Living the Mysteries

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Durga Ma greeted me for the first time in a rustic cafe in a small town in the Northern California forest. She was dressed in shirt and jeans and wore a pair of old well-worn boots, and she looked for all the world like a modern Western pioneer woman reminiscent of my Montana childhood. I loved her the moment I saw her. Here was no mysterious remote mystic of the Far East whom I had envisioned but a woman of my own age, brimming with humor and fun. She laughed and her eyes twinkled with merriment through lunch and then she escorted me, leading in her old Ford along the highway to the gravel and then dirt roads seven miles into the forest where she had established her Hermitage.

I had driven up from Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving weekend at her Hermitage. This was a journey into the unknown for me. I had no idea what I would meet here, but I had hopes that this would be the opening to a new world. This did indeed prove to be the case in ways that I could not even imagine then. From that time to the present, a span of ten years, I have been privileged to be her companion. Through Durga Ma, I have come to appreciate the limitless depths and heights of the study and practice of yoga (union).

Yoga is a path which has as its aim union with God. Durga Ma's commitment to God and this path to God is absolute. It has not been an easy path for her, for her upbringing was not conducive to this pursuit. She grew up and lived in a secular family and a secular society, neither of which has been supportive or understanding of her desire for God. She has faced the physical and emotional obstacles that are placed in the way of a woman in this society. She has lived in poverty and in isolation; she has raised two children alone. Yet through all of this, she persevered.

Durga Ma's study of the mystical writings of the ancient masters has given her a grasp of the deepest esoteric messages of yoga. At the time of this book, Durga Ma has attained all the steps of yoga sadhana (spiritual practices). Her teaching reflects her depth of understanding and experience, and she brings to her students a joy in their growth and maturity. Hers is a uniquely American woman's story. Its importance, however, transcends that of one individual and speaks to all people who desire to lead a spiritual life in our modern time.

The idea of this book began many years ago, but in recent times there has been an increasing pressure from students and peers to complete it. Most of the book consists of stories and teachings related to me and to others at various times. I have compiled these stories and teachings. The voice is that of Durga Ma, but any errors of commission that inadvertently may be introduced, or any errors of omission, are mine and mine alone.

Durga Ma's story begins where her spiritual life began, with an experience that was the major turning point in her life that put her on her path.

I hope that this book will serve as an inspiration and guide for those who are seeking.

I bow at her holy feet.

Bhavani
(Terry Anne Preston, Ph.D.)
Los Angeles 1999

© Copyright 1999, Terry Preston, Durga Ma, Lauretta Graham