ROLAND BERGER

Roland – who has a Cancerian sun and ascendant and moon in Capricorn – was born in Austria and grew up in the beautiful mountains of his homeland. He felt quite early in life that there must be more to this reality than what we usually perceive with our senses. As a teenager he began to explore the mind and consciousness, and to ask fundamental questions such as: What is the meaning of life? Why are we here?

His thirst for spiritual knowledge, first only a small flame but later constantly increasing, led him to try many different disciplines such as Chi Gong, Tai Chi, and eventually Yoga. While he appreciated the great physical benefits of Yoga practice, Roland was not truly fulfilled and knew there must be more to it. He felt that most classes in the West didn’t go deep enough, helping participants learn a lot about the physical body and its functions but not so much about the chakras, energy bodies, and deeper spiritual intentions of Yoga.

While traveling in Thailand, Roland discovered Agama Yoga on Koh Phangan. After joining a few classes of the First Level Intensive Course, he was blown away by the traditional spiritual knowledge presented in a way such that a 21st century Western mind would be able to understand it. In particular, the inspirational lectures of Swami Vivekananda Saraswati boosted his aspiration to attain higher levels of consciousness and self-realization (samadhi).

In 2011, Roland joined the Agama Yoga Teacher Training Course which was a life-changing experience for him. Knowing that he wanted to dedicate his entire life to the spiritual quest, he went back to Austria to sell all his belongings. Now he has dedicated himself to teaching, traveling to different Agama centers (Rishikesh, Koh Phangan, Mexico) to offer this rare form of traditional Yoga, as well as continuing his studies, joining workshops, and diving deeper into meditation during various retreats.

Roland feels blessed to have access to such great spiritual knowledge and to be supported by this community. As he says, “Through this ancient teaching my life transformed in such mysterious and beautiful ways – I get to know my true self more and more every day.”