects with an awakening of consciousness that brings good to the world. This account is one of eight the day starts from. The conference is online on Saturday 10 October 2026.
The teacher named here is a subject of the day's talks. Naming them does not mean that they, or any institution that carries their work, take part in or endorse the event.