A refrain that Gurumayi repeated throughout her talk was: What have you been doing lately, especially since January 1, 2026? I’m pretty sure that each time Gurumayi asked this question, the smile on my face grew wider. The question, and Gurumayi’s way of asking it, were to me so characteristic of her. Gurumayi was being so gracious and personable, guiding us as she expressed genuine interest in what it is we had been doing for the first two weeks of the year.
I thought about this question for myself. What had I been doing since January 1? Had it already been two weeks since the start of the new year, since Sweet Surprise, since we had all received Gurumayi’s Message for 2026? I’ll admit that Gurumayi’s question made me pause for a moment. On the one hand, I had a straightforward enough answer. I’d gotten out my journal and pen in the days right after Sweet Surprise, and I’d mapped out a personal plan for studying and practicing Gurumayi’s Message. I had been doing my best to stick to that plan in the days since.
On the other hand, I don’t know that I had checked in with myself about what I was doing and how it was going—at least not as Gurumayi had done, with such gentleness and open-ended curiosity. Were the steps I was taking working for me? Did the goals I had set make sense in practice? Were they actually helping me to live by the wisdom in Gurumayi’s Message? I was reminded of something I have learned time and again from Gurumayi—that sadhana on the Siddha Yoga path is a dynamic process, a matter of ongoing and edifying conversation with ourselves. Gurumayi has taught that we experience the capital-S Self (that is, the supreme Self, the light of God that resides within us and around us) through the lowercase “self” (the workings of our individual mind and body).
Whenever this particular philosophical topic comes up, I remember that in the Indian languages, the word atma is used to refer to both the individual self and the supreme Self. I recall a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, which I have heard Gurumayi teach about in her talks. In the verse, Lord Krishna says to his disciple Arjuna:
A person must uplift themselves through their own self, taking care not to diminish who they are. For the self is one’s own friend and the self is one’s own enemy.1
I mentioned how I felt such curiosity in Gurumayi’s question to all of us. I felt that she was modeling how we can talk to ourselves, how we can—as Lord Krishna says here—see to it that we make friends with our mind. Gurumayi’s question wasn’t a “pop quiz.” It wasn’t meant to put us on the spot. I’m not saying that you took it that way, of course; I just want to share my own contemplation, what I experienced so viscerally in that moment. I thought what Gurumayi said was so affectionate and considerate—her words like the light of the sun, beaming down upon us.
I also believe these words invite deeper introspection. They definitely do for me. So, since I’ve just shared with you what I have been doing lately, I want to ask of you the same question that Gurumayi did.
What have you been doing lately, especially since January 1, 2026?
My own answer to “Gurumayi’s question for all of us” is that, in the first two weeks of this year, I have been in communion with the Self by speaking to Bade Baba. Implementing the word “Witness!” from the fourth line of Gurumayi’s Message has revealed a critic within me, whose opinions and judgments I have asked Bade Baba to help me eliminate from my thoughts.
Recently, instead of judging my mind to be tedious when those critical thoughts continue, I am finding within myself a forgiving and compassionate softness that encourages my mind to just move on to the experience of devotion and gratitude. I feel I am being tenderly held in the Guru’s arms like an innocent newborn.
Just remembering to ask for grace is a gift!
Georgia, United States
My husband and I made a heartfelt pact that, beginning on January 1, we would align with the inner Guru to refine our lifestyle with a plan that included food, exercise, and pausing often to realign with our dharma.
Hearing Gurumayi’s question was so rewarding, and gave us a happy feeling about our efforts since January 1. As we work to maintain that refreshed attitude, we can feel the power of Gurumayi’s Message propelling us forward and keeping us on the right track.
I find physicalizing her Message is one way to empower myself and realign with the shakti to combat anything that would weaken my resolve. I do these movements either mentally or physically in a dance routine that feels remarkably powerful and sacred. Also, as an uplifting reminder, I have posted in three different locations a simple artistic rendering of Gurumayi’s Message for 2026 and other teachings from Gurumayi. Turning to these, I often pause and “reset” myself into a lovely state of sanctity and sanity.
All this helps me maintain my focus and faith in myself.
Washington, United States
I practice acknowledging people by expressing my appreciation in terms of the specific reasons I value their actions. This practice has helped me recognize how meaningful sincere acknowledgment can be.
