Dearest Saṅga,
This New Moon, I invite you to reflect on the difference between prayer and performance.
We live in a world that rewards performance. We are taught to prove ourselves through achievement, productivity, and outward success. Sometimes, without even realising it, we carry this same mindset into our spiritual lives. We imagine that if we pray enough, suffer enough, or do enough good deeds, God will somehow owe us an answer.
But prayer has never been about performance.
Prayer is about presence. It is about remaining faithful when life offers no explanation, trusting that even silence may be part of God's response. It is not an attempt to persuade the Divine, but an invitation to allow the Divine to quietly transform us.
One image has remained with me recently. Imagine two vessels placed beneath a flowing stream. One is small and fragile; the other is strong, spacious and well made. The stronger vessel can receive more, hold more, and carry its contents much farther without breaking. Perhaps our hearts are no different. Before greater blessings are entrusted to us, they often need to become stronger containers. Faith, patience, humility and resilience quietly enlarge the heart so that it becomes capable of receiving what grace longs to pour into it.
Looking back over the past five years, I can now recognise this in my own life.
For those five years, I have been praying earnestly for two things that are deeply important to me. There were many moments when I wondered whether those prayers had gone unheard. Instead of receiving the answers I longed for, I found myself facing one challenge after another. There were disappointments, unexpected hardships and painful tribulations that seemed to arrive precisely when I thought I had reached my limit.
Only recently did I begin to understand that they were not obstacles placed in my path. They were the path. Each challenge quietly tested my faith, deepened my resilience, and expanded the container of my heart.
It was on the fourth of July, on the eve of my birthday, during a powerful pilgrimage through India with a small group of students from my inner circle, that both of these prayers were finally answered. Standing there, overwhelmed with gratitude, I realised that the greatest miracle was not simply that my prayers had been fulfilled. It was that I had become someone capable of receiving them.
That experience also changed the way I understand pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage should never become another performance. Too often, we mistake it for religious tourism, believing that merely visiting sacred places will somehow bring us closer to God. Many people travel through India claiming to be on pilgrimage, yet remain comfortable tourists, collecting photographs, stories and souvenirs while carefully protecting the walls they have built around their own hearts.
A true pilgrimage asks something far more demanding. It invites us to step beyond the comfort of the familiar, to lay aside the ego's clothing, and to allow life to expose the parts of ourselves we would rather keep hidden. It calls us to face our shadows with honesty, allowing the heavy walls we have built around the light within our hearts to slowly crack open. It is often in those uncomfortable moments—when our expectations crumble, our fears surface, and certainty gives way to surrender—that we begin to recognise God's quiet presence.
Perhaps this is what pilgrimage is truly meant to do. Not to impress God with the miles we have travelled, but to enlarge the vessel of the heart. Just as a stronger container can hold more without breaking, a heart strengthened through prayer, surrender and challenge becomes capable of receiving a greater measure of grace.
Looking back now, I can see that God was never absent from my journey. Grace was present amidst the chaos all along. What I experienced as delay was, in truth, divine preparation.
Perhaps this is one of the greatest mysteries of prayer. God does not hear our expectations. He responds to what is truly necessary for our reality, and only when the time is right. His answers are not governed by our timetable, but by His wisdom.
Perhaps the greatest unanswered prayer is not one that God has ignored, but one for which He is still preparing the heart that asked it.
So, if you find yourself waiting today, do not lose heart. Continue to pray—not as a performance designed to persuade God, but as a sacred conversation that slowly reshapes your own heart. Trust that every challenge may be strengthening the vessel that will one day hold the very blessing you have been praying for.
May this New Moon remind us that faith is not measured by how quickly our prayers are answered, but by how lovingly we continue to pray while we wait.
Namaste!
New Moon - 14 July 2026
NEW PUBLICATION!
By TKV Desikachar with Dr Kausthub Desikachar and Martyn Neal
For as long as human beings have walked this Earth, they have searched for something more. Beneath the pursuit of success, security, achievement, and even happiness, lies a deeper longing—a yearning to understand who we are, why we are here and what gives meaning to our lives.
In What Are You Seeking?, TKV Desikachar invites readers into this timeless inquiry. Drawing from the wisdom of Yoga, Vedānta and a lifetime of study under his father and teacher, Yogācārya T. Krishnamacharya, he explores some of life’s most profound questions with warmth, clarity and practical insight. Through reflections on suffering, discipline, faith, action, the mind, values, and the teacher-student relationship, he guides us beyond technique and philosophy into the heart of the inner journey.
More than thirty years after its original publication, this new edition brings these teachings to a new generation of seekers. Carefully revised and expanded by Dr Kausthub Desikachar, son and successor of TKV Desikachar, it preserves the spirit of the original work while speaking to the challenges and opportunities of contemporary life.
This edition also includes three new chapters inspired by one of Desikachar’s deepest insights: that Yoga is fundamentally about relationship. These chapters explore our relationship with ourselves, with others, and ultimately with the Divine—revealing how the teachings of Yoga can guide us not only on the mat but also in the very fabric of everyday life.
Recognising that true understanding comes through experience, this edition also includes practical exercises, contemplative practices, and journaling reflections at the end of every chapter. These are designed to help readers move beyond intellectual understanding and bring the teachings into their own lives. Whether undertaken individually or explored within study groups and Satsaṅgas, these practices invite the reader into an active relationship with the wisdom contained in these pages.
