CHENNAI: A mystic aura envelops as we step into the room at Royal Enclave, Besant Avenue. Spiritual master Sadhguru greets us with a warm namaste. The serenity is laced with his lively presence as he begins to talk about Isha Foundation’s upcoming project, and the youth of today. In September 2017, Sadhguru launched Rally of Rivers, a nation-wide campaign. This year, the spiritual reformer has initiated a campaign Youth & Truth to connect with the youth.
The inaugural event of this campaign was held at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in Delhi on September 3. The second event happened at Tamil Agriculture University, Coimbatore on September 10. On Friday, the third event was held at Anna University. The events will centre around interactive sessions between Sadhguru and students. The discussions will address a multitude of topics like career, parenting, relationships, stress, sexuality and more.
“Unlike, advising and teaching, the motive is to help the youth get clarity towards the core of any matter. Students often tell me ‘had you come early in our lives we wouldn’t have had problems.’ This time I wanted to implement it in my actions. The happenings from the event will be available online for students across the globe to access,” says Sadhguru, who plans to draft an education policy after the campaign. As a part of the initiative, Sadhguru will travel to different colleges across Coimbatore, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Shillong, Mumbai, Pune, and Varanasi.
He has also planned events for students at IIM Bengaluru, IIT Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and IIM Ahmedabad. “One student commits suicide every hour. Academic pressure has become one of the most prominent reasons. Abuse of social media and mobile phones has further contributed to addiction, self obsession, and peer pressure.
We’ve tried to reach as many schools and colleges as possible in rural areas as well. Even some of the international universities are requesting us to address such topics. I’m sure that despite the differences in culture, the questions remain the same among youth everywhere. They are the future and they need navigation in life,” says Sadhguru. On September 30, a large-scale event based on this initiative will be held in New Delhi to bring together thousands of youth, celebrities, and icons. The movement is expected to be an ongoing one, with a sustained engagement between Sadhguru and students both online and offline.