Every day at 6:30 am, you can join Gurudevi for your morning meditation. The most important of yoga’s practices is meditation. But it can be hard to get it going on your own. Meditating with others makes it much easier, especially when they are experienced meditators. When you meditate with a Master, your meditation is fueled by the blessing of their knowing.
Meditation Club — so much Grace. To have daily access through phone connection direct from the Ashram community is divine. –Barbara H.
Let Gurudevi and the Ashram residents support your process by sharing our daily Ashram meditation with you. Meditation Club is available on Zoom by monthly subscription. Gurudevi begins with a short reading from her Guru, followed by a short chant, invoking blessings on your meditation. Next you sit in the holy silence, transmitted from the Ashram, for the rest of the hour, a sweet and Grace-filled experience.
By Kelly McKee, interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney
Sitting in that Grace-filled room with all the yogis and Gurudevi, a Shaktipat Guru, I thought: “This is really remarkable. How did I get here? What are the chances? This is extraordinary.” I live in the same town as a Shaktipat Guru. Yet I knew nothing about this kind of yoga until five years ago.
In a community flyer, I saw an ad for yoga classes at Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center, a branch of Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram. I showed up for the class with a beach towel for a mat. My teacher was super kind and got me all set up. Soon afterwards, I received a postcard in the mail about a free meditation class with Swami Samvidaananda. I loved it and wanted more.
Attending Swami Sunday Satsangs, I loved listening to Gurudevi give her discourses on the ancient teachings. That’s how I learned about Shaktipat. I’d never heard of it before. I’d been interested in a spiritual path and what Gurudevi said made sense to me.
One day, I was browsing the Ashram website. I needed a part-time job. On a whim, I looked in the Opportunities Section and saw the Ashram needed part-time help. It was just what I was looking for. I now assist with Ashram meal preparation and other household tasks. I keep thinking how lucky I am to be working at an Ashram. Again, I wonder, “How did this happen?”
When the May Shaktipat Retreat came along, I wanted to sign up. I told Swami Praj~nananda I wanted to go, but she said the On-Site spots were already filled. Soon after, someone cancelled. At the last minute, I was able to get into the On-Site Shaktipat Retreat.
Gurudevi spoke about her Guru, Baba Muktananda, and how he gave her the teachings she shares with us. Even more, he gave her the inner experience that the teachings describe. I realized, the gift of Shaktipat is receiving that inner experience. It’s totally amazing. I remember feeling reassurance and being hopeful. Here I am, I’m on this path. I’m sitting here with a teacher from an extraordinary lineage. I have been put on the path to enlightenment. That’s the big goal.
Since the retreat, I’ve noticed changes. Meditations are definitely deeper and more expansive. My spine feels more open and straighter. I’m more even and kinder and less reactive to other people. Words that I don’t want to have don’t fly out of my mouth anymore. I feel less separateness and more a part of everything. And I realize I don’t have to be perfect. The “small-s self” part of me is being worked on. My essence is already perfect.
I feel immense gratitude for Gurudevi, Grace and the lineage. I’m so grateful for Shaktipat and receiving that gift of glimpses of my Self. Sometimes how graced I am just washes over me. What an extraordinary gift it is to have her.
I took Meditation Teacher Training in 2005. After 17 years it is still a memorable event for me in so many ways. For starters there were nearly 50 people on the course. The Shakti (energy) was incredible! And what an experience! I cannot say it was easy – far from it; but it gave a turbo-charge to my spiritual progress.
It was hard work. Ten days of early mornings, late nights and every minute filled through the day. Yet it was truly a Grace-filled course, and it was certainly Grace that carried me through. The course kick-started a whole new range of personal shifts and changes. The baggage of life, and lifetimes, fell away – and continues to.
As I write I am filled with gratitude, once more, to Gurudevi for the gift of this course. And for her presence in twenty plus years I have known her.
Through the deep experiences during the course, I not merely learned but imbibed the philosophy. I became able to talk about and write about Consciousness with joy and confidence. Previously, I had not been much of a meditator. Yet 17 years later, meditation remains the keystone of my practices. I cannot imagine not meditating.
MTT gave me all the tools and confidence needed to teach the three-week introductory meditation course. And I am still teaching it. It is such an amazing course to teach, particularly for beginning meditators. It is well conceived and constructed and includes everything needed to get people started.
Straightaway, students get a deep understanding of what meditation is. This is important as many come in with a range of misunderstandings. Sometimes both the student and I are blown away by the depth of their experiences. This happens even in their first week.
Many come to the course thinking meditation is somehow a difficult thing. The course soon teaches them that it is really quite easy. It also includes lots of practical tips to support their meditation. These things are very motivating for beginning meditators. Almost everyone who takes it loves this course!
I love teaching it too. I find it such a delight to sit with a group of students who are getting so much. Yet it is so simple. When I sit with them, the Grace that flows through these teachings is palpable.
