Events & Classes
Meditation Group
8-9pm EST, In-Person or on Zoom
First Wednesday of the month
2025: September 3rd, ***OCTOBER 8th instead of October 1st***, November 5th, December 3rd
2026: January 7th, February 4th, March 4th, April 1st, May 6th, June 3rd, July 1st.
NO MEDITATION GROUP IN AUGUST. WE RESUME IN SEPTEMBER.
Broome Street Ganesh Temple
430 Broome St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013
Dr. Sarika Persaud will be leading a monthly meditation group, which participants are invited to attend regularly or on a drop-in basis. Following from her classes on Tantra and psychology, these meditations will be based on visualizations from Tantric texts which aid in self-discovery and accessing emotional material that is repressed into the unconscious mind.
This group is suitable for people at all stages of their spiritual journey. These guided meditations will help with healing emotional distress, accessing intuitive guidance, increasing your ability to sit with your emotions and to feel grounded in your body. Participants often enjoy the discussion following the meditation, where we can help each other in interpreting the many symbols and new experiences that arise.
Please have a blanket, somewhere comfortable to lie down, a water bottle, and something to cover your eyes handy. If at home, headphones are recommended.
Please sign up for the meditation class email list here, whether you plan to attend this month or not. I will keep you updated on cancellations/late starts, and you can unsubscribe at any time. The registration is not yet open on the Broome Street Ganesh Temple website, but until then, I will send you all of the information you need (such as Zoom link, address) via the email list. The Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the class. You can also come to the temple for the class in-person and pay in cash/Venmo @broomestreetganesh $10 per class.
Dasa Mahavidya: Ten Tantric Wisdom Goddesses
Dasa Mahavidya: The Ten Wisdom Goddesses
Saturday, September 20th
1-3pm
Broome Street Ganesha Temple, 430 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
In Person & Zoom
The Tantric traditions present ten esoteric forms of Shakti, the Dasa Mahavidya: Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, and Kamala Devi. Some of them correspond to more well-known forms, such as Matangi, the Tantric Saraswati.
These goddesses give a person access to their unconscious desires, patterns, and fears, that on the surfaces may be confusing or displeasing to the individual. Through relating to these goddesses, a person can gain hidden spiritual gifts and inner transformation. While the Mahavidyas are misunderstood as being “dangerous” to worship, this class will lead participants through safe and effective ways of connecting with these energies. This is also a helpful class in understanding the Shakta (Goddess) traditions of the subcontinent in general, ahead of Navratri, the nine-day autumn Goddess festival.
$20/pay as you wish
Registration to come soon. You may also attend in person and pay on Venmo @broomestreetganesh or in cash.
Spiritual Revelation Class
Saturday, February 22nd
11am-1pm EST
Zoom only
This class will cover the history of spiritual revelation in South Asian indigenous belief systems, from Sapta Rishis (the seven great sages), to the origin of the concept of “spirit guides,” the ancient use of intoxicants in meditation, and local/contemporary initiations, practices (such as “deity posession”), and meditations for connection to divine guidance. Students will learn the differences between identifying spiritual intuition, anxious thinking, and severe mental illness. The class will end with a meditation to help connect to spiritual guidance.
The recommended donation for this class is $20-40 to Broome Street Ganesha Temple, to aid in recent major repairs. You can Venmo @broomestreetganesh or donate on their website
Introduction to Tantra Class
Saturday, July 27th, 2024
12:00-3:00 PM EST
In-person only — will update website if recording is available
$10 or by donation
The Goddess traditions of the Indian subcontinent are all generally contained in the foundations of Tantra, an ancient philosophical system, with some of its beliefs even predating the Vedas. Tantra can deepen a practitioner’s understanding of desire, non-duality, intuition, the divine feminine/masculine, and how the mind affects our physical reality.
Learn about the basic philosophies, traditions (Kaula, Sri Vidya, etc.), rituals, and styles of meditation of the Tantrika lineages of the Indian subcontinent with Dr. Sarika Persaud.
This class includes a lecture and meditation component. Please bring something to take notes, water, and a shawl for meditation.
Healing Meditation
Thursday, May 9th
8-9pm EST
Zoom | Free of charge
An activism campaign can be very hard to sustain for a long time without opportunities to heal and recharge. This healing meditation is open to anyone feeling shaken up or ungrounded due to their recent activism work, or due to vicarious traumatization. Witnessing violence can have just as damaging effects on the psyche, especially if you identify with the group being victimized. You will leave this meditation feeling restored at a very deep level, and will be able to release repressed emotions.
Any students actively involved in protests currently who cannot attend at this time, let me know if you’d like me to organize a meditation privately for your group.
While this guided meditation style originates from Tantric practices, it does not necessitate belief in any religion or affiliation with any faith tradition. It is open to anyone in need of spiritual and emotional healing.
Please reach out for the Zoom link via the “Contact Me” tab above, or DM @doctor.samosa on Instagram.
Conscious Relationships Workshop
Broome Street Ganesha Temple
430 Broome St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013
$20 suggested donation
In-Person or Zoom
Are you unsure of what you’re looking for in a relationship?
Are you already dating someone, but not sure if they are right for you?
Do you feel like you’re not doing anything right in your relationships?
This workshop will teach you how to approach relationships from a place of emotional stability, awareness, and acceptance, with guiding principles from psychological research and advaita Tantra philosophy. The reflection prompts provided in this workshop can be used for journaling or as a supplement for existing self-improvement practices.
Register Here
The Inner Lotus Retreat
October 7-9
Arsha Vidya Pitham (Ashram)
Saylorsburg, PA
Click photo for more info
Empowered Sexuality Workshop
Daydream Collaborative Clinic
544 Main Street Beacon, NY 12508
daydreamclinic.com
Click photo for more info
Meditation Class
Tuesdays 6:30-7:45pm
Last Class July 26th, 2022
Broome St Ganesh Temple
430 Broome St, New York, NY
Zoom available by registering online
Click photo for more info
Previous Events & Workshop Topics
Philosophy
Introduction to Tantra
Chakras and the subtle bodies
Integrating past life regression into your current therapy
Textual Study & Discussion (Shiva Sutras, Paratrisika Vivarana, Upanishads, etc.)
Sexuality & Relationships
Body image & sexuality
Exploring your gender & sexual identity
Healing your relationship with your body and sexuality for South Asian women
Objectification & catcalling
Sexual health for South Asian/Caribbean adolescents
Sexual identity & spirituality
Kamasutra and the Kamashastras and modern sexual health
Conscious dating
Navigating your relationships as a young person in a South Asian family
Trauma
Psychosomatic illness in psychoanalysis and spiritual healing
Understanding trauma and its long term impacts
Healing from sexual trauma (gender specific topics for women and men, or general workshop for all genders)
Healing from gender-based violence
Understanding why abuse and toxic relationships happen, and how to heal from it
Generational and family trauma in South Asian and Caribbean culture
Impact of colonialism on mental health & self