{"id":108170,"date":"2026-07-26T03:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T03:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/108170\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T03:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T03:31:13","slug":"heres-what-i-learned-at-a-hare-krishna-retreat-in-the-alps-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/108170\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what I learned at a Hare Krishna retreat in the Alps \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, a group of Hare Krishna devotees gathers in the Austrian countryside for a two-week retreat. My grandmother Maya has made it her annual pilgrimage for the last four years and asked me to join this time around. <\/p>\n

Maya, typically accompanied by her son, takes a flight from New Delhi, India, to Vienna, Austria, before hopping on a train for five or six hours until she reaches Lake Weissensee. <\/p>\n

Once she\u2019s there, at the Strandhotel, a 4-star wellness resort property, Maya eases in. <\/p>\n

My husband and I arrived a few hours before my grandmother. We finished our \u201cBeyond Burger\u201d and an organic Coca-Cola when we saw Maya walk in. She said hello and went to lay down on the loungers next to the vegan burger bistro. The New Delhi air doesn\u2019t agree with her and her arthritis flares up during long travel days. After she took a breath, she told us what to expect during the week we were in Weissensee. Clean food, prayer time, and many swims in the lake. <\/p>\n

\"\"Gitanjali Poonia with her husband, Jake, at Strandhotel during a Hare Krishna retreat | Courtesy of Gitanjali Poonia <\/p>\n

Although I didn\u2019t grow up around the Hare Krishna movement, originally founded in New York in 1966, their Salt Lake City temple became my safe haven during my time living in Utah. I occasionally visited the much larger temple in Spanish Fork, especially during Holi, the festival of colors. My husband, who grew up Christian, would accompany me, often participating from a distance. <\/p>\n

Hare Krishna is a branch of Hinduism. Its religious philosophy is based on the Bhagavad Gita, but it is monotheistic through intense devotion to Krishna, a major Hindu deity who is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the Supreme God. <\/p>\n

Before arriving at Weissensee, I decided to try my best to immerse myself in the Hare Krishna way of living. <\/p>\n

The day-to-day life at a spiritual retreat<\/p>\n

The Strandhotel resort has a vegan kitchen. The menu changes each day, featuring different cuisines, from Russian and Austrian to Indian. But the idea remains the same: They served Sattvic or pure plant-based foods that are fresh, easy to digest, and include fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. This diet features seasonal foods, while eggs, fish, meat and alcohol are avoided, as are overly spicy or salty meals. <\/p>\n

This kind of simple diet isn\u2019t routine for me. At the beginning of the retreat, I could hear my stomach growl loudly two hours after a big breakfast that featured watermelon slices, strawberries, baked tomatoes, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms and peppers, radishes, and a toast with vegan butter. But as my body adjusted, I could feel my energy levels increase. <\/p>\n

\"\"From right to left, Gitanjali Poonia, her grandmother Maya Sangwan and other family members swimming at Lake Weissensee during a Hare Krishna retreat in July 2026. <\/p>\n

Daytime allowed us to explore the landscape around us. Most days, I would muster up the courage to take a dip in the cold lake and then warm up in the saunas, repeating this process until my husband and grandmother would ask me, almost in unison, whether I was ready to go to the apartment and change. I felt like a kid, unwilling to shake off the giddiness from the cold water, the mountainscape and the warm sun. <\/p>\n

Known as contrast therapy or the Nordic cycle, the hot sauna and the cold lake reset the nervous system and lower stress. <\/p>\n

At the retreat, the sauna became a place for many brief but unexpected conversations. In one instance, I overheard three men talk about one of the devotee\u2019s rosaries. Some gurus count the creases of their fingers; others tie knots on a thread, one of the men in the back noted. As the devotee moved the beads through his index finger and thumb, whispering mantras under his breath, he nodded along to the unfolding conversation. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s just you and the Lord\u2019s name,\u201d another chimed in. <\/p>\n

\"\"Lake Weissensee in Austria is pictured in this undated photograph. | Nelli Wallner <\/p>\n

The 108 beads on the rosary are to guide chanting a mantra 108 times, a number that is believed to help align a person\u2019s energy with the universe. In Catholicism, a 59-bead rosary also helps guide the sequence of prayers like Our Father and the Hail Mary. <\/p>\n

In the evenings after dinner, everyone would gather for the kirtan, a chanting circle featuring violins, tabla or drum players, and singers, who repeatedly sang the Hare Krishna mantra.<\/p>\n

During my first kirtan, as I chanted \u201cHare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare\u201d along with everyone else in the room, taking cues from the musicians singing into the mic, time slipped away as I fell in sync with those around me. <\/p>\n

When I got back to the hotel room after a two-hour kirtan on my second night, I couldn\u2019t stay awake. My voice sounded a little hoarse and all my energy was spent singing the mantra. <\/p>\n

