SRINAGAR: A proposed four-day meditation retreat in Gurez Valley has drawn objections from PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who have urged authorities to examine the programme and its proposed activities.
The retreat, titled “Tantra in Silence – A Journey Within”, is advertised for September 24 to 27 under the name Rajneesh Tantra Temple, with promotional material identifying Swami Dhyan Sumit as the facilitator. The programme is being offered at Rs 11,995 per person, including accommodation, food and retreat sessions.
According to the promotional material, the retreat will include meditation, sound healing, “love and awareness”, conscious living and inner transformation. Participants are required to wear white and maroon robes. The advertised itinerary includes pickup from Srinagar Airport, travel to Gurez, a stay at a riverside camp and the return journey to Srinagar.
The organisers describe the programme as a meditation retreat and a “sacred Himalayan experience”, stating that it is inspired by the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
A poster is advertising a “Tantra Silence” retreat in Gurez Valley, Srinagar.
A similar “Tantra” retreat facilitated by Swami Dhyan Sumit, a self-styled godman promoting a new religion under the Shree Rajneesh Foundation, was cancelled in Goa last year after its obscene… pic.twitter.com/1cdGZlF5oo— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) September 19, 2026
Mehbooba, in a post on X, urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Jammu and Kashmir Police to intervene and take appropriate action. She also appealed to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the office of the Grand Mufti to raise awareness about the issue.
Mehbooba referred to a similar programme in Goa which she said was cancelled last year following controversy over its promotional material. She questioned the suitability of holding the proposed retreat in Gurez and called for official intervention.
Responding to her post, Mirwaiz said the concern warranted immediate attention and urged the authorities, including Omar Abdullah, to take note of the proposed event.
The concern raised by @MehboobaMufti deserves immediate attention! That this kind of program is being allowed in Gurez in Kashmir, when a similar programme by this organisation was cancelled by police in Goa, due to public outrage over its obscene promotional details, is…
— Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) September 19, 2026
Mirwaiz also referred to the Goa episode and criticised what he described as the commercialisation of spirituality. He said tourism promotion should not undermine Kashmir’s religious, cultural and social ethos.
The proposed retreat has thus become the subject of political and religious objections ahead of its scheduled September 24 start, while the promotional material presents it as a meditation and spiritual programme. The concerns raised publicly centre on the organisers, programme content, promotional material and its proposed location in Gurez.
