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Transcript of the Guided Meditation on 7 March 2026 at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) Ashram in Rishikesh during AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering 2026.

Sitting still, inviting the Guru’s presence.

Inviting the Guru to settle down within you, offering your body, prana and mind to the Guru force.

Establishing the internal connection to that living stream that is our tradition.

Becoming infused with the light and the blessings of our Guru lineage.

Thereby allowing the mind to rise into higher frequency levels, allowing the awareness to rise into higher frequency levels.

Breath flowing as an even and smooth stream, an even flow.
In that flow allow our new community mantra to arise in your mind, being an expression of the ananda, the joy, the love, the completeness of the indwelling deity.

With that sentiment again offering your complete personality to the divinity dwelling inside of you.

Allowing the mantra to rise into more higher frequency levels of the mind, by which you may start to feel the touch of the Shakti embodied in the mantra. Allowing to be filled with that mantra-shakti.

Allowing this mantra-shakti to lift you up into even higher frequencies of the mind, where the Shakti starts to transform into a presence, the pure presence being embodied in this mantra sound.

Allowing yourself to dive deep into that presence.

Now allowing your mind to enter silence, resting in that presence.

Again allowing the mantra to reappear in the mind as this constant presence, the shakti, the spiritual force that the mantra carries.

Slowly returning to the syllabic form of the mantra.

Then allowing the awareness to return into the body presence, that outer framework that we call our personality.

Again settling down in this asana, sustained by the breath.

Now allowing your internal awareness to open up to the outside.
Returning into that room in which we are gathered.

Opening the eyes with pranaam to the Guru.

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Transcript of the talk given on 7 March 2026 at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) Ashram in Rishikesh during AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering 2026.

We are going to dedicate this session at first to point out to some degree the importance of Ishvara pranidhana, or Bhakti, the attitude of devotion, surrender, in context with the mantra practice.

Rabindra pointed it out yesterday, the same applies here. I’m not a teacher. I am a student trying to be a practitioner.

My hope is to be able to share some of the experiences during my long journey in meditation.

For me, the attitude of devotion, of surrendering one’s buddhi, prana, mind to that spiritual force that we are trying to connect through our mantra practice. Be it our guru mantra, be it the community mantra or some special mantra we may use for certain purposes. It is this attitude (of devotion) that carries us from the purely verbal form or mental syllabic form of the mantra into experiencing some higher levels that are to be found in the mantra.

In our practice we pointed out certain steps, certain stages in the practice.

Swami Ritavan ji in his opening to the Vasudeva mantra pointed towards the same, by way of the four stages of the shabda, the divine word. Starting from vaikhari, the outer sound, we move to the mental vibration, then through higher frequencies until entering into silence. And then returning from there. Each stage comes with a certain kind of internal experiences.

The texts tell us about two major stages in the mantra practice. One is the mantra-shakti, the experience of the spiritual force. That’s when we get in touch with the specific qualities, attributes, forces that the mantra carries. Then gradually, gradually (it’s a process) starting to touch the spiritual presence embodied in the mantra. Once we touch this presence, it may appear as if the mantra is dissolving. At that point there are no more syllables, there is just presence, the core of the mantra. It’s syllabic form is just the outer shell or body.

From there entering silence, allowing the mind to go to rest completely. Probably none of us is able to describe this kind of internal state. This silence is still an experience within the mind field, not yet that supreme silence beyond the mind, the Amanaska state.

Silence comes in many stages or depths. We surrender ourselves into this silence. But our minds may not yet be purified enough to stay there. After some time some samskaras will be stirred which pull us out. That’s how it goes.

In our practice all depends on purification. All depends on purification. Also the depth of our mantra practice and silence depends on purification.

Now, mantra in itself is a purificatory. When the mantra shakti starts to touch our personalities, it will start to remove everything that is in the way. It will start to show us our limitations, our unresolved emotional attitudes, thereby creating an opportunity to look into these things and clarify these things. We too can turn these arising obstacles into an offering and allow them to be consumed, burned in the internal fires.

That’s one way of purification. There are many ways. In yoga, mantra may probably be considered to be the most important one.

Purification starts with cultivating the yama-niyamas. A hard task in itself. But mantra is our companion from the beginning of the path to the end. Mantra is our connection to the Guru, is our connection to this living stream that is our tradition. In the moment of mantra initiation this connection is established and that is why it is so important to hold on to the Guru Mantra.