Written with depth, simplicity and compassion, What Are You Seeking? is more than a book about Yoga. It is a companion for anyone seeking greater meaning, healthier relationships, and a deeper connection to themselves, to others and to the Divine. Whether you are new to Yoga or have walked this path for many years, these pages offer an invitation to return to what matters most—to your heart, to your humanity, and to the deeper truth that unites us all.
If you would like to place a bulk order for your Yoga School, your students, or your sanga, please email [email protected] for a special offer. Please indicate quanity you wish to purchase as offers depend on volume.
The book has been especially blessed by His Holiness Śrī Śrī Śrī Abhinvava Vāgīśa Brahmatantra Svatantra Parakāla Svāmi, the current Ācārya of the Parakālamaṭha. He has graced it by writing the ŚRĪ-MUKHA-ANUGRAHA (a sacred divine blessing for readers) and by receiving the first copy of the book. The first copy of the book was presented to him on the 04 July 2026 and this became the third gift of that day!
Dr Kausthub Desikacha is presenting the first copy of the book to his Ācārya, Śrī Śrī Śrī Abhinvava Vāgīśa Brahmatantra Svatantra Parakāla Svāmi, the current Parakāla Svāmi of Mysuru. 04 July 2026
Śrī Dhanvantari, an incarnation of Viṣṇu, is the god of medicine and healing. He is also considered the God of Āyurveda and is believed to have emerged from the ocean's churning with a pot of the nectar of immortality in his hand. It is a common practice in the Vedic tradition for devotees to offer prayers to him for improving their own health and that of their dear ones.
Śrī Dhanvantri appearing from the churning of the ocean!
There are many mantras to honour Śrī Dhanvatari. This chant, titled Śrī Dhanvantari-mantra, is an offering to him and is used to improve overall health and remove illnesses from our body, mind, and spirit.
Listen to this chant six times each at sunrise and sunset.
Find Your Inner Resonance Amidst the Modern Noise.
If your current wellness routine feels like it is missing a deeper connection, it might be time to change your frequency. We spend our days listening to notifications, podcasts, and endless mental chatter. Pilgrimage of Sound: The Viniyoga International Conference 2027 invites you to pause, log off, and explore a different kind of soundtrack.
This isn't your average commercial yoga festival. This January, we are diving into the precise, ancient science of Vedic chanting, mantra, and sound therapy. Think of it as a much-needed recalibration for your mind and body, rooted in thousands of years of tradition rather than modern trends.
Why This Gathering is Different
The Living Tradition: We are honouring the 80th birthday of Mrs Menaka Desikachar, the most senior living Viniyoga teacher today. This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the seniormost Viniyoga teacher today.
Sound with Purpose: Alongside Dr Kausthub Desikachar, you will study how vocal vibration and specific sounds are used in classical Yoga Therapy to reduce stress and heal.
Senior Viniyoga Faculty will also conduct breakout sessions on a wide variety of themes related to the application of Mantra in various contexts.
Dr Kausthub Desikchar, teaching at the first Viniyoga International Conference
18–20 January 2027
A three-day pre-conference immersion, led by Mrs Menaka Desikachar and Dr Kausthub Desikachar, is designed for advanced and long-term practitioners. This specialised programme offers an intimate exploration of the conference theme. Participation in the pre-conference requires registration for the main conference.
21–24 January 2027
The main conference will be guided by Mrs Menaka Desikachar and Dr Kausthub Desikachar, together with senior teachers of the Viniyoga tradition. Faculty from nine countries have confirmed their participation, bringing a rich diversity of experience and perspective rooted in a shared lineage. Early-morning practice sessions in smaller groups will focus on refined applications of mantra and chanting across yogic tools. Plenary sessions bring all participants together for lectures, chanting classes, and meditative practices that integrate understanding and experience.
Your phone has a "Do Not Disturb" mode. It is time to discover how to find that same quiet space within yourself.
Elevate your practice beyond the mat. Reserve your space via our website and join a global community seeking a deeper resonance.
As a Yoga Teacher, doctor or any other type of wellness professional, you already know that "standardised" is often a synonym for "compromised." A template rarely heals a human.
Enter Viniyoga Therapy. Rooted in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya, this approach rejects the pretzel-pose stereotypes of modern yoga. Instead, it treats breath, movement, and mindful awareness as precise, bio-individual interventions. Whether you are dealing with chronic structural issues, psychosomatic stress, or emotional trauma, Viniyoga adapts to the patient—not the other way around. It is yoga with a clinical brain and a human heart.
The happy faces of our first module of the Viniyoga Therapy Training in South Korea! May 2026
Our comprehensive Therapy Training is an intense, rigorous commitment designed specifically to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern therapeutic application. For yoga teachers, physical educators, doctors, and psychologists, this is the missing diagnostic link. It provides the tools to systematically assess unique life contexts and curate highly personalised paths toward self-empowerment and healing.
This is a global movement with a remarkably high IQ. Over the years, students have successfully transformed their practices across India, Austria, Australia, the UK, Belgium, China, and New Zealand, while active cohorts are currently underway in Japan, Hungary, Italy, and South Korea.
The next global cohort convenes this summer. Elevate your practice, expand your clinical toolkit, and join a network of professionals redefining holistic health.
Begin your transformative journey and join an inner circle of elite Global Yoga Therapists by securing your place in the upcoming training batch in Brussels, starting in August 2026.
Don’t settle for Standardised! Choose the highest standard!
