Introduction

On January 14, 2026, Gurumayi held a satsang in honor of Makara Sankranti in the Siddha Yoga Universal Hall. The satsang, titled “The Light of the Sun,” was streamed live on the Siddha Yoga path website from the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple in Shree Muktananda Ashram.

Among the elements of the satsang was a speech by the host, Peter Walsh. Peter is a Siddha Yoga meditation teacher who works professionally as an executive coach. He oriented everyone to the holiday of Makara Sankranti, speaking about how it is dedicated to worship of the sun, Surya Devata.

Ami Bansal, who is also a Siddha Yoga meditation teacher—as well as a scholar of Sanskrit language and scripture—spoke from India to introduce the recitation of the Surya Gayatri mantra. And Shivalini Kinsley, a very talented Siddha Yogi who works as a photographer and mindfulness instructor, and who offers seva with the SYDA Foundation’s Donor Relations Department, explained that we would be chanting the namasankirtana Hare Rama Hare Krishna. This namasankirtana was composed by Gurumayi in the Bhairavi raga.

After the chant, Bhanu Dembergh, a young adult staff member in the SYDA Foundation and the new Live Events Department Head, expressed the devotion of the entire sangham through the practice of arati. I must say, I have always been spellbound by the beauty and power of arati on the Siddha Yoga path. It is by the Guru’s light that our own inner light is illumined—and we in turn have the privilege and responsibility of bringing that light to our world. I am reminded of this truth whenever I participate in this sacred offering of light to light, whenever I see the light of the flame meeting the divine light.

For me, and I imagine for you too, one of the most special elements of any satsang is when Gurumayi speaks. Now I want to say this: in whatever Gurumayi says, in whatever Gurumayi does, and in however she says and does those things, Gurumayi is imparting her teachings. Gurumayi could be drawing from the scriptures, telling a story, or relating an anecdote. She could be speaking sweetly or playfully, or having a casual conversation with people. She could be playing with the animals and birds in the Ashram (many of whom have a propensity for finding Gurumayi and following her around). She could be giving darshan in silence, as she has done for hours at a time while sitting in the courtyard in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. She could even be meeting us in our dreams. In any and all of these circumstances, Gurumayi is teaching. She is conveying to us her wisdom and her love.

During the satsang on Makara Sankranti, Gurumayi spoke to us, and she gave many, many teachings. I’ll be sharing a few highlights here—about the teachings that I have been focusing on so far and contemplating.

I find it helpful to study the teachings in this way—that is, to look at a few of them at a time and explore them in depth—because the Guru speaks in sutras. Each sentence that Gurumayi utters is like an aphorism, concise in its phrasing yet packed with layer upon layer of meaning. This is why, for many years, Reflection Satsangs were held in Siddha Yoga Ashrams and meditation centers whenever Gurumayi gave a talk. The Siddha Yoga Swamis, meditation teachers, and center leaders would guide Siddha Yogis and new seekers in uncovering some of the many nuances of meaning in Gurumayi’s words. They would support people in understanding what Gurumayi had said and why she may have said it.

This is also the purpose of Siddha Yoga Sadhana Circles, which were established by the SYDA Foundation in 2003. Gurumayi wanted people throughout the sangham to be able to study the teachings together—even if that was more informally, in small groups in their communities. The Sadhana Circles, and the guidelines that Swami Vasudevananda and his team in the SYDA Foundation established for them, give Siddha Yogis around the world a structure for their study.

Another reason to participate in such guided, collective study is that we all receive information through the filters of our own beliefs, experiences, and preconceptions. In psychology this is called “confirmation bias.” We hear what we want to hear—or, to be more precise, we are inclined to fit any information we receive into our existing mental and emotional frameworks, rather than challenging those frameworks and hearing the information for what it is. There’s an evolutionary purpose for this; these filters are like shortcuts, allowing us to process information quickly and make decisions accordingly.

The drawback is, our interpretations are not always accurate. And if we’re not careful, this tendency to misinterpret can extend to our engagement with the Guru’s words. It’s an interesting balance we are looking to achieve. We do, of course, want to bring all of ourselves to bear when receiving the Guru’s teachings. Gurumayi has said many times that it is only when we have our own “Aha!” moments about the teachings—when we experience a personal resonance with them—that they can truly take root in our being.

Yet we must also take care to understand the intent and meaning behind Gurumayi’s words. That is: What is Gurumayi saying? Not: What do I want Gurumayi to be saying? Or: What do I believe Gurumayi to be saying, based on my own thoughts and feelings about myself or about this topic?

Fortunately, this is not actually a paradox. In my own experience of following the Siddha Yoga path, I’ve found that the real moments of resonance—the moments when I feel that thunderclap of understanding within—occur when my mind is open and willing to brush up against the truth of the Guru’s words.

The intent of a Reflection Satsang is for each seeker to come to a more thorough and accurate understanding of Gurumayi’s teachings and how those teachings relate to them specifically. And then there is the power of doing sadhana collectively, which is what inherently happens in a Reflection Satsang. We share with one another how we arrived at the understandings and perspectives we hold, and this becomes informative and encouraging for everyone involved. We hear how someone else worked with a teaching, how they discovered and decoded its many meanings, and we think, “Oh! I can do that too!”

Since we can’t all be together in one physical location, I am grateful that these days, we can avail ourselves of this digital medium. Gurumayi once told me that she envisions the Siddha Yoga Universal Hall as a scintillating blue dome. I would like to suggest that we hold this beautiful image in mind whenever we gather in the Universal Hall, whether for satsang or as we are doing now, to share our contemplations.

Gurumayi encouraged me to share my thoughts about her teachings from Makara Sankranti with all of you, my fellow seekers on the Siddha Yoga path. These “meditations on Gurumayi’s words” will be featured in several installments throughout February on the Siddha Yoga path website.