The Continuing Education for Meditation Teachers is also excellent. I have taken two MTT updates since 2005. They were quite different from each other, though both completely relevant. They were really well worth taking both to my own development and to my Meditation teaching.
One of my greatest memories is standing in the boat at the base of Niagara Falls. I was wonderfully overwhelmed by its power and beauty, along with its incredible roar. Yet it felt very familiar to me. It felt just like when I was living with my Guru in his Ashram.
The power and beauty of what he made available to us every day was mind-blowing, yet in a most propitious way. My mind and body were reformatted in that flow of energy emanating from him, for he was a powerhouse of Divine Grace. He gave the whole place an incredible vibe.
I opened Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram to offer you the same. You can melt into that flow or tap into it from a distance. It’s available. That’s the point. An Ashram exists to serve those who want to be served. It’s like how I plug my mobile phone in at the charging station every day — the Ashram is a place where you can plug in. And you can plug in from home.
My Teachings Article and podcasts have been online freebies for over ten years. We began teaching in conference calls around 20 years ago. Plus the pandemic thrust us into offering many more and different types of online programs. I love being able to bring the teachings and practices right to your door.
But there’s something about being together in person. You probably know this from your own family gatherings in recent months. I see it happening when we chant together online. Everyone is actually chanting alone, singing along with a sound stream coming out of a device with a tiny picture of the other singers. It’s just not the same. It’s like looking at a photo of Niagara Falls. Amazing, but not overwhelming.
I want to overwhelm you with the power and beauty of your own Divinity. I delight in propelling you past your resistances. But I can do more for you when you come in. You can’t mute me when we’re together in the same room. You can tune me out, but I notice the glazed look in your eyes and do something to bring you back. Plus there’s an energy field here. We’ve created it, with hundreds of yogis doing practices here for more than a decade. It’s quite a vibe. It helps me help you. Come on in and marinate in it. It’s why I created an Ashram — for you.
Your Svaroopa® yoga class begins with you lying on your back in the yoga pose named Shavasana. After your guided relaxation, each additional pose targets a specific part of your spine, unraveling deep tensions.
Your internal organs get more interior space for optimal functioning. After you end with another Shavasana, you can tell that this stuff works. Every class welcomes new students while supporting experienced yogis.
Working at home, I find getting to my weekly Saturday morning class is a great remedy for isolation. Taught by a swami, the class has a special vibe that resonates through us students. I get a lot of relaxation and benefits including relief from a herniated disc. Plus, I learn tools for self-healing at home. — Beth S.
Expand into your vast inner space with Gurudevi’s Embodied Infinity CD. This collection of chants evokes the timeless depths of your being. Slow and stirring melodies ground you deeply in your body, and beyond.
Enjoy this CD during your home practice for added stillness. Or let it play in the background throughout your day. Feel your body and mind align with the ancient Sanskrit vibrations. Settle easily into your own inherent Divinity. Price: $19.95
One of the first words you spoke was “no.” You probably used it more often than your other first words, “Mama” and “Dada.” That’s why this growth phase is called “The Terrible Twos.” You became able to resist as well as able to express what you wanted. Unfortunately, you’ve continued to say “no” ever since. What if you said “yes” more often?
My earliest teacher in this was my first dog. When our front door was open and someone was coming down the sidewalk, my dog would run out as fast as her short little legs could go. She was not barking. She ran up to the passers-by, threw herself down on the ground and showed her belly, all four paws up in the air. 100% of the walkers stopped, said, “Ahhh,” then rubbed her belly. Watching her made me reconsider how I’d been approaching life. The protective mode I’d perfected had me saying no to life far too often.
Yoga agrees that you need to recalibrate. All the yogic methodologies work on dissolving your resistances, melting your negativities and freeing you from your fears. Then you are able to experience inner peace and a sense of balance that supports you.
Yet this is merely the launching pad. Beyond peace and balance, yoga promises more. Once you get past the ways you negate yourself, you discover there is more inside than you ever imagined. Exploring that expansive inner reality is yoga’s specialty…
I always loved the children’s song, written by Harry Dixon Loes in the early 1900s:
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine…
I wanted to shine! Somehow I felt that I had an inner light that could shine. I didn’t know how to access it but I wanted it. My Guru opened up my access to the inner light that was already there. That light shines from deep inside.
Your mind blocks your own inner light in the same way you can use your thumb to block the sun. The human mind excels at negating things, thus the sages described how to negate the negation. My own name does this, with Nirmala meaning “not limited.” The 9th century sage Shankaracharya wrote a poem describing your own essence. He meticulously negates your limitations…
Join Gurudevi Nirmalananda for her FREE Wednesday evening chant and meditation program. With live music and printed words, you easily join everyone else in traditional yoga chanting.
