Reciting Veda mantras, especially the Gāyatrī, is like a homecoming for Sonu Malik, who first learned the mantra with her grandfather when she was three years old.
By Sophia Ann French
The memory of a loved one is their presence in our lives long after they have passed. For Antwerp-based Yoga Teacher Sonu Malik, the memory of her grandfather is associated with the Gāyatrī mantra. When she attended a Veda Studies Introduction to Veda Workshop in 2019, she heard her grandfather’s Gāyatrī echo in Shantalaji’s recitation of the mantra, and she has been studying with Veda Studies since then. “My parents moved to Belgium 44 years ago. I was born and raised in Antwerp, but my home was fully Indian and filled with our culture. We spoke Hindi at home, and that’s also my mother tongue. It is the first language I learned. My grandparents would visit Belgium and stay with us for a few months every year, and I learned to recite the Gāyatrī with my grandfather when I was three. He belonged to the Arya Samaj, and they did a lot of mantra chanting and yajñas. Growing up, I saw many pūjas performed at home, and even though we were away from India, my parents ensured there was enough Indian culture at home. When I was 13, I met my first yoga teacher, who came home and taught the entire family. He was from the Bihar School of Yoga, and we would start every class with Saha Nāvavatu and end with Purnamadaḥ, so I learned those mantras at a very young age,” says Sonu.
Indic spiritual practices were always a part of her life, but Sonu’s logical brain convinced her to study finance in college, and she worked as a finance and accounting professional for 12 years. But she knew her heart belonged to yoga, and she was keen to follow that path. “It was my dream to become an auditor, so I did my master’s in finance and worked in the corporate world for a decade, but decided that it is not what really makes me happy. I wanted to study yoga, the Bhagavad Gīta, the Yoga Sūtras, and I even attended a Teacher Training in India at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai. That made me realise just how much there is to learn, and I finally found a teacher in Belgium at an institute called Yoga Rama Saenen — Rama Saenen is the teacher, and that’s where I have studied for the past 16 years. I even teach there now.”
A Recollection of Gāyatrī
While studying and later teaching at Yoga Rama Saenen, Sonu was reunited with Veda as the institute offered teachings from the Upaniṣads. She has a habit of writing down goals she wishes to achieve, and studying Veda was on that list for around five years before it became a reality. “In 2019, I met Shantala at a workshop here in Antwerp, and I just loved the way she taught the Gāyatrī mantra. When I learned the Gāyatrī from my grandfather, there was a certain way he would recite it. Back then, I didn’t pay attention to the svaras, but at the workshop, when Shantala introduced us to the svaras, I immediately knew this was the knowledge I was seeking. I joined the Foundation Course and then went straight into Rudram. I really struggled with the svaras, but I loved the challenge, and I just loved that it is such a structured practice with so much devotion. It all comes from devotion. That’s why I’m there, and that is what sustains my practice. My commitment to the practice is because of the way I feel when I chant. It’s so uplifting and creates so much positivity. When I was in my yoga teacher’s training, we had to write a paper on any spiritual subject, and the topic I chose was The Power of Mantras. It’s just a topic that comes naturally to me because I grew up with mantras, and I know how powerful the practice is. Studying Veda and practising in this way is like a homecoming in the sense that I feel like these practices bring me back to my essence,” explains Sonu.
She grew up in a home where spiritual traditions were a way of life, so I asked her if anything is different in the way she learned Veda then and the way she learns it now. “This is exactly what I wanted. I wanted a structured study of the Veda, but also done with devotion or bhakti. Veda Studies is a perfect combination of both. I like the balance between logic and intuition. When I was growing up, I struggled to bring balance between my Eastern roots and the West, where I grew up. I felt like I was between two worlds because I loved being in India, but when I was in India, I missed Antwerp. When I was in Belgium, I missed India. I had even asked my yoga teacher how to bring about this balance. He didn’t answer the question, but asked me a question. ‘Are they both happy?’ I didn’t understand what he meant by that, but now, I understand what he meant.”
To Learn and To Teach
“I love the community, and I’m so happy that I’m part of the teacher training programme,” exclaimed Sonu about the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme. She had been wanting to attend the programme for a few years, but had various commitments and time constraints, so she finally joined the current 2025-2026 batch of teachers-in-the-making. “I love the sense and the feeling of knowing that I am not the only one who is into this. There are so many people across the world who have an interest in Veda and are committed to the practise. It’s just so uplifting.” She has already started sharing her knowledge and building a community. “I share what I learn at the institute where I teach in Antwerp, and I do see myself doing this after the teacher training as well. I love doing it because I believe in it myself. So if anybody wants to learn it, why not?” says Sonu. Before we signed off, I asked her to share advice for future students and teachers, and her advice is, “Find a good teacher with a lineage-based background. I’m grateful to Shantala for setting up something like this, where I don’t have to go to India to study. We’re so lucky because we all study from anywhere, and I’m just thankful to have found this path, and this path became my way.”
To get in touch with Sonu, email her at [email protected]