About our meditation classes
In our fast-paced modern lives, meditation is now recognized as a powerful life skill, bringing a renewed sense of clarity, purpose, simplicity and calm. Meditation reconnects us with our inner strength, unburdens the mind, and takes us to an inner space of stillness. More on the benefits of meditation »
Our class givers have spent many years studying meditation under the guidance of Sri Chinmoy (pictured), and are very happy to answer any questions you might have about meditation.
View our class schedule » Meet our class givers »
What does a typical course involve?
- Two guided meditations per session.
- Breathing and concentration techniques to still the mind.
- Covering the ABC’s of home practice.
- Creative visualisations, mantras, and the four pillars of yoga.
- Music and meditation.
Current Class Schedules
Welcome to our 2019 ‘Learn Meditation’ free course options. Our current series of free meditation programs run throughout the year in our CBD venues and in multiple surburban locations around Auckland. Look through the upcoming introductory courses below and choose a suitable time to attend. To register, simply leave your details on our contact page, or a message on our class answer phone: (09)3093437.
We look forward very much to meeting you and sharing our love of meditation with you!
To learn more about the 10 Compelling Reasons to meditate…<click here>.
Option A: Meditation and the Spiritual Life
Down through the ages, the wisdom-teachings of the great Masters have reminded us of our fundamentally spiritual nature, the nobility and beauty of the soul, the paths and practices that help us to find happiness. Like a map of a journey that we have now embarked upon, their insights and teachings help us to navigate our own way to enlightenment, freedom, Self-discovery.
Beyond mind and mindfulness, beyond thought and thinking, what self-discoveries await us? These meditation courses invite you on a journey, cover a wide canvas of meditation practices; the main branches and paths of yoga; a look at reincarnation; the finding of a spiritual path; how to bring the benefits of meditation into daily life; and a look at the wisdom-teachings of several Masters.
The four sessions of each course form a structured program and you’re encouraged to attend each of the four evenings – admission is free, but registration is required to accommodate numbers attending. Course instructors are from the Sri Chinmoy Centre, with decades of teaching experience and a genuine love of sharing their own insights with others. The w/shops are informal, informative and helpful and a lot of material and exercises are drawn from the teachings of the late spiritual master Sri Chinmoy.
Free admission, but due to limited seating please register by using our contact page, or leave your details on our answer phone (09)3093437.
Option B: International Yoga Festival
Join us at the upcoming Yoga Festival at the Kawai Pura Pura Retreat Centre north of Auckland. We have a course entitled ‘Seven Secrets of Meditation’, a four part series over these February 21 – 24th weekend dates. Our course outline can be seen here.
The Retreat Centre is at 14 Mills Lane, Albany, North Shore, Auckland, 0632. Tickets are required by the Yoga Festival organizers, and these you can get online here.
Option C: NZ Spirit Festival
Join us at a meditation w/shop presentation by the Sri Chinmoy Centre at the upcoming NZ Spirit Festival, March 1-3, held out at Tanglewood, 110 Woodhill Park Road , Waimauku, Auckland.Option D: Songs of the Soul Concert
Food, music, meditation, the company of kindred spirits! We all love these gifts, and they are part of a rising wave of conscious living coming in to our world just now. Music and meditation too are very close together, and spiritual music is an effective way of preparing the mind and heart for inner experiences. Songs of the Soul will be a great evening – music imbued with the consciousness of meditation, food that also contributes to our inner life, the company of inspired and inspiring people. And two really good performing groups. Hope to see you there!
When: Saturday evening, March 9th, 6pm
Where: The Hungry Elephant restaurant and gardens, 615 Matakana Road, Warkworth (a one hour drive)
Please register for this event for catering purposes and to reserve seating: use our contact page or leave your details and number attending on (09)3093437.
Option E: Workplace ‘Learn Meditation’ workshop.
Meditation – an effective and simple answer to workplace stress – is fast becoming a mainstream workplace tool. Auckland’s Sri Chinmoy Centre is sponsoring an initiative to introduce meditation and stress reduction skills through free workplace introductory sessions to ten or more people. An Hour Of Peace involves an instructor teaching the ABC’s of simple and proven meditation techniques and practical tips on getting started to your staff and employees. The offer is entirely free of charge.
Click here to find out more about Workplace Meditation.
