In conversation with Rajyogi Brahma Kumar Nikunj: Stress, Resilience, and Student Life

Today, Rajyogi Brahma Kumar Nikunj is a wellness and spirituality mentor with over 9,000 published columns on emotional resilience and mindful living. "I owe my freedom to those two ladies," he tells me, laughing. With Newcastle in the thick of exam season, his message to students feels timely. Nikunj points out that we attach a lot of meaning to our grades. "Study to learn," he says. "Don't study to pass." He argues that tying self-worth to grades is a trap and only gets worse if a friend outperforms you: "then it's finished," he says plainly. The fix, in his view, is a shift in perspective: university years are for enriching yourself, so students should enjoy it, because these days “won’t come again.”

For students feeling overwhelmed in the moment, Nikunj recommends a minute of deep breathing, which is proven to bring down cortisol levels. Beyond that, he asks students to adapt their mindset using one small word: replace if with will. Throw out 'what if I fail.' And shift it to ‘I will do my best’, ‘I will clear this semester.’ The distinction between those two mindsets, he believes, is more powerful than most students realise.

Sleep, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes up as a non-negotiable. Studying through the night might feel productive, but he is firm that it backfires. A sleep-deprived brain is slower, more fearful, and less able to access what it already knows. Six hours minimum before an exam is his baseline – and he speaks from personal experience, having suffered from exam fevers the night before exams himself.

On life outside of university, he is equally straight-talking. His advice is to cultivate some form of creative practice – music, drawing, dancing – alongside academic study. Not as a hobby, but as an anchor. Nikunj emphasises that the world can be challenging, so it’s important to find joy in these things to help you in “times of crisis.” The working world, he warns, is less forgiving than university in ways students rarely anticipate, “so enrich yourself while you can."

To illustrate the kind of adaptability he thinks students need, Nikunj reaches for an unexpected analogy: Mario Bros. "Life is like that game," he says. "You have to learn to jump at the right time, then walk, then bend down, then get up and jump again." It is a surprisingly effective comparison – one that captures something that more formal advice perhaps doesn't: that life is full of challenges and hurdles, and we must learn to overcome these in whatever way necessary.

His parting message is three words: "Love yourself first." After a conversation packed with practical advice and honesty, it is a fitting note to end on – a reminder that looking after ourselves shouldn’t be an afterthought and that we should never be too harsh on ourselves.