TAPASYA — THE SACRED FIRE OF TRANSFORMATION

An Immersive Training & Purification for Householders, Seekers & Vision Quest Pilgrims

Real-Time Constellation | From Mid-May to early July

Energy Exchange from £133

WHAT IS INCLUDED

THE ASTROLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE OF THIS COURSE

Cosmic Timing: Every fasting date, every tutorial, every threshold of this journey has been deliberately placed in alignment with the most potent astrological windows of 2026. This is Tapasya as the ancient sages intended it – not as a personal discipline imposed upon time, but as a sacred dance with time itself.

When we fast, pray and purify in alignment with the celestial rhythms, the effects are exponentially amplified. We are riding the current rather than swimming against it.

COURSE TIMELINE AT A GLANCE

 (MORE DETAILED OVERVIEW BELOW…)

1st May — Materials available
24th May — Tutorial 1 @ 11am UK
25th/26th May — First Group Fasting Date — Ekadashi
7th June — Tutorial 2 @ 11am UK
10th/11th June — Second Group Fasting Date — Ekadashi
13th June — Tutorial 3 @ 11am UK
24th/25th June — Third Group Fasting Date — Ekadashi
10th July — Special Final Fasting Date — Yogini Ekadashi & Krittika Nakshatra  

OVERVIEW OF COURSE CONTENT

TAPASYA — THE SACRED FIRE OF TRANSFORMATION

A Blended Online & Retreat Teaching Package Available to Online Students Worldwide and Vision Quest Retreat Participants

FOUNDATION MODULE
What IS Tapasya? — An Introduction 

A grounded and honest introduction to one of the most misunderstood concepts in spiritual life. We begin here so that every student, whether brand new or deeply experienced, enters the journey without distorted expectations.

— What Tapasya is, and crucially, what it is NOT
— The difference between genuine austerity and spiritual ego or self-punishment
— Tapasya in the Ancient Vedic tradition: stories, teachings and the wisdom of the sages
— The cosmology of Tapas: why the ancient lineages considered it indispensable for liberation
— How Tapasya relates to karma, dharma and the path to a Golden Age
— Padma's personal transmission: stories from 30+ years of frontline and austere practices and trainings across the globe

MODULE 1
The Benefits of Tapasya — Why the Sages Chose Fire 

— How Tapasya generates spiritual heat that burns through karmic residue
— The purification of body, mind and energetic field through austerity
— Tapasya as a gateway to heightened perception, clarity and inner stillness
— How voluntary hardship cultivates resilience, groundedness and non-attachment
— The relationship between Tapasya and siddhi: the development of spiritual gifts
— Ancient stories of the Rishis and their extraordinary capacities cultivated through Tapas

MODULE 2
Reading Yourself — How to Map Your Own Tapasya Path 

Photo by Sanjaya Pradeep.  

Not all Tapasya is the same. This module helps each student understand their own constitution, karma and capacity, so that their practice is genuinely transformative rather than ego-driven or harmful.

— Understanding your own nature: sattvic, rajasic and tamasic qualities
— Astrological markers of austerity: how your personal chart may already be pointing you toward Tapas
— Recognising spiritual periods and placements that naturally invite Tapasya
— Self-inquiry practices: where are you ready to simplify, renounce or purify?
— Tapasya for householders: how ordinary people in the modern West can authentically engage without becoming full renunciates
— The difference between Tapasya as a calling and Tapasya as performance

MODULE 3
Sacred Diet — Sattvic & Spiritual Eating Across Lineages 

Food is one of the most immediate and accessible forms of Tapasya available to us. This module draws from multiple wisdom traditions to offer practical, nourishing guidance.

— Understanding sattvic diet: the food of clarity, peace and spiritual receptivity
— Dietary teachings from Vedic, Buddhist, shamanic and indigenous lineages
— What to include, what to reduce, and why: with full food lists provided
— Simple, accessible sattvic recipes to get you started
— The relationship between diet and consciousness: how what we eat shapes our inner state
— Restricted and ceremonial diets: dietas, fasting preparations and transitional eating

Photo by Christel Cavaciuti.  

