Vedic Community Forum

This morning I was relistening to recording 4 of the Gayatri Sadhana Workshop (March 2025), and found these words so motivating, I thought I'd share them here.

This is from timestamp 1:32 of the recording:

“There is no greater austerity/sadhana than the Gayatri Sadhana. What does the Gayatri Sadhana look like? I wake up in the morning, sleep early, so I eat lighter at bedtime, I avoid alcohol and coffee and tea and other stimulants so that I can sleep well, because I’m eager to wake up in the morning to greet Savita Devata, the Sun Devata, before it rises.  Then I want to be ready to greet Savita, and then as I am greeting and chanting (the Gayatri Mantra), and after that when I sit in meditation, I’m also having a rendezvous with Maa Gayatri and her blessings. And slowly my life is transforming. Because it’s transforming, I’m eating…

Jai Maa!

I have been contemplating the 5th word of the Gayatri Mantra, Devasya, which I drew during Navodaya (and is the perfect word for me). I was listening to Acharya Shunyaji's teaching on verse 30 of Bhaja Govindam, and when she spoke on Pratyahara, particulary our lineage teachings of this paractice to see all aspects of life as Atma, I thought of Devasya, seeing the Divine alive in every aspect of life. These two seem very similar with the exception of Pratyahara having the aspect of pulling the senses into the self. Would it be correct to use Pratyahara as a way of connecting with Devasya? I would appreciate any insight from other Sadasyas.

Navodaya was such a wonderful experience. Thank you to everyone who was there adding to the collective energy of the event. 💛

Good morning.  I am not sure if this is the right place to pose this question but couldn’t locate a link for tech support on the website. Please let me know if I should direct this question somewhere else.

I am having trouble accessing the teachings on the member portal through Vimeo. I am able to view them and play some of them but there’s no sound. On other playlists there are no videos listed. I am not sure if this is related but when I tried to watch some videos on xperencify I wasn’t able to because it said “There is a problem with Vimeo”

I know everyone is working hard on this new platform and I appreciate all the care and work that is going into it

It might be something in my end so I am curious if anyone else is having this problem.

Thank you and…

I always set aside time in the morning for meditation, before the world outside begins to stir, and the milk has been delivered and is waiting to be boiled, and the day’s to-do lists start to form... 

But I also notice a beautiful texture to nighttime meditation. Sometimes I find I can sink into meditation more deeply and easily in the evening.

In that other daily pocket of stillness - computer turned off, kids have gone to bed, husband is doing his quiet reading, laundry has been put away, teeth have been brushed - it’s the quiet that comes after the day's activity has settled down. 

Exhaling the world at the end of the day is so sweet. Consciously settling back home into the heart of awareness at the end of the day. 

When is your favorite time to meditate? When do you find your inner stillness most accessible?