World Meditation Day 2025: A Global Movement for Inner Peace

Gurudev delivered the keynote address at the United Nations headquarters in New York, marking the second anniversary of World Meditation Day’s official UN recognition. On Dec 21st, the global livestream united 12 million participants worldwide in a synchronized moment of meditation and peace.

Dec 21, 2025
New York City, New York, USA 

Event Highlights

12 Million Global Participants

From 133 US cities to communities across South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Oceania—even soldiers from the warfield in Ukraine—millions paused together in meditation.

25 Digital Screens Across New York

The message reached millions through 22 giant digital billboards across Times Square and New York’s World Trade Center complex, including a 100-yard display, bringing meditation into one of the world’s busiest urban centers.

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United Nations Keynote Address

Gurudev addressed global leaders and dignitaries at UN headquarters, reinforcing meditation as a universal practice transcending cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries.

Historic Gallup Research Partnership

Gallup announced the first large-scale global study on meditation and wellbeing, integrating meditation questions into surveys across 140+ countries, with findings due World Meditation Day 2026.

The Event

World Meditation Day 2025 demonstrated meditation’s power to unite humanity across every divide. The UN General Assembly’s unanimous adoption of December 21st as World Meditation Day recognized what Gurudev has taught for decades: transformation within brings transformation in the external world.

At the United Nations, ambassadors from around the globe affirmed this vision. Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni noted that the resolution’s adoption “marks a significant milestone in acknowledging that meditation transcends cultural, religious and geographical boundaries, offering a universal template of transformation.” First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Mexico, Gabriela Márdero emphasized, “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible… this is why Mexico considers this day to be of great importance because it reminds us that we should cultivate inner peace if we want to contribute to harmony and peace.”

The celebration extended far beyond the United Nations. Seventy US cities issued official proclamations recognizing World Meditation Day, while 133 cities hosted organized meditation events. Communities gathered in living rooms, parks, meditation centers, and even conflict zones—proof that the hunger for peace transcends all boundaries.

In New York City, 25 massive digital screens across the World Trade Center complex and Times Square carried meditation’s message through one of America’s busiest thoroughfares, blending ancient wisdom with modern communication to reach millions of passersby throughout the day.

Gurudev’s message to the gathering was both simple and profound: “In this age of so much technology, we cannot forget that there is a place of peace within our hearts.” He called for meditation to become part of education systems worldwide: “If colleges and schools around the world take up meditation, we will definitely see a better world.”

As Ambassador Joan Rovira of Andorra shared, nations across the globe—from Europe’s oldest countries to the newest participants—have “embraced the concept of meditation” as essential for human flourishing. Ambassador Márdero captured the day’s essence: “In a world marked by constant struggle, uncertainty, and noise, meditation offers us a refuge of silence and reflection.”

World Meditation Day 2026 showed that even in our most divided times, 12 million people from across cultures can still pause together, breathe together, and remember our shared humanity.

A New Era of Meditation Research

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