By TC (Tattvananda) Richards, SVA Board Member

Shaktipat, the Great Opener, was a surprise.  I knew it was big, yet I didn’t really know what I had received, and I didn’t know what to do with it. 

After doing Svaroopa® yoga for some years, I signed up for a Shaktipat Retreat with Swami Nirmalananda.  Excited to be going to an immersion program, I was one of the first to register.  The minute I wrote the check out, the change happened.  I couldn’t believe it.  An inner shift made me see things in my life more clearly.  In my interactions with friends and family, I began to be truer to myself.

Then, on my way to the Shaktipat, just like a light switch had been turned on, my state changed.  I was running behind and didn’t know where I was going.  (This was before cell phones and GPS.)  It was pouring rain with thunder and lightning.  Right in the middle of that… boom… Peace! It was so profound I couldn’t miss it.  I continued in this state even though I missed my exit.  Then I was lost.  None of it mattered.  My state wouldn’t make space for worry or frustration.  It was an event to remember, and the formal Shaktipat hadn’t even happened yet.

The Shaktipat Retreat weekend continued to deepen me inward.  At the close of the Retreat, I took expansive happiness with me.  At home, it was clear to my loved ones that I was shifted.  They commented on it.  They saw it in how I looked as well as in my actions.  I was different.  I have been to many more Shaktipat Retreats with Swamiji since.  Each Shaktipat deepens me more and makes me steadier.  Each one gives me easier access to my Self.

Since that first Shaktipat, I’ve never been the same.  Sure, I get frustrated sometimes.  Sure, I worry sometimes. Yet, no matter, I am never far away from that state.  It has continued to be accessible to me.  It is as close as remembering to access it.  Shaktipat, for sure, is the gift that keeps on giving.  

It passes through me to all others.  Everyone I’m with gets the shifted version of me.  I have a new awareness.  I am more spiritually grounded.  I make decisions from a different place.  I love more fully.  I live more fully.  I am more present to everyone and everything.  There have been many Shaktipat Retreats, and I know there will be many more.  Each one is a gift.  All shift me and keep me passing that gift forward.  I am eternally grateful.

And it all started with the check I wrote to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram.  Isn’t that amazing?  That energy exchange started the whole process.  Receiving so much allows me to give back in so many ways.  Our Ashram Fall Fundraiser coincides with a season of giving thanks in many places worldwide.  At this time, I ask myself, “How does receiving Shaktipat spark my desire to give?”

She who embodies the Light of Consciousness — Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda — truly awakened the light within me.  I need her continued guidance for cooperating with the transformation ignited by Shaktipat.  Sparked awake and on fire, I experience expanding gratitude.  That moves me to give back to the source of the gift.  I’m also propelled to pass forward the Great Gift of Light that keeps on giving.  Donating to SVA supports the operations that make this Great Gift available to other seekers.

Whether you’ve received formal or informal Shaktipat, I hope it inspires you to give back to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram.  Please consider what you have received from this practice and the many gifts you give because of it.  Choosing to donate to SVA gives back to the source of Shaktipat and passes it forward.  Your donation makes the circle complete. You can donate on the Ashram Facebook page or on the SVA webpage.  Or give us a call at 610-644-7555.