Preparing for the 2026 US Jñāna Yajña

The 2026 US Jñāna Yajña was, in many ways, willed into existence.

When CIRD-NA planning meetings began early in the year, it was with an unspoken understanding that every aspect of the Yajña – the itinerary, travel dates, accommodation, venues and programme schedule – would rest on two quiet foundations: promise and possibility.

From the outset, there was concern about the physical demands such a journey would place upon Poojya Swamiji who is now in his 94th year. This year, however, those concerns were heightened by news of further health challenges. Then, in May, Nutan Swamiji’s health took an unexpected turn, making it impossible for him to travel. Before there was time to absorb that disappointment, another unforeseen event emerged. In June, weeks before the Ashram team was due to depart for the United States, conflict in Middle East disrupted international air travel. Airline routes across Europe and the Middle East were altered or suspended, forcing us to reroute or reconsider carefully laid travel plans.

During these months of uncertainty, one thing alone remained unwavering: Poojya Swamiji’s resolve to come to us.

From Promise to Presence

That certainty became the anchor upon which every decision for the planning team rested. Airline tickets were booked, cancelled and rebooked. Medical clearances were sought and obtained. Dr Ravi Jandhyala immediately came forward to fill the role of a medical escort for Poojya Swamiji’s journey. Piece by piece, what had seemed increasingly uncertain slowly took shape.

Promise and possibility gradually gave way to reality as Poojya Swamiji and Ma Gurupriyaji finally boarded a flight bound for the United States.

On the ground in California, preparations unfolded with equal care. Accommodation and lecture halls were confirmed. Assistance arrived from devotees in Malaysia, Canada, India and across North America. Rooms were prepared with freshly ironed gerua, kitchens were stocked to meet the Ashram’s simple needs and volunteers quietly attended to countless details, in the spirit of service. Before long, the halls began filling with devotees dressed in soft colours, waiting expectantly for the arrival of their Gurus. Just then we received word that they had safely landed, and before long the vehicles carrying them rolled in. Poojya Swamiji and Ma Gurupriyaji had arrived.

In the moments after receiving them, all gathered in the Residence Inn meeting Hall. Some sat on chairs, others on the floor, while still others joined through the audio connection. Poojya Swamiji and Ma had travelled an extraordinary distance under circumstances that, only weeks earlier, had seemed almost insurmountable.

The atmosphere was one of profound relief, gratitude and awe.

Surveying the gathering, Poojya Swamiji offered words that seemed to encapsulate everything that had unfolded over the preceding months:

“Whenever anything good is planned, the planners should shed all doubt and go confidently forth, for divine support will always be there.”

With those words, months of uncertainty dissolved. What had begun as little more than promise and possibility had now become the manifested reality of the 2026 US Jñāna Yajña in Irvine, California.

An open University of supreme Knowledge

Over the next four weeks, the Jñāna Yajña became far more than a series of lectures. It evolved into what could best be described as an open university devoted to the study and practice of the supreme Knowledge.

The Residence Inn where Poojya Swamiji and Ma Gurupriyaji stayed, together with the lecture halls, corridors, lobbies and surrounding grounds, became our campus. Learning extended well beyond the scheduled programmes. Conversations continued between sessions, questions were answered naturally and every interaction became an opportunity for reflection and growth.

The overarching theme of this year’s Jñāna Yajña was The Art of Being Human, while the Bhagavad Gītā Retreat centred on Inner Contentment and Universal Welfare. Throughout the month, participants were repeatedly invited to contemplate, inquire into and dwell upon the one central theme of spiritual pursuit – the real “I”.

Alongside the daily lectures were extended question-and-answer sessions, individual meetings, guided meditation programmes and numerous informal opportunities for seekers to approach our Spiritual Masters as they would a trusted teacher, elder or lifelong friend.

For devotees these informal moments often proved as memorable and enlightening as the formal discourses themselves. Whether during an impromptu Satsang, a quiet conversation after a lecture or an early morning meditation session, both Poojya Swamiji and Ma made themselves openly accessible. Their giving so freely of their time and attention transformed the Yajña into an experience that was not only intellectually enriching, but profoundly personal.

Many devotees reflected afterwards that the four weeks seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Despite the passage of time feeling so brief, the impressions of the teachings and the rare privilege of living in the company of one’s Guru, continue indelibly.

A growing and engaged Community

By every measure, attendance in this year’s Jñāna Yajña grew significantly.

The lecture hall accommodated approximately 130 people and attendance remained consistently at or near capacity throughout the month. Weekend programmes regularly drew between 140 and 150 participants, with additional floor seating arranged to accommodate everyone.

By a show of hands, roughly one-third of those attending were completely new to the Ashram’s programmes. The remaining attendees comprised devotees who had first met Poojya Swamiji during his previous visit to the United States, together with many long-time followers.