\"\"A Hare Krishna kirtan, or chanting group, at the Church of Hope in countryside Austria in July 2026. | Nelli Wallne <\/p>\n

One kirtan took us to the Church of Hope, situated on a hilltop overlooking the lake. This open-air chapel is a beautiful nondenominational spiritual space that has an altar, a cross and a statue of Jesus Christ standing beside the altar. <\/p>\n

A phrase is inscribed at the entrance of this church. It says, \u201cI have a thirst.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it is not the material thirst, but a spiritual thirst,\u201d said Sham Naam, the host of the retreat. She stood next to her husband, Christian, the CEO of Healy, a holistic health company. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe garden of encounter and this sacred space is dedicated to the spirit of compassion that Jesus embodied,\u201d she told the attendees during the Kirtan. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith one hand, he is receiving the sacred divine energy, with the other hand he distributes it to everyone,\u201d she said of his statue. \u201cUnifying both in spirit and offering hope, trust and love to all who visit regardless of their beliefs.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2018A flexible but strong spine\u2019\"\"Maya Sangwan attending a Hare Krishna retreat at the Strandhotel in Weissensee, Austria, in 2024. <\/p>\n

Although that routine was typical, some attendees also offered their expertise to the group. My grandmother and I attended a yoga class led by Ananda Bihari, a 38-year-old born in Moldova and living in Vienna, Austria. <\/p>\n

On one side sat the mountains and on the other, the lake. My grandmother grabbed a chair for herself as I sat crisscrossed on a blue towel that I brought with me. <\/p>\n

Bihari warned us not to push our bodies too much and to do what we can. <\/p>\n

We began by chanting \u201cOm Shanti,\u201d a sacred Sanskrit mantra used to ground the body before or after the practice, and set our intentions for the hour and the day. <\/p>\n

Bihari takes care of the Vedic Center. He is also an illustrator and a Hatha Yoga teacher who considers his practice a way to connect with the divine while staying in tune with science. <\/p>\n

After stretching our limbs, we transitioned to the Surya Namaskar, or the sun salutations. It\u2019s a sequence of yoga poses that utilize the breath and body to create a flow. Although it\u2019s traditionally practiced at sunrise, the sun had been up for hours as we eagerly waited for it to peak out from behind the mountains. <\/p>\n

\"\"A Hare Krishna kirtan, or chanting group, at the Church of Hope in countryside Austria in July 2026. | Nelli Wallne <\/p>\n

After we stretched our backs, transitioning from the cobra pose to the downward-facing dog, Bihari remarked on the importance of a flexible but strong spine, literally and metaphorically. <\/p>\n

\u201cYoga in the mornings can be healing,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s relaxing at night.\u201d After some reflection, I agreed with Bihari\u2019s analysis. Although I enjoy a quick yoga stretch before bedtime to unwind in my day-to-day life, the morning\u2019s practice left me energized, setting a positive outlook for the rest of the day. <\/p>\n

After coming back stateside, I messaged Bihari on social media, asking him about the Hare Krishna way of life. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond different religions and traditions, we all share the same search for happiness, meaning, and love,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, the essence of spirituality isn\u2019t about labels or belonging to a particular tradition. It begins in the heart.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery tradition offers its own language and practices, but their deeper purpose is to help us become more compassionate, more peaceful, and more connected with ourselves, with others, and with the Divine,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

This was his second time attending the retreat. \u201cWe live in a world where everything moves very fast,\u201d said Bihari. \u201cPeople are constantly connected online, but often feel disconnected from themselves and from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Gitanjali Poonia looking at Lake Weissensee in Austria, during a Hare Krishna retreat in July, 2026. | Courtesy of Gitanjali Poonia <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether someone is deeply spiritual or just curious, everyone can benefit from taking a break from everyday life and reconnecting with what really matters,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

As I pondered Bihari\u2019s words, I couldn\u2019t help but think about the many nationalities of the people who gathered at the retreat. Although Hindu practices were at the heart of the day-to-day practices, the attendees came from England, Germany, Moldova, the United States and more, with only a handful of Indians. Bihari was right. People are seeking antidotes to modern burnout. In a world of digital distractions and processed foods, practices like mindfulness, yoga and meditation offer sustainable ways to find grounding and inner peace. <\/p>\n

After I left the retreat, I breathed better, through my belly as you are supposed to. I stopped daydreaming and admired the trees and the leaves and the sound of birds. The present felt joyful enough as I felt my chest rise in exuberance. That\u2019s the thing about nature: It shows you divinity is always in your reach. It\u2019s up to you to see it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year, a group of Hare Krishna devotees gathers in the Austrian countryside for a two-week retreat. My…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[16],"tags":[50,9212],"class_list":["post-108170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alps","tag-alps","tag-news-feed-national"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116984170931435642","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}