Music, Mantras, Sacred Chants
Bringing music back into our lives – you’re invited!
Bringing music back into our lives – you’re invited!Music and happiness are always found together, and both arise from our hearts and souls. Spiritual music is the language of the soul and provides us with one of the simplest ways of being happy. Music is also an antidote to our endlessly busy minds and complex lives, and one of the most effective ways to meditate – it soothes and focuses the mind, banishes thought, brings to the fore the peacefulness and happiness that are qualities of the heart and experienced in meditation.
This group invites anyone interested in peaceful, meditative music to meet up regularly to learn, sing, add instrumental accompaniment or simply listen to some easy song-chants and mantras in an informal and very friendly environment. You don’t need to be a good singer or musician – all that’s needed is a wish to bring music back in to your life, perhaps to sing again or to learn about mantras or to explore music as a form of meditation.
Our mantras and songs are drawn from the beautiful musical legacy of the late spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy – during his life he composed over 20,000 songs and offered these in more than 700 free concerts worldwide as way to foster a more peaceful world.
Everyone has music inside them, everyone has a voice to celebrate their life. Our meetings and shared songs are most importantly about rediscovering the benefits of music, and how spiritual songs nourish our hearts, encourage us to find our own voice and our own life songs. Sessions are about an hour long and each evening will introduce 4 – 5 simple songs or mantras with harmonium accompaniment.
Where: At Golden Grove Montessori School, 57 Grey Street in Onehunga
When: Tuesday evenings at 7pm.
Admission: free – please call or text to 0221887432 if you’re interested and would like to attend. When we have some interest and a small group we’ll get in touch with specific dates.
The latest news and updates
Latest videos
Meet the class givers
Our class instructors have all learnt the art of meditation personally from Sri Chinmoy.
Interview with Ursula Maag
Ursula talked about meditation and daily life.
Jogyata Dallas
Jogyata has taught meditation for over 30 years and is the author of several books about the subject and his encounters and experiences with Sri Chinmoy. He lives in Auckland but teaches in many other countries. His workshops combine humor, personal anecdotes and guided meditations and reflect his sincere love of his subject.
- Experiences of Meditation by Jogyata
- Jogyata’s online Meditation Course at the Sri Chinmoy Centre
- NZ Herald article on Jogyata Dallas: Twelve Questions
Preetidutta Thorpe
Preetidutta works in the vegetarian café The Blue Bird in Auckland’s Mt Eden and was once an Olympic level contender in yachting. She visited New York on many occasions to study meditation with Sri Chinmoy.
Muslim Badami
Muslim has been a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre since 2003. A keen marathoner and occasional actor he lives and works in Auckland after moving here from India. He teaches evening workshops in introductory meditation throughout the year.
Hridayinee Williams
Hridayinee has been practicing meditation in the Sri Chinmoy Centre for 20 years and teaching Beginner Meditation Classes for 15 years in Australia and New Zealand. She is a qualified children’s educator and loves working with children which helps keep her in the heart and happy.
On Meditation
It’s easy to become a little overwhelmed by the amount of information about meditation and this short section is to simply focus on some of the techniques for meditation and the practical use of meditation for a fulfilling life.
Ten compelling reasons why YOU should LEARN MEDITATION
10 compelling reasons why you should meditate … (1) Because you are greater than you know. (2) Because you can be happier than you are today…
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Beyond Infinity
The philosophy of the heart that imposes no finite boundaries on infinity has an advanced understanding that infinity actually, really is……….infinite!
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Nature Meditations
If you’re a nature lover, Auckland has some of the best outdoor places of any city in which to practise and enjoy your meditation.
read moreMusic and Meditation
Explore how meditation can be used to elevates our consciousness.
Invitation to An Evening of Peace
The following article by Jogyata Dallas is reprinted with the kind permission of the IndiaNZ Outlook newspaper. For those with an interest in peaceful music and meditation, an upcoming free event in Three Kings will soon offer a very special opportunity. Auckland’s...
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The Unifying Power of Music
Recently I have been listening to the Indian singer Kaushiki Chakrabarty performing her beautiful and haunting devotional bhajans while accompanied by tabla, sarangi, harmonium and sarod. The songs were a recording from a live concert in the Netherlands, but across...
