Compassion. Gratitude.
Krishna Thapa Magar
Enlightenment through adversity.
The five elements
Fire, air, ether, earth and water. He teaches that the same five elements that make the world make us, and that a full, conscious life needs all five in balance.
Read the teaching ↓The sequence
He does not teach a balance between the two. He teaches an order.
We need to survive, we need to fight. Once everyone is safe, then we need to evolve, with the wisdom, as a true warrior monk.
1977Tanahun, Nepal
His mother was not allowed to give birth inside the house, so she was taken into the forest on the bank of the Marsyangdi, where she held on to a tree. He was born on Krishna Janmashtami, and named for the day. Years later he went back and photographed the tree.
Age threeThe village priest
As the eldest son, the priesthood was his by birth. Cold water before dawn, white cloth, the morning puja. By twelve, people from across the area were coming to him with their questions.
“Without any choice of mine at all, that simply became the way of life.”
Bindu Post, in Nepali
1995Royal Gurkha Rifles
His first attempt at Gurkha selection ended on the sit-ups. He walked home through the forest, trained for a year, went back and passed. He left Nepal at nineteen.
“It’s nothing to do with them, it’s something to do within me.”
Mulligan Brothers, full interview
200422 SAS
Three hundred and seventy-five men started SAS selection. Twelve passed, and two of them were Gurkhas. He spent about twenty years in the Regiment and became one of its most deployed operators.
“I have been to many dark places.”
In his own words
2023Everest
He led the 2023 expedition that put Hari Budha Magar, a double above-knee amputee, on top of Everest, and stopped below the summit himself. Ten Everest expeditions. One summit.
“It’s not about the summiting, it’s about the leading.”
Inspiring Leadership, episode 409
NowHereford and Nepal
He left the Regiment at the end of 2022 and returned to the practice he had been handed at three. He goes back to Nepal every couple of months, and teaches the five elements to anyone carrying something heavy.
“My mission, my lived commitment, might be summarised as enlightenment through adversity.”
In his own words
The teaching
Look at your hand. Five fingers, five senses, five elements. This is how he teaches them, thumb to little finger.
“Without fire there is no warrior.”
“Whenever we put 100% oxygen, people still die. It’s beyond the air, which is called the prana.”
“Without the space there’s no balance, there is no stability.”
We make heat in the head all day and have nowhere to put it. “We don’t have a fan, you know, like computer and phone have.”
“Imagine the frozen ice. You never move. Then you became water, and you go with the current.”
Hover or tap an element to hear it in his words.
“But if you master the energy that makes the five elements within us, then you master your life and your destiny.”
Mulligan Brothers documentary
The five elements, one a day for five days. A short guide drawn from his teaching.
Get the guide
What we believe, what we see, what we hear, is not a truth. Truth is action.
Krishna ThapaRetreats
Small groups, outdoors, with the practices he does himself. From three nights in Cumbria to seven days in Nepal.
Next retreat
Three nights · Askham Hall, Cumbria
Walking, breathwork and stillness, hosted at Askham Hall. Meals, rooms and the full programme with Krish.
By application
Seven days · Nepal
Sunrise meditation, breathwork and silent walking. Rituals for each of the five elements, under open sky. Evenings with Krish on the warrior mindset and the old wisdom he was raised in.
Askham Hall
“Krish is an incredibly special person and his quiet guidance, personal stories and gentle kindness make him the perfect person to lead our retreats.”
Watch
More than three million views, across the biggest shows in his world. Start with the long one.
Start here
The most complete account he has given, from the forest he was born in to the five elements.
View counts from YouTube, 13 September 2026.
The book · March 2027
His first book, and the first acquisition for Leap, the new imprint from Bonnier Books UK.
“This book is the bringing together of two paths: the discipline of the monk and the resilience of the soldier. For me it is about self-mastery and wholeness.”
Krishna Thapa, on the book
Speaking
Keynotes and workshops for teams who work under pressure, from twenty years in 22 SAS and ten expeditions on Everest.
Ten seasons on Everest and the 2023 climb he led for Hari Budha Magar, a double amputee. What it takes to lead a team when you will not stand on top yourself.
The choice inside every conflict, for people who face a lot of them.
The Regiment’s end-of-day review, rebuilt for working teams: what happened, what you take away, what you learn.
Energy, breath and recovery for people who run hot all day and have nowhere to put it.
“Krish has undoubtedly accomplished many exceptional achievements in the military, and he has the grit and aspiration to achieve more.”
Commanding Officer, SAS
Enquire
Retreats, talks, interviews or anything else. Tell us a little, and the right person will reply.
