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Jyotish Star of the Month

A Conversation with Yogini Shambhavi

By Charlotte Benson
Interview Date: 7/24/2012

Jai Ma Guru!

Charlotte Benson: As a Jyotisha, would you please tell us a little bit about your consultations, and who was your Jyotish mentor?

Yogini Shambhavi: Pandit Vamadeva Shastri has been my main mentor in Vedic astrology, and over the past seven years we have gone over more than a thousand charts together. He has taught me to reflect on the deeper aspects of the Vedic chart through very special techniques relative to Jyotisha, Yoga and Ayurveda. I have great regard for Sadguru Sivananda Murty from India, as an important inspiration for my work. Sri Chakrapani Ullal has highlighted some important aspects of Vedic Astrology and I have deep regard for his wisdom and experience. I have learnt from several other teachers in India as well, who explained the intricacies of karma in Vedic astrology.

My consultations place a lot of emphasis on our karmic role in life through understanding and appeasing the planets with ancient remedial measures to harmonize our lives. Jnana or wisdom is the key to our mental, physical and emotional well-being. Jnana is most important for granting us the astuteness to manoeuvre with grace through our long karmic journey. Mantra, rituals and working with Mother Nature form an important part of my Vedic Astrology

Readings. In the Jyotisha readings I have a beautiful experience working with Shani Deva (Lord Saturn) being able to understand the powerful yet slow planetary influences of Shani in our lives. Shani Deva teaches us humility and one cannot acknowledge Shani with expensive gems and remedial measures.

For me every Vedic Astrology reading is a very deepening experience of understanding the planetary energies and as result I can only do one reading a day, though we are booked at least two months with requests. The consultation lasts for one and half hours and more at times.

Charlotte: You travel the world, along with your partner Vamadeva (Dr. David Frawley) giving retreats in India, America, Brazil. As we publish September 1^st, can you tell our readers where they can attend next to study with you both?

Shambhavi: We will travel to Brazil Aug. 1 for three weeks of programs, one is our own Yoga Shakti retreat at Paraty. We also will make an appearance at Yoga Pela Paz (Yoga for Peace), and teach some programs on Yoga and Ayurveda for the Suddha Dharma Mandala of Dr. Jose Rugue. We return and travel to California, where the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm will be presenting their 13^th annual Vedic Astrology Conference on Labor Day weekend, August 30 through September 3, in Grass Valley, California where we both are keynote speakers.

In India mid-September, Vamadeva and I will be addressing the International Dharma-Dhamma conference in Sanchi Madhya Pradesh, India, where Vamadeva is one of the eight patrons of the conference, along with major Hindu and Buddhist leaders, hosted by the government of Madhya Pradesh, India and the Mahabodhii society of Sri Lanka.

I will be speaking on the role of the Divine Feminine in Hindu and Buddhist Dharmic traditions.

Vamadeva will give a plenary keynote talk on Unity and Pluralism in Dharmic traditions.

Then we head to Germany for a �Mantra Yoga Program� at Spirit Yoga in Berlin, and a special �Yoga Shakti Ayurvedic retreat� near Freiburg. Relative to the USA we will be doing a special Yoga Shakti Program in Kauai, Hawaii Dec. 3 -10 at Trihealth Spa with a special emphasis on Soma in Yoga and Ayurveda based on Vamadeva�s recently released book with Lotus Press Soma in Yoga and Ayurveda.

In December, January we will be home doing our own sacred practices and sadhana, spending some quiet time.

I am also finishing my third book which will be published by Lotus press in the USA.

Charlotte: Your teachings on the transformational power of the feminine, associated with the Goddess Kali, have been very well received by your students/sadhaks. You seem to have a rare talent for making the ancient traditional wisdom associated with the Universal Mother, Kali, accessible to contemporary spiritual seekers. What drew you to your unique path as a teacher of the Goddess wisdom? There must be something quite specialized in your birth chart which indicates this ability, do you care to share something about your rasi chakra? Your second house and fifth houses must be well disposed. How did you begin training in mantra yoga?

Shambhavi: Astrologically the chart is very personal and especially women must learn to be discreet and not give it out quickly, a great virtue on the path of Shakti sadhana. I do not reveal my chart publically and have only shown it to three people in my life. Chakrapani is the same and I admire him for this. Shakti sadhana has been my guiding force and the grace of the Devi is very strong in my life and a lot of the mantras came as a flow of divine grace during my intense sadhana in the Himalayas.

Being with Vamadeva, a garland of Shambhavi mantras were revealed to him as guidance for me. Ma Kali�s energy must flow as Her divine grace and not something we can direct into our lives through our personal will.

Charlotte: Please tell us more about how you discovered your talents and abilities. Did your family support your career path? Who was your guru, or other spiritual mentor?

Shambhavi: Being born into an aristocratic Sikh family in the Punjab and educated in a convent in the Himalayas kept my early life in seclusion. Though I had some powerful experiences with the Mother Goddess, which were revealed and understood later on in life. However, the secret to my Devi bhava is that I happened to be born in Guwahati, Assam, nearby the Kamakhya Goddess Temple that is the most important of all the Goddess shrines in India, and I feel I carry the samskaras of this powerful Shakti Peetha. In my early thirties, the Goddess began to appear to me drawing me into deeper sadhana. I understood early in life that the higher yogic teachings only unfold when we create a stillness born of peace in both our inner and outer existence. Every sadhak must cultivate jnana bhava through clarity and astuteness and sadhana.

