By Belle (Bhavani) Mann

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney

About 20 years ago, I spontaneously received Shaktipat in an advanced yoga teacher training.  It was like lightning struck me.  

I was suddenly filled with intense love.  It wasn’t regular human love; it was Divine love.  It was the most unbelievable experience of my whole life.  When I got home and walked in the door, my husband said, “You’re different.”  I kept that state for a few months.

Yet I was able to understand this only years later, after Gurudevi started teaching about Shaktipat.  Now I take Gurudevi’s Shaktipat Retreats, where she gives this initiation intentionally, both online and in person.  I love that just being in her presence changes me.  

I love the teaching talks given by our swamis.  I learn so much from our group’s questions and Gurudevi’s answers during the On-Site Q & A.  I love chanting, especially with the group at in-person retreats.  At the in-person retreats, I also get a chance to hang out in the bhav and Grace of the Ashram.  I have personal contact with Svaroopa^® yoga friends and enjoy meeting others.  I can talk and laugh with them all.  

My many Shaktipat Retreats, in person as well as online, have been powerful in different ways.  In my last one, I felt veils of resistance falling away.  I hadn’t realized I had been resistant to becoming enlightened.  Now I could make a stronger commitment.

After each Shaktipat Retreat I feel changed, even when it takes a couple of weeks to discover how.  After one, I felt much closer and loving toward Gurudevi.  Another time, my love of chanting increased.  I deeply feel these subtle internal shifts.  I am grateful for all the ways Shaktipat has changed me.  All are gifts of Gurudevi’s Grace and teachings!

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

I remember getting leg pains in my adolescence.  I felt a deep inner ache that had a sharp edge to it.  The doctor called them growing pains.  He offered no treatment, no help whatsoever, saying I’d outgrow the growing pains.  It’s true; I did.  You will outgrow your growing pains, too.

The leg pains are caused by muscular tension.  The bones are growing faster than the muscles.  The muscles are holding tight while the bones attached to them are growing longer, stretching the muscles and tendons to a new length.  

If my childhood doctor had simply recommended some gentle massage, or maybe some yoga, my growing pains would have disappeared.  Nowadays, maybe they even recommend yoga?  Looking back, I can see that it would have helped me grow into myself much more smoothly:  on all levels, body, mind, heart and spirit. 

Everyone wants to get a boost.  Like a child sitting on daddy’s shoulders, you want to see beyond where you’re stuck. You’re hoping to bound into the next level, leaving this one behind.  Of course, you can do things to move that along.  However, your ability to discern what to do, as well as to actually do it, is part of what you’re growing into.  

The biggest boost is Shaktipat, the initiation into Self-Knowingness. Yet Shaktipat doesn’t give you the ability to avoid your growth processes.  Instead, it gives you the clarity of knowing what you need to do, why to do it and where you’ll be when you’ve done it…

By Todd Correa

Interviewed by Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna

I signed up for the New Year’s Shaktipat Retreat to explore my humanness and understand myself better. I wanted to feel more connected to the cosmic Consciousness of the universe. I did not know what Shaktipat was, but I trusted the recommendation of my local Svaroopa^® Vidya Meditation and sutras teacher.

I had enjoyed my local teacher’s three-part Learn to Meditate course. I recognized I could go deeper — something was happening inside. I even joined the Ashram’s Meditation Club. Without realizing it, I was preparing myself for my first Shaktipat experience.

Being brand new to an Ashram retreat, I was surprised by so much chanting and meditation. I was amazed I could sit for such long periods of time. I loved it!

When Gurudevi walked into the room, I felt there was something special about her. She looked at me and “saw me.” I felt accepted, as if I belonged there. She knew who I was and am: Shiva.

Sometimes it felt a bit overwhelming, with my senses bursting open. I felt like a deer caught in headlights! Yet I wanted this new experience to feel like mine, fully authentic. I accepted it, as it unfolded.

It was weird, but I embraced it. I wrote in my journal: “My whole being is opening up, in a burst of life. My head is opening up like a flower. I feel intense emotions, while being bathed in bliss.”

My first initiation by Gurudevi’s touch, my whole body went into hers, opening up to receive her Grace. I did not want this feeling of Oneness to stop. Afterward, I felt exhausted, my body depleted. I did not know how to put my experience in perspective. However, the retreat talks helped me understand what was going on. So I did some restorative Ujjayi breathing during our breaks.

When Gurudevi gave us Shaktipat by will, I was still right there, having an amazing experience. I wondered: “How does she do that from way over there?” Yet I knew in my core that it was real. Something beautiful and amazing had happened, and I am so grateful.

Before, I understood the theory of “One-ness.” But now I have experienced it because I was with a Self-Realized Being. I feel more empathy and the ability to be present to my therapy clients and students. I can go deeper within myself and assist others to go deeper as well. My work is my calling, so I am going to do Shaktipat again!

Gurudevi’s online Living Sutras course is about your life and how yoga improves it.  India’s great masters have explained it clearly in their texts and oral teachings throughout the ages.  The sutras (verses) shine light on every area of your life.

These teachings are not about what you should be doing.  Instead, they explain how yoga works.  You learn how to navigate your way with clarity and compassion toward others as well as toward yourself.

Each class includes Gurudevi’s discourse followed by a group discussion.  Everyone in the group is contributing to everyone else’s growth and learning.  Then Gurudevi leads a meditation based on the principles she covered.

Online beginning March 29

What does a yogi eat?  To achieve health as well as pleasure and (most importantly) spiritual development, yogis feed themselves consciously.  

Drawing on yoga, Ayurveda and scientific nutritional guidelines, Gurudevi gives you easy ways to improve your nutritional profile.  

As these principles begin working for you, you’ll notice a change in your digestion, assimilation and elimination. 

Taste is also important, especially as it contributes to your nutrition as well as your quality of life.  Each class includes a tasting session with discussion.  Enrollment is limited, so everyone can participate in the discussions as well as get personalized support and recommendations from Gurudevi.