What proved especially encouraging, however, was not simply the number of newcomers but their sustained interest. Conversations with the program goers, off and on throughout the month, together with the number of devotees expressing interest in receiving dīkṣā (initiation) from Swamiji, suggested that many first-timers may have come for one program, then attended as many more as they could. Some expressed interest to bring their spouses and children to avail of this opportunity to meet a Mahatma. Still others were just eager to learn more. Their continued participation in lectures, retreats and Satsangs became a tangible measure of the impact Poojya Swamiji and Ma’s presence and their teachings had made.

Bhagavad Gītā retreat presented a different challenge. The classroom format, with desks provided for placing notebooks and reference texts, naturally reduced the seating capacity. Even so, registrations exceeded expectations.

Attendance grew from seventy-five participants on the opening day to eighty on the second, eventually surpassing one hundred by the weekend. Three rows of desks had to be removed to create additional seating.

Equally heartening was the age diversity among those attending. Teenagers, university students, young professionals, parents and long-time seekers sat side by side throughout the programmes. It was especially encouraging to witness younger attendees listening with sustained attention, responding enthusiastically to Poojya Swamiji’s questions during the lectures and actively participating in the question-and-answer sessions. Two of them even wrote personal letters to Poojya Swamiji. Swamiji later remarked that their writings were unusually sincere and thought-provoking – a small but meaningful indication that the teachings had found sufficient receptivity and engagement in the next generation.

Teachings that Continued to Resonate

Poojya Swamiji: Turning the Mind Towards the Subject

The study of Vivekacūḍāmaṇi began with a characteristically searching observation.

Poojya Swamiji reminded us that the wisdom contained within Ādi Shankaracharya’s great text is never merely handed over to a seeker. It must first be longed for. One must feel an inner compulsion to know, approach the Guru with humility and sincerely enquire about the Truth. Only then does its study become meaningful.

It would be impossible to summarize adequately the depth of those three days of exposition. Rather than simply explaining verses, Poojya Swamiji gently drew us closer to the Guru-disciple tradition from which the text itself arises. The lecture hall remained filled to capacity each day and the attentiveness of the audience reflected the profound engagement his words inspired.

Throughout the retreat, whether during Prabhāta-raśmiḥ or the evening discourses, one central message emerged again and again: Use your intelligence to know yourself.

Question followed question, each inviting us to examine assumptions, think deeply with devoutness and answer with conviction. Premise after premise, he called up his listeners to have rationale, common sense and look within. In these lectures, there was no room to be complacent, casual, passive, not even for a second! The familiar diagram illustrating the senses, the mind, the intellect, experience and the emergence of sukha and duḥkha became far more than a teaching aid. It became the final mirror through which we were asked to examine our minds.

Ma Gurupriyaji gave clear guidance and direction
on how to progress in sadhana.

Ma Gurupriyaji: Bringing Vedānta into Everyday Living

If Poojya Swamiji repeatedly directed our attention towards the Self through enquiry, Ma Gurupriyaji gently guided us in discovering how those same truths are to be lived.

Her retreat discourses possessed a distinctive practicality. Day after day, she invited us to examine the inner movements of our own minds through examples drawn from ordinary life. Self-doubt, interpersonal relationships, desire for recognition, pain of criticism, emotional reactions and the subtle expectations we place on ourselves and others – all became opportunities for self-understanding.

Drawing upon a beautiful Sanskrit verse, Ma reflected on how nearly every source of worldly satisfaction carries within it the seed of insecurity. Health, family, beauty, learning, status, strength – even the body itself – all these remain vulnerable to change and loss. True contentment, she explained, cannot rest upon that which is inherently transient.

She gradually led us towards Brahma-nirvāṇa as explained in Bhagavad Gītā 5.24, encouraging us to recognize the ever-present joy that is independent of external circumstances – a joy that is already complete within oneself.

The following days centred on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 13, verses 7 and 8 enumerating the twenty qualities of a true seeker. Rather than treating them as ideals to admire, Ma encouraged us to make them measurable aspects of our own lives. She even suggested creating a simple spreadsheet to record our progress in cultivating qualities such as amānitvam, adambhitvam, ahiṃsā and the other virtues enumerated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

One of the retreat’s most memorable discussions centred on vairāgya.

Ma carefully dismantled the common misconception that vairāgya signifies an emotional coldness – withdrawal from life. She described it instead as the joyful relinquishment of possessiveness – the gradual dissolution of mine-ness that instantly makes one’s heart expand rather than contract.

By the close of the retreat, many devotees remarked that Poojya Swamiji’s and Ma’s teachings seemed to complement one another. As Swamiji awakened the intellect through uncompromising enquiry, Ma translated that understanding into daily living. While Swamiji’s words inspired philosophical wonder, Ma’s showed us how to embody those truths in relationships, work and every ordinary moment.

Together, especially their following messages throughout the Jñāna Yajña, remained etched in our memory:

Live fearlessly. Know yourself. Let every moment be an opportunity for inner expansion and growth.

