Sadhguru Warms up Snowy Toronto with Inner Engineering Bliss

Over 2400 participants from all walks of life had the opportunity to be with Sadhguru in Toronto for the Inner Engineering Completion program. 

The team of volunteers, totalling over 750 were working tirelessly from the moment they learned that Sadhguru would be coming for a third consecutive year to Toronto. Over 200 free yoga sessions were held all around the Greater Toronto Area from February to October, and over 1600 people participated.  When the date of the program finally approached, volunteers eagerly welcomed participants as they arrived, many after long journeys from different parts of the world.

Sadhguru first addressed the audience with his usual wit: “I am alive so you must be alive. How awake are you? You need to be awake to all aspects of life. Before you fall dead you need to know this life fully.” He asked the participants, “During these two days do you promise to strive a little bit? It is up to you whether you want to strive joyfully or miserably.” When addressing the control we have over our experience of life, he emphasized about “creating pleasantness in your body, mind and emotion is 100% your business.”

A photo booth was set up for participants to express their Inner Engineering experiences. During program breaks, many people visited the booth to share their sentiments using props and posters at the booth. Some participants created their own props with adjectives, designs and patterns. Words used to describe participants’ feelings included Bliss, Peace, Deeply Touched, Inspired, Humbled and Inclusiveness. 

During the program, an Inner Engineering instructor shared with a heavy heart that Sadhguru’s father had passed away three days earlier. Despite this great loss, instead of immediately returning to India, Sadhguru chose to maintain his schedule and offer the life transforming process to all the Toronto program participants. In fact, on that very day, the Kalabhairava Karma* process was being conducted for his father at the Isha Yoga Centre in India.  A picture of Sadhguru’s father, Dr. Vasudev, along with a poem written by Sadhguru dedicated his father was shown to the audience. A volunteer, observing the audience, noted how poignant the atmosphere became during this time. “I saw many participants shedding tears upon learning about the passing of Sadhguru’s father, and how Sadhguru had nonetheless remained fully committed to his plans to lead Inner Engineering. Just after this sharing, Sounds of Isha played Yugan Yugan Hum Yogi, a rendition of Kabir’s timeless poetry that left everyone in the hall feeling tender and deeply grateful.”

Participant Sharings:

Manfred, aged 89, shared his story of staying determined to complete Inner Engineering despite falling sick at an Inner Engineering Total program earlier this year. “I persevered through a hospitalization, physiotherapy, and met with volunteers at a local library to complete the online course.” 

Abani, a geologist who flew in from Salt Lake City, Utah, connected deeply with Isha’s environmental outreach. “I was touched by Rally for Rivers and Cauvery Calling and couldn’t wait to be with Sadhguru for the weekend.” 

A young woman and Canadian Customs Officer, shared that she first met Sadhguru when clearing him at the airport in 2018. She remembers joking with him when she saw the large group that gathered to welcome him: “You must be very popular.”  “I remember his full-bodied laughter and being intrigued to the point of Googling Sadhguru and also downloading the Sadhguru App. When I learned of the program with Sadhguru in Toronto, I enrolled right away. I am touched by Sadhguru almost everyday. It is hard to express the feeling–I feel like I am always in a state of bliss.”

A participant from Abuja, Nigeria shared that “Inner Engineering was amazing and hilarious. It would be incredible to have Sadhguru to conduct Inner Engineering in Africa. The insight I gained and control I feel within myself is something I’ll always be grateful for.”

Kanchana, a youth participant, expressed that she has been following Sadhguru for years and knew this year she had to take Inner Engineering. “It would be an understatement if I said that this was the best day in my life. Tears keep coming and I can’t articulate it fully. I bow to Sadhguru and the volunteers for being here.”

Natalia, originally from Russia, had followed various Indian gurus until she came across Sadhguru on YouTube. “I knew he was my Guru. I’ve been saving money to visit the ashram in India, and when I heard Sadhguru was coming to Toronto, I was absolutely thrilled. Because of my poor English, I didn’t understand everything during the program, but that was not a barrier to experience Sadhguru.  When Sadhguru walked the ramp, I went to three different places to touch his feet. He looked at me with an expression that said, ‘I see you, I know you’.”

Gregory came from Trinidad to be with Sadhguru and shared that he had been watching Sadhguru on the internet for five years. “Everyone rushed to see Sadhguru when he walked on the ramp but I stood in the middle with folded hands and greeted him and he greeted back. It was a beautiful experience and felt magical. This has been an experience I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.  

One participant said that he attended Mystic Eye with Sadhguru last year in Toronto. “The 15-minute meditation that Sadhguru led was very profound and gave me an elevated feeling. This year I was wishing to take Inner Engineering with Sadhguru. The day after I was thinking of this, I got a call from an Isha volunteer informing me of the upcoming program in Toronto. It felt like a calling to be here and I can’t contain the joy I feel now.”

A young participant said that was initiated into Shambhavi in April by Sadhguru in Philadelphia. “Before that I was practicing Sadhguru’s guided meditations online. I wanted to go through Inner Engineering and to be with Sadhguru again, so I enrolled for the Toronto program. Inner Engineering changed the way I think and made me realize that thoughts don’t matter as much as I use to think. There is much more to life than what we have in our experience.”