The community mantras that are usually given every three years, they serve as means to build and form this worldwide community.

Sometimes when we receive a mantra, our minds, our egos start to cling to the syllables, struggle with the mantra rhythm or with the syllables. Sometimes people are unhappy feeling like they are not progressing in their mantra practice.

Often there’s too much clinging to the syllabic form of the mantra. Our ego comes in trying to keep control of the process. That’s somehow the job of our ego. It wants to control everything in life. This also applies to our meditation practice. This tendency of our ego is probably the most disrupting factor in our practice. So, to loosen that kind of tendency, to go beyond this tendency, the major key is bhakti, is Ishvara pranidhana, is the internal dedication, is in surrendering oneself to the higher forces. By this the shakti in the mantra can start to touch us, reach us, can start to lift us up. Our ego may not like it, because to some degree it loses its control, being afraid of any change.

What to do? Observe. Observe the fact that there are obstacles, that there are tendencies of resistance. Surrendering that too. Gradually, gradually turning this personality into an offering to the guru, to the deity dwelling in the mantra, to the Supreme. This is the internal gesture that lifts us up.

The Vasudeva mantra is the direct expression of the attitude of devotion and surrender, of bhakti, and thereby is nurturing our longing for completeness.

Stoma Ji calls it the urge for joy, the fifth of the primary urges. It is the longing for completeness. It is through devotion, bhakti, in our mantra practice, in our meditation that carries us upward, touching more subtle layers.

Swami Veda often mentioned that Ishvara pranidhana is a shortcut. The fast line towards realizing our true selves.

For me this comes perfectly true. Before I met Swamiji, I explored different paths, being blessed to have met great teachers, masters. The moment I met Swami Veda all of that was somehow wiped out. At that point I was not at all interested in mantra. I thought, well, mantra, why should that be useful? Coca-Cola might be a mantra!

But experiencing his initial guidance into a very simple meditation, and then starting with very basic explanations, the very moment he opened his mouth, I knew I was waiting for that. Nothing else. I was waiting for that. Through his guidance I was touched by an inexpressible beauty, touched by some shakti. That’s what caught me, the connection was there. It was like coming home. Next day I asked for mantra initiation.

Ishvara pranidhana is an internal gesture of offering oneself to the internal divinity. Divinity comes in many expressions. How many mantras are there? The essence in all is the same. There’s one divinity that is the core of our beings. We all are that.

Practicing with this sentiment, we start climbing the ladder through more and more subtle layers (of the mantra), until eventually, not through our efforts, not through our efforts, we may enter that supreme silence beyond mind. This is by way of grace of the Guru.

So, mantra is the shortcut, Ishvara pranidhana too is a shortcut. They go together.

At first I was wondering about the new community mantra, why this one? Meanwhile I get to understand that by deepening this attitude (of Ishvara pranidhana) our whole worldwide community may be lifted to further advanced stages of the path.

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Editor’s Note:

Michael Kissener is a mantra initiator within the Himalayan Tradition and a member of AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee. He is also the Vice-President of AHYMSIN.

 

Love is all around us. Popular songs remind us that “love makes the world go round,” and “all you need is love.”

But what do we really mean when we say, “I love you”?

In his book Sadhana: The Essence of Spiritual Life, Swami Rama noted that love, as most of us practice it, is intertwined with selfishness.

I need something, so I say ‘I love you’. You need something, so you say ‘you love me’.

By that measure, what we call love in the world is really a form of mutual exchange — affection given in return for something we hope to receive.

Swami Rama argued that true love is something entirely different: acting selflessly and spontaneously without expecting anything in return. Love is about giving — not giving to receive, but giving simply to help another.

It’s a distinction worth contemplating. Much of what we modern people think of as love is actually desire. In Mexican Spanish, the common way to say “I love you” is yo te quiero — which more literally means “I want you.” The word querer conveys a sense of desire, even
possession. It indicates something the speaker hopes to receive, not something freely given to another.

There’s nothing shameful about that impulse — it’s very biological and very human. But it’s not exactly the same as love.

That gap between wanting and loving might be one of the most crucial differences we can recognize in our inner lives. One person approaches others to take; the other approaches to give. One is driven by desire; the other by generosity.

The question is straightforward but challenging: when we say “I love you,” are we offering something — or subtly anticipating something in return?

