Isha Foundation is one of the famous Shiva consciousness foundations laid by Sadguru. It runs all around the god of destruction, Mahadev. Being an ardent devotee of Shiva, I constantly desired to visit this sacred place in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, on an auspicious day. Hence, I chose to see it on the last Monday of the month of Karthika in the Hindu calendar.
So, I drafted my plan accordingly to stay, explore, and offer my prayers at Isha. As I planned to have my winter vacation of 2023, I decided to spend my time in parts of South India by visiting some important spiritual places and attending the weddings of my best pals. Accordingly, I have reached Bangalore, where overnight journeys feasibly connect every destination.
One fine evening, I took a private bus from Bangalore to Coimbatore to spend a day at Isha Foundation and Coimbatore City. I left Bangalore around 10:30 pm and reached Coimbatore early in the morning. As it was too early to check in to the hotel I booked earlier, I decided to proceed directly with the journey to Isha. Somehow, Mahadev directed me so that my trip to Coimbatore went smoothly, and indeed, it went better than I expected with many unpredictable and spontaneous elements.
I thought of freshening up and visiting Isha in the morning, but soon after I arrived at the city bus station, I had an early breakfast while charging my phone. And then, I went to a spot where buses from Coimbatore to Vellanki arrived. There's only one bus that connects Coimbatore and Isha Foundation. It was 41D, and the ticket price was just 40 rupees. If anyone wants to visit Isha from Coimbatore by bus, this is the only option. It felt so good courting the bus with my backpack and all the other passengers.
After one good hour of passing the city limits and the utmost greenery on either side of the road, I could feel the calmness of the Isha Foundation soon after the bus entered the vicinity. Even from the bus itself, the Adiyogi statue was clearly visible. That was when I felt overwhelmed and fortunate enough to be visiting the place on an auspicious Monday. After getting down from the bus at around 7 am in the early winter foggy morning, I spent at the place for around 4 hours exploring and doing my sadhana.
I took one whole hour to explore every corner of the Adiyogi statue as I always used to wonder about the architecture behind it and, most importantly, the factor of how they managed to construct it as the most prominent face statue of Shiva in the world. I have clicked enough pictures and videos of the statue and could see people madly obsessed with posing themselves instead of embracing the aura of the place. Sadly, I ignored all the drama and spent peacefully in one corner, feeling emotional while looking at the statue.
After some time, I proceeded further towards the Ashram, where the meaning of peace can be witnessed literally but without phones and gadgets. Thank god they don't allow phones; if not, people would explore only with their phones. The staff of Isha were very polite, calm, and amazing. I deposited my bag and gadgets and received the token to collect them back after my visit. They kept everything safe.
The entrance of the Ashram is one of a kind. One can witness a huge statue of the Naga serpent welcoming the visitors of Isha. The people who stay in the Ashram and those who book to stay there can go with their bags and gadgets. But I went only to offer prayers. So I had to deposit my belongings. After crossing various stalls, beautiful paths, and garden corridors, one can find a vast place opening up to the insides of the Ashram. As I have yet to book an Ashram stay, I couldn't get inside the place to explore, but I could visit all the temples.
I have witnessed Suryakund, Chandrakund, Dhyanalinga, and Lingabhairavi temples. They made me feel humble, calm, peaceful, and, most importantly, spiritual. Exploring any place inside the premises was very easy because many sign boards in four languages directed devotees and visitors properly. Also, one can find volunteers who guide people accordingly in every step, especially inside the temples.
Suryakund is for males, and Chandrakund is for females. So, these are the two substantial water spaces with highly elevated ceilings and natural ventilation. It's believed that taking a holy dip in these water bodies brings calmness to any person. A massive Naga statue is inside, and people offer prayers, diyas, and kumkum after bathing. I followed the process accordingly, but I couldn't change clothes because I left my bag outside and visited alone. But I was okay with my clothes and haven't faced any dress code restrictions.
The complex is filled with people from every nook and corner of the world, only to attain peace and calmness from this place, primarily through meditation. As the foundation preaches the importance of meditation and yoga, one can find ardent yoga believers practising yoga at a vast yoga hall with connecting corridors. All you have to do is to bring a yoga mat and practice accordingly. I missed doing this ritual because I needed to prepare myself properly for doing yoga there, as my thoughts were all about offering my prayers to Shiva.
As Chandrakund is exclusively for women, I couldn't witness it, but I'm sure it looks as beautiful as the surya kund. Then, I followed the directions of the Isha Foundation to make my presence at the temples. At first, I witnessed a huge seated consecrated statue of Nandi. I offered my prayers to it and then entered Linga Bhairavi's premises. Thankfully, I could attend the morning aarti ritual where female priests perform Linga Bhairavi aarti to the deity and devotees can offer their prayers through flowers, diya, oil and many more elements that can be bought from the counters accordingly. I could have done it without leaving my wallet in my bag. I explored everything inside the Isha premises with no money. Yet I felt extremely good because that day, I realised that no matter how much you plan, nothing can beat what Lord Shiva plans for you.
That day, He made me go against all my particularities, but He made me get the best Dhyaanalinga darshan. After waiting for the next batch to enter the temple, the rule is to allow a few people for fifteen minutes so that they can meditate for ten minutes during their darshan. Unlike other temples, the darshan at Isha is always peaceful and hassle-free.
I entered the temple's sanctum santorum and instantly felt calm and peaceful. Honestly, I can't put that experience into words. Then, I meditated for over 20 minutes because people can pray and meditate as much as they want. There were people of various ages seated in lotus positions, meditating on Lord Shiva. The best part is hearing the sound of the water drop falling on the Dhyaanalinga. Such is the calmness inside the temple premises.
Once I came out of it, my travelling plans suddenly shifted, and everything went so far outside my plan that I never thought I could ever do that. Stay tuned to read about my other experiences at this holy place.
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