Sadhguru urges regional cooperation after Nepal floods

Spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has pledged Rs 1 crore towards Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund and called for the creation of a five-nation Himalayan Board to coordinate disaster response, as the death toll from flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border rose to 903.

Speaking at an event titled "In Solidarity With Nepal" in Kathmandu on Sunday, Sadhguru proposed a board comprising India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, arguing that the Himalayan range transcends political boundaries. "The mountains don't know your political affiliation. The mountains don't know what nonsense or language you speak," he said, according to the Isha Foundation and multiple reports.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said the death toll from the flash floods has surged to 903, with thousands still missing. The disaster struck near the China-Nepal border, where a group of 77 pilgrims from the Isha Foundation's Kailash Sojourn were at the Gyirong immigration centre on the China side. Three Isha volunteers stationed on the Nepal side are also unaccounted for, the foundation said.

A call for a united Himalayan response

Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, said the scale of the disaster was beyond what could have been reasonably anticipated and that Nepal should not be expected to handle its aftermath alone. "Himalayas are the most fantastic and majestic feature on the planet. At the same time, they are very fragile," he said, adding: "A body comprising all these nations where the Himalayan ranges run has to happen now."

He emphasised that even if political administrations remain separate, the mountain ranges must be viewed as a feature to be protected for future generations. "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," he said, as quoted in reports.

Sadhguru also urged people not to attribute the disaster to "divine reason" or a "mystical possibility", saying such explanations could diminish the reality of the suffering. He announced that Kala Bhairava Karma, a consecrated death ritual, would be performed at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore on September 3 in memory of those who died.

Missing pilgrims and volunteers

The Isha Foundation, which organises Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimages each season, said the 77-member group remained out of contact. The pilgrims, comprising 19 nationalities, were returning to Nepal when the disaster struck near the Tibet border. Sadhguru recounted that the group's leader, Praveen, who has been associated with him for more than two decades, had called at 9:05 am to say all members had reached the immigration centre, which initially reassured him. He said the group had deliberately arrived early due to "chaos and confusion" at the border.

Maa Gambhiri, a coordinator with the group, said 77 families were waiting anxiously for information. The Isha Foundation has contacted the embassies of India, China and Nepal for assistance, according to reports.