Author Guide · Spirituality & Yoga
Books Written by
Sadhguru, born Jaggi Vasudev in 1957, has published far more titles than most lists suggest. A handful are international bestsellers with major publishers; dozens more are shorter books and compilations of his talks, published in India through the Isha Foundation and its partners, often without a clear publication date. That is why one site says he has written four books and another says forty. This guide covers the six main books in order, everything else that carries his name, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 6 main books · many Isha titles · 2008–2025 · Updated September 2026
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Quick answer
Sadhguru's six main books, in order, are Midnights with the Mystic (2008), Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy (2016), Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga (2017), Death: An Inside Story (2020), Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny (2021) and Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die (2025), the international edition of the death book. Alongside these he has dozens of shorter titles published in India through the Isha Foundation, including Mystic's Musings. Start with Inner Engineering.
Where to Start with Sadhguru
If you read only one
→ Inner Engineering (2016).
If you want something practical about your own life
→ Karma (2021).
If you are dealing with loss
→ Death: An Inside Story (2020), knowing what it claims.
If you want the sceptic's way in
→ Midnights with the Mystic (2008), where someone else asks the questions.
If you want the myth and the history of yoga
→ Adiyogi (2017).
All 6 Main Sadhguru Books, in Order
Midnights with the Mystic: A Little Guide to Freedom and Bliss
His first book for an international audience, written with Cheryl Simone, an Atlanta property developer who became his student. It is built from a series of late-night conversations around a campfire on an island in North Carolina, with Simone asking the questions a sceptical Western reader would ask.
Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy
His best-known book and a New York Times bestseller. The first half is autobiographical, about the experience on a hill in Mysore that he says changed everything; the second half sets out his framework of body, mind, energy and joy, with practices at the end of each chapter. Spirituality & Health named it one of the ten best books of the year.
Start here. The other books assume you already know the framework this one lays out.
— LisanneAdiyogi: The Source of Yoga
Written with Arundhathi Subramaniam, about Shiva not as a god but as Adiyogi, the first yogi, who according to the tradition transmitted yoga to seven disciples on the banks of the Kanti Sarovar. Part myth, part history of how yoga began.
Death: An Inside Story
A long, systematic book about what he says happens at and after death: how to prepare, how to help someone who is dying, and what he calls the mechanics of the process. Published in India by Penguin Ananda on February 21, 2020, and his most detailed book on a single subject.
Read it after Inner Engineering, and only if the premises interest you: much of it is stated as direct experience rather than argument.
— LisanneKarma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny
An argument against the common idea of karma as cosmic bookkeeping, good deeds against bad. Sadhguru presents it instead as the accumulated memory and momentum you have built, and therefore as something you can change. The most practical of his later books.
Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die — A Yogi's Guide to Living, Dying, and Beyond
The international hardback edition of his book on death, published by Harmony on June 10, 2025, retitled and repackaged for readers outside India. If you already own Death: An Inside Story, this covers the same ground.
Buy one of the two, not both.
— LisanneHow Many Books Has Sadhguru Written?
There is no single right answer, and that is worth understanding before you go looking.
- Six main books — the ones published internationally by Penguin, Harmony, Spiegel & Grau, Harper and Hampton Roads, with verifiable publication dates. See the list →
- Dozens of shorter titles — compilations of his talks published in India through Isha, among them Mystic's Musings, Of Mystics and Mistakes and Flowers on the Path. See the full list →
- Two editions of one book — Death: An Inside Story (2020) and Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die (2025) are the same book for different markets, which is why some lists count seven titles and others six.
- One book about him — Sadhguru: More Than a Life is a biography by Arundhathi Subramaniam, not a book he wrote.
In What Order to Read Sadhguru
Read Inner Engineering first, whatever else you do: it sets out the vocabulary the other books use. After that the order barely matters, because each book takes one subject and stays with it.
A reading path
1. Inner Engineering (2016)
2. Karma (2021)
3. Death: An Inside Story (2020)
4. Adiyogi (2017)
5. Mystic's Musings, if you want the older, stranger material
Everything Else Published Under Sadhguru's Name
Beyond the six main books there are dozens of shorter titles, most of them compilations of his talks, published in India through the Isha Foundation and partners such as Jaico. Many carry no clear publication date, which is why book lists for Sadhguru rarely agree. These are the best known, plus one book that is about him rather than by him.
Open a form with the + to see every book in it.
Well-known earlier titles, published in India
9
9 books
A compilation of extracts from his talks on life, death, rebirth, karma and the Self; over 100,000 copies sold.
Bookshop.org and more
On the journey from confusion to clarity.
Bookshop.org and more
An early collection of his talks.
Bookshop.org and more
Short pieces written for his newspaper column.
Bookshop.org and more
On living and dying as one process.
Bookshop.org and more
Often sold together with Mind Is Your Business.
Bookshop.org and more
On how the mind works and how to use it.