In that sense, love isn’t just a feeling. It’s a discipline — the subtle practice of prioritizing another’s well-being over our own desires.

After the Mahabharata war is over, Lord Shri Krishna took Yuddhishthira or Dharmaraja to Bhishma who was on the bed of arrows, and requested him (Bhishma) to give discourse on righteousness or dharma to Yuddhishthira. The teachings imparted to Yuddhishthira by Bhishma is documented as thousand names of Lord (God)—Vishnu Sahasranama—in the form of hymn at the end of Anushawsana Parva of Mahabharata by Sage Shri Veda Vyasa.

It is a gift to the mankind by Sage Veda Vyasa, an incarnation of Lord himself.

Each name in Vishnu Sahasranama depicts innumerable virtues or divine qualities of the God or Brahman. Among one thousand names of the lord, ‘Vishnu and Vasudeva’ appears thrice. Actually, Vishnu and Vasudeva are synonyms.

The Vishnu Sukta of Rigveda says – ‘Vishnu occupies the entire universe or multiverse. Because of his power, everything in his creation is sustained and kept in order. He is the power of intelligence behind the orderliness.’

On the other hand, the name Vasudeva has more of a historical and puranic significance and is more popularly used in meditation and bhakti tradition.

We can understand the word ‘Vasudeva’ as v+asu+deva.

• ‘V’ is knowledge. ‘Asu’ is prana or one who inspires.
• ‘Deva’ is bright being who is sportful.

So, ‘Vasudeva’ is the one who is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. For him, the creation, sustenance and regulation of the universe is just a play or sport. Enlightenment and liberation, ignorance and bondage are in his wishful play.

Vasudeva can be understood in another way –

• ‘Va’ as all pervasive and all knowing.
• ‘Su’ is the creator of all and everything.
• ‘De’ is one who grants everything auspicious.
• ‘Ava’ is one who protects those who meditates on him.

So, Vasudeva means the treasure of illumination, the power of knowledge which enlightens and liberates.

Vasudeva = vasu + deva.  God or Supreme Brahman, who hides himself in the innermost core of beings. When through sadhana one crosses the fifteen enclosures¹ and realizes one’s essential nature (jiva swarupa), then the lord reveals himself as Supreme Brahman called Vasudeva.

When through meditation, one transcends awareness from gross Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya and Vijnanamaya koshas or sheaths, then the Lord Vasudeva reveals Himself as Spiritual Bliss as He is the infinite source of knowledge, bliss and power.

Ordinarily human beings experience waking, dreaming and sleeping states. Everyone experiences these states without any effort, and these states are governed by Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha form of Supreme Brahman. Beyond these three ordinary states of awareness, there is another higher and enlightened state which can be attained through meditation, called turiya and is governed by Vasudeva!

Om tat sat.

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Editor’s Note:

¹ 16 enclosures are:

• 5 Karmendriyas (ear, eyes, nose mouth and hand)
• 5 jnanendriyas (sound, form, smell, taste and touch)
• 11) manas (mind)
• 12) buddhi (intellect)
• 13) ahankara (ego)
• 14) chitta (memory)
• 15) nama (name (or) identification)
• 16) chetana or individual self

² Narayana, Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna are the forms of Supreme Brahman by which he regulates his creation through pancha pranas- prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana. Reference: Commentaries on Upanishads and Tantra saara sangraha by Shri Madhwacharya, a great proponent of “Tatwavaada philosophy (the information is not exhaustive)

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About the Author:

Raghavendra Adiga is a mantra initiator within the Himalayan Tradition and a member of AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee. He is also the center leader of AHYMSIN affiliated center in Tumkur, Karnataka, India.

ॐ (Om)

Linguistic Breakdown: Om is the pranava, the primordial sound. It is composed of three phonemes: A (अ), U (उ), and M (म).

• A (अ): Represents the waking state (jagrat), the physical world, and Brahma (the creator).
• U (उ): Represents the dream state (svapna), the mental world, and Vishnu (the preserver).
• M (म): Represents deep sleep (sushupti), the formless unconscious, and Shiva (the destroyer).
• The Silence After: Represents Turiya, the pure consciousness that transcends and pervades all three states.

Meaning: Om is the sound-vibration of the Absolute Reality. It is the symbol of Brahman, the ultimate, unchanging reality.

