By Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver, SVA Board Member

We have the great good fortune to be part of a “mahayoga.”  In Sanskrit, maha means great. We all know that Svaroopa® yoga is great.  But why?  It’s the poses.  They reach right into your spine and open up your body and your breath.  It’s the meditation, with a powerful mantra that opens your Divinity.  It’s the teachings from a lineage of Kundalini masters, including our own Master Teacher, Swami Nirmalananda.  Ours is a mahayoga for all these reasons.

Yet, primarily, ours is a mahayoga because it offers something decidedly different than most other yoga in the West today.  Our Sadguru offers the initiation of Shaktipat, both formally through retreats and informally through the yoga practices.  Shaktipat is the Kundalini awakening that lights your inner fire.  It shines the light on who and what you really are. You are Consciousness Itself, the One Reality being all.  You are a Divine being.  You are more than you think you are.

I vividly remember the first time I received Shaktipat.  I was taking Foundations of Svaroopa® Yoga.  Swamiji, then Rama Berch, was leading the training.  In rotated stomach pose, my head slid back of its own accord.  Then, my spine began to untangle and realign.  “What is this?” I wondered.  I asked Swamiji at the next break.  She smiled at me and said, “You have received the gift of Kundalini awakening.”  Then she took the time to explain to me what a gift it was.

Now I am able to give a gift to the one who made Shaktipat available to me.  I am so grateful for all I have learned from Swamiji and from all my Svaroopa® teachers.  I am so grateful for the changes in my body, my mind and my Self.  Because of the teachings and the teachers, I have been set on the path to Self-Realization.  What greater gift could I receive?  It’s the gift that keeps giving.

That is why, during our current Fundraiser, I am financially supporting the organization and the teachers who support me.  I am paying it forward, to help keep the lights on and the teachings flowing from the Ashram so others can benefit as well.  I encourage you to open your heart as well as your wallet and do the same.

I’m sure you too have a life changing Svaroopa® story or a Shaktipat story to tell.  The Ashram Board is encouraging you to share how your life has changed as a result of this mahayoga.  Post your story on the Ashram Facebook page, or on Swamiji’s Facebook page.  Or send your story to info@svaroopayoga.org.  And, while you’re at it, send your donation too!  You can donate on the Ashram Facebook page or on the SVA webpage.  Or give us a call at 610-644-7555. Thank you for your deep practices and dedication.  You’ve received the gift that keeps giving.  Giving back is just as important.  Thank you for all that you are and all that you give!