MODULE 4
Astrological Fasting — Dancing with Sacred Time 

One of the most potent and least-known practices in the Vedic toolkit. This module introduces the art of fasting in alignment with celestial rhythms, and prepares students for the shared fasting dates woven through this course.

— Introduction to astrological fasting: why the timing of a fast matters as much as the fast itself
— Key fasting dates in the Vedic calendar and their significance
— How fasting on specific days purifies specific karmas and planetary influences
— Mantra practice to accompany fasting: a special mantra will be given to support mental balance and inner peace throughout
— Three shared fasting dates together as an online community
— Vision Quest participants will gather for a very special fourth fasting date in the Scottish Highlands: a uniquely potent opportunity for deep karmic purification
— Beneficial yoga, pranayama, meditation and mantra to help maximise Tapasya

MODULE 5
Forms of Tapasya — A Living Map of Austerity

Drawing from Padma's own extraordinary journey and from the breadth of world wisdom traditions, this module explores the many forms that Tapasya can take.

— Fasting and dietary restriction
— Silence and silent retreats
— Darkroom retreats – entering the void
— Pilgrimage – the outer journey as inner alchemy
— Pranayama and breathwork as Tapasya
— Rites of passage and ceremonial austerity
— Renunciation – of comfort, of possessions, of habitual identity
— Wandering and voluntary simplicity
— Solo practice in unfamiliar or challenging environments
— How to recognise when life itself is offering you an involuntary Tapasya

Photo by Kaushik Majumder

MODULE 6
Tapasya for the Western Householder 

Perhaps the most practically vital module of the course. How do we authentically engage with these ancient teachings when we have jobs, families, mortgages and mobile phones?

— Honouring the spirit of Tapasya without bypassing genuine life responsibilities
— Small but potent daily austerities available to everyone
— Building a personal Tapasya practice that is sustainable and authentic
— The danger of spiritual materialism in austerity practice, and how to avoid it
— How Tapasya gradually reshapes your relationship to comfort, craving and identity
— Moving from consumer to renunciate: not in one dramatic leap, but as a living journey

ENROLMENT WINDOWS — IMPORTANT

Early Enrolment — from 1st May | Full access to all materials, all three supervised group fasting dates, all tutorials, and the special final fasting date for Vision Quest participants.

On-Time Enrolment — by 25th May | Full access to all materials, all three supervised group fasting dates and all tutorials.

Please note: Students enrolling after 25th May will receive only two supervised group fasting dates. Early enrolment is strongly encouraged to receive the full benefit of this journey. 

SPECIAL OFFERING
The Vision Quest — Scottish Highlands

FOR THOSE CALLED TO GO DEEPER

For students ready to step beyond the screen and into the living landscape, we offer a very special Vision Quest retreat in the ancient and potent terrain of the Scottish Highlands. This will take place at the Mystery School residential location that we have been using for 7 years including access to special virgin forest overlooking a glen for questing that we have consecrated with indigenous elders.

Linked to the Grandmothers attunement, we will be merging native American and other indigenous traditions, Tapasya, pilgrimage, Dharma, meditation, space-holding training and earth-work…

Here, the teachings of Tapasya will be lived — not merely studied. Students will be supported through:

– Immersive austerity practices in a sacred natural setting
– The fourth and most potent shared fasting date — held together in ceremony
– Real-time transmissions and teachings from Padma in person
– Rites of passage, space-holding training and solo time in nature
– Community and sangha — the support of fellow dharma seekers walking the same fire

For full details of the Vision Quest please express interest below or email us at dharmastars.org@gmail.com

***You will only be considered if you have committed to the Grandmothers Empowerment. If you feel you are destined to come but cannot take the Grandmothers Empowerment you may have restricted access to some of the practices at the main retreat - at bare minimum you must have committed to the Tapasya course.

Tapasya is not for everyone, and it is certainly not about suffering for suffering's sake.
But for those who feel the call of the fire, who sense that something in them is ready to be refined.

The Scottish Highlands are calling us back. The fasting dates are set and the sacred codings of Divine Time and Cosmic Law beckon us forth.

Come to the fire of deep karmic purification and into self-mastery.