What does it mean to transform the ordinary into the sacred? How can ritual, purification, and devotion shift our perception of the everyday?
In the latest episode of Escaping Samsara, I sit down with Spiros Antonopoulos and Barry Silver in person on the banks of the Ganga River in Varanasi to explore their incredible project, Gently Down: Bathed, Beaten, and Blessed — a 20-year journey of artistic and spiritual collaboration rooted in the sacred energies of the Ganga and the Maha Kumbh Mela festival.
Spiros and Barry first met as yoga students in New York City, unaware that their paths would intertwine for decades, leading them back—again and again—to the ancient flow of India’s most sacred river. From their first pilgrimage in 2005 to their upcoming return in 2025, their work is a fusion of performance art, ritual, and personal transformation.
We discuss:
🔹 The power of consecration—how objects, spaces, and even moments can be transformed into sacred vessels
🔹 The ritual journey of Bathed, Beaten, and Blessed 3.0 at the Kumbh Mela festival
🔹 How purification, intention, and devotion anchor us in deeper realities
🔹 The intersection of yoga, esoteric traditions, and artistic expression
This conversation is an invitation to slow down, surrender, and step into the flow of transformation. Listen now and immerse yourself in the sacred journey.
🎧 Tune in on your favorite podcast platform.
📲 Follow our guests:
✨Gently Down Project
✨ @souljerky (Spiros Antonopoulos on Instagram)
✨ Barry Silver