I was present once when Gurumayi acknowledged a sevite for her efforts in the effective management of a project. Witnessing this interaction deepened my understanding of acknowledgment. I learned that it is important not only to offer acknowledgment sincerely, but also to receive it with grace. I understood that accepting acknowledgment fully allows the spirit of appreciation to be complete.
New York, United States
What have I been doing since receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2026?
Some of what I have been doing is beginning each day by walking, repeating the Message as I engage with the outer world through my body, while simultaneously turning inward to contemplate the Message. As I do this, I always notice something, like purple flowers waving to me. It is as if what I am noticing helps me understand the Message a little more. As I hold Gurumayi’s words in my mind and heart, even though life has been challenging, what I notice are beautiful things. This guidance is helping me find the beautiful, like a lens that helps me to see.
After repeating the Message in its entirety, I have noticed time and again that it functions as a kind of ladder into the Self. Each line carries me more deeply inward, until the final line becomes a place of rest—a settling point, a foundation. It is there that all the practices of repeating, reflecting, and contemplating the earlier lines naturally come to a point of integration. This is how I “enlighten my consciousness.”
South Melbourne, Australia
Since January 1, I have been noticing that, by practicing the second line of Gurumayi’s Message, I experience the third line of her Message.
This came up recently in an event that happened in my home. There are workers on the floor above mine who are completely renovating an apartment, and the noise is unbearable for me. One evening, I was going to bed late, when I looked up and found water dripping from my ceiling. My patience had reached its limit, so I cried in despair and anger.
The next day the workers came to inspect the damage, and I saw such sorrow and pain in their eyes that my heart opened. I found myself comforting the workers and offering them sweets and coffee.
I felt I was “upholding my dharma” by sharing generosity and kindness. By doing so, I “nourished my heart”—and the hearts of the workers. We became friendly. By not giving in to anger, I made room for love.
Naples, Italy
When I heard the first line from Gurumayi’s Message, “Renew! Reset your mind,” I prayed for grace to help me change a negative pattern my mind had developed.
My husband and I have been together for fifty-nine years. I had been struggling with our morning routine: Although he has a hearing aid, he finds it distorts sound, so he is reluctant to wear it. Every morning, he was asking me to repeat myself. When I would finally raise my voice so he could hear me, I found it dissipated the serenity I had been experiencing from my morning practices. I also did not enjoy the critical thoughts I was having toward the man I love.
I tried witnessing our daily play, which gave me some distance. After a few days, instead of repeating the familiar routine, I asked him, “Could you wear your hearing aid?” There was no charge to my words; they just sprang from my heart. He happily put his hearing aid in. This process repeated for several days, and now he often wears it voluntarily, and we can communicate easily. We are both a lot happier!
Llwynygroes, United Kingdom
As soon as we received Gurumayi’s Message for 2026, I wrote it out on a beautiful card and placed it on my puja altar. Then, each morning after that, as I lit a lamp at my puja altar, I read Gurumayi’s Message a few times. Soon I had memorized it. Once I had begun to own the Message in this way, I would very often gaze at the sky and imagine where I could apply it in my life during both happy and challenging moments.
I found that focusing on the words reset and mind would ground me, and I could feel my breath easing. Then the words uphold and dharma would encourage me to be fair and unbiased. At this point in my contemplation, I would experience that I needed to nurture my heart and inner feelings, and so I would pause, close my eyes, and repeat the mantra with love. The fruits of this contemplation gave me instantaneous and joyful relief.
Nairobi, Kenya
After receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2026, I made a point of memorizing her words and then creating a vision board with four sections colored like the background colors of the Message.
I found and added pictures that represented how I interpreted each part of her Message. For example, for the third line of the Message, I chose a picture of a peacock because, for me, this represents Baba’s Samadhi Shrine where I mentally return, again and again, for self-replenishment. For the last line of the Message, I chose a picture of a swan and then added the definitions I had looked up for the words witness, enlighten, and consciousness. Then I created a list of specific ways that I could practice the Message.
This vision board sits in the room where I write and meditate. It serves as a daily reminder of how I can incorporate Gurumayi’s Message into my daily life.
Missouri, United States
I am fascinated by something Eesha wrote in this second “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words,” something she learned from Gurumayi: We experience the Self through the individual self and “sadhana on the Siddha Yoga path is a dynamic process, a matter of ongoing and edifying conversation with ourselves.”
