By Madelyn (Maanasaa) Jablon

I always leave Swami Sunday wearing “Satsang Armor”: transformed, protected and blessed.  This armor is described in a book I purchased from the Ashram shop: the Devi Mahatmyam: Glory of the Divine Mother.(1)  This ancient text tells a dramatic tale of the Divine Mother battling asuras (demons).  I knew I could interpret this text as an allegory.  But I was surprised by how it reverberated on more subtle levels.

Like a flashlight, it showed me where to turn my attention to see the Guru-Disciple relationship in action.  I discovered what was there all along but had escaped my notice.  It first happened when I read about the eighty-six goddesses who armor and protect the disciple:

Aindri may protect me on the east and fire-god in the southeast.  Varahi may protect me on the south, the Goddess holding sword may protect me on the southwest; Varuni (the power of god Varuna) may save me on the west and the Goddess seated on the lion may protect the northwest.  Kauberi may safeguard on the north and the Goddess with the pike in hand on the northeast.   — Devi Kavacham 19–20

The chant describes the armor as taking the form of many Goddesses.  However, the many are also the One, embodied in the Guru.  Gurudevi is a manifestation of the Divine Mother, and satsang is the transmission of Her Grace.  After satsang, I am armored on all sides, encased in divine protection.  On my drive home, I may encounter bad weather, inconsiderate drivers and closed roads.  But nothing penetrates the armor of my serenity.

Swami Sunday also armors me for the week ahead.  Paradoxically the armor is a divine disarmoring.  Gurudevi’s chant, discourse and meditation have disarmed my “self” of its ego-driven behaviors.  The peacock feathers she waves at darshan knight me with the armor of my own Self.  From within, this armor protects me from the enemies who would steal my equanimity.  As the week progresses, my armor weakens.  I use the practices to slow its deterioration.  But only satsang with Gurudevi can restore its full strength and luster.

My Satsang Armor shields me in all directions on the outside and transforms me inside.  The mystical process penetrates the many layers of my being.  The Devi Mahatmyam describes this as the Goddesses “protecting” and “safe-guarding” every part of the devotee: 

Dyotini (that force which illumines and uplifts) may protect the tip of my head while Uma may manage the upper head.  Maladhari may safe-guard the forehead and Yashavini may protect the brows, Citranetra both eyes; Yamaghanta both sides and the three-eyed Candika protects between the eyebrows.  — Devi Kavacham 23–24

The protection of the Goddesses is the protection of Gurudevi.  Part of that protection is the disciple’s transformation.  Dyotini doesn’t just protect the head from impact: she illumes and uplifts.  Similarly, the Guru’s protection extends outside and inside, also illumining and uplifting.  It can be invoked through a photograph on the puja, through meditation or prayer, or thinking of the Guru, a Divine Being.  Doing so transforms my state.  This is one of the extraordinary “quick fixes” described by Gurudevi in her 2019 Teachings series.  Giving my troubles to God, Guru and Self is also powerfully transformative.  The Guru instructs us in these practices to propel our inner transformation.

The short-term results of attending Satsang or wearing Satsang Armor are prosperity, health and well-being.  The long-term results are described this way:

At his [the devotee’s] demise, he will attain the highest state permanently by the grace of the supreme Goddess… Then the person goes to the Sivaloka.  He is not born again. He will acquire the supreme place and will rejoice with Lord Shiva.  — Devi Kavacham 60–61

Satsang armor is potent.  It fights against bad karma and marches toward infinity.  Attend Swami Sunday.  Get armored!

(1) All references and quotations taken from Svami Jagadisvarananda (tr.). Devi Mahatmyam, (Mylapore Chennai-4, Sri Ramakrishna Math Publishers, 2001)

By Lynn (Gurupremananda) Cattafi-Heinlein

As my Svaroopa^® Yoga and Meditation practices deepened, I felt pulled toward Meditation Teacher Training (MTT).  MTT expanded and honed my communication skills.  I learned how to speak the ancient language of Consciousness.  As an unrivaled master-of-communication, Gurudevi showed me how to put these profound and ancient teachings into my own words.  I was also surprised to find that my ability to communicate in all areas of my life improved as well. 

Of all the life-changing courses offered by Gurudevi, this one has the greatest effect!  In addition thoroughly training us to teach Intro to Meditation, she injected her rocket fuel to propel us past our minds and deeply into Self. — Ruth B.

MTT prepares you to teach meditation to a wide audience.  I feel well prepared to do so. — Margie W.

Each day in the course, Gurudevi gave a beautiful, in-depth discourse on the sutras.  Each evening, we had a writing assignment to prepare a short talk on one of the sutras.  We each pushed through our inner obstacles to complete our talks.  The next day we presented our words to our small group.  

The process was loving and supportive.  The coaching we gave and received helped the teachings to land inside each of us.  The camaraderie with my fellow MTT students was amazing.  Through my certification as a Svaroopa^® Vidya Meditation Teacher, Gurudevi authorized me as a modern-day representative of this ancient tradition.

Click here for information on our next Meditation Teacher Training.

by Gurudevi Nirmalananda

People wanted variety but I wanted to give them depth.  Even teachers who trained with me wanted to do fancy stuff, including pretty poses and impressive moves.  But that’s not what Svaroopa^® yoga is about.  So, I created a short course that would make the depth and incredible physical makeover obvious.  If you want a new body in five days, this is the course for you.

We don’t do anything fancy.  None of the poses are pretty, but they do make you more beautiful (for men – more handsome).  Your inner beauty shines through for two reasons:  1) you’re accessing it, and 2) there’s less blocking the way.

Foundations of Svaroopa^® Yoga puts all the most important poses in one course, the foundational poses.  These are the basics, just like learning your a-b-c’s makes you able to read.  These poses give you a type of physical intelligence, an enlivenment and ability to live in your body in a whole new way.  More importantly, they target your spinal tensions, providing profound spinal decompression.  It is healing and rejuvenating, but more — it opens up your mystical essence of being, called svaroopa.

Best of all, it’s likely to make you want to teach.  How great!  Once you find out how easy it is to make a profound change in someone’s life, you’ll want to share it.  And sharing it is even better than doing it.  It’s like sharing a carrot cupcake or a dark chocolate bar.  It just tastes better when you share.

by Gurudevi Nirmalananda

You have always existed. You did not come into existence when your body was born into this world. Your own essence is the ever-existent Reality. That which you are existed before the universe existed. Deep inside, you already know this. My Guru said it this way, “The universe exists because you exist.”

When I heard it the first time, I wondered, “Really? If I didn’t exist, the universe wouldn’t exist?” It is true, for you are that existence that has become all that exists. There was never a time that you did not exist.

There is actually no non-existence, for existence cannot come out of non-existence – not unless existence was hidden in the seeming non-existence. This is called the void, the illusion of emptiness that hides the One Existence that you are. Thus there are two, or there seems to be two: existence and emptiness. Which is you?

The void is very familiar for you spend hours there every night, deep asleep. Since you get there unconsciously, you get lost in it. Unfortunately, this is not the only thing you get lost in. You get lost in your mind, in your emotions, in life events and in what you want or fear, as well as what you think that other people think of you. It’s getting complicated, yes? Yes! The One has become many for the sheer pleasure of complicating things.

It’s like a scavenger hunt, a group game that I often played when I was a kid. We would be split up into teams, be given identical lists of things to search for and sent off to see who could find them fastest. The clues were intentionally confusing: it has strings that cannot be tied; it has a face but no mouth or nose, it’s a bed without sheets and it’s always dirty. We had to bring the object back with us… [read more]

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