Thursday Satsang in Person and Via Zoom – September 10, 2026
“The Mahat Buddhi Part II”
with Gary Gran
6:00-7:00 p.m.: In-Person Gentle Yoga
7:00-7:30 p.m. Meditation Guided by Gary Gran CYT, DAy.
7:30-8:30 p.m. “ The Mahat Buddhi – Part II” with Gary Gran CYT, DAy.
8:30 p.m.: Evening Chants
8:40 p.m. Snacks and Conversation
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Mahat is known as the universal mind. All of our individuated minds are said to be connected to universal mind, but do we experience that? Plato famously said:
“Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points it out.”
In sankhya philosophy, mahat is the first evolute of Mother Nature in the chain of causation. Being the first means that the universal mind is very close to the Source. How do we experience universal mind? How do we connect with the Source? These are the kinds of questions that we’ll take up in this talk.
Buddhi is the personal corollary of mahat for each individual. It is our intellect, the part of us that discerns whatever we are seeing and makes decisions. However, our buddhi can be clear, muddied or even dormant. Ayurveda tells us that ‘mistakes made by the intellect’ (think poor choices) are the prime causes of disease. So how do we sharpen our intellect in order to make the best choices for ourselves and others?
In these talks, we’ll reflect on the views from various sources including sankhya, yoga, ayurveda and the neoplatonic tradition of the west. We’ll consider the methods of working with buddhi and connecting with mahat, and we’ll listen deeply to the teachings passed down to us from our teachers in the Himalayan tradition.
All are welcome.
“Buddhi means that which discriminates, judges and decides; these are the three main functions of your buddhi. You can term it in English as intellect.”
~ Swami Rama~
All are welcome.
Gary Gran, CYT, DAy. Gary and his wife Cynthia have been treading the Himalayan path since the late 1970s. They met at the old Glenview Center in Illinois and have served the tradition in various capacities over the years. They are both certified yoga teachers and Ayurvedic educators. They have published more than eighty articles on yoga, meditation and Ayurveda. They are currently in summer residence in Minneapolis
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