Swami Veda’s New Book

For a sadhaka, the most cherished day of the year is when the presence of the Guru is even more pronounced and palpable—the sacred day of Guru Purnima.

On the auspicious Guru Purnima day of 10th July 2025, we were blessed to receive a sacred prasada—a loving offering in the form of our dear Swami Veda’s new book, Guru-Disciple Relationship Volume-II: The Sacred Art of Self Transformation, along with a long-awaited reprint of the most foundational text within the Himalayan Tradition—Night Birds.

Guru Disciple Relationship Volume-II includes the practices and the teachings that would be a guiding light in our spiritual journey. The annual 40-day spiritual festivals preceding the Guru-Purnima are celebrated and observed every year to keep us rooted to the core nature of our ever-free, ever-pure, ever-wise spiritual Self.

This book is a loving invitation for all sadhakas to take part in the 40-Day Spiritual Festival—a special period of sadhana introduced by Swami Veda over four decades ago and observed by dedicated sadhakas in the tradition since. For the initiates in the Tradition aspiring for spiritual advancement, these 40 days are a time to strengthen our connection with the Guru Lineage. Swami Veda writes, “Unless that relationship (with the Guru Lineage) deepens, all these practices will lead you nowhere. Find ways of deepening the relationship.”

This new book is the second volume in the special series of books by Swami Veda on the Guru-Disciple Relationship, of which the first volume was released last year on the Guru Purnima day. Michael Smith writes: “The chapters of this book are taken from talks Swamiji gave at previous 40-Day Spiritual Festivals from 1990 to 1997. They pertain to ways one can change one’s habit patterns, not only for 40 days, but for an entire Year of Sanctity, establishing a new mode of living for one’s entire life.”

Namita Sinha shares her reflections on the book:

Something that has stayed with me in contemplation (and continues to be an aspiration) is a passage from the section on Rhythms in the book. Swami Ji narrates a story to explain the principle of cultivating subtle and intangible values within.

Once Devi in her wish to please Lord Shiva decided to take up severe ascetic endeavour and sat in stillness under a tree for a long time. A hungry tiger, seeing this mass of flesh approached Her but was completely stilled by the power emanating from the Devi. The tiger became motionless and was transformed and became Her pet like a cat. Swamiji then says, “It is Her presence that is non-violence.”  He inspires us to seek this state of non-violence within ourselves.

Swami Veda writes, “We are here for a purpose; it is an on-going spiritual process. We are here for spiritual liberation and serving that mission. We are purifying ourselves of our pride and ego. For these reasons we train ourselves in constant self-observation’ to see oneself, to hear oneself, to develop this internal dialogue.”

It was nearly a decade ago that I first came to know of the 40-Day Annual Spiritual Festival. It was a blessing—a loving invitation to return to sadhana, to anchor myself once more and to walk those 40 days with renewed depth and longing to feel the closeness to the Guru Lineage.

What stayed with me most were the subtle practices of cultivating chitta-prasadana, the pleasantness of mind, and ahimsa.

This book is our beloved Swami Veda’s call—a loving invitation for all to join in the joyful celebration of the 40-Day Spiritual Festival. The practices herein, with a gentle resolve, are an opportunity to take one more step forward on our personal spiritual journey. More volumes on the same topic of the sacred relationship between a guru and his disciples are being prepared at the moment, to be released in the upcoming years.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who works tirelessly, silently, and lovingly in bringing forth Swami Veda’s teachings into new books. We are immensely grateful to Rajini Prakash ji for editing the book, Tejas ji for proofreading the book, Rabindra Sahu ji for the beautiful cover design, and Michael Smith ji for writing an inspiring foreword.

If you feel inspired to make this beautiful book a companion in your spiritual journey, you may reach out to the Bharati Bookstore via email: hyptbooks@gmail.com.

A kindle edition of the book is also available at Guru Disciple Relationship Vol-II.