In 2001, at the request of students, Agama – then located in Rishikesh, India - held a Christmas / New Year’s 10-day silent meditation retreat. This extraordinary event prompted so many to ask for a similar retreat in successive years, that it has now become an annual tradition. Here's a report from a recent retreat:

At the very beginning of this season we again held a 10-day silent meditation retreat to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in a spiritual manner. Students of Yoga and the public can expect us to hold this retreat each year, from 23 December - 1 January.

The retreat sessions began daily at 8:00 a.m. and involved a form of "tantric vipassana," music meditation, as well as other meditation styles, such as several synthesized from Kashmir Shaivism. The five-hour morning meditation program was divided such that it allowed for an hour of Hatha Yoga practice in the middle, a schedule we followed in the afternoon as well. Additionally, we watched the epic "Jesus of Nazareth" over the course of six nights to bring a resonance with the spirit of Christmas.

Besides leading the retreat, Swami Vivekananda gave dharma talks and guided our time zone meditations over New Year's Eve, when we aimed to harmonize with the energies in each part of the world and to meditate on the national souls of our global brothers and sisters.