नमो (Namo)

Meaning: Salutations, bowing down, reverent homage. It signifies the complete surrender of the individual ego (ahankara) before the Divine. It is an act of offering one’s limited self to the unlimited.

भगवते (Bhagavate)

Linguistic Breakdown: meaning “to” or “for” of the word Bhagavan.

Meaning: “To the Bhagavan,” “To the Lord,” “To the Possessor of all divine qualities, attributes, virtues.”

• The term Bhagavan is specifically defined in the Vishnu Purana (6.5.74) through its etymology:
  Bhaga means six divine attributes:

1. 1. Aishvarya: Absolute sovereignty
   2. Virya: Absolute power
   3. Yashas: Absolute glory
   4. Shri: Absolute beauty and prosperity
   5. Jnana: Absolute knowledge
   6. Vairagya: Absolute renunciation

• Van means “one who possesses.”

Thus, Bhagavan is the one who possesses these six divine virtues, divine qualities in full, simultaneously, and eternally.

वासुदेवाय (Vasudevaya)

Linguistic Breakdown: The dative case of Vasudeva.

Meaning: This word has two profound layers of meaning:

1. Son of Vasudeva: This refers to Lord Krishna’s appearance as the son of King Vasudeva and Devaki. This grounds the mantra in the historical and personal aspect of the Divine.
2. The All-Pervading God: The word can be broken into Vasu + Deva.

• • Vasu: Means “to dwell,” “to cover,” or “to shine.” In this context, it means “all-pervading.” The Upanishads state that all beings dwell in the Supreme, and the Supreme dwells in all beings.
  • Deva: Means “the shining one,” “the divine,” or “the playful one.”
  • Therefore, Vasudeva means “He who dwells in all things, and in whom all things dwell,” the immanent and transcendent reality.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय (Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya)

Putting it all together:

The direct translation is: “Om, I bow to the Lord who dwells within all hearts, the possessor of all divine qualities.”

There is a Sanskrit word, sankalpa. The word can be translated as follows:

• sam (सम्) – together, completely, fully
• kalpa (कल्प) – idea, plan, rule, or arrangement

An interpretive translation is a resolve in which the whole mind is aligned toward a goal.

A sankalpa is more than a simple goal. It has determination behind it.

That determination is essential on the path of yoga and, really, on the path of life itself, because it produces the power—the shakti—necessary to reach the goal. Swami Rama says simply: without it, you won’t reach the goal. That’s not meant to be dramatic. It’s just the way things work.

People often think of sankalpa as a vow, and that’s true. But a vow doesn’t magically make something happen. You have to be determined. You must choose and put energy into it. It’s one thing to say, “I will do this,” but we can say that all day long, and nothing will happen if we don’t mean it.

Swami Rama says you have to say: “I will do this. I can do this. I have to do it.”

There are many times when determination is essential.

Take the simple example of cutting down on foods you love that aren’t good for you, like junk foods. Without determination, forget it. It’s not easy to cut down on what we eat. With determination, you can do it.

Similarly, meditating every day takes determination because many things will come up. Some days you won’t want to do it. This is where determination is necessary.

Determination has a profound effect on the mind. We think we’re just setting a goal, but the mind reacts to that. Swami Veda once told me that once you decide, your mind changes.

I experienced this very directly during a forty-day silence retreat. After about ten days, my mind went into total rebellion and said, “Enough of this silence practice. I’m going to quit.” I had a big argument with myself—the part that wanted to quit and the part that said, “Wait a minute, I’m doing this practice.”

What finally made up my mind was a memory from years earlier.

I had set an intention to take a retreat for ten days, but discomfort arose and I abandoned my plan. When I told Dr. Arya what I had done, he looked at me, shook his head, and said, “You missed something by not staying.”

I felt so bad seeing his disappointment and knowing he was disappointed not for himself but for me.

So, years later, during that forty-day silence, when I was in the midst of that crisis, thinking, “I’ve got to leave this retreat,” I remembered that look on his face. I thought, “I don’t want to see that again because of something I’ve done. I must stay and complete this.”

At that moment, I developed determination. I decided: I will do it. I am going to stay here and finish it, no matter what.

With that determination, my whole mind changed. All the complaining and whining stopped, and the resistance went away. For the remaining thirty days of the silence, I was in a state of joy.

Once I made that determination—once I made that sankalpa—everything changed.

