Raising human consciousness is more important than selling toothpaste and ketchup, says Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev adding that the Coimbatore-based nonprofit Isha Foundation he has set up is not focussed on commercial operations and becoming a corporate conglomerate.
‘Jaggi’ Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru in an exclusive interview with ANI, said: “I am here to solve a certain purpose. For the spiritual evolution of human beings. There is nothing wrong with (selling) ketchup and toothpaste as everybody uses it. That is not my priority. I do not want to go the foundation in that direction… “I am here to serve a purpose the spiritual evolution of human beings.”
“We will also make our own toothpaste and everything. But as rule I have kept it small as fixed. We are not going outright commercial. Not because I think that it is wrong. I do not think anything is wrong,” he said. The spiritual guru, is a passionate advocate for saving the environment and speaks about putting in efforts at reversing the degradation of agricultural land. He has just returned from his “Save Soil Movement” that he began in March 2022 and embarked on a 100-day motorcycle journey passing through 27 countries to spread awareness on actionable solutions to combat agricultural land degradation leading to a global soil crisis.
Elaborating on his efforts, Sadhguru said that he was focused more on issues related to saving the environment rather than on building a corporate empire. “If somebody can do it. With somebody I meant corporates, why cannot we do it. If any corporate can do it and sell it for profit why cannot we do it with quality as the main concern. We can. But it just takes away our focus. I do not have focus on these. I am associated with environment or education out of necessity not that I am in the need of it. Right now raising human consciousness is the most important thing,” Sadhguru said.
Asked whether Isha Foundation, which has over 200 centres globally including in the United States, will become a corporate conglomerate, Sadhguru responded in a lighter view that the “bunch of idiots” he has around him will not lead the foundation to become a conglomerate. “When there is a bunch of idiots I have around me there is no chance of becoming a conglomerate. They are all super-enthusiastic, full of devotion. But most of the time they do not know what the hell they are doing. I like it because it is the devotion and involvement that makes life. It is not about your sense of expertise about something,” he said.
Sadhguru founded Isha Foundation in 1992 near Coimbatore. The Foundation offers a customized system of yoga programmes called ‘Isha Yoga’. With 300 centres worldwide, it has 11 million volunteers. The Foundation is engaged in activities related to the environment, education and society.
