Founder’s Reflection - A Journey Guided by Grace

2015-2016 The Call

The festival did not begin as a plan. It began as a calling.

In 2015, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati original vision for a festival arrived quietly through a visiting Swami, Swami Santatmananda. Like a seed gently placed in our hearts, it carried truth before it carried form. We did not fully understand it, but we felt its depth. When Beale Park finally revealed itself after much searching, it felt less like a decision and more like destiny.

We had never attended a festival before. We had no blueprint. Only faith.

In March 2016, grace arrived again in the form of Cristina, bringing knowledge far beyond what we carried. With Mooji Baba blessings, the festival took its first breath.

"We stepped forward without knowing the path, trusting that the path would appear."

The beginning was chaotic. Volunteers disappeared. Equipment failed. The water line punctured. And yet, something unseen held us steady and attendees were already asking about next year event.

2017 Surrender and Strength

After the financial strain of the first year, we chose to release outside organisers and trust ourselves.

Our son Avi and his friends came to help build the site, pushing themselves beyond their limits. At the end, Avi asked us to promise never to do another festival ever again. We could not make that promise.

When something is born from truth, it refuses to be abandoned.

This year was richly blessed with profound teachings. We welcomed Swami Brahmavidananda, Zubin, Dr Omanand, and the incomparable Tao Porchon Lynch, whose presence reminded us that wisdom, grace, and vitality transcend age.

2018 Support Appears

By now, the lesson was clear this was not meant to be carried alone.

Grace arrived through Nick and Aidan, who brought steadiness, professionalism, and heart to the site build. Relationships with suppliers began to grow rooted not only in contracts, but in trust.

Our son, realising resistance was futile, joined the build team himself.

What we resist may exhaust us what we accept often becomes our strength.

This year also deepened spiritually with the presence of teachers such as Dr Nagendra of SVYASA, Swamini Brahmaprajnananda, and Swami Svatmananda, grounding the festival firmly in authentic tradition.

2019 Faith Tested, Faith Strengthened

A quiet confidence began to rise Yes, this is possible.

Teachers of depth and authenticity joined us, including Swami Sarvapriyananda, Dr Ananda Bhavanani, and Hansa ji Dr Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra from The Yoga Institute Mumbai.

During Swami Sarvapriyananda first talk, a violent storm struck. Power failed. Rain poured. He remained unshaken.

A generator was found. The teachings continued.

Truth does not require perfect conditions to be heard.

For the first time, the festival broke even. Not abundance just balance. Enough.

2020 The Great Pause

Then the world fell silent.

COVID arrived. Fields remained empty. There was no festival, no income only uncertainty.

Yet the community held us. Many ticket holders chose to roll their trust forward.

We offered free online classes not to remove fear, but to sit with it together.

Even when form disappears, connection remains.

2021 Walking Through Fear

We moved to Henley on Thames, unsure whether the festival could survive in a changed world.

Restrictions eased. Faith returned.

Six weeks before the festival, our main tent supplier withdrew. Panic arose then resolution. A larger tent appeared, at great cost, but as a gift.

Then came the rain. A named storm. Flooded ground. Soaked tents.

We learned a hard truth not every place can hold what you are becoming.

When international teachers could not travel, support arrived from closer to home. Rupert Spira, a respected local non dual teacher, generously joined us, standing with the festival when outer borders were closed but inner inquiry remained open.

UK teachers stepped forward with great generosity, and Radhika Das lifted the night with kirtan, turning worry into dance.

When conditions fall away, devotion carries us.

2022 A New Ground

We crossed the road to Henley Showground, a space able to hold the festival growing body.

Our beloved marquee was absent, replaced by a Big Top. It served its purpose, though our hearts remembered.

International teachers returned, including Kamal Singh and Usha Devi, bringing renewed global connection and warmth.

Then came the heatwave testing bodies, patience, and resolve.

Every element teaches. Rain humbles. Heat strengthens.

2023 Refinement

This year marked a turning point.

Aidan became festival site manager, bringing clarity, structure, and calm leadership. Carpet laying was fully professional, no longer dependent on the goodwill of friends.

Rain returned, but this time the ground held firm.

Beloved teachers returned, including Swami Sarvapriyananda, Dr Tony Nader, and Devki Desai.

Then another lesson arrived our hot tub supplier disappeared, taking our money and declaring bankruptcy. A last minute replacement sauna area was found and added a new dimension to the festival.

Each loss gently redirected us back to faith, where trust is never broken.

2024 Signs and Stewardship

The year opened with prayer and power.

During the opening puja, a ferocious storm swept through the site. Wind and rain arrived with force, then cleared just as suddenly, revealing a magnificent triple rainbow stretching across the sky. It felt like a blessing made visible.

Four glorious days of sunshine followed, as if the storm had cleared the way.

By now, we truly knew how to hold a festival. Aidan led the site build with confidence and care while Cristina led the festival with inexhaustible determination and commitment.

The festival expanded organically. The Earth Tent matured into a grounded sanctuary. A new kitchen, lovingly built by Ram, became a place of nourishment and seva. Ice baths offered challenge, clarity, and renewal.

Sika Sound Journey filled the entire Space Tent with the deep, ancient resonance of the didgeridoo, creating a truly magical and unforgettable atmosphere.

What once required struggle now moved with rhythm.

2025 Expansion Without Losing the Heart

This year marked a flowering.

Teachers arrived from India, including Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Dr Parthasarathy, and Dr Saraniya, bringing depth, wisdom, and continuity of lineage. The festival voice reached further through NDTV interviews and broadcasts, and we were honoured by the presence of the Deputy Lord Mayor of Henley and the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire at our opening ceremony.

Behind the scenes, the team also grew. Mima joined the staff, supporting Cristina and strengthening the foundation that quietly holds everything together.

Awareness continued to grow yet intimacy remained.

This became our largest gathering ever, with the greatest number of teachers and the widest circle of attendees, all held within the same shared intention.

Growth did not take us away from the essence it brought more hearts into play.

Closing Blessing and Dedication

May this festival continue to be a place of remembrance where we pause, soften, and return to what is real.

May all who enter these grounds feel supported, seen not for what they do, but for who they are.

May the teachings shared here awaken clarity, may the music dissolve separation, and may the silence remind us of our shared source.

We dedicate this festival to the welfare of all beings, to the courage it takes to walk inward, and to the unseen grace that has guided our every step.

May we always remain humble stewards of something far greater than ourselves.

With love and gratitude,

Ram and Sonali