The Isha Institute of Inner Sciences is expanding its location to accommodate its growing population and the influx of visitors from the foundation’s international branches.
Isha currently plans to build 10,000 residential units to host an additional 25,000 people, and has plans to continue expanding facilities in the hope of attracting tourists.
“Obviously, with the influx population coming here to live, there is going to be commercial infrastructure and a variety of different outdoor activities that are already there, like trails and hiking,” construction project lead Eli Vinikovsky said. “An 18-hole golf course is being developed right now. There is going to be a K-12 private school for people who are coming with families, like myself. There is going to be a hotel, convention center and a variety of retail and commercial spaces, which are going to include shops and restaurants.”
Isha is an international organization originating from India that teaches meditation and encourages conservation. The Warren County branch of Isha has been a part of the community for 19 years and works closely with many local businesses.
The construction project for Isha is supervised by September Bloom, a for-profit subsidiary of the foundation. No official timeline has been given for the construction project, but members of Isha hope to complete the project within 10 years.
As the population grows, and due to the remote location and small local first responder team, Isha is considering implementing an in-house team to assist first responders in case of emergencies.
Researchers from Isha estimate that its new development will bring an additional $4.8 billion to the local economy with an impact of $2 billion in Warren County, $1.2 billion to Van Buren County, $1.3 billion in Grundy County and $397 million in Sequatchie County.
Isha pays $21 million annually in real estate taxes across the four counties, but according to Warren County Executive Terry Bell, it does not pay a hotel tax for the many individuals who visit the institute.
“Right now, they are not paying any hotel or motel tax,” Bell said. “If you’ve got tourists coming in, we should be collecting a hotel and motel tax. If you have a short-term rental of a residence or an Airbnb, and you’re registered with the county clerk, you have to pay the hotel and motel tax. We will welcome that development if they will collect the sales tax and hotel tax. That will give us money to help with advertisements and help them with things; but right now, we are not seeing any revenue from those things.”
Bell also expressed concerns from a county level regarding infrastructure changes needed to accommodate the new development.
“What concerns the county is that the county doesn’t actually provide four-lane highways, water and electricity when a developer comes in here and tries to develop something of that size,” Bell said. “We have a planning commission that you have to go through, and you, as a developer, have to pay for those infrastructures. At this present time, Isha has not paid for any of those upgrades. Another thing is, most of those houses are going to be on the Van Buren County side of the complex.”
Currently, Isha attracts 100,000 visitors annually, and it is estimated its number of visitors will reach 750,000 in the next five years. The group says it has plans in place to accommodate those visitors with regard to basic utility needs.
"We are closely collaborating with local utilities," Vinikovsky said. “On the power side, we work with Caney Fork Electric in Sequatchie Valley, and for water, we work with WCUD (Warren County Utility District). So, we have a comprehensive plan in place of collaboration with local utilities as well as whatever we need to supply ourselves.”
While Isha will be maintaining its current water requirements, it will be relying on wells dug on the institute’s property to supply its new development.
“Based on my knowledge of Isha expansion projects, we do not anticipate any negative impact on WCUD’s system,” Anthony Pelham of the Warren County Utility District said. “WCUD and Isha met recently and there are no existing or pending contracts/agreements/plans to increase or expand water service to Isha from WCUD. Isha’s campus has had two service connections for many years. These two existing services are capable of delivering a peak demand of approximately 120,000 gallons per day. These existing services remain unchanged.”
Longtime volunteer and yoga teacher Alison Murry addressed concerns about the expansion, and referred to the documentary film, “Wild Wild Country,” which has given some viewers a negative outlook on the organization.
“I’ve been here for 19 years, and I came here when we first started developing the center,” Murry said. “I think some of the parallels people are drawing with whatever movie that is, and all those things, is kind of irresponsible. We have been here almost 20 years, and that’s not how we have ever functioned. We are a very conservative group of people in terms of our lifestyle. This is not a new-age community, and we never have been. I wouldn’t be here if it was. We are a non-drinking, non-smoking entity, and it’s very family-oriented.”
“We have a research development partnership with Harvard University, and we do many things like this around the world,” Murry added. “Sadhguru (Isha founder Jagadish Vasudev) is a very well-respected master of the science of yoga, probably the most respected teacher or master of yoga and meditation in the world today. This is not a fly-by-night organization or sketchy fringe movement. It is a very well-respected organization.”
