Shiva, one of the most revered of the Hindu Holy Trinity, is known for his power, character, anger and ecstasy. In his various avatars, he is known as Gangadhar–the bearer of the River Ganges, Bholenath–the innocent one and Rudra–the ultimate destroyer. Shiva, part of almost every mythical legend, sits at the heart of the Hindu mythology.
Yet seldom, he is known as Adiyogi–the one from whom yoga came forth. The fascinating deity Shiva is as much a yogi as he is Nataraja, the king of dance. A yogi before whom there was none. This idea of Shiva’s enigmatic being has been crystallised by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev in Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga.
Adiyogi, in essence, is a tribute to the ascetic in Shiva. Written by Sadhguru in collaboration with poet and author Arundhati Subramaniam, the book slowly builds the interest of the reader beginning with Shiva’s arrival on earth, the different forms in which he is worshipped, finally arriving at the fulcrum of the story–yoga. From here on, the narrative is focussed on yoga’s role in making ‘enlightenment’ attainable.
Each page of this book pushes and emboldens the reader to understand Shiva as never before by expanding the boundaries of their mind.
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