True determination means your whole mind is aligned. If something pushes you down, you stand up and keep going.

Gandhi was like that. No matter what they did to him, he kept getting back up. Such was the power of his determination.

Determination means having a strong will.

Eknath Easwaran says our will is like a beaten-up fellow lying in the corner, while our desires are strong and energetic. But the will is what gets you to your goal. So you must strengthen it.

You do that in small ways.

When your alarm rings in the morning, get up. Don’t lie there another half hour.

When you want one extra cookie, pass on it.

Small things like that build the will.

That is what determination is: the focusing of the will so you can reach your goal. Without it, the mind’s resistances will keep coming, and you’ll never get there.

So ask yourself:

What am I here for? What is my goal? What is my sankalpa? What am I determined to do?

Even a simple one—“I will meditate at the same time daily”—can be enough to begin.

Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Rama

Chapter 12 The yoga of Devotion pg. 353 – 364

At the request of Swami Ritavan Ji, Himalayan Yoga Meditation Netherlands Society (HYMNS) will facilitate a reading circle, that will be started and hosted by Louise. We will start, as instructed by Swami Ritavan, with Chapter 12 of Swami Rama’s Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita. The group can then decide among themselves about the next book. TTP students can register for these hours for sangha hours. You can send an email to info@yoga-hymns.nl if you would like to attend. If you don’t have the book, we will send you a pdf of the chapter.

Meeting ID: 818 2210 5456 Password: Bharati108

When? Sundays – January 25, 11.00 CET onwards
India 3:30 Pm; Netherlands 11:00 Am CET; Taiwan 18:00 Pm

January 25 – 2026 : Reading the full chapter, Reading and discussing Verse 1 and 2

February 15 – 2026 : Reading and discussing verse 3 – 8

February 18 until March 30 I am in India at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama
Daylight saving time begins March 29 in the Netherlands

April 26 -2026 : Reading and discussing verse 9 – 12, Reading again verse 13 – 20 (Amritashtakam)

Verse 13 – 20 explain the characteristics of the best of devotees. It describes the virtues which an aspirant should acquire on the path of perfection.

May 24 – 2026 : Reading and discussing verse 13 – 20, Summary of the Chapter

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Anatomy Support Group – in English

In April, an anatomy support group will start on zoom for TTP level 2 students and others who are interested. Louise will host this group. For more information, email Louise at info@yoga-hymns.nl

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Meeting with Spiritual Friends, Satsang with Wolfgang Bischoff

About every 6 to 8 weeks, HYMNS hosts a zoom-satsang with Wolfgang, who is a senior teacher in the Himalaya Tradition. If you are interested in participating, please send an email at info@yoga-hymns.nl

Next date: Thursday 12 February 19.30 CET

In loving service of the Tradition,
Louise

For the second time, millions of people came together in meditation on 21 December 2025, in response to the UN’s call to pause, reflect and reconnect with our inner selves. The sādhakas of the AHYMSIN group of Quatre Bornes, Mauritius also got together on that day for a meditation session as part of the celebrations of World Meditation Day.

We feel deeply blessed that what was once a sacred ancient tradition, revealed only to a select few, has today become a global observance, embraced by the whole planet as a path to inner peace, self-awareness, and holistic well-being. In today’s fast-paced world, the ancient wisdom offers us a simple reminder: peace begins within.

The session was held under the guidance of our spiritual teacher Behenji Sarojini. In her discourse, at the end of the guided meditation, Behenji Sarojini talked about the meditation process as taught by Swami Rama of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. She emphasized on the fact that meditation is not an escape from life. It is a systematic training of the mind which unfolds through a progressive preparation of the body, breath, and mind in defined stages.

The first step for the preparation of a meditative state begins with the practice of Joints and Glands exercises that gently stretch and limber the body. This releases tensions and energy blockages.

The second step is Hatha Yoga Asanas – the physical postures. Here all asanas are performed meditatively with mindful breathing, relaxation of effort and awareness of body sensations. This preparation trains the mind to pay attention and to turn inward.
The third step is a deep relaxation. This calms the nervous system, releases physical tensions and slows the breath.  From a scientific view of the autonomic nervous system, deep relaxation balances our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Modern life tends to keep the sympathetic system which is responsible for the body’s “fight or flight” response chronically active, even when no real danger is present, resulting in increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, heightened alertness, and stress hormone release.