I have met with most of the great and famous teachers of modern India, as well as many common sadhus and Himalayan Yogis.

Yet Bhagavan Ramana Maharsi, Anandamayi Ma and Maha Avatar Babaji have graced me on several occasions, their teachings having brought a sense of responsibility into their disciple�s lives. There are several who stand out for me in my present day experiences like Sadguru Sivananda Murty, Vamadeva Shastri and Swami Veda Bharati.

I revere my darshan with Shri K. Natesan who translated the profound teachings of Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni in Sanskrit, for he carried the powerful energies of Bhagavan Ramana Maharsi in his eyes.

I have often avoided the popular gurus or mass movements. Much of my guru diksha and powerful guidance has come from my years of deeper sadhana in the Himalayan temples like Kedarnath, Jhoola Devi, and Jageshwar. For me Devi or the Goddess is the Guru, and I embrace what Sadguru Sivananda Murty says, that though we may have a hundred sampradaya gurus, but all of us have only one real ultimate Guru Shiva, the ultimate destination of all creation.

Charlotte: Dr, Deepak Chopra has endorsed your work. He says that you are showing the way to re-establish the balance of powers, for the benefit of all. Do you believe that invoking the grace of Mother Kali will help people endure � or even prosper � in these tumultuous times? (Would you care to comment on the current state of affairs, with the transiting Rahu/Ketu in debilitation?)

Shambhavi: Ma Kali is the Yuga Shakti or power of transformation from one world age to another. Her force is quite active now and is pushing us, both individually and collectively to change. Yet she should be approached with great caution, wisdom, shraddha or deep faith and grace. For me Ma Durga paves and prepares the way for Ma Kali who arises out of Durga itself. Those who have surrendered to Ma Durga will have nothing to fear from Ma Kali who is her purifying force. Kali has great compassion for those who truly surrender to the deeper Shakti sadhana for transformation. Ma Durga�s energies are also descending to help those who truly aspire to the higher knowledge. The powerful Durga Raksha mantra from my Yogini Bhava CD was her diksha to me.

Rahu and Ketu are very important, along with the eclipses that they bring into our lives. Yet Rahu in Scorpio stirs up a lot of turbulence, violence and darkness from deeper levels of the human psyche which have not been dealt with. Political and military polarizations are often behind the scenes, with subtle powers of manipulation, particularly through the media. They cause the serpents or nagas to move and to become more venomous. It can result in some violence against women as well.

Ketu in Taurus causes material losses and economic contraction but can help spiritualize our lives deeply and connect us to a deeper devotion, if we are not too possessive about our worldly maya. In such times, one does need the protection of higher powers and should not be too aggressive or assertive. These are moments to lie low and spiritualize our inner most aspirations through sadhana and mantra japa. Ma Durga has the power to harness and appease the energies of Rahu, and Ketu can be appeased through worshipping Sri Ganesha. Sri Ganesha not only removes the obstacles, he bestows us the Buddhi and knowledge to work through these karmic obstructions in our lives.

Charlotte: Do you have an opinion about the popularly-expected Earth changes during 2012?

Shambhavi: Well it is already more than half way through 2012 and we have had some major ecological problems and weather changes, but as part of what we have been experiencing in recent years, a cumulative effect of sorts but nothing apocalyptic. As for major end of the world changes, I would not expect these this year, though certainly humanity is steadily plowing through much negative karma.

Actually after 2020 to around 2050, the situation will get more arduous on our planet earth, but not necessarily to the extent of the Earth changes some would forecast. What Vamadeva and I foresee is that an extended global time of troubles has begun, with a slowly increasing set of problems socially and environmentally impacting our lives, until we are forced to change our unsustainable civilization. Yet we would compare what will be coming in future decades, not to dramatic earth changes or even world wars like the twentieth century, but will include economic, political, environmental and health problems of significant proportions and duration. A light on the other side will slowly emerge, but it will not be a quick or an easy process.

Charlotte: In May of this year, you opened the United Astrology Conference, in New Orleans, with a gorgeous a capela invocation to the Goddess. The audience was stunned and delighted � and your performance certainly set a high tone to begin that huge international conference. How are you able to project that much power and beauty through your unaccompanied voice? Was that an example of the �thunderbolt shakti� affecting an entire ballroom of people? It was very impressive.

Shambhavi: My invocations are a complete form of surrender to the Divine by simply making myself receptive to the Goddess, allowing Her to come through me. I am not a professionally trained singer, though I do have a traditional Indian voice. My Shakti sadhana deepens the grace in my voice. It was an amazing experience at UAC to see people burst into tears and have beautiful experiences during the invocation. I am most humbled by the Devi's grace and power.

Charlotte: Your most recent CD, Jyotir Bhava, is a compilation of Sacred Shakti Mantras for the Nine Planets. Do you have any advice for our readers on how to best utilize this practice of mantra yoga in their lives? I have always heard that mantra japa � done correctly � is a very powerful remedy for challenged (or challenging) planets. I�ve been having a blissful time, just singing along with you, as I read the verses.

Shambhavi: Jyotir Bhava is my personal honoring of the Navagraha or