3-Day Karma Yoga Program for foreigners
3-Day Karma Yoga Program Schedule
Inspired by Chapters 2 & 3 of the Bhagavad Gita
This 3-day immersive retreat introduces participants to the heart of Karma Yoga as taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The retreat blends philosophical depth with contemplative reflection, practical exercises, and transformative discussion.
Day 1: Arrival, Orientation & Foundations
Morning to Noon: Arrival and Settling In
- Participant Registration & Room Allocation (9:00 AM – 11:00 AM)
- Freshening Up & Personal Rest Time (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
- Community Lunch (12:30 PM – 1:30 PM)
Afternoon Session: Orientation
Theme: Foundational Principles of Karma, Dharma & Advaita
- Welcome Address & Program Overview (2:00 PM – 2:30 PM)
- Orientation Talk: “What is Karma? What is Dharma? What is the Self?” (2:30 PM – 4:30 PM)
- Introduction to Non-Duality (Advaita Vedanta) and its relevance in action
- Guided Reflection: “Where am I acting from—ego or awareness?”
- Q&A Session (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM)
- Light Dinner & Rest
Day 2: The Path of Karma Yoga
Session 1: The Crisis of Purpose (9:00 AM – 10:30 AM)
Theme: From Confusion to Clarity
- Arjuna’s dilemma and the universal human crisis (2.1–2.12)
- Krishna’s firm compassion: Arise and act (2.2–2.3)
- Dialogue: “What shakes me in moments of moral testing?”
Session 2: The Nature of the Soul (10:45 AM – 12:15 PM)
Theme: You Are Not the Body, Nor the Mind
- Eternity of the soul (2.13–2.30)
- Reflection: “If I am the soul, how should I live?”
Contemplative Journaling Activity: “The most amazing thing about the soul…”
Lunch Break (12:15 PM – 1:15 PM)
Session 3: Action Without Attachment (1:15 PM – 2:45 PM)
Theme: The True Art of Karma Yoga
- Perform duty without craving results (2.47–2.50)
- Work as sacrifice (3.9–3.16)
Workshop: Design your daily work as an act of yajna (offering)
Session 4: Slaying the Inner Enemy (3:00 PM – 4:30 PM)
Theme: Overcoming Desire and Anger
- Sloka walk-through: Desire → Anger → Delusion → Destruction (2.62–2.63)
- The real enemy: insatiable desire (3.37–3.43)
Meditation: Rising from body → senses → mind → intellect → soul
Session 5: Living and Leading as a Karma Yogi (4:45 PM – 6:00 PM)
Theme: From Self-Centeredness to Selfless Leadership
- Krishna as the role model of action without selfishness (3.17–3.29)
- Discussion: “What kind of leader does the world need today?”
Exercise: Identify one real-life action to transform into Karma Yoga
Day 3: Integration, Questions & Departure
Morning Session
- Q&A Session: Revisiting Key Teachings (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
- Open Reflection & Personal Inquiry Time (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM)
Feedback and Completion
- Feedback from Participants & Sharing Experiences (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
- Group Reflection: What changes for me from today onward?
- Program Wrap-up & Gratitude Circle (12:30 PM – 1:30 PM)
- Check-out & Departure (1:30 PM – 2:00 PM)
Note:
While this program draws primarily from Chapters 2 and 3 of the Bhagavad Gita due to time constraints, participants will also receive a 30-minute teaser session during Day 2 providing a high-level overview of Chapters 4 through 18. This overview will introduce advanced themes and inspire further exploration of the complete Gita.
“Perform your duty, O Arjun, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yog.” — Bhagavad Gita 2.48
This 3-day retreat is designed for all seekers—spiritual, corporate, academic, and personal—who wish to bring purpose, presence, and purity into their action.
Gita Bhavans Expansion Plan (24)
International Vision: Gita Bhavans in India and the World
After launching the International School for Bhagavad Gita and successfully commencing the 3-day Karma Yoga program in Hyderabad, we now look ahead with a bold and transformative vision.
Phase 1: 10 Gita Bhavans Across India (by 2030)
We intend to establish 10 Gita Bhavans on 5-acre campuses each (Pick here to see the list), located in India’s 10 most visited tourist destinations. These centers will offer daily Karma Yoga sessions that blend timeless Gita wisdom with the clarity of Advaita Vedanta, designed especially for spiritual tourists, seekers, and curious visitors.
Daily Schedule:
- 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Participant Registration
- 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM: Karma Yoga Class
- 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Community Lunch (Free)
- 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Q&A Session
- 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Feedback and Reflection
- 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Vote of Thanks and Closure
The course and all facilities are provided completely free of cost. Participants are free to offer any voluntary contribution via a Hundi or by scanning a QR code linked to the central Gita University trust.
Phase 2: 100 Gita Bhavans Across the World (by 2035)
From 2030 to 2035, we will extend this model by building 100 such Gita Bhavans globally, each situated on a 5-acre campus in reputed tourist destinations across the world—from Bali to Rome, Kyoto to Los Angeles, Cape Town to Cairo. (Pick here to see the list)
These global centers will not teach anything other than a one-day Karma Yoga course, rooted purely in the non-dualistic (Advaita) understanding of the Bhagavad Gita. The message will be simple, universal, and free of dogma.
Each visitor will leave with a powerful inner transformation:
- The realization that God is not a figure in the sky watching from above, rewarding some and punishing others.
- A deep understanding that God does not operate based on names, forms, or exclusive affiliations.
- A new spiritual foundation where one no longer waits for external blessings, but instead aligns their life to the principles of Karma and Dharma.
This vision intends to dispel the ignorance that has caused religious divisions, fear, and bloodshed throughout history. When people begin to realize that their destiny is shaped by their own past and present actions—thought, word, and deed—a new humanity will arise.
Let us not dismantle faith, but dismantle false ideas about God that divide mankind. Let us bring forward a new wave of understanding where:
“God is not a judge, but the very ground of being.”
This is not just a movement. It is a silent revolution of consciousness—one Gita Bhavan at a time, across the world.