As I was raising my children, I put a lot of time and energy into observing and engaging with them in ways that encouraged them and promoted their development. Now that they are young adults, I find myself directing my time and energy in a similar way toward myself. I study my thoughts and feelings, encourage myself, and guide myself in ways that support my well-being, help me grow, and help me connect with the Self.
In the process, I have been learning about myself and increasing my positivity, trust, and faith in myself and my own good intentions. This process has been very fulfilling and has increased my connection to the Self. Receiving this teaching from Gurumayi acknowledges and articulates what I have been experiencing and affirms the meaningfulness of my relationship with my own self.
California, United States
In a Siddha Yoga Sadhana Circle, we contemplated together the first of the four lines of Gurumayi’s Message for 2026. We exchanged ideas and inspired each other about how we can implement this first line in the Message. In our exchanges, we recognized the transformative power of reciting the sacred texts Shri Guru Gita, Shri Rudram, and Kundalini Stavaha and singing the hymn Sadguru ki Arati. We resolved to consciously chant them to “renew” and “reset” our minds.
Konolfingen, Switzerland
I have been contemplating the question asked by Gurumayi, and emphasized by Eesha: “What have you been doing lately, especially since January 1, 2026?” If I were to answer this question with an encapsulation, I would say that I have been trying to listen, and listen especially to the voice within. It is now my intention to revisit the inner responses that have arisen and to see what I am going to do with them.
Virginia, United States
Receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2026 in Sweet Surprise impacted me like the silence following a clap of thunder. After I heard Gurumayi bestow her Message, I expected her to speak about it. Instead, her silence made me understand that I was meant to embody the Message. Therefore, in the days since January 1, I have been constantly examining my actions, words, thoughts, and reactions to challenging situations to see whether or how they contribute to my embodying Gurumayi’s precious Message. Through doing this continuing practice, I feel that my sadhana has been “renewed” and has gained new momentum in 2026.
Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Argentina
Since receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2026 on January 1, I’ve been focusing on the first line of the Message, especially “Reset your mind.” I began my study by looking in Gurumayi’s books for teachings related to the mind. As I read Gurumayi’s teachings, it became clear to me that one habit of my mind definitely needed to be “reset”: When I have a lot of work to do, my mind gets anxious, and I tend to race through my tasks, trying to cross them off my to-do list as quickly as possible.
Reading Gurumayi’s teachings on changing our thoughts inspired me to change my attitude toward my work. I resolved to slow down and focus on each task, offering my love and care to each one.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been practicing holding this new attitude as I do my work. I’ve found that this practice completely changes my experience of work. It reconnects me to my heart, to the joy of loving service. And somehow, whatever needs to be done gets done in a timely way!
Massachusetts, United States
“What have you been doing lately, especially since January 1, 2026?” When Gurumayi asked us this question, I couldn’t remember what I had been doing. But then I looked at my spiritual journal, and I could see that a lot had been happening. After receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2026, I felt the need to assimilate the Message one line at a time, and the first line became strong in my thoughts: “Renew! Reset your mind.”
Reflecting on this teaching, I felt that I could no longer waste time dwelling on my negative thoughts, constantly comparing myself to others, feeling inferior every time. I understood that I have my own path, blessed by Shri Guru’s grace, and if I had complete understanding of this, I would not need to ask for anything else. I promised myself that I would count my blessings and not dwell on what I don’t have.
So, after this awareness, pure gratitude arose in me, along with a desire to enjoy peace and intimacy in God’s love, again and again.
San Giorgio a Cremano, Italy
On a daily basis, I have been regularly performing my practices and keeping a clear focus. From past years, I have learned that Gurumayi’s Message unfolds gradually within me, blossoming as the year progresses.
What has become most important for me is simply to savor and relish the new focus Gurumayi has given—much like holding holy water carefully in my palms after Bade Baba’s darshan, with reverence, tenderness, and attention. I allow the Message to percolate naturally. Then, in its own time, something subtle and beautiful begins to happen.
Sydney, Australia
I’m grateful for this meditation and the question “What have you been doing lately, especially since January 1, 2026?” When I heard this question from Gurumayi in the Makara Sankranti satsang, my body felt warmth and an inner “Yes!”
One thing I’ve been doing is reflecting on the first line of Gurumayi’s Message with a group of Siddha Yogis. Listening to Eesha’s words just now, I felt myself dropping unwanted burdens, and I wanted to “renew” and “reset” the beautiful, present moment in a lighthearted way. With this focus, I feel I can bring my love into each day of this year.
