By Robin (Nityaa) Blankenship 

Interviewed by Margie (Maitreyi) Wilsman 

In my first Shaktipat Retreat with Gurudevi in 2013, I had an intense experience.  I was changed.  The retreat made a strong sensory impression on me.  I was in a room with 40 or 50 other people.  The energy was high.  I could feel Gurudevi’s energy as she walked around from person to person.  I could sense her getting closer to me.  I had physical kriyas, body movements and different breathing patterns.  When Gurudevi waved her peacock feathers at me, I could smell the distinct scent of the special oil on them. 

There was also a physical sensation when she put her thumb on my forehead.  With her touch, I felt an energy go straight down within me.  The energy then traveled up my spine and through my arms and hands, and my fingers extended out.  It was extraordinary.  It felt like a faucet had turned on at the base of my spine.   

This experience stayed with me.  Afterwards, I remained focused in that area of my body at the base of my spine.  The opening remained as a physical space to soften into.  That physical awareness brought me inside to my Self.   

When I returned home, everything was the same except that I had changed.  The sensory experiences made it tangible to me and imprinted the experience in my mind.  Recalling those sensory impressions brings me back to the experience again and again. 

In an online Shaktipat Retreat with Gurudevi, she gave Shaktipat to the whole group of us at one time.  Preparation for the retreat included receiving instructions on how to prepare our room at home.  We online yogis also got recipe ideas for Ashram-style meals.  I cleaned my yoga room.  I set up my blankets and puja (meditation altar).  I brought in more pictures of the Gurus.  I sealed the room with incense and mantra repetition. 

I discovered that Shaktipat can be transmitted online through Zoom!  A wonderful benefit is that it brought the shakti into my home.  I could feel it build up in my yoga room and into my whole house. 

By Joanne (Jayeshwari) Kirk 

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney  

My Shaktipat experience was beyond my mind.  What I got was a complete and utter knowing of the Self.  I don’t have any doubts anymore about the Self being there.  It’s not that I’m in the Self all the time.  But I know that the Self and the flow of Grace are always there.  

I am more grounded and clear-headed because I’m coming from Self more than I was before.  It was happening before, but I didn’t recognize it.  I didn’t see it.  Now basing myself in the Self comes easier, and I recognize it when I’m there.   

This makes me feel younger.  I can see the limitations I put on myself, but they’re not as tight.  I feel more open to changes and different ways of seeing things.  My reactions don’t seem as important as they did before, so they go away sooner.  And I’m not as hard on myself when I catch myself reacting.  I have faith that I will have less and less reactivity by being on this path. 

I made a decision before this Shaktipat retreat to stay open to whatever happened.  I see now that expecting certain results is a way of putting up fences.  It blocks the Grace.  This big part of my personality is slowly melting away.  It doesn’t have to be there anymore.  I’m not fussing as much about what’s going to happen.  I’m not living in the future as much.  I know it’s all going to work out.  

I feel so much closer to Gurudevi since Shaktipat.  I feel the river of the Guru’s Grace.  I feel part of it.  I don’t have to analyze it to know it is all That.  I feel the Guru in me.  I feel the lineage and Grace more than I did before.  It’s beyond the mind, but the feeling is there and it’s real.

Gurudevi especially designed Yoga Wednesday to support you in your yogic process.  Pivotally positioned in the middle of the week, Yoga Wednesday can get you over the hump.  The best part is the extra time with Gurudevi, who leads the morning meditation and evening program.

The evening satsang is free if you can join us live in Downingtown.  To join online, enroll in Yoga Wednesday.

I feel as though I’m sitting in Gurudevi’s living room.  A swami reads a teaching from Baba Muktananda.  Then Gurudevi’s teaching is based on this reading.  It is like the unfolding of a beautiful lotus flower.  

In her satsang talk, Gurudevi unfurls the lotus one petal at a time.  She reveals the deeper richness and understanding of Baba Muktananda’s words.  These talks are a Grace-filled gift from Gurudevi.  As they are not recorded, I know I will only hear these deep discourses this one time.  I am extremely grateful to be able to attend these rich Wednesday offerings. – Nancy W.

