Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev): A True Guru?

[This is my recently posted at Amazon.com two-star review of Sadhguru's book "Inner Engineering." The title of the review is "Pop Inner Engineering."]

This book was pretty much what I expected from a big-name pop Hindu guru – lots of allegorical stories (which will impress and entertain neophytes and the ignoranti) spiced with superficial, error-ridden spiritual Dharma that the cognoscenti will turn their noses up at. The book is a smooth and copacetic read – designed to attract new enlistees to Sadguru’s Inner Engineering program -- but real spiritual “engineers,” those with a deep understanding of the “nuts and bolts” of the en-Light-enment process, will find little of value, and much to be critical of, in Sadhguru’s teachings.

The first turn-off for me was Sadhguru’s description -- or should I say ‘non-description” -- of his Awakening and Awakened state. All we get is a vague, hard-to-believe story about how “he never came down” one day after sitting on a rock, and no details about his putatively Enlightened state.

Sadhguru writes, “As Guru, I have no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no beliefs to propagate. And that is because the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity is self-transformation.” He opines, “Principles and philosophies are only of social consequence.”

First off, the whole book is an exposition of his philosophy, or views, on various subjects, especially those relating to self-transformation. And, IMO, anyone who delimits “principles [which are inherently philosophical in nature] and philosophy” to the social sphere has liitle understanding of what philosophy is really about – “the love of wisdom,” per Pythagoragas, who coined the term.

If “self-transformation” were “the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity,” then why did all the great gurus India has produced over the centuries fail to rid the country of its poverty? Because the solution for this problem was/is capitalism and technology, not self-transformation.” But because Sadhguru has little understanding of philosophy, particularly sociopolitical philosophy, he is seemingly clueless regarding this.

So, how does one upgrade one’s inner technology? According to Sadhguru, “A fundamental step [which he repeatedly emphasizes] would be to recognize consciously just this: ‘My ability to respond is limitless, but my ability to act is limited. I am one hundred percent responsible for everything I am and everything I am not, for my capacities and my incapacities, for my joys and my miseries. I am the one who determines the nature of my experience in this life and beyond. I am the maker of my life.’”

First off, contrary to what Sadhguru says, one’s ability to respond is limited because of one’s conditioning and biological limitations. Secondly, one is not responsible for all one’s incapacities. Is the child who is autistic from being vaccinated responsible for it? How about those who lost limbs in the 2013 Bostom Marathon bombing?

Many of Sadhguru’s statements had me shaking my head. For example, he writes. “It is only juvenile intelligence that analyzes things and arrives at a conclusion.” So, if one reads Hillary Clinton’s emails, which provide clear-cut evidence of her breaches of national security, and conclude that she is guilty of breaching national security, that is juvenile? Gimme a break. And, of course, Sadhguru himself is guilty of “juvenile intelligence,” because he analyzes things and arrives at conclusions in the book.

Sadhguru writes: “I spent twenty-one years of my life transforming a powerful kriya, the Shambhavi Mahamudra, in order that it might be taught to large numbers of people in today’s world. Certain aspects that could empower people either to harm themselves or others, or influence the elements around them have been firewalled, so only the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits remain. For those two decades I deliberately stayed away from all forms of public outreach, because my entire focus was primarily on re-crafting the kriya to ensure that it could be widely imparted without any adverse effects.”

Twenty-one years transforming a powerful kriya? Yeah, right. Like I said, this book is for the ignoranti, not the cognoscenti, who can only laugh at such statements.

Sadhguru provides some good, but simplistic descriptions of yoga, such as “The science of yoga is quite simply, the science of being in perfect alignment, in absolute harmony, in complete sync with existence.” But instead of providing the radical (or gone-to-the root) method to directly, immediately be in unobstructed alignment to the All (which spiritual traditions such as Dzogchen and Daism provide), he only offers remedial practices, which will benefit newbies, but seem like nothing new or special to spiritual veterans.

The late Alan Watts, when opining on the spiritual adept Adi Da (then known as Franklin Jones), said, “It is obvious, from all sorts of subtle details, that he knows what IT’s all about.” The converse can be said about Sadhguru. Anyone who has “cracked the code” and deeply groks the foremost spiritual Dharmas will reject his staus as a true “Sadhguru.”

The “inner engineering” details that Sadhguru provides make it clear to the cognoscenti that he is not Enlightened, that his Dharma level is that of Osho, and not that of Ramana Maharshi or Adi Da. For example, he writes, “Fundamentally, any spiritual path can be described as the journey from the muladhara to the sahasrara.” Not true. In fact, the final “leg” of the journey to Enlightenment lies down the frontal line of the body -- from the sahasrara to the hridayam (the heart-center, distinct from the ajna chakra), located two digits to the right of the center of one’s chest. This “leg” of the “spiritual circuitry” can only be traversed via Shaktpat, the Descent of Divine Power, the “Higher Kundalini.” But Sadhguru only describes the “Lower” spinal, or ascending, Kundalini. He uses the word “Grace” a few times in his discourse, but never explains what it is. It’s Shaktipat – Blessing/ Blissing Clear-Light-Energy, the same Hypostasis, or “Body,” as the Buddhist Sambhogakaya and the Christian Holy Spirit.

Sadhguru provides a glossary of the Sankrit spiritual terms he uses, but many of the definitions he provides are untenable. For example, he defines Chit (or Cit) Shakti as as “the power of the mind.” This is nonsense. Cit Shakti is the Power of awakened Consciousness, the emissional force-flow of Shakti radiating from the Heart-center (Hridayam) of an awakened yogi.

When I consider the pros of this book (it’s a smooth, polished, basic read that newbies and the ignoranti will appreciate) versus the cons (Sadhguru is not a real Sadguru, his Dharma is superficial and error-ridden, and he’s copying Osho’s stories and “shtick”without mentioning him), I’m only moved to give it two stars.