Sadhguru's Blueprint For Bliss

Sadguru is a yogi, mystic, and visionary whose work has touched the lives of millions worldwide. His approach does not ascribe to any belief system but offers methods for self-transformation that are both proven and powerful. Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering, a yogi’s guide to joy, relies on the teachings and principles of classical yoga to help readers create an enduring foundation for inner stability and peace. The book shows you a straightforward way to feel really good through the traditional science of yoga. It explains things in a practical and easy-to-understand way, with lots of funny and interesting stories. The book contains life-changing quotes and illustrates sadhanas in a very simple, precise way.

The book is divided into two sections. The first maps the terrain, and the second offers us a way to navigate it. The book opens with an interesting short story about Shankaran Pillai, a pharmacist who gave him a box of laxatives for a whooping cough. The writer then presents an insightful description of the four-letter word ‘Guru’ that literally means ‘dispeller of darkness’. The writer considers self-transformation as a dimensional shift in the way we perceive and experience life. The one who embodies this is a yogi, and the one who guides you in this direction is a guru.

The first chapter, ‘When I Lost My Sense,' describes how Sadguru developed as a highly curious and observant person and how he became a student of Malladihalli Swami. He describes his daily routine when he was a schoolboy and shares how he began to understand that what the sacred traditions and scriptures had extolled as the ultimate experience was happening to him. The second chapter, ‘The way out is in’ discusses how we have allowed our thoughts and emotions to come from outside rather than inside. He expresses that we ourselves are the greatest source of technology, but the problem is that we don’t know where the keyboard is. Sadguru encourages us to do right things by saying that unless we do right things, the right things will not happen to us.

The third chapter, ‘Design your destiny', portrays how we define and shape destiny. Sadguru says that whatever we do not want to take responsibility for, whatever we cannot make sense of logically, we label destiny. Therefore, he explains that when pain, misery, or anger happens, it is time to look within us, not around us. The fourth chapter, ’No boundary, no burden', discusses that responsibility simply means our ability to respond. He says our ability to respond is limitless, but our ability to act is limited. Sadguru talks about'stress management’ that he heard widely in the U.S. He explains how we manage the things that are precious to us. So why should we manage stress?

The fifth chapter of the first section is ‘And now Yoga’. In the beginning, the writer explains yoga as the technology of upgrading, activating, and refining these inner energies for the highest possibilities. Then he talks about the five layers to which yoga draws our attention. Annamayakosha is the food body; manomayakosha is the mental body; pranamayakosha is the energy body; vignanamayakosha is extraordinary knowledge; and anandamayakoshya is bliss beyond the physical. Towards the end of this chapter, he says that to experience wellbeing, all we need is a certain mastery over these dimensions of body, mind, and energy.

The second section of the book provides a more specific and deeper exploration of the three fundamental layers: body, mind, and energy. Moreover, this section oscillates between information, suggested practice, and self-observation exercises. To implement each of the exercises, “Sadhana” is offered in the boxes. In this section, we learn that if we want to achieve the ultimate goal of our lives, we have to work on three important things that control our emotions, thoughts, and lives.

There are four chapters in this section: body, mind, energy, and joy. The first chapter, 'Body', describes the yogic physiology of the body, the yogic approach to physical health, the importance of asanas (postures), and the yogic approach to food. The second chapter, 'Mind', describes the yogic psychology of the mind (intellect, emotion, and identity) and the importance of awareness. The chapter ‘Energy’ describes the yogic energy physiology of a human being and the yogic approach to the mechanics of life. The last chapter, 'Joy', makes us move to experience joy as one’s own nature. Therefore, body, mind, and energy are the three essential things for humankind, and to achieve joy, we have to maintain these three parts of our existence. After the second section, we can find a glossary of the difficult terms used in the book.

The book is well organised and well written, with clear explanations and practical stories. This book can be taken as a roadmap for positive education that helps students be well, flourish, and live a happy, engaged, meaningful, and accomplished life. Lifecrafting techniques such as reflecting on values and best selves, writing about an ideal future and plans, and setting and attaining goals presented in this book assist young people’s search for meaning and purpose in life.

The ‘Inner Engineering’ methodology preserves classical Hatha Yoga and the multi-dimensionality of classical yoga. The book covers the concept of connecting to our soul. If you are not feeling peace and happiness in life, then this book can be helpful. Thus, from nurturing the body to nurturing the mind and emotions, this book helps to cultivate holistic wellness and inner harmony.

The book is pleasant, motivating, and applicable to awaken our own intelligence, deepen our perception, and bring about a dimensional shift in the way we look at our lives, work, and the world. This book offers invaluable insights rooted in extensive research and enriched by valuable practical experience. Its content provides a roadmap that can be followed to enhance the overall well-being and happiness of human beings. In addition, this book offers valuable insights and practical wisdom on how to effectively navigate and harmonise our physical, mental, emotional, and fundamental life energy aspects.