Lorain Chopra writes of her numerous visions as a practitioner with sane and clearheaded remarks which only the learned are capable of in her first book titled "Yogini - Unfolding the Goddess Within". Let me give you a brief on the material in the initial chapters at least.
Shambhavi seems to have had to go through a sad end of a long marriage from which she has two boys, who, she says, still love her for who she is. She seems to remember her ex-husband fondly, although it is clear that at some point, she had to move out of the discordant marriage. A short chapter on forgiveness in the book says it all about how she healed herself by using the power of forgiveness. By this time, she had started on her inward journey and she writes -with no less clarity than J. Krishnamurti - that when we allow the body and mind to go into the suffering deeply, without frittering the energy away into diversions like TV or shopping, then the body and mind slowly learn to absorb the suffering and a deep healing takes place. Forgiving deeply from within, the mind learns to let go and by practicing such awareness and forgiveness repeatedly, tremendous positive energy starts flowing through the heart. She states that the forgiver benefits as much as the forgiven, and that there is some research to support this as well. In a nutshell, accumulated negative thoughts create some malady or the other in the long run. Deep forgiving by repeated meditation on the hurt leads to a thorough cleansing.
Shambhavi started healing with Reiki, based on courses she took from a Sikh guru. However, she knew her journey was spiritual and at the persistent suggestion of a friend, joined a ten day Vipassana course as well. She was about to break during the course due to severe pain on the fifth or sixth day, but the instructor felt that the technique was really working for her. Shambhavi continued and experienced ecstatic lighness of being the next day. She felt, and others confirmed, that some unknown lights came from near the ceiling and touched her before vanishing. The instructor had a beaming smile for her when she finished the course. The person who had insisted that she take the course was, by the way, another famous Bollywood actress turned spiritual seeker - Amla. Amla did some past life regressions with Shambhavi too.
Shambhavi has described several notable people in the book who influenced her, but it seems the person who can most closely be called her guru was someone she called Ashokji. She took a guru mantra from him and often consulted him on her visions and experiences. Ashokji was always there to help.
At some point, the acquaintence of two noted academics was made - Dr. Lokesh Chandra an through him, David Frawley, noted author and Hindu pandit, who also goes by the name Vamadev Shastri. Shri Lokesh Chandra asked her to publish her spiritual experiences, and Dr. Frawley is now her husband, according to Wikipedia.
Shambhavi has written that she did not haveHave any training in Vedic disciplines and she gravitated towards the other major religious group in India - the tantrics. However, during her sadhana after her broken marriage, she says she remined celibate by choice. Male friends with more baser tendencies withered away from her, while those with more elevated minds stayed. She adds that irresponsible sex acts like having sex with strangers - often advocated in tantric practces - could do more harm than good. She also seems to agree that most modern practitioners of the tantra seem to have departed from the real purpose of some of these esoteric practices. However, tantra at its core remains a great way of approaching the divine for her. Understanding the universe and the self as a play of forces, approaching the practice with all heart and soul would elevate practitioners and bring sacredness and beauty to life. Tantra for her was never just a means to sexual satisfaction or other small joys. Yet, throughout the book, she makes it clear that while she was intense in all her practices, she did not follow any major rules for her outward life. For example, she says, she never gave up her passion for a good cup of coffee.
Some of her visions - and her other achievements - are listed below. The book contains many more.
1. During Navratri, the devi appeared at her bedside more than a few times. Sometimes as Tara, sometimes Kali and yet other forms at different times. Once the goddess drew a swordAnd seemed to hit her head with it. Nothing happened to her physically because the sword was not of earthly metal, she figured, but overall, it gave her the idea that the goddess demands the sacrifice of narrow egoistic pursuits.
2. Once Lord Shiva blessed her with a vision of his ascetic form in Kanatal, in the Himalayas, where she was spending most of her time in contemplation and meditation. They were looking for an idol of Lord Shiva fof a temple and Shambhavi guided yhe artist on the colors to use, etc., for the statue. During the time of prana pratishtha (setting up the idol in the temple by infusing it with life, so to speak), a young girl touched her feet and ran away. While looking for where the girl went amidst the crowds, Shambhavi saw the form of Lord Shiva, the great ascetic, appear before her eyes. The vision overwhelmed her for some time and then disappeared. It was the most wonderful of visions for her - she had been pleading to the lord of yogis for years for a vision, and she had been finally blessed with one.
3. In another incident, her son brought her to a hospital where a young couple lay injured in an accident. The doctors had given up hope for the girl and were trying to work on the young man to save him at least. The couple was known to her son. Shambhagi blessed the girl and rushed to her guru for advice. The guru told her son to stay, and said that for the son's faith, the mother goddess would surely make Shambhavi's blessing comd true. Shambhavi Came back to the hisputal, channelled the goddess through her mind and body, and passed on the blessings to the girl till the girl moved (showed signs of some consciousness). Reassuring the boy, she went back and then visited the hospital regularly over the next few days. The couple miraculously survived and recovered despite the initial diagnosis of the doctors.
These are only a few of her marvellous achievements. I would like to remind the reader of her comments on bhakti, yoga and tantra throughout the book which need at least a good deal of education to reproduce - and a flair for language which seems natural only when the writer is extremely passionate about the topic. All together, Shambhavi comes out as a very truthful and hardworking experimenter in the spiritual world. She states clearly that she always begged ghe great gods and godesses to give her a sign, a proof, so she could truthfully pray to them as a guide on the path. In fact, she says she never just bowed to a diety without such direct personal signs. Sooner or later, the gods and godesses who, according to Shambhavi, live and work in their own mythical time and space, gave her a vision, a proof or something which was enough for her to consider a sign from the powers above. The gods are not separate from the Universal one, but are different manifested forces working for the common purpose of the Universal God. Therefore Shambhavi's visions never make a case against non-dualism for her. The reader thereforeGets a shocking confirmation of puranic lore regarding the reality of the devis and devatas in her book, but with a synthetic philosophy which never denies the impersonal One of lofty Advaitic texts. However, what the reader needs to gather even more from the book is the lesson to follow through with their practice seriously. More than any techniques or methods, it is the intensity of Shambhavi's practice which seems to have led to her success.
Sadanand Tutakne
When is ma'am 's birthday??
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