In my series WARRIORS OF LIGHT I publish interviews with people who are dedicated to spread light into this world. It is my pleasure and honour to introduce you to the one and only Margherita.
Margherita Baratti is the founder of the Palazzo Caprioli - Research Center For Human Growth in Brescia, Italy. The roots of the palace reach back to the 16th century. I had the pleasure to get to know Margherita during the Kundalini Yoga Module Lifestyle & Lifecycles in March 2023. I am looking back to a transforming week and felt more than warmly welcomed and hosted by Margherita and her whole family in this outstanding location. During these days in the Palazzo Caprioli I got a glimpse of Margherita's inspiring work and personality, so I decided to start my new interview series WARRIORS OF LIGHT* with her.
Kavalya Dhyan (KD): Margherita, who are you?
Margherita: I am a woman who never stops researching… about life as such but also about myself. So, I mainly see myself as a researcher. I am very curious and always in motion - accepting the permanent change. Everything in the universe is connected and by means of different disciplines, I am trying to connect the knowledge by embodying it. My mission is to the always find the best way to get closer to the truth… even when I don’t know what the truth is, I keep researching…
KD: What is the Palazzo Caprioli?
Margherita: The Palazzo is a space for interdisciplinary research, dedicated to everybody who wants to experience spirituality by means of Yoga, Dance, Music, Theatre, Philosophy. It is an open space, a research center which puts the body and the experience in its focus. The studies of philosophy is a big part of my life. My work at the palazzo is a practical implementation of my studies.
KD: How did your Yoga practice change you?
Margherita: My mind is very dominant. For my own sake I noticed, I have to practice Yoga in order to put it in place. I had to acknowledge that the mind is an important instrument, but it is not my master. In the beginning my Yoga practice helped me to embody knowledge. I started to appreciate the process of knowing by means of physical manifestation. Per example: What is compassion? Before I started to practice Yoga I knew the definitions of things, but now they became more than physical sensations, they became a state.
To get to this point I went through more than one crisis. It took me some time to feel the harmony in this tension between mind and body and there was a lot of resistance in the beginning. Thanks to Kundalini Yoga I got confronted with all the illusions I (used to) have. Like every Yoga style it helped me to feel the flexibility and harmony within, but what I consider as special in Kundalini Yoga: It helped me to transform my illusions and emotions in a short time.
I was 23 years old when I discovered Kundalini Yoga and I opened up to life in a different way. In the beginning I have dealt with so many illusions about life, about myself. Almost in every class I was crying. Crying out of joy or whatever emotion came up. By doing so I went through a purification process… and I was getting in touch with the Divine. Till I started to practice Yoga I was always looking for something bigger in life and with Yoga I discovered the Divine within me.
KD: You chose the word Divine, you did not say God, was that intentionally? I noticed that nowadays a lot of people are intimidated by the term “God”…
Margherita: I am not intimidated…(smiles)... I love to speak about God. But the notion of “God”, already implies a concept. I think the term Divine is less bound to a certain religion. Through my studies I got in touch with a lot of Buddhist scriptures, so when I use the word Divine it is more open … Per example in Buddhism the concept of God and its law of cause and effect is even effecting Buddha himself there is no conception of the omnipotent idea of God like we know it in Christianity.
KD: Which facet brought Kundalini Yoga to your life next to your Asthanga and Iyengar Yoga practice?
Margherita: It is giving me the peace of not needing to perform, but I still practice Hatha and Iyengar Yoga and I don’t want to assess any of the Yoga styles. Receiving a class of Kundalini Yoga feels very complete to me. Because there is a lot of Pranayama and Chanting. The sound is what makes the big change. The sacred sounds changed me the most, it is such a powerful tool. There is something very genius about the healing properties of the sound and the Naad technology. I found Kundalini Yoga very effective in terms of self-awareness and personal transformation.
KD: The narratives of our media age tend to oppose a spiritual approach to the rational, scientific way of understanding life. In certain intellectual circles during the pandemic arguing in a scientific way was the only approach featured by the media…
Margherita: Yes. It is a big topic. I think because of the pandemic we had a unique chance to remove the veil which had covered humanity in an illusion for a long time. We got an insight of how the people and the world really are. All of a sudden all these lies became obvious. There are still a lot of people who don’t want to acknowledge that they were lied to. But if someone wants to know, one can see the corruption everywhere.
After World War II we forgot how manipulation kept on being applied to people by the ones in power.
We were getting comfortable living in our democratic societies, praising liberalism without noticing that the ability of manipulating the mind still exists. Nowadays we can see that the democracies are not democracies anymore and we have the chance to reveal the contradictions within ourselves. We are in this delicate era of history: The veil of illusions has been lifted which leaves us in a state of nudity and vulnerability. What can we still believe in? How are we going to sustain ourselves? Is the state going to help us? Really? I don’t know.
KD: What do you think comes after this wave of revelations we are currently in right now?
Margherita: Every crisis is an opportunity. Four years ago I was in the illusion that this delicate time, we are witnessing right now, is THE big shift of our era. I thought consciousness on a collective level will rise much faster than it has… I had to I realise that this huge shift will take much longer. I am in a state of disillusion, right now…not trying to look for the change in the outside world.
I think it is good to face all the personal illusions, to bear them, to work through them. The disillusion, distractions and this emptiness give us a possibility to build something new. It is hard, but it is possible, because people will have to change more than ever. It is like a struggle and a dance at the same time, but if one doesn’t lose faith and keeps on trusting, one can make a change. We don't need to change the world but we can connect to like-minded people and we can choose not to be afraid. It needs a lot of courage.
KD: You are pregnant right now. How did your pregnancy effect your perception of life?
Margherita: The pregnancy changed my perceptions in many ways. I am feeling another life in me without actively thinking that I have to do something about it. There is this natural state of grace. I can feel a permanent state of joy, energy and peace. When I am angry or sad I don’t take it so personal anymore. … I am feeling very much alive. Now it is easier for me to feel the sensation of life, because I have two hearts beating inside of me. I see this baby as a master. It is so pure and it teaches me a lot. Because of this pure energy I feel like I am in another process of purification. I noticed I am more embodied. My voice changed and feels more grounded. My perception of life is more practical and I am looking forward to the birth which I imagine like an initiation.
KD: If you had one message to spread to the world, what would it be?
Margherita: Nurture the feeling of joy! Always find ways to feel joyful in every situation. We can always find a spark of joy again. It is a choice.
Margherita Baratti has a degree in Philosophy (Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan), Masters I & II in Political Philosophy and Ethics (Sorbonne, Paris IV) and Doctorate in Philosophy (UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires). Margherita got in touch with Kundalini Yoga in the age of 23 and has been teaching Yoga since 2014. Besides her studies of Contemporary Dance and Theatre, she deepened her Yoga experience with the Sound Technology (Naad Yoga) in Amritsar, India.
In the video below you'll get an impression of the beautiful Palazzo Caprioli:
*The title of my series WARRIORS OF LIGHT is inspired by the expression of the WARRIOR SAINT. In Kundalini Yoga the WARRIOR SAINT represents the one who has done the inner work necessary to stand behind his/her word. He or she is fearless and firmly rooted in their connection with the Divine. In my series WARRIORS OF LIGHT I interview people who are light workers in some kind of way: Souls who shine light on themselves and others in order to grow and to transform. Let there be more light - Wahe Guru!
