Global Gong Puja: Apart but connected

On 7 May 2020, Vesak Day, we played together with grand gong master Don Conreaux and gong players from over 190 countries worldwide in a Global Gong Puja. If you missed it, you can check out our video recording above!

The Global Gong Puja was created by Don in response to the worldwide lockdown caused by COVID-19. As we retreat into our homes, the Global Gong Puja is an opportunity for gong players around the world to connect together.

What is a puja?

Pūjā, a Sanskrit word, translates into reverence, honour, homage, adoration and worship. It is a ceremony used in various occasions, frequency and settings. It can range from the daily home pujas, to the occasional temple ceremony, to annual festivals.

A puja is held to mark major lifetime events such as birth, weddings, starting of new ventures. For many people, the puja is one way to petition desires and appeals for health, success, as well as to help overcome challenges and remove negative energy.

What is a gong puja?

According to grand gong master Don Conreaux, a Gong Puja is a devotional ritual which honors and allows space for participants to heal in mind, body and spirit. Typically, it lasts the duration of 10 sessions of 45 minute gongbaths, which is 7.5 hours. The gong, in itself, facilitates self-healing. It helps us get into a place of divine connection.

This was based on Don's personal experience with Yogi Bhajan, a master of Kundalini Yoga. After Yogi Bhajan witnessed the effects of one 45 minute gong bath for his son's ailment, he declared that ten consecutive gong sessions would clear most blockages and cure almost anything. The gong puja would allow one's soul to heal itself, relieve the body of human suffering, and open the heart to return us to our natural state of joy.

Typically, gongbaths are best experienced in person. Participants are invited to settle into their spots for the evening, and they are welcome to sleep or sit in meditation through the night as gong players take turns to play the gongs. A small ceremony may prelude and conclude the sound experience.

Benefits of a gong puja

During a gong puja, you reap the benefits of a regular gongbath tenfold. Immersing in the sound vibrations of a gong can create opportunities to repair, rebuild, unlock and unblock. It helps to release mental, emotional and physical issues. As we hover in a theta state of deep restfulness and mental awareness, you may experience a deep sense of peace and well-being. A gong puja can increase one's energy and vitality. Participants have reported waking up refreshed and ready to face the day even if they did not sleep through the night.

What's next?

Until it is safe and appropriate to gather again, Theta Space will continue to co-create and share online pujas with our friends. It will happen through Instagram or Facebook Live using the hashtag globalgongpuja.

The next session is scheduled for 20 June 2020. More details will be released on social media. Check our Events page for the updated schedule!