Isha Yoga Center at Coimbatore for Mahashivaratri

Time: February 24th - 25th, 2017
Place: Isha Ashram at Coimbatore
Company: Wife & daughter
Highlights:

Right about the time we decided to head back to India, we got the news of Adiyogi consecration on the Mahashivaratri day at Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore. We thought it is the right time to visit Isha. Only concern was our daughter was just 6 yet and we were not sure if her age children were allowed - since it was an all-night gathering. There were no concrete Yes or No from Isha volunteers when we enquired. So we decided to take a chance and take her with us. 

Train tickets were easy to get. Registration to attend was easy. And on the day of departure, we left at 5 am on our TVS two-wheeler from Jayanagar home to Majestic. It was cold. Caught the 6:15 train to CBE. Journey was uneventful. It started getting hot at around 11. We reached at 1:15 pm as per schedule and took public transportation to Isha Yoga Center. The bus was crowded. Unfortunately, we had to walk about a km back for the entry since our entry gate was far away from the Isha Yoga Center entrance.

Now, that walk was tough. It was blistering hot. Tontu refused to walk, so we had to carry her. The place was like a desert. There was food service but it wasn't all great since it was all open-air with no place to sit and eat, and the food was very spicy. Tontu was getting tired of it all. After lunch, we headed towards our bay and thankfully we got 3 seats to sit together, at about 5 pm. At the backdrop, was this huge Adiyogi sculpture that dominated us all!

Soon after, it got cooled down. Quite literally! PM Modi came, accompanied with Sadhguru. The big screens were super clear and there never was a moment of boredom. Isha Sounds churned out some superb music. Tontu started enjoying the event too.

Kailash Kher (KK) came on stage to sing the Adiyogi song and that was awesome. And just like that - songs and music and Sadhguru's speeches came one after the other to keep us all occupied. When there was music or songs, Sadhguru walked amongst the masses on a special dais that snaked throught he crowd and danced. This allowed the crowd to be closer to him.

Sadhguru asked us to perform some chants at 11:40 pm and it was awesome - especially because of the huge crowd reverberating the same Yogic words 'Shambho'. It affected some people and they were acting weird, due to the enormous amount of energy-flow. I myself felt rejuvenated at midnight. Despite such massively loud chants, Tontu slept peacefully. 

After that, Sadhguru started a discourse. Now, that made me sleepy after some time. I was almost dozing off when music and dance started again. And so it went on and on. At 2 am, it was really cold. Tontu woke up at about 3 am. We took a walk amongst the various stalls, just to kill the time. In the background, KK had come back on stage and was singing beautifully. The arrangement for the loo was just perfect too.

From 4 to 5, we all struggled hard to be awake. Yet, as Sadhguru had said, we were vertical, so as to benefit from the maximum positive energy. Around 5:30 am, Sadhguru reappeared and gave a final speech, thanking volunteers and all of us for being part of this great event. The crowd then started thronging towards the Adiyogi sculpture. It was huge. Some pictures. Also witnessed a great sunrise.

Then we walked to Isha Yoga Center. It was our first time. We saw the sacred pool of water where many were taking bath. We skipped it, since we were running out of time. We had to catch the noon train back.

The queue to Dhyanalinga and Linga Bhairavi did not really lead to D and LB. Because of the huge crowd, they were not letting the crowd to the sanctum-sanctorum. So we had to view from outside. This was a big disappointment. Because I really wanted to sit in front of Dhyanalingam and feel the positive energy that I had read so much about. Anyways, not meant to be this time. Sometime in future, perhaps. We saw the remaining sacred spots of Isha, sat outside and meditated for quite some time and it was almost time to leave.

Had breakfast right opposite the center and took the bus back to station. Everything was crowded - The Isha Yoga Center, the restaurant, the bus, etc. We reached the station at about noon. Relaxed for a while, and then caught the 1 pm train back to BLR. Slept most of the journey. Reached BLR on time and reached home back on our TVS safely by about 10 pm. 

Overall, it was invigorating experience no doubt. The feelings ranged from - 'What am I doing here?!' to 'There is no other place I would have wanted to be right now!' Tontu was extremely cooperative for her age - from the comforts of an American life just two months prior to the scorching sun of a Coimbatore day and the biting cold of the Isha Yoga Center during the Mahashivaratri night. 

The only real sad thing was having missed the Dhyanalinga. Next time...