Reports gathered by Vibhuti King

“She is the power of Grace, Consciousness revealing my own divinity to me.  The wielder of the Shakti is one with the Shakti.” — Vidyadevi Stillman (teaching about the Guru)

“The great ‘wielder of Shakti’, Swami Nirmalananda opens me to a myriad of experiences.  Kundalini snakes through my whole spine, from tail to top. Lights, heat, movements on the physical, mental and emotional levels, culminating in tears of anguish and tears of joy.  One thread runs throughout all these experiences: the unmistakable familiarity of what has been opened up in me — of who I am and have always been.  As this awareness surges through, I remember Swamiji’s teaching, ‘The Self knows the Self.’   This flow of Grace is precisely why she is a Guru:  darkness turns into light, the subtle becomes perceptible, the hidden is known, the mystical stands revealed.”  — Jyoti Yacobi

“My experience was wonderful. My heart was opened immensely. I felt joyously overcome with gratitude. When I returned home, I felt like I had come back to earth from the moon. Everything seemed heavier than it was in the presence of Swami. I must admit that although I did add more time to my daily meditation practice as Vidyadevi urged us to, I did not amp up my practice enough. I learned my lesson.” — Phil Milgrom

“So does anyone else see some irony here? I had some rather dramatic stuff happen at the retreat and when I got home relapse started kicking in.  I woke the next morning to a clogged kitchen sink.  We had to open the trap in the cellar and ummmm use a snake to pierce the clog so the gunk could be cleared…I’m doing more meditation, lots more meditation. I expect the gunk will clear soon.” — Shanti Catacchio (by email)

“I love the metaphor and parallel. When I returned from India 2013 my sink also clogged except the snake did not work and the pipe burst.  Hmmmmm.” — Lajja Mitchell (email reply)

“Thanks for sharing.  Jacinthe came home to a double door freezer that had been left open while in Massachusetts, while her husband was also away. She is a great cook and had tons of food that she had prepared and frozen.  She lost every item.  Putting each one in the garbage, she is calm and still smiling.” — Manini Martin (email reply)

Grace continues to transform us…