After the chant, you’ll find meditating with a Master takes you deep effortlessly. It’s the best way to explore the inner dimensions of your own being. Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced meditator, Gurudevi makes it easy as well as profound!
Gurudevi’s Wednesday satsangs are inspiring. My meditations are always deepened by her talk and her long chant. — Debbie M.
Online, this program is part of your Yoga Wednesday (bookends or full day). Or simply join us in-person in Downingtown PA.
Interviewed by Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna
Hearing Gurudevi Nirmalananda’s teachings on Swami Sundays is like getting a booster shot of the Self. Recently, Gurudevi said she’d received Shaktipat from her Baba over 200 times. And if he were still in his body, she’d still be getting Shaktipat from him. Hearing this filled me with an ongoing inspiration. If Gurudevi would still get Shaktipat, why wouldn’t I?
It had been a year since my last Shaktipat Retreat in 2021. My sadhana (personal practice) was neither moving forward nor moving me deeper within. Yet I knew Shaktipat could get me through whatever was keeping me blocked. Also, I felt a strong need to be in Gurudevi’s presence. So I signed up right away for the On-Site program last May.
Being surrounded by many deep yogis and swamis was so supportive. After I received Shaktipat, the swamis’ talks helped me understand the experiences I was having. For instance, in meditation, my thoughts can feel heavy. They are just words. But when I attach a story to them, they get me in the mud! But they are just words.
I also have a new appreciation for how Kundalini (meditative energy) works on my emotions. While in meditation, if an emotion comes up, I can sit with it and feel it. It has a purpose: Kundalini is burning through it. Since Shaktipat, I don’t have to pursue my emotions or thoughts in meditation. They no longer draw me out. Now experiencing them can draw me in deeper.
Swami Nirmalananda giving Shaktipat
Receiving Shaktipat has had a profound effect on my everyday life. I used to think enlightenment happened with a “boom” all at once! Now I see it is a process. I’m becoming more aware of a gradually deepening inner knowing. Gurudevi explains:
After Shaktipat, even when your mind returns to its familiar pattern, the deeper knowing is awakened and is always there.
Recently, I attended a street fair with my family. For some reason, I was getting more and more frustrated, annoyed and judgmental. I sat down on the curb and acknowledged my feelings. I began repeating mantra to myself. I could see what was happening as separate from my usual kneejerk reactions. I was able to stop my small-s self emotions. They couldn’t pull me where I didn’t want to go. Mantra shifted my state immediately. When I’m in capital-S Self, I can soften. I notice my relationships softening as well.
At the end of my Shaktipat Retreat, our assignment was to increase our meditation time. This felt challenging, as asana is always easier for me. Yet I am gradually working up to an hour. Now I really like meditation. I look forward to it every day. But it is my journaling that has changed the most. After meditation, Gurudevi always says, “Now is a good time to journal.” I used to stare at the blank page not knowing what to say after meditations. Now, the words just flow out of me! As Gurudevi promises, and through her Grace, I am still experiencing profound changes. They are ongoing, getting deeper and deeper, and better and better!
By Ruth (Rama) Brooke, interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney
After taking Meditation Teacher Training (MTT), I felt I was embodying the teachings. I gained a depth of knowing that I didn’t have before. It was experiential knowing, beyond the intellectual knowing I had previously.
This in-depth course is amazing. Every afternoon, we got a cosmic download from Gurudevi. She gave us the deeper teachings. Every day, we steeped in the shakti (energy) and Grace of the Guru. During evenings, we wrote a 10-minute discourse to deliver to fellow students the next day. We put into our own words what we learned and understood from the afternoon’s download.
I had just opened a larger studio space in 2015. The timing of the upcoming MTT course was perfect. I was making a bigger commitment to teaching. I knew that I wanted to teach meditation. I also knew the course would deepen my own practice.
I had already been meditating for nearly eight years. My daily practice was pretty regular. But MTT took my meditation experiences to a whole new level. My understanding of Kashmiri Shaivism and Svaroopa® Vidya meditation expanded considerably. And my understanding of the purpose of Shaktipat and the Guru deepened profoundly.
The experiential learning I received in MTT has made it so much easier to teach. My new depth and knowledge turned into deeper experiences even for my asana students. Most who took the meditation course had profoundly deep experiences. Some have maintained a home meditation practice since. Some repeat the course nearly every time I offer it. I continued my training in the Meditation Group Leader course so I can also offer satsangs. Students who took my three-class “Learn to Meditate” series now attend my satsangs regularly.
MTT gave me a whole new level of confidence and deepened my teaching. It even boosted my confidence to speak in front of groups in general, whatever the topic. I used to get the jitters just speaking to a small group of three or four people. But MTT changed that. For me, MTT was transformative in many ways.
Immediately after MTT, I offered a meditation course to my students, continuing with a couple each year. While I wasn’t able to offer them during the pandemic, I am planning to start again this fall.
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