What a gift today’s session was! Learning that
svadhyaya purifies past impressions in the subtle body inspires me to increase my practice of
svadhyaya because these impressions impact how I see myself and the world. The process of creating and understanding affirmations was also very powerful and gave me a tool to help me with my mind and thoughts.
Washington, United States
For many years I have struggled with a challenging pattern that has created a blockage for me in my path to more freedom and joy. In the affirmation practice we did today, I decided to create an affirmation in relation to that problem. I was surprised to receive an affirmation that came from a place beyond my mind and was founded in freedom and not self-criticism or judgment. I am looking forward to tackling this challenge from a deeper perspective.
Nesoddtangen, Norway
It was so good to refresh the lessons I’ve learned over many years of Siddha Yoga study and to remember my experiences of the purifying power of
Shri Guru Gita.
Recently I’ve had health issues that affect my sight, and my greatest comfort has been reciting
Shri Guru Gita. Amazingly, even when everything else looks topsy-turvy, I can still read the text clearly.
Canberra, Australia
This second Study Session reminds me of the importance of coming back to the basics as the key to a lifetime of steady and easeful practice. I have chanted
Shri Guru Gita countless times over the past 30 years. However, returning to the fundamentals always reveals something I can refine, which helps keep me focused and the practice fresh. As a teacher, coming back to the basics is something I always remind my students of, especially when they might be struggling with something.
I am grateful for these truly wonderful Study Sessions. They really help to keep me grounded and attuned to what matters—steadfastness in
sadhana and the grace of my beloved Gurumayi ji. And so, it was incredibly joyful to offer the
Arati to Shri Gurumayi ji.
West Vancouver, Canada
My heart filled with joy during the second Study Session led by Swami Akhandananda. I refreshed my posture, recited
Shri Guru Gita with ease, and created an empowering affirmation for myself. Following the conclusion of the program, with joy and stillness, I continued to recite the entire
Shri Guru Gita with the recording on the website, as Swami ji invited us to do.
The guidance in this Study Session is nectar.
Florida, United States
During the recitation of the 31 verses from
Shri Guru Gita, I kept my awareness on each aspect of my physical posture. At the same time, I saw that my mind stayed focused on the text and I listened with delight to the music of the Sanskrit syllables.
At the end of the session, when I sang
Sadgurunath Maharaj ki Jay, I felt my heart resonate. This intimate experience filled me with contentment, and showed me how my regular practice of
svadhyaya is bearing fruit.
Rodez, France
I noticed I was filled with deep enthusiasm and child-like wonder at the beginning of the session, throughout the session, and even afterward. I am grateful for Swami ji’s crystal-clear guidance.
The session taught me the importance of posture for
svadhyaya. I experienced that by practicing the right posture, I was magnifying the impact of the sacred vibrations of
Shri Guru Gita. It created a greater space within me, like a clutter-free room where vibrations of the sacred sound moved freely without obstruction. My receptivity to the vibrations of the sound was also multiplied, which enabled me to easily align myself with the recitation.
Stockholm, Sweden
What a blessing, what an unexpected treasure it was for me to participate in this Study Session! It reaffirmed for me why I was so drawn to reciting
Shri Guru Gita so consistently in the past. Each time I did, it made me feel more energized, centered, and accomplished. I felt that I would be all right, that the Guru’s protection and grace were—and would ever be—present. I loved the opportunity to validate my own strength to myself. I now affirm my intention to get back to a more regular recitation of
Shri Guru Gita.
I am so grateful for this inspiring and fruitful session!
New York, United States
I am so grateful for the latest Study Session with Swami Akhandananda. I focused throughout on the use of words, whether in reciting
Shri Guru Gita, in creating affirmations, or in my own inner dialogue. The session reminded me that I have the power to consciously repeat what is beneficial to support my
sadhana at this time, rather than ruminate on events beyond my control.
These Study Sessions shine with the wisdom of the sages.
St. Lazare, Canada
I am very grateful for these Study Sessions, in which Swami ji has been teaching us step by step in such a compassionate way. I appreciate how he leads us in such a way that we can take just one step or one piece of information at a time, learn about it, reflect on it, and then practice it and reflect on our practice. I find this study method very effective and I´m sure it will support me in imbibing and assimilating this knowledge at a deeper level.
Colorado, United States
It was so very blissful to participate in today’s
Svadhyaya Study Session, the second of this beautiful series. Swami ji’s explanations of the root of one’s contracted nature—the memories, feelings, thoughts, and other past impressions resulting from our actions, successes, and failures—just struck a chord with me. The insights he shared about how the regular practice of
svadhyaya is performed in order to help us purify these impressions, residing in our subtle body, gave me the key to knowing my true nature! I am eagerly looking forward to applying these teachings in my regular practices.
Georgia, United States
I was very happy to hear that the second Study Session will focus on verses of
Shri Guru Gita. And since it’s being held on Saturday in the USA, it will arrive on Sunday here in Australia, which is perfect, since that’s my day for reciting
Shri Guru Gita. Like another Siddha Yogi who shared about their cats becoming calm during the recitation of
Shri Guru Gita, I myself have noticed that nature does seem to connect when I recite this “Song of the Guru.” I have noticed birds in particular are drawn to the recitation. At the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney I once noticed a magpie listening to the
sangham recite
Shri Guru Gita. And every time I recite
Shri Guru Gita at my home—along with Gurumayi, either through the Siddha Yoga path website or with the CD—the blue fairy wrens sing when they hear Gurumayi’s voice.
This connectivity that comes from reciting
Shri Guru Gita fills me with gratitude and great joy.
Zeehan, Australia
One evening several years ago, as I returned home from a long day of work, instead of habitually reaching into the refrigerator to get a snack, I decided to sit down and recite
Shri Guru Gita. As I was holding my book,
The Nectar of Chanting, and focusing intently on each verse, a startling moment occurred: one of the Sanskrit verses lifted itself up off the page, and hovered in midair!
In a flash of insight, I understood that each sacred verse existed independent of time and space, and that the pages I was seeing were there to "hold up" the sacred, elemental verses so that my eyes could imbibe each verse.
This decision to recite
Shri Guru Gita that day created a profound shift in my recognition of both the power of
svadhyaya, and the power of choosing to embrace the practice of chanting and recitation, which are available to us any time, in any space.
California, United States
It has been my experience that when I recite
Shri Guru Gita in the morning, I get a different kind of joy every day.
Surat, India
After reading Swami ji’s letter about the second study session, I was reminded that when I began to recite
Shri Guru Gita recently, the energy around me was very agitated: my cats were noisy, an airplane was flying nearby, and my mind was surfing on endless thoughts. Although I was wondering, “Why recite
Shri Guru Gita at such a time?” I continued, bringing my attention back to the chant very often.
It was very challenging. Yet, little by little, a blanket of peace descended on my home, on me—and on the cats, who fell asleep near me. At the end of my recitation of
Shri Guru Gita, a profound calm and silence pervaded my entire being. And so, after all, it
had been a good moment to recite
Shri Guru Gita!
Montreal, Canada
