Coimbatore: As the imposing 112-foot statue of Adiyogi (an incarnation of Lord Shiva and considered to be the first of the yogis) was unveiled against the impressive backdrop of the Velliangiri hills on Mahashivratri (Friday), many may have wondered who the sculptor of the statue was. A team of engineers and designers worked for two and a half years on the basic design and took another year to complete the statue, but the ‘sculptor’ is Jaggi Vasudev himself.
“Sadhguru took 2.5 years to design the statue after lots of iterations and work,” the Isha Foundation said of its founder and progenitor of the idea to build the statue. The visage of the 500-tonne statue “has a geometric significance”, according to Vasudev, who also has plans to build and unveil three more such tributes to the first yogi in the eastern, western and northern parts of India.
“This iconic face symbolises liberation, representing the 112 ways in which one can attain bliss through the science of yoga,” says the foundation’s website. Sadhguru Vasudev said, “Adiyogi predates all religion; in celebration of the universality of his methods, this glorious face of 112 feet height.”
The quizzical grey shade of granite and steel, the locks resembling serpents, the coiling snake and the necklace of rudraksh beads circling his neck make for a stunning visual treat in the middle of nowhere as it were with power lines dotting the parched fields around the sculpture against the backdrop of green hills. It is a tribute to the ‘sadhguru’ that he could ideate the Adiyogi in all his splendour and that he had a dedicated celebrity practitioner of yoga in the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
