I participated in my first Siddha Yoga Shaktipat Intensive this past October and it was truly a wonderful experience. I’ve been a Siddha Yoga student since childhood and have always wanted to participate in an Intensive. I'm so glad I finally did!
During one of the meditation sessions I heard a sigh of relief in my right ear. When I came out of meditation, the pain I’d been experiencing in my neck for the past few months was gone. It was as if that sigh of relief I heard was that pain and tension exiting my body. I just felt lighter and more centered overall.
I have since started a daily meditation practice to continue to work toward being more grounded.
Virginia, United States
It was such a great gift to offer
arati during
Jyota se Jyota Jagao at the closing of the Shaktipat Intensive in Honor of Baba Muktananda’s Mahasamadhi. As I listened to everyone singing the words, I slowly waved the tray in circles of light, focusing on Gurumayi’s and Baba’s eyes in the photographs. Mentally, I thanked them for a more divine life than I could have ever imagined. Looking into their eyes, I experienced waves of goosebumps; even my face tingled.
At the end, when everyone sang
Sadgurunath Maharaj ki Jay and then three repetitions of that invocation on a higher note, I bowed my head and held the
arati tray high in worship. I offered my life from this point on to the Guru’s grace. My eyes brimmed with tears as I walked back to place the
arati tray on the back
puja.
Hawaii, United States
I did not participate in this year’s Shaktipat Intensive because at that time I was on a pilgrimage. But when I was coming home by bus, I spontaneously felt myself very, very close to Gurumayi and felt a deep love in my heart. This went on for ten to fifteen minutes. Although there were many passengers around me, my eyes were full of tears.
At the time I didn’t know why that was happening. But the next day I remembered that I had been traveling on the day of the Shaktipat Intensive. It felt to me that the Guru’s shakti works even more powerfully on the day when many people are participating in the Shaktipat Intensive. I am very grateful to have had this experience.
Mathura, India
The Siddha Yoga Shaktipat Intensive is essential for my
sadhana, and this year, the golden anniversary of the Shaktipat Intensive, I was able to participate in it on my birthday!
In the meditation sessions, the states of deep peace that I experience every time I take the Shaktipat Intensive were present. During the pauses, however, I recognized that I was maintaining a more subtle permanence of the meditative energy in my actions outside the meditation hall.
In one of the meditations, I closed my eyes and perceived in the center of my eyebrows a white light, which turned into a red light, then became a grayish light surrounded by pink petals. In the center of this light, a small figure with bright blue contours emerged. I focused my attention, and as I felt myself getting closer to it, I realized it was a diamond! Waves of bliss were washing over my body. I opened my eyes, then closed them. Once again, the bright blue diamond was between my eyebrows.
I understood within myself Baba’s teaching, “The body is the temple of the Self.”
What a sweet and sacred celebration. Baba’s teachings are a sacred gift. I am deeply grateful to Baba.
Mexico City, Mexico
It had been some time since my last Siddha Yoga Shaktipat Intensive, and this year I wasn’t sure I should participate, since my sister recently passed away. Yet I decided to participate. To my surprise, on the morning of the Shaktipat Intensive, I arose with excitement and joy. One thing was for sure—I had an open heart and was ready for whatever the Guru had in store.
The day was filled with meditation and teachings and many happy memories of times spent with my sister and of moments in Shree Muktananda Ashram.
I am grateful to Gurumayi for the gift of joy and for reopening my heart.
New York, United States
I had been planning to start jogging for a long, long time. This year’s Shaktipat Intensive was the turning point for me. Its emphasis on Baba’s teachings about the body made me realize the importance of this body for my sadhana. And so, finally, I have started jogging.
This Intensive has also inspired me to focus on my inner, ever-present happiness even in not-so-happy circumstances. I am eternally grateful to Baba and Gurumayi for the teachings imparted in the Shaktipat Intensive.
Bangalore, India
In the early morning following a Preparation Satsang for the Siddha Yoga Shaktipat Intensive 2024, I found myself modeling Shri Ganesh with clay—which had the hue of gold! I expressed the wish to complete its form, and I prayed to Gurumayi to guide me toward full success concerning registration for the Shaktipat Intensive.
The day after I participated in the Intensive, as the sun began to set, I decided to walk to a small beech forest to practice the yoga postures associated with Gurumayi’s Message for 2024.
As I set foot on the threshold of the forest, I was stopped by a powerful golden light permeating the entire space. Then I continued walking toward the clearing, where I discovered that everything was sparkling with the color of golden light, from the ground to the tops of the trees!
I was amazed, motionless, transported to another realm where I contained the whole picture within me. My experience was an opening and expansion of my being.
I am grateful to Baba and Gurumayi—it’s a new beginning in my
sadhana.
Spiez, Switzerland
My first Shaktipat Intensive was in 2006. Every year since then I participate in the Shaktipat Intensive, always experiencing great blessings for my sadhana.
During one meditation in this year’s Shaktipat Intensive, in my inner vision an enormous murti appeared. I couldn’t clearly distinguish its contours, but I felt its power and an original quality. Instantly the thought arose in me, “This is the primordial Guru, Shiva!” From that murti Bhagavan Nityananda, then Baba Muktananda, and finally Gurumayi took shape and descended onto the carpet. As Gurumayi proceeded toward me, I saw her body sparkle and I understood that this is Gurumayi’s true body—a vibration of light.
The awareness that our beloved Siddha Gurus are descended from universal Consciousness, reside in it constantly, and are one with that Consciousness that is Shiva has now taken root in me. And having experienced this in meditation while repeating Om Namah Shivaya makes me perceive more deeply the presence of the Guru in the form of the mantra, which I view as the sound form of the Guru.
Macerata, Italy
The Shaktipat Intensive was a profoundly blessed event filled with the grace of Shri Guru and the vibrant energy of the
shakti. The vibrations are still resonating within me. I have previously participated in several Shaktipat Intensives, and I can confidently say that each experience elevates my
sadhana to new heights.
This particular experience was truly transformative thanks to all of its uplifting elements, especially Baba ji’s insightful talks. The
namasankirtana at the finale was simply perfect. I felt that it offered an otherworldly experience. Even though I regularly participate in the Siddha Yoga practices, this Shaktipat Intensive felt like a long-awaited feast for my soul, quenching my thirst for the nectar of chanting. I am deeply grateful to Shri Gurumayi for her compassion and the incredible blessings bestowed upon me.
Nashik, India