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Songs of the Soul: A Free Concert
More in the article in Indian NZ Outlook Dec 2016 Page 10: http://www.indianzoutlook.co.nz/archives.php Auckland welcomed a unique group of musicians from seven different countries for their first ever concert tour in New Zealand this month, an event called ‘Songs of...
read moreSport and Meditation
Meditation can enhance our physical performance, but also makes our satisfaction from sport deep and lasting. Explore the inner aspect of sport —a dimension that everyone can add to his or her current physical and mental training.
Impossible Distance
How far can you walk, run or shuffle during 6 hours or 12 hours of continuous forward motion - or way out there on the far frontiers of impossibility, how far in 24 hours? How many miles or kilometres will your legs, lungs and heart carry you, how much determination...
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A Running Meditation
Movement and meditation belong together. Experience from the five runners who braved the Waitomo Caves Trail Run …
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Taking on Challenges
Fitness has been a theme in the Sri Chinmoy Centre over the past month or two, with a number of us having a shot at some great trail runs – the Tarawera trail race near Rotorua with distances up to 50km, the recent Riverhead Rampage multi-distance run out in Woodhill...
read moreLife experience and insight
Profound insights as well as inspiring and amusing life-stories.
A Perspective on Ageing
How to remain youthful, happy and positive despite the advancing of age …
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Mt Arthur adventure
Several of our marathon team members enjoyed a snowy expedition in the South Island’s Mt Arthur tablelands recently. Our hopes of hiking across the alpine tops to summit Mt Arthur were dashed by high winds, deep snow that had us up to our armpits in places, and mist....
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Oneness-Dream tour – April 2018
By Jogyata Dallas I have always felt fortunate to be a member of "Oneness-Dream”, an acapella male choir featuring students of Sri Chinmoy performing selections of his songs based on various spiritual themes and messages. We have toured to many parts of the world,...
read moreDiet
Body and mind are interconnected. Proper diet maintain the body-temple in mint health and enable deeper and subtler meditation experience.
Favorite Haunts
We all have our favorite haunts to meet friends or dine out - mine are scattered about in numerous places, magnets that draw me back time and again. My current number one is The Hungry Elephant vegan/vegetarian cafe in Matakana, a leisurely one hour’s drive up north...
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Food for Thought
IndiaNZ Outlook contributing writer Jogyata Dallas interviews Auckland nurse and vegan Cheryll Martin about vegan principles and the growing global interest in animal rights/ethical living.
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Benefits of a vegetarian diet
Read how a vegan or vegetarian diet develop a deepening understanding of our oneness with all living things and the impact of our diet in the refinement of our consciousness …
read moreCommunity Services
As well as meditation, our members run several enterprises that bring the principles of meditation into daily life, and are continually organising projects to serve the public, and to help each human being find the best within themselves.
Karma Yoga: Service to Humanity
Humanity's great teachers, the spiritual masters, sages and yogis that have been with us over the long centuries, tell us how remarkable and splendid the human soul is, its capacity for love and compassion, the hope it carries for a brighter future and a peaceful...
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A Karma Yoga Exercise
Rather than the path of seclusion, karma yoga sees in the everyday challenges of life countless opportunities to learn, deepen and multiply our many good qualities.
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The Peace Run: A Meditative Journey
Several of our Kiwi team joined the Peace Run in Iceland, Australia and Europe. Here’s a shot of our team in Iceland, way up north in those spectacular landscapes of glaciers, volcanic mountains and fast running ice-fed rivers. Find out more…
read moreViewpoints
Spiritual viewpoints to ponder upon life, the world and the Universe.
A Spotlight on Peace
A new statues in Taupo encouraging reminding us to look towards a better world and provides inspiration about our individual role in fostering this.a brighter future for humanity …
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Reflections on Astrology
Humanity has always wondered about its future, devising myriad ways to look beyond the present moment to prepare and shape its destinies and its fortunes. Since ancient times, shamans have looked for patterns in the spiraling contours of smoke, taken hallucinogenic...
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Some Reflections on ‘Light’
Auckland’s 17th Diwali festival, colloquially referred to as ‘The Festival of Lights’, will soon be enlivening our city streets and temples and bringing gaiety, color, dance, music, theatre, workshops and a wonderfully irresistible array of multi-ethnic food stalls to...
read moreVideo Features
Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre share their perspective on meditation in daily life plus selected interviews with Sri Chinmoy on various aspects of meditation and spirituality.