From the perspective of ancient yogic traditions, the state of the nervous system is understood through the flow of prāṇa (vital life force) moving through subtle channels called nāḍīs. When the body and mind are under stress, prāṇa becomes irregular and outward-moving It flows unevenly through the nāḍīs, particularly activating the piṅgalā nāḍi – the right nostril (which continues through the right channel of the spinal cord).

On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system, operating through the vagus nerve, restores the body to a calm and composed state with slowed heart rate, deeper breathing, muscle relaxation, healing and emotional calm. Attention is withdrawn, allowing prānā in the idā nāḍi – the left nostril which continues through the left channel of the spinal cord to settle and move smoothly and rhythmically. This makes the body deeply relaxed and the mind naturally calms down. This balanced flow of prāṇā corresponds to parasympathetic dominance.

The fourth step is prānāyāma – yogic breathing. Practices like nādī  śodhanam (alternate nostril breathing)—balances the flow of prāṇa between iḍā and piṅgalā, purifies the nāḍīs, and steadies the mind. With regular practice, prāṇā begins to flow into suśumṇā nāḍī, the central channel of the spinal cord, creating a stable foundation for meditation. The mind becomes one-pointed, attention is drawn inward.

Once the foundation has been laid, meditation arises spontaneously and effortlessly, and the mind rests in stillness and in inner peace. Thus, the Himalayan Yoga Tradition approaches meditation as a gradual inner journey—from body to breath, from breath to mind, and from mind to silence—revealing our natural state of inner peace.

At the conclusion of the session, the sādhakas expressed a felt sense of pervasive inner peace and well-being emerging from the moment of inner stillness. The session closed with silent thanks and deep reverence to the masters who have transmitted the timeless science of meditation.

Meditation transcends religions, cultures and belief systems. It belongs to the inner science of the mind. Its principles are universal and accessible to all who seek self-knowledge, inner peace and collective harmony.

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Editor’s Note:

Maya Devi Soonaranne is an initiate in the Himalayan Tradition and an active member in AHYMSIN Mauritius.

When I was planning the topic for our annual retreat in Thailand for 2025, suddenly “Yoga of Action” came to my mind. Perhaps it was because we already had “Yoga of Love,” “Yoga of Wisdom,” and “Yoga of Light” in the previous years as I did not have a particular logic or urge to go with this topic. When we had a discussion among a small group of Thai students, however, there was some resistance to this topic because of the concern that Thai people (mostly Buddhists) may be discouraged to join if they know that the teaching is based upon the “Bhagavat Gita,” a sacred Hindu Scripture. Nonetheless, we decided to go with this topic.

A few months later, I read an AHYMSIN newsletter and surprisingly found that “Perennial Psychology of Bhagavat Gita, by Swami Rama” was mentioned as a recommended book for this year;  the year of Swami Rama’s centennial celebration. I took that as a confirmation for our decision. Then, the challenge came, with a lot fewer (than normal) number of people registering for the retreat. We decided to do commercial advertising to promote our event, which did not help at all, as no single person out of 2,000 people seeing the ad registered, although we received a few inquiries. With the Guru’s blessing, however, during the last two weeks before the retreat began, we had many more people joining, including some who initially could not join because they had other commitments.

The teachings of the “Bhagavat Gita” could be very controversial as they are based upon a story of the war between members of the same family who were fighting to reign the Kingdom. On the surface, it is understandable that many people found it contradictory to spirituality. We were very lucky to have Shi Hong and Pandit Priyadarshana (Pierre Lefebvre), whose sharp insights into this sacred text made it easier for participants to understand the deeper meanings of the teachings, clearing most of their doubts by the end. One participant told us after the retreat that while she is a Buddhist and fully embraces the Buddha’s teachings, she does not see the Bhagavat Gita teaching in contradiction with her mainstream belief after listening to our two teachers.

Those who see Bhagavat Gita as a spiritual message metaphor asked why the story has to be about the killing of one’s own family members and teachers. Shi Hong explained that it has to be extreme in order to create a very strong inner conflict even for a highly evolved human being (like Arjuna), which most of us can relate to in our daily conduct (where so many conflicts arise in the mind). If the war is between two sides that are not closely related, then a sense of conflict would not be there in full. And because of intense conflict, a high degree of non-attachment is required to make a discriminative choice to act. Rooted in ignorance (Avidya), attachment is a starting point of the downward spiral. People with strong attachment live in fear (of losing what they are attached to) and anger, losing mindfulness, coming under delusion, and finally destroying their own lives. Killing enemies who are one’s own family members here means killing attachment and ego that are as close to one’s self as one’s own relatives.

