A mass meditation festival open to everyone free of charge opened on the 23rd in Rishikesh, at the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. Indian meditation organisation PMC Society said Maha Yog Dhyan Kumbh 9.0 began on the banks of the Ganges at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, on the 23rd and will run for five days, until the 27th. This year’s theme is inner transformation and world peace.
The organisers’ official website lists India’s Ministry of Tourism (Incredible India) as a partner and the Ministry of Ayush, which oversees traditional Indian medicine and yoga, as a campaign sponsor. The Uttarakhand state government and the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, the state’s tourism development corporation, are also named as partners.
Ninth event since 2017, with more than 10,000 expected this year
Maha Yog Dhyan Kumbh was first held in 2017. It took place twice in 2021, then paused for two years before returning in 2024 and 2025. This year’s event is its ninth. The organisers describe it as India’s first mass meditation festival and say more than 30,000 people have attended over the years. That figure is the organisers’ claim.
Indian events trade publication EVENTFAQS reported on 21 October that more than 10,000 participants are expected this year. The organisers said that a volunteer initiative will also distribute more than 150,000 free vegetarian meals at the venue over the five days.
Beginning with the breath, then expanding into music and singing bowls
At the heart of the festival is Anapanasati, a form of mindfulness meditation in which practitioners observe the breath as it comes in and goes out. As it involves focusing solely on the breath, without special equipment or posture training, even first-time meditators can follow along straight away. The organisers say anyone can take part, regardless of age or meditation experience.
A range of meditative practices build on breath meditation. Morning meditation accompanied by live music takes place daily from 5am to 8am. On the first evening, music meditation to the sounds of the Indian string instrument santur and tabla is followed by sound meditation, with participants resting as singing bowls are played. Pyramid meditation and guided silent meditation are also on the programme. There is a broad range of activities involving the body and sound, including yoga and pranayama, Ayurveda, breathing workshops, Indian classical music and performances of Kabir bhajans.
Akhand Dhyan, which runs throughout the festival, is a silent meditation lasting 108 uninterrupted hours. Separate programmes have also been arranged for children aged five to 12 and sessions for young people aged 15 to 35.
Different traditions come together, rather than a single organisation
Another distinctive feature of the festival is the breadth of participating organisations. The official website’s list of partners includes meditation and yoga groups from different traditions, such as the Art of Living, Heartfulness, Brahma Kumaris, the Divine Life Society and Parmarth Niketan. According to EVENTFAQS, speakers will include Swami Chidanand Saraswati and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan, Subodh Uniyal, Uttarakhand’s forest minister, and Swarnamala Pathri, co-founder of the organising body.
Every evening at 6pm, the Ganga Aarti, a Hindu ceremony in which lamps are offered to the Ganges, takes place. On the final day, the 27th, the five days will conclude with Sant Sammelan, a gathering of spiritual leaders. There is no participation fee, but advance registration is required and participants must arrange their own accommodation.
A marketplace for meditation — something for South Korea’s meditation community to note
What stands out about the Rishikesh festival is that it does not present meditation as having a single right answer. On the shared foundation of breath meditation, it places music, sound, silence, yoga and Ayurveda side by side, inviting participants to experience them for themselves. Unlike a retreat focused on learning one organisation’s practice in depth, it is more like a marketplace where people can compare different traditions and find the meditation that suits them.
In an age of information overload, starting meditation by sitting quietly alone is harder than it might seem. Listening to music, letting the sound of singing bowls wash over you, or taking a moment to breathe alongside a large group can make that first step much easier. An event with free entry also offers one of the lowest barriers to trying meditation for the first time.
The involvement of government ministries in a meditation festival in the name of tourism and traditional medicine also offers food for thought in South Korea. It reflects a view of meditation not merely as a personal hobby or religious practice, but as a tourism resource and an asset for public health. South Korea has no shortage of organisations and teachers leading temple, forest and sound meditation. If they came together to establish a festival where members of the public could look around and try activities for free, it could both broaden the domestic meditation community and provide a platform for introducing K-meditation to the world.
Registration and programme details are available on the official Maha Yog Dhyan Kumbh website.
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