Personal Experiences
NOTE: Other meditations presented on this website are not to be confused with the meditation referred to on this or the following pages: Shaktipat Intensives, The Kripalu Lineage, Surrender Meditation and Yoga.
INITIATION
"Durga Ma came into my life back in April 1992. I can still
remember that fateful day as clearly as yesterday. I took the Shaktipat
Intensive with her in Toronto that April and my life has not been the
same since. I probably shouldn’t write in the past tense because
the grace that was bestowed then, I can feel this very day.
"I had not experienced the Divine in such a real way until then.
I had pranotthan in less than 48 hours during my second meditation following
initiation. I remember sharing this experience with her. I exclaimed,
“God paid me a visit last night!” It rings now as it did then.
"The image I have of my relationship with Durga Ma is that She and
I are traveling together on a long pilgrimage of which She is quite familiar.
We finally reach the sacred Divine Mother Temple (Skakti/Durga/Kali) that
She had talked about so lovingly. We enter the temple together and She,
through some sacred ‘secret’ language, communicates with
the Divine Mother and introduces me to Her, and She speaks to me.
"Durga Ma has opened a direct channel for me to the Divine. This
in very real to me. She has demonstrated to me in an EXPERIENCIAL way
the existence of God and that we can and do live in Her abode. I hold
Her with the greatest reverence in my heart.
"Ancient scriptures talk about the need of having a guru to light
a sadhak's path. Well Durga Ma is That One. She is the lighter of my lamp!"
Basil C. (Kalki)
KRIYA & NADA
"When I first began Surrender Meditation I frequently experienced kriyas, primarily in the form of leg and arm movements. Although this
flipping and flapping was bizarre in its sensation of being initiated
by something other than me, it wasn't violent, and Durga Ma assured
me it was not uncommon. Since lying on the floor to meditate went against
my cross-legged-straight-back image, the kriyas somehow reassured the
skeptical part of my mind that I was, indeed, surrendered.
"During those first months I came down with a sinus infection. My mind was quick to point out that there was no way I was
going to be able to surrender, but I took out my meditation cushion, said my mantra, and began my meditation anyway. Ten or so minutes later my mind
said, "See, you can't meditate in this condition."
I opened
my eyes and looked to my right. Instantly, my head was slammed back into
position with such force that, should it have kept going past center all
the way to the left, I would have had whiplash! But my head stopped, facing
forward, with no ill effects. In the meditation that followed (or, I should
say, continued) I had my first experience of nada — I heard what sounded like a train going very fast, right
next to me. It was absolutely real and almost deafening. This lasted several minutes."
Kalyana
MYSTERIES
"When I was ushered into Durga Ma's private room,
I had no idea I was going to receive the next initiation. What was revealed
to me was the kind of thing that is so obvious, no one would ever think
of it. At first I was in shock. On one hand, it was so simple I couldn't
believe it. On the other hand, it changed everything.
"I felt honored and a little dumbfounded. My world
had forever been changed. I felt mature and immature at the same time.
It was like I was old and young all at once. Thinking about it made
me dizzy.
"I was almost numb driving home that day. The revelation
was running around in my head, and apparently it was having more than
just a metaphorical affect on me. As I drove my minivan on the toll
road towards home, all the electrical door locks began locking and unlocking
uncontrollably. The circuits had literally blown out the door locks!
How much more symbolic can you get?
"I mean, I was blown away, but my car, too? It was
too much. I had to replace all the door locks in the van. And in another
way, all the locks in my life were blown away, too. Thank you, Durga
Ma."
Rupa (Diane R.)