Women, Anandamayi Ma and the Gayatri Mantra

In 1936 in Varanasi, Anandamayi Ma announced her desire to give Gayatri mantra initiation to two of her female disciples. This would be the first public initiation of women into the Gayatri mantra in hundreds of years — and it was captured on film. more…

Pilgrims to Openness wins IPPY award

This just in. My recent book,  Pilgrims to Openness: Direct Realization Tantra in Everyday Life, has won an IPPY silver medal for best books about religion published in 2009.

I wrote Pilgrims to Openness because I want seekers to have an accessible, practical, yet authentic guide to the heart of the Indian Tantrik tradition, aka Kashmir Shaivism.

Nearly 70 short essays address questions such as: “Do I need a Guru?” “What is suffering?” “Why am I doing spiritual practice?”  “What is nonduality?” No subject is off limits, from difficult emotions such as loneliness to love relationships, death, kundalini, chakras, boredom, and how to wake up in the morning and for all time.

The IPPY, or the Independent Publisher Book Awards contest, is among the largest and most recognized in the world.  Needless to say, I’m happy because now more people will be encouraged to learn about this beautiful tradition of Self-realization.

If you haven’t read PTO yet, check it out!

In Ma’s love,

Shambhavi

Kirtan from the Villages of India

This just in! A new video show about kirtan featuring Swami Mangalananda’s recent live concert in Santa Monica, California.

Swami Mangalananda plays kirtan and bhajan from the heart of rural India. And it all goes to benefit the K-12 school for 600 tribal kids at the Anandamayi Ma ashram in Omkareshwar.

To donate to help the school, called Mata Anandamayi Tripura Vidyapeeth, visit Shantipuri Friends.

Siddhasana for Women

Siddhasana is a profoundly relaxing and steadying, but also energetically dynamic seated posture. It means “the accomplished pose” or “seat of the Siddha.”

Long ago, I was taught a standard version of siddhasana that is supposedly “for women.” After attempting to perfect this pose, I came to the conclusion that this “for women” had likely been a well-meaning, but failed attempt at inclusion. Why? It was simply anatomically impossible for most of the women I knew, even highly practiced yoginis. more…