Prabhu Darmayasa is in Malta “to bring some peace” at Christmastime. Photo: Jason Borg

People can achieve serenity through meditation regardless of their religious background, according to a Balinese guru visiting Malta with a message of peace.

“Wherever I go, I go as a fellow human being with an open mind. We should keep in mind that, at the end of the day, we are all human beings.

“We all came from the same place: when we were just a cell in our mother’s womb we had no nose and no colour. If we all reflect on our origins, there would be no more quarrelling over our differences,” Prabhu Darmayasa says on his seventh visit to the island, sitting in front of a plate of freshly sliced fruit.

Asked whether his teachings conflicted with people’s religious faith, Mr Darmayasa said he always advised people to strengthen their own religious beliefs first.

He arrived on Monday to join his “Maltese family” for Christmas Eve Mass.

He made his first visit to Malta in 2010 and, following his third visit, Lidia Oukhaneva founded the Angka Meditation Europe NGO.

“Angka” means number in Sanskrit and the meditation technique that Mr Darmayasa has developed uses numbers as its medium.

It is not a complicated technique but a five-minute meditation rite that even children can do.

“A person who touched my heart throughout my visits here is a young boy with autism. I remember he was really agitated at first but he calmed down when we met. I meet him whenever I visit and he looks better every time.”

Mr Darmayasa, 55, developed the technique over a number of years and admits he started off with a complicated type of meditation.

When he was about 13, inspired by his father’s resilience during a 40-day fast, he started showing his classmates how to meditate. He later became interested in old scripture and then moved on to become a guru.

His message is that people can achieve serenity by managing their life better... and what they eat.

“Happiness is not beyond our reach. We can achieve it by managing our daily life and this includes exercising, resting and eating better.

“We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘You are what you eat’ and our health is really dependent on what we eat. Eating healthily at intervals is a substantial part of living a peaceful life.”

Mr Darmayasa will be here until Friday and the NGO is holding several events open for the public. These include the launching of his book Spreading Spiritual Pearls today at the Corinthia Marina Hotel, St Julian’s. It is the first translation in English of his reflections.

On Wednesday, he will be welcoming the New Year with the Maltese community at Għajn Tuffieħa at 7pm with what is known as the Agni Hotra Fire Ceremony. More information is available on www.angkameditation.org.