Sadhguru breaks down, gloom at Isha camp after 80 pilgrims lost in Nepal floods

Struggling to hold back his tears, Sadhguru's hands trembled as he announced that 80 Isha Foundation members were lost in the devastating flash floods that struck the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday.Sadhguru said the 80-member team was returning from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimageA pall of gloom descended at the Isha Foundation camp in Tibet after an emotional Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev announced that 80 of its members were lost in the devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. The mood at the camp in Tibet's Saga was sombre, with the sound of Sadhguru's followers wailing in the background adding to the grim atmosphere.Struggling to hold back his tears, Sadhguru's hands trembled as he issued an emotional appeal to Indian and Chinese embassies, seeking permission to travel to Tibet's Gyirong, where the flood has caused massive destruction, to help in the rescue operations and search for the remains of the pilgrims.HANDS TREMBLING, SADHGURU BREAKS DOWNThe usually composed spiritual leader, who is currently in Saga, appeared visibly shaken as he described how tragedy struck the 80-member team while it was returning from the Kailash pilgrimage."Looking at the scale of destruction, it looks bad. This is a terrible and extraordinary event," Sadhguru said. Around 170 people have died, and 1,500 are missing after the flash flood swept through Nepalese districts bordering Tibet. The floodwaters swept away homes, vehicles and bridges, and disrupted communications across the region. Around 300 Indians are missing, according to Nepal's foreign minister.Addressing his followers, Sadhguru said he attempted to travel to the affected area personally on Thursday morning, but the disaster cut off virtually every means of access. "We have received no official confirmation of any kind so far... But looking at the scale of the devastation, the situation does not look good," he said.'CONTACT LOST MINUTES AFTER MESSAGE'The spiritual leader said the group was at the immigration centre at Gyirong when the entire building got completely washed away in seconds. An apocalyptic video showing the exact moment floodwaters hit the building has gone viral.Sadhguru recounted that he was at the very same immigration centre just a week back. "The same building where we were for the immigration just a week ago... that entire building is washed away," he said.Sadhguru said the foundation received a message from the group leader, Ishanga Praveen, at 9.05 am. "He sent a message that they had arrived at the immigration. Then, this happened at 9.14 am," Sadhguru said.He again broke down as he revealed that Praveen was associated with the Isha Foundation for more than two decades.After a brief pause, he continued. Sadhguru said his team noticed that Praveen's Nepal phone number had not become active during the day. "If he had crossed over, his Nepal phone should have become active. It did not," Sadhguru said."So, the entire group was there in the building," an emotional Sadhguru said.The scale of the tragedy, which was likely set off due to an ice avalanche, is likely to be far greater, Sadhguru warned. He said the overall number of people affected could be around 1,500 or more.Sadhguru, however, did not seek to draw a conclusion. He said nearly 12 hours had passed since the foundation last heard from the group. It sought to convey that all hopes were lost.Efforts are underway to secure permission for Sadhguru and a small team to travel to the affected area in Tibet's Gyirong. Sadhguru said he wanted to support the rescue efforts."We are seeking permission through the Indian, Chinese and American embassies on this to see if they can permit a group of people and me to be there and see what we can do," he said.As Sadhguru ended his address, the sombre atmosphere remained palpable in the Isha camp. The wails in the background refused to die down.- EndsPublished By: Abhishek DePublished On: Aug 27, 2026 13:32 IST