Welcome to the Kula.
The mission of Fakīrī is to celebrate, translate, preserve and disseminate the culture, practices, and wisdom teachings of the Indian mystical tradition.
Fakīrī is the umbrella organization to support Harshada's teaching work and publishing, but also a resource to help promote the teaching work and publishing of other lineage-based teachers and artists rooted in the sacred traditions of South Asia.
Fakīrī is the culmination of more than 30 years of practice, study, and cultivation. Fakīrī's Founder and Spiritual Director, Harshada Wagner, first traveled to India in 1997 where he made a deep life-long connection that continues to this day.
Founder and spiritual director
Harshada Wagner
Harshada Wagner is a master meditation instructor, author, artist, dad, and wisdom teacher with more than 30 years of teaching experience. He is the founder and spiritual director of the Fakīrī Institute.
Classically trained in the wisdom traditions of Yoga, Bhakti, Vedānta, and Tantra, his teachings come from his decades of working with people, helping them learn to live more fulfilling, soul-centered, purpose-driven lives.
The Sanskrit name Harshada was given to him by Gurumāyī Chidvilāsānanda in 1996, meaning “the giver of joy, laughter, and delight.”
He is known as a down-to-earth, lighthearted teacher who is able to help people get to the “deep stuff” fast. He offers a balance of a grounded, approachable style of teaching with the most profound ancient wisdom and classical mystic practices.
The name
Why Fakīrī???
Our name, Fakīrī, is inspired by a famous poem by the 16th-century poet-saint Kabīr:
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in Fakīrī.
The root word fakīr, in Arabic, refers to a spiritual renunciate of the highest order. The fakīr has little or no material possessions, not because of misfortune, but because they have such spiritual wealth and abundance, they don't want to be distracted. Fakīrī is that quality of spiritual power and freedom fully embodied by the great masters of yoga.
Fakīrī is a state of being drenched in sabūrī—divine contentment. It is a state of unconditional abundance and defiant joy. It is the quality of being that arises when we know what is true and lasting and what is transient.
We would not be here without the blessings of the great masters who came before us. Naming our company Fakīrī is also a poetic tribute to those giants on whose shoulders we stand.
Here is the whole poem:
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
जो सुख पायो राम (नाम) भजन में
वो सुख नाहीं अमीरी में
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
हाथ में तुंबा बगल में सोटा
चारों दिशा जागीरी में
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
प्रेम नगर में रहनी हमारी
भली बनी आई सबूरी में
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
आखिर यह तन ख़ाक मिलेगा
क्यों फिरे मगरूरी में?
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
कहें कबीर सुनो भाई साधो
साहिब मिलेगा सबूरी में
मन लागो मेरो यार फ़कीरी में
Translation
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
The joy you get in singing the Name,
you won’t get in all the riches of the world.
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
A begging bowl in one hand, a stick in the other,
My kingdom stretches in four directions.
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
I dwell in the city of love.
My prosperity is contentment itself.
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
In the end, your body will merge with dust.
Why walk so arrogantly?
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
Kabīr says, listen seekers:
We meet the Divine in Divine Contentment.
Oh friend, my mind has become entangled in fakīrī!
The Kamaṇḍalu
Our Symbol
Our symbol is the kamaṇḍalu. The kamaṇḍalu is a vessel used by sādhus and fakīrs to collect alms, food, water, and to hold whatever needs to be held. Some traditional sādhus and sādhvīs only own a stick, a kamaṇḍalu and a cloth.
The root of kamaṇḍalu in Sanskrit is kāma, which means desire or pleasure. So the kamaṇḍalu is that which contains our desires.
For us, the kamaṇḍalu is the symbol of the fakīr, but also a symbol of desire aligned with purpose.
The Kula
The word kula means community, it can also mean family. The kula in the Fakīrī Kula Project is a kula of seekers and teachers worldwide who are committed to the spiritual path in a deep way. The Fakīrī Kula is made of sādhakas–those who have made their spiritual work and service to the Divine central in their life.
The Team
Our team is small and mighty. Along with Harshada, two of our key contributors are Harshada's partner Adriana Rizzolo, and their long time dear friend Dr. Varsha Choudhari. We have many other contributors, well-wishers, elders and advisors and will be expanding this section as time goes along.
Our beloved Guru
We offer our deep respect and surrender to the feet of Bhagawān Śrī Nityānanda of Gaṇeśpurī. Bhagawān Nityānanda is the modern era Guru of our spiritual lineage and Harshada's grandfather Guru. He left his physical body in 1961 and his samādhi shrine (tomb) is in Gaṇeśpurī India where Harshada leads pilgrimage retreats. His grace, his teachings, and his example provide eternal inspiration for us all.