Bookshop.org and more
A short book on the basis of well-being.
Bookshop.org and more
A short book drawn from his talks on managing yourself.
Bookshop.org and more
Not written by him
1
1 book · 2010
Sadhguru: More Than a Life (2010)
A biography by the poet Arundhathi Subramaniam, often listed under his name.
Bookshop.org and more
Quick facts about Sadhguru
- Born
- 1957, Mysore, India, as Jaggi Vasudev
- Known as
- Sadhguru, a title meaning “uneducated guru”: one who teaches from experience rather than scripture
- Founded
- The Isha Foundation, in 1992, near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
- Main books
- 6, from Midnights with the Mystic (2008) to Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die (2025)
- Best known for
- Inner Engineering (2016), a New York Times bestseller
- Also published
- Dozens of shorter titles and compilations of his talks through Isha and Indian publishers
- Speaks at
- The United Nations and the World Economic Forum, and universities including Oxford, Harvard, Yale and MIT
- Campaigns
- Rally for Rivers (2017) and Save Soil (2022), under Conscious Planet
How Sadhguru Writes: Talks Turned Into Chapters
Most books with Sadhguru's name on them began as speech. He gives talks and answers questions constantly, and Isha has been transcribing and compiling that material for decades. That is why so many titles exist, why several cover the same ground, and why a compilation can appear years after the words were spoken. It also explains the tone: the books read like someone talking to you, with jokes, digressions and the occasional deliberate provocation.
The six main books are different in kind. They were written or shaped for publication, they have editors and firm dates, and two of them, Adiyogi and Midnights with the Mystic, have a named co-author who gives them structure. If you want a book rather than a collection of extracts, start with those.
Worth knowing before you read: he does not argue from evidence and does not claim to. He speaks from what he presents as direct inner experience, and asks you to try the practices rather than believe the claims. Readers who want sources and studies will be frustrated; readers who want a method may not be.
Watch
Sadhguru in conversation with Sashi Kumar
A full-length conversation with the journalist Sashi Kumar at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode in February 2017, published by the festival’s publisher, DC Books.
Frequently asked questions about Sadhguru's books
How many books has Sadhguru written?
Six main books have been published internationally: Midnights with the Mystic (2008), Inner Engineering (2016), Adiyogi (2017), Death: An Inside Story (2020), Karma (2021) and Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die (2025). Alongside these he has dozens of shorter titles and compilations of his talks published in India through the Isha Foundation, which is why book lists for him vary so widely.
What are Sadhguru's books in order?
In order of publication: Midnights with the Mystic (2008), Inner Engineering (2016), Adiyogi (2017), Death (2020), Karma (2021), Death (2025). Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die is the international edition of Death: An Inside Story.
Which Sadhguru book should I read first?
Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy (2016). It is his best-known book, it combines his own story with the framework his other books assume, and each chapter ends with a practice.
What is Inner Engineering about?
Inner Engineering (2016) has two halves. The first is autobiographical, about the experience that he says turned him from a businessman into a yogi. The second sets out his approach to body, mind, energy and joy, with a practice at the end of each chapter. It was a New York Times bestseller.
What is the difference between Death: An Inside Story and Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die?
They are the same book for different markets. Death: An Inside Story was published in India by Penguin Ananda in February 2020; Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die — A Yogi's Guide to Living, Dying, and Beyond is the international hardback, published by Harmony in June 2025. Buy one, not both.
What is Sadhguru's newest book?
Death: Only for Those Who Shall Die — A Yogi's Guide to Living, Dying, and Beyond, published by Harmony on June 10, 2025.
Did Sadhguru write Mystic's Musings?
Yes, in the sense that all of his books are made this way: Mystic's Musings is a compilation of extracts from his discourses and talks, published in India. It is one of his best-known early titles, with more than 100,000 copies sold, and it is darker and stranger than his later books.
Is Sadhguru: More Than a Life written by Sadhguru?
No. Sadhguru: More Than a Life (2010) is a biography written by the poet Arundhathi Subramaniam. She also co-wrote Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga with him.
What is Sadhguru's real name?
Jaggi Vasudev. He was born in Mysore, India, in 1957, and founded the Isha Foundation in 1992. “Sadhguru” is a title rather than a name.
Are Sadhguru's books worth reading?
It depends on what you want from them. He writes clearly and practically, and Inner Engineering in particular offers a concrete method rather than general advice. But he argues from what he presents as direct inner experience, not from evidence, and his organisation and his political positions have both drawn criticism. Read him as one perspective among several, not as a settled account.
Footnotes
- Sadhguru — Wikipedia
- Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy — Wikipedia
- Publications — Isha Foundation
- Mystic's Musings — Isha Foundation
- Death: An Inside Story, publication details — Penguin Ananda
- Editions of Death: An Inside Story — Goodreads
- Midnights with the Mystic — Hampton Roads
Bibliography last verified 10 September 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“If you resist change, you resist life.”
— Sadhguru
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