FREE SATSANG IN GLASTONBURY

Join us for this Free Satsang with Master Teacher Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, who is currently on World Tour to introduce the Non-Dual Wisdom Teachings and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism, Classical Tantra and Siddha Yoga. The evening will include a guided meditation and time for Q&As

Logistics:

- There is limited parking available nearby - please allow 10 minutes to find parking or walk from local carparks 
- What to bring: Cushion as there will be limited chairs (arrive early if you need one!), Shawl / Layers, Water Bottle, Journal & Pen - if desired
- its a short program, please arrive on time to avoid disappointment and minimise disruption for others

About Swami Brahmananda - A Short Bio:

Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (David Nowe) is a spiritual teacher whose remarkable life bridges family, business, Western philosophy and psychology, and more than five decades of spiritual practice.

Born in Pittsburgh as the eldest of 13 children, he graduated from Columbia University and also studied in France, Lebanon and Japan. Before becoming a spiritual teacher, his life took him through the worlds of Broadway, business and Wall Street, giving him first-hand experience of the pressures, ambitions and possibilities of modern professional life. He has also spoken about how meditation and spiritual practice profoundly influenced his approach to business and his experience of creating abundance.

His spiritual path has included deep exploration of Kashmir Shaivism, Vedanta and Siddha Yoga alongside Buddhism, Sufism and Christianity, as well as Western psychology and approaches to human potential. He has taught meditation, A Course in Miracles and HeartMath, combining ancient wisdom with practical tools for conscious living.

In 1975, he met the renowned Indian spiritual master Swami Muktananda and received Shaktipat initiation. At the time, Brahmananda was suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis requiring medication. Following Shaktipat, he experienced a profound Kundalini awakening accompanied by spontaneous kriyas — involuntary movements understood within the yogic tradition as part of a process of energetic purification — and has described experiencing a spontaneous healing from the arthritis.

This encounter became a turning point in his life. He spent the following eight years studying, practising and working with Muktananda in his ashrams and received initiation as a sannyasi, taking the name Brahmananda. In 1981, Muktananda asked him to establish an ashram in Los Angeles and appointed him National Coordinator of Siddha Yoga centres and ashrams across the United States.

After living the renunciate path, Brahmananda later returned to householder life for a period, marrying and raising a family while continuing his spiritual practice and teaching, before subsequently returning to life as a Swami. This breadth of experience gives him a rare practical understanding of integrating spirituality with relationships, parenting, work, money and everyday life.

In 1995, he founded the God Realization Ministry, sharing Siddha Yoga principles in more than 200 Christian churches. He has travelled and taught in more than 75 countries and served as Spiritual Director at Simple Peace Retreats in Assisi, Italy.

Warm, humorous and down-to-earth, Brahmananda is far from the stereotype of a spiritual teacher removed from ordinary life. His teachings draw upon a lifetime encompassing family, career, financial success, relationships, different cultures and faiths, as well as decades of meditation and spiritual practice. His message is not about withdrawing from life, but discovering how awakening can be lived and embodied within it.

FAQs:

What is Kashmir Shaivism?

Kashmir Shaivism is a nondual Tantric tradition, with the goal of embodied enlightenment, which understands Shiva as pure consciousness and Shakti as its living, creative power. Shiva and Shakti are inseparable - consciousness and its dynamic expression as the body, mind, nature and the world of all objects and experience. Rather than seeking liberation by transcending or escaping the body or the world, this tradition recognises the body, the universe and all experience as expressions of the Divine. Its path therefore is one of embodied awakening: recognising our true nature as consciousness while bringing that recognition fully into the experience of being alive, here and now.

What is Vigyan Bhairav Tantra?

Vigyan Bhairav Tantra is a classic text of Kashmir Shaivism offering 112 meditation doorways into awakened consciousness. Rather than separating spiritual practice from daily life, it reveals breath, sound, sensation, silence, and presence as direct paths to the recognition of the Self.

What is Siddha Yoga?

Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path rooted in the Indian yogic tradition, especially the nondual teachings of Kashmir Shaivism and Vedanta. It emphasises meditation, mantra, chanting, self-inquiry, devotion, and Shaktipat - the awakening of inner spiritual energy through the grace of the Guru. At its heart is the recognition that the divine Self is not separate from us, but is our true Self, and that spiritual practice and the grace of the Guru help reveal this innate state of awakened consciousness.

What is Shaktipat?

Shaktipat literally means “the descent of Divine Power” - Shakti meaning Divine Energy or Power, and Pat meaning to fall or descend. Through the grace of a light touch, glance, words or presence of the Guru, the spiritual energy is awakened within us, allowing it to be experienced and embodied here and now. Different spiritual traditions use different language for divine presence and awakening, with concepts such as Shakti, the Holy Spirit, Buddha-nature or Christ consciousness - each arising within its own distinct tradition and carrying its own meaning.

What is Kundalini?

Kundalini is the innate spiritual energy that lives within every person - an expression of Shakti, the Divine life force that animates us and all of existence. When awakened, Kundalini supports expanded awareness, deeper meditation, and recognition of one’s true Self.