Questions that Deepened Understanding

One of the distinctive features of this year’s Jñāna Yajña was the generous extent of time Poojya Swamiji and Ma Gurupriyaji gave for devotee-interaction. Formal question- and-answer sessions, such as the 3 day “Ask Swamiji” sessions, together with countless informal conversations, provided opportunities to explore subjects that ranged from the deeply philosophical to the practical realities of life.

With no abstractness but with loving care, Poojya Swamiji consistently rooted each answer in the vision of Vedānta while demonstrating its relevance to contemporary issues and challenges.

Poojya Swamiji and Ma Gurupriyaji were shown
around the Temple by the temple priest
Sri Samavedula Chandrasekhara Sharma.

On the Living Role of Temples

During a visit to the Śiva Kāmeśvarī Temple, Poojya Swamiji spoke with moving clarity about the place of temples in both individual and societal life.

A temple, he explained, is far more than a place where rituals are performed. It is a Centre for worship, education, fellowship and spiritual awakening – a place where one comes to purely ask for and receive blessings in front of the deity.

Poojya Swamiji described how worshipfulness originates: a master sculptor fashions from stone, wood or metal an image with devotion, following which the priest consecrates the form with powerful purifying rituals. Only then, people place all their focus with reverence and spiritual elevation. In so doing, we make our temples a place to nurture not only devotion but also a shared cultural and spiritual identity.

When asked about the financial challenges many temples face, his response surprised many.

Rather than expressing concern that temples should never struggle, Swamiji suggested that if people truly value their temples, they will naturally feel the need to support and preserve them. A temple, he observed, should continually inspire participation rather than passive dependence.

On Spiritual Dissemination

One devotee noted how much he wished he could share his spiritual wisdoms and understandings with friends and close ones to enhance their life and living. But, he observed, whenever he tries to do so, he finds he doesn’t always get a positive response. To this, Poojya Swamiji’s answer was disarmingly simple:

“Stop your efforts. Let the joy remain within you. If the knowledge has truly transformed you, it will naturally express itself through your life.”

His words served as a gentle reminder that the most persuasive expression of Vedānta is not argument or instruction, dogma, rules, preachings or rituals. It is living universal truth and by that alone comes the transformation and inspiration to others.

A Yajña remembered for ever

Many remarked that the four weeks passed extraordinarily quickly. Yet the impressions left by the Yajña continue to unfold long after the final programme concluded. For those who attended, the teachings did not end with the closing session. Rather, they became an invitation to continue the enquiry that both Swamiji and Ma so patiently and compassionately instilled and intensified throughout the month. Looking back, the 2026 US Jñāna Yajña will undoubtedly be remembered for the depth of learning it provided.

For four weeks, devotees were afforded the rare privilege of living, learning and reflecting in the company of Poojya Swamiji and Ma. Whether expressed through Poojya Swamiji’s compelling logic or Ma’s practical guidance, both continually directed our attention away from dependence upon the changeful world and towards the fullness that ever exists within.

Formal lectures were only part of the experience. So too were the impromptu discussions, incredible meditation sessions and countless personal meetings. The pinnacle of the event was the divine fortune of being in the company of our Spiritual Masters and observe them as they are, in daily life, giving us indelible expressions of their teachings.

Personal reflections, inner silence

On retrospection of the Jñāna Yajña, my reflections are on the journey of those of us who have received dīkṣā from Poojya Swamiji.

When Poojya Swamiji first visited, I, much like the small band that gathered, was filled with wonder and inspiration. The alignment with his point of view, his intellectual energy, clarity and rationality superseded everything. I wanted nothing more than to listen to and learn as much as I could. As the Global Gita Conventions and Jñāna Yajñas continued, so did my own journey. I took to studying Bhagavad Gita with greater intention, took up Sanskrit, sharing with others what I have gained. With each step, my understanding became deeper and more layered. After nine years of association with Swamiji, I took dīkṣā. Swamiji’s only exhortation to all devotees was to sincerely do sadhana and I genuinely tried.

Yet, I found myself living with an invisible divide.

On one side was my spiritual life – study, meditation, chanting, contemplation. On the other, were my worldly engagements – family, work, relationships, responsibilities – which I genuinely believed were the launching foundation of my spiritual life giving me stability and privilege to pursue Self inquiry. I sincerely tried to carry meditation into daily life and work like cooking, driving, working or caring for my family. But, no matter how sincere the effort, the two paths never seemed to meet.

In this Jñāna Yajña, something fundamentally changed.

I realized the goal is not to move between two lives, but to recognize the one unchanging Presence that underlies both. The Self remains constant, while the roles I play continue to change. There is no need to put on the costume of a seeker and then change into the costume of everyday life. The path is one.

The word that now anchors my understanding is refinement.

Study, reflection, practice, guidance of the Guru – none of these is about “doing spirituality” correctly or achieving a particular state. It is about allowing the mind to attune inwardly to the subtler process of finding inner silence. And as we do this constantly and consistently, the refinement deepens to a gentle detachment, not indifference. This freedom, both an expansion and continuity, allows one to participate fully in life’s responsibilities while remaining inwardly peaceful.

This is the joyful journey that I am on.

Jai Gurudev.