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda 

Karma is a cosmic IOU.  You owe the universe something — or the universe owes you.  If you did things to benefit others in the past, motivated by altruism or compassion, the universe will reward you.  If you did things to harm others in the past, the universe will pay you back. 

Nobody ever asks about karma unless they’re going through a hard time.  Can I be frank?  Unfortunately, you earned it.  It’s easy to see when you cut somebody off in another lane while driving, and a few miles later the same thing happens to you.   

But when the events are separated in time, it’s harder to sort out.  Karma is cosmic justice, even though sometimes it takes a while to catch up with you, even lifetimes.  In meditation, I’ve had past life memories that explained why I’ve dealt with certain difficulties in my life.  Other such memories have explained many of the blessings in my life. 

In the Yoga Sutras, the sage Patanjali explains: 

Karma-a“sukla-ak.r.sna.m yoginis-trividham-itare.sam — sutra 4.7 

Karmas of yogis are neither white nor black, but are of three kinds in others. 

White means light, pure and pleasurable; black means heavy, dark and painful.  Yoga’s great masters experience neither as they live in an expansive inner state of pure beingness.  For such a being, events are like weather, which comes and goes.   

For those who are not yet living in such a deep and easy constancy, karmas are of three types:  pleasurable, painful and mixed.  You are already familiar with each. 

No one ever asks about karma when they’re enjoying health, wealth and meaningful relationships.  However, they earned these fortunate life circumstances.  When life is not going so well, it’s good to understand two things: 

* You set yourself up

* It’s temporary. 

This too will pass.  The good news is that you have some say in when and how it will pass.  Do good unto others and your karma will improve.  It might be immediate, or it might take a month or more, but it always works. 

Except there’s a hitch.  If you’re doing good unto others so that you get some good in return, it won’t work.  What is required is altruism or compassion.  Or sheer generosity.  It’s a glorious way to live!

By Samantha (Sarveshi) Glazier 

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney  

I’m not one who has flashy Shaktipat experiences.  At the September Shaktipat Retreat, Swami Prajňananda explained the ways you might experience Kundalini.  She talked about heat, colors and more.  For me, in receiving Shaktipat, I feel steady, content, secure — right where I want to be.  Gurudevi has said that even though Muktananda was very visual, she didn’t often experience colors.  It’s reassuring. 

I’ve done a lot of yoga and heard a lot of Gurudevi’s Swami Sunday talks.  Shaktipat has been written about for thousands of years.  I find a lot of comfort in all the preparation we go through before Shaktipat.  Knowing other yogis have been through similar preparation is reassuring.  We’re part of a long history and tradition.  With the chanting, talks and all, I felt very well-prepared in my recent Shaktipat Retreat.  I could lean into Shaktipat.  I knew — I’m safe, whatever I’m experiencing.  I’m in the presence of the Guru and the Guru she had. 

At the end of the retreat’s second day, I returned to the dorm room I shared with some other women.  We sat around and talked about Shaktipat.  It was lovely to have people that I barely knew being so open about these unusual experiences.  Who else can you talk to about Shaktipat?  I felt very connected to them even though I had met some of them only 24 hours earlier.  In our conversation, it was so easy to see the Self in all of them. 

My Shaktipat experiences continue.  Things are happening in unexpected ways.  Svaroopa^® yoga is all about the tailbone.  The week I came back from Shaktipat, there was an undeniable sensation in the region of my tailbone.  After returning home, I taught a couple asana classes.  My students seemed to feel something too.  A high percentage reached out afterwards and said how deep the class was.  I had even made a joke before leaving for Shaktipat.  I’d told them that since I wasn’t doing a training, I wouldn’t be bringing anything back for them.  One longtime student said she felt she could really let go in class.  Previously, she has had a hard time letting go.  My only explanation is that it was the Shaktipat.