At the higher level of the teachings, the body (that is killed) is not one’s own true nature but only a garment one wears. Atman or Self (one’s own essential nature) can never be killed as it is never born (so it can never die). Self-realization (realizing Atman) will thus remove all ignorance and liberate us from samsara (birth–death cycle). Atman (individual consciousness) is like a drop of Brahman (universal consciousness) wrapped in the body like a drop of water from the ocean put in a bottle. A body or a bottle is formed by each person’s karma. Self-realization means a drop of water is released from the bottle, returns to the ocean, and becomes part of the ocean again permanently.

For people who take Bhagavat Gita as a real story, Pandit Priyadarshana explained that the five Pandavas brothers had done everything possible to avoid the war in the past many decades. However, the Kauravas’ only goal was to completely destroy the Pandavas, forcing the eventual war. So, it is the war between virtue and vice. The Kauravas were given Krishna’s whole army as Arjuna (one of the five Pandavas) chose to have only Krishna as adviser. Yet the Kauravas lost the war and everyone was killed. This reflects the essence of the teaching that if one chooses the Lord of life (represented by Krishna), he/she will attain victory in the end over thousands of enemies (attachment, fears, selfishness, lust, etc.). Panditji also enlightened us with the knowledge of the laws of Karma. Karma means action, which subsequently leads to the fruit, and the fruit motivates one to perform the next action and reap another fruit, and so on. This creates a vicious cycle with no end. The only way one can be free from the bondage of karma is to perform one’s action selflessly, without expecting anything in return. But this requires a high degree of mindfulness, non-attachment, and skill. While nobody can do anything about past karma (either in this life or previous lives), whether they have already produced fruit or not, one can definitely choose to perform future actions that are not binding.

This is where the practices play a vital role. Meditation is the highest form of practice as it is a tool to release the highest level of wisdom hidden very deeply inside each human being. However, successful meditation will be facilitated greatly by the practices of Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, relaxation, and the rules of conduct (Yama and Niyama). During the retreat, participants learned these techniques as taught by our Gurudeva, Swami Rama, and Swami Veda Bharati.

At the end of the retreat, the teachers reminded us to keep the inspiration to practice daily (as they know how hard it is to stick to this discipline). Panditji said that the inner battlefield of the Bhagavat Gita needs not be something extremely dramatic like the Kurukshetra war, but it can be something very subtle in daily life, like whether I should sacrifice my time for practice, etc. Shi Hong wished all the participants that the bottle (which imprisons their own essential nature) will become thinner and thinner until it finally disappears one day, so all of us can rest permanently in our own essential nature (Self) that is one and the same.

The organizing team is deeply grateful to the Guru force, which always guides us silently through all the challenges, to Shi Hong and Pandit Priyadarshana who have selflessly served the tradition for so many years, to all the volunteers (translation, book selling, etc.) who have worked hard to give their services at the highest qualities, and finally to all the participants who have contributed their time and financial support that made this retreat possible and successful.

By Little Student of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition.

God is the first ray of Sun on a misty morning

God is the golden sunset over the ocean quietly glowing

God is the river teaching you to flow

God is the fire burning you until you let go

God is the wind whispering its song

God is the dawn you have been waiting for so long

God is the winter freezing up the night

God is the spring bringing the new light

God becomes love to remind you how it feels

God becomes sorrow to show you what pain means

God becomes the emptiness you feel

God makes you search until you heal

God lifts you up to help you learn to fly

God pull you down so you can reach up again high

God becomes strength when you feel too weak

God becomes tears to help you weep

God becomes silence when you need to hear

God becomes an ending when the time is almost near

God becomes the path when you feel so lost

God becomes direction when you need it the most

When you are truly looking for God, He becomes the search

And when you finally get there, He is that final merge

To reach there takes only a second

One second is all it takes

A gentle blow of the final candle flame

A brief moment for the lifting of the veil

And in that moment, it will all be so clear

Because all the answers will be just right here.

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Editor’s Note:

Beatrix Sari is an initiate and was a student at the Swami Rama Dhyana Gurukulam at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama during the academic year 2025-26.