Sadhguru Calls For 5-Nation Board After Nepal Floods To Deal With Disasters, Pledges Rs 1 Cr Relief Aid

The death toll from the devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet has crossed 900, with thousands still missing, as spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev called for the creation of a five-nation Himalayan Board to coordinate disaster response across the fragile mountain region.

In his first public appearance since the floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, Sadhguru pledged Rs 1 crore towards Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund while addressing an event “In Solidarity With Nepal” in Kathmandu on Sunday.

He also called for greater cooperation among Himalayan nations to respond to disasters affecting the region.

Among those still unaccounted for are 77 participants of Isha Sacred Walks Kailash Sojourn, who were at the Gyirong immigration

centre on the China side of the border when the disaster struck. Three Isha volunteers stationed on the Nepal side are also missing.

Sadhguru Proposes 5-Nation Himalayan Board

Sadhguru proposed a Himalayan Board comprising India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, saying the countries should look beyond political boundaries while dealing with a mountain system shared by all.

“The mountains don’t know your political affiliation. The mountains don’t know what nonsense or language you speak. Even if you cannot administer it as one body, at least consultation must happen as one body. There must be some congruence of action in what we do because the Himalayas are the most fantastic and majestic feature on the planet. At the same time, they are very fragile,” Sadhguru asserted.

Emphasising the need for such a body to be established urgently, he said the Himalayan ranges must be viewed as a shared feature that needs to be protected for future generations.

“A body comprising all these nations where the Himalayan ranges run has to happen now. Even if political administrations are separate, the mountain ranges have to be looked at as a feature that needs to be protected for future generations on the planet. If we don’t do this and go on thinking, okay, it’s Nepal’s problem, let them deal with their problem, there will never be a solution.”

Sadhguru said the scale of the disaster was beyond what could have reasonably been anticipated and that its aftermath required a collective response rather than one that Nepal would have to manage alone.

“Nobody expected something like this to happen, that three-fourths of a glacial ice cube will just fall down four thousand feet down the peak. Not something anybody calculates it for. But now that it’s happened, we must look at this because this is not something a small nation like Nepal can solve by themselves,” Sadhguru said.

Sadhguru On Human Mortality

Actor Manisha Koirala, who shared the stage with Sadhguru, asked him what people could take away from an experience of such devastation.

Responding to her, Sadhguru spoke about the fragility of human life and said people should remain conscious of their mortality rather than waiting for disasters to serve as reminders.

“As a human being, we should not wait for disasters to happen. The first and foremost thing to understand about being human is that we should know every moment of our life that we are mortal. If we are continuously conscious about this, we will plan and execute our life in the most sensible way possible,” Sadhguru said.

‘This Is A Physical Phenomenon’

Sadhguru also urged people not to attribute the disaster to “divine reason” or “mystical possibility”, saying such explanations could diminish the reality of human suffering.

He stressed the distinction between spiritual dimensions of life and physical phenomena governed by physical laws.

“No, we should not waste our time on such things. Divinity is another aspect. Physical phenomena is physical phenomena ruled by physical laws. So let’s not belittle human suffering by giving philosophies or ideologies or mystical explanations. Maybe this is all God’s will. No, this is a physical phenomenon.”

77 Isha Pilgrims Still Missing

The 77 participants of Isha Sacred Walks Kailash Sojourn were at the Gyirong immigration centre on the China side of the border when the disaster struck.

Sadhguru had earlier recalled that the group had deliberately reached the immigration centre early because of the “chaos and confusion” at the border. Group leader Praveen, who has been associated with Sadhguru for more than two decades, had called to say that all the members had reached the centre at 9:05 am.

When the first images of the disaster emerged, Sadhguru said the water and debris appeared to be around 40 feet high.

“I said, ‘This is okay. Our people are all in the immigration centre, so maybe it will flood the centre, maybe they’ll lose their baggage, maybe they’ll lose their passports, maybe they’ll lose their clothes. I don’t care, but they will stay alive,’” he recalled.

However, the whereabouts of the 77 pilgrims have remained unknown since the disaster. The group comprised pilgrims from 19 nationalities.

Maa Gambhiri, a coordinator with the group, said the families of the missing pilgrims were waiting anxiously for information.

“There are 77 families waiting desperately for the answers. It is an emotional turmoil for them,” she said.

The Isha Foundation has contacted the embassies of India, China and Nepal for assistance.

Kala Bhairava Karma For Victims

In support of those who lost their lives in the disaster, Sadhguru also announced that Kala Bhairava Karma would be performed at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore.

The ritual is a consecrated death ritual performed to bring ease and a pleasant transition for people who have died of natural or unnatural deaths.

The “In Solidarity With Nepal” event brought together people in Kathmandu in support of those affected by the disaster.

Beyond immediate relief, Sadhguru called for a deeper collective responsibility towards the Himalayas, saying the mountains transcend the boundaries drawn between nations and that their future concerns all those who depend upon them.