By Sue (Shuchi) Cilley, interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney

When I think of Gurudevi, it’s hard to pull out only one or two qualities. It’s like looking at my Christmas tree: it’s all scintillating. It’s a package. It’s the same with Gurudevi. All the capacities, all the skills are there, shining as part of the package.

In the Advaya Taraka Upanishad, a qualified Guru is described as having all these qualities: 

…knowledgeable in the Vedas, a devotee of God, free from jealousy, an expert in yoga, does yoga practices, is always in a pure yogic state.  He is devoted to his own Guru and is a knower of the Self.

Gurudevi has all these qualifications and more.  She’s also a true Shaktipat Guru, appointed and willing to serve as Shiva’s agent of Grace.  She gives the knowingness of Self. 

A master of Shaktipat, Gurudevi has mastery over the Shakti Chakra, Kundalini.  Such a master of Kundalini is incredibly rare.  She gave us all of the Svaroopa^® yoga poses designed to open the spinal pathway tail to top, smoothing the way for Kundalini energy to flow. 

And there’s more — she’s an exceptional teacher.  Everything she teaches is from the ancient texts.  She’s not making anything up.  She’s bringing these ancient time-tested teachings to us.  She is absolutely brilliant at explaining the teachings in easy-to-understand ways.  She personalizes them so they are living teachings.  She encourages me to test them for myself in this living laboratory which is the world.

It’s not only the learning; she gives me the experience of what she’s teaching.  I grew up in a college town and had many brilliant teachers.  But they could only give me the contents of the subject.  One was an excellent music teacher, but he could only teach what to do and the technique.  He couldn’t give me the experience of music.  Gurudevi does both.  When she teaches, she gives me not only the words, but the experience they point to.

Because she has walked this path, she’s able to see where I’m coming from.  She moves me along, taking me from where I am to the next step and the next.  She’s always looking for ways, and she’s very creative.  She delivers the lines like a great actor, but it’s not an act.  It’s a reality play.

She never does anything that isn’t related to my upliftment.  She never wavers, she’s never off task.  She has a good sense of humor, she’s approachable, she’s very generous with her time and her teachings.  She’s so alive.

Gurudevi has touched every part of my life.  I can’t imagine starting the day without chanting Sri Guru Gita.  She has given me my Self.  Her mantra is integral to my being.  She’s always taking me beyond what I could ever imagine, again and again and again.  Thank Guru, thank God.  I am so grateful.  I bow at her feet.

 By Patrice Nicolet, interviewed by Annie (Aanandi) Ross

“Open the door.” I’ve been contemplating and reflecting on this internal message received ten months ago. After an early morning online Meditation Club session with Gurudevi, I heard these three words silently but clearly.

Looking at where I am today, I realize my spiritual journey has been ongoing. This is true even for those times when I wasn’t paying much attention. I was first introduced to the Svaroopa^® yoga Magic Four poses in 1998. Soon after, I attended a few week-end yoga programs. Then I took the Foundations of Svaroopa^® Yoga training. At yoga conferences through the years, I sampled more of Gurudevi’s teachings (then Rama). In 2002, I plunged into the full Svaroopa^® YTT.

For over ten years, I taught Svaroopa^® yoga classes regularly. During that time, my focus and personal practice began to shift to meditation. Yet even though I took Gurudevi’s basic Meditation Made Easy programs, I wasn’t ready to really dive in. I began studying a different style of meditation and connected with a local community. This connection grew for several years.

Eventually, a very special Svaroopa^® Vidya Meditation event brought me back. In May 2019, it was the celebration of Swami Nirmalananda’s 43rd anniversary of receiving Shaktipat from her Guru. The experience of this event was pivotal for me. Something shifted. I realized I couldn’t do it on my own. I was ready for “The More!” Things took off for me in the journey to know my Self. Most recently, Gurudevi’s 2021 Year-Long Programme had a profound effect. It prepared me to receive the gifts of Shaktipat, as I attended her dedicated Shaktipat Retreat for us YLP students.

Gurudevi keeps finding ways to work with our minds. I so look forward to each day with online Meditation Club. I plan my day and week around other offerings, including Swami Sunday. I’m so grateful for all the online programs that Gurudevi has initiated during the pandemic. In many ways the pandemic has helped structure and prioritize my practices. I’ve created new habits that allow the teachings to percolate and deepen into my experience.

Now I contemplate the message I received ten months ago: “Open the door.” I’m still finding my way, doing the practices, asking questions, and looking within. As a result, I feel steadier, calmer. I’m learning to lean in and trust this Grace-filled process. These many gifts continue to shape my life inside and outside. The seeds that were planted so many years (lifetimes?) ago have taken root! I have the tools now to nourish and bring to fruition yoga’s promise — to know my own Self. I’m diving deep into doing more yoga. The door to “more” is open. To have this Guru and community of practitioners is so precious!

By Pat (Sumati) Morrison, interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney`

I went up for Gurudevi’s darshan.  My mouth was flapping around but nothing came out.  Gurudevi came close and said, “Use your words.”  I said, “I don’t know what to say, what to give you.”  Gurudevi said, “For you to know the Self, that is the gift you could give me.”

Besides the Ashram buildings, we have the virtual Ashram with freebies and online programs.  Then there’s the essence of the Ashram, which is Grace.  It permeates everything. 

During the pandemic, I couldn’t visit the Ashram.  But I didn’t feel the need to be physically there.  I did lots of Zoom programs and felt very supported by the virtual Ashram.  I enjoyed the wonderful sense of community with other yogis.  It felt like the Ashram was here whether or not I was doing programs.  I felt it while doing mundane things.  Even so, it’s important to have a physical place for Gurudevi to be.  She has planted the Shakti there. 

I know that Grace is always present, not just in certain places.  It’s not only in Gurudevi’s presence.  That knowing comes from beyond my mind.  Though I’ve never felt Shakti the way others speak of it, I’m more aware of the effect.  Thus I know that the Shakti is really strong at the Ashram.  But whether I’m physically at the Ashram or at home, the most important thing is Gurudevi.  Being in her presence and seeing her in the flesh — whether on-site or online — that is the most important. 

I’ve known Gurudevi for a long time.  When she was Rama Berch, she was an awesome asana teacher.  As she deepened, she brought me and everybody else along with her.  I know her energy and everything she has created for us.  There is her love for us, her caring and her interest in us. That’s what she exists for, to bring us all along.

Yet there’s something beyond all that.  It’s what she is.  It’s like Self meeting Self with her.  It’s like seeing your Self reflected back to you.  And it’s the best version of yourself that is possible.  She models that for us.  Her conviction that this is possible for us is incredibly powerful.

I was doing every Yoga Wednesday on Zoom.  I really yearned for that connection to the Ashram.  It was important to be with Gurudevi and the swamis online, mornings and evenings.  Then I went to the Ashram for a retreat last August.  It was so wonderful that when I went home, I was full.  Though I still feel I don’t need anything, I realize that I can’t consistently sustain the depths.  I know I need more practice.  I’m staying with it.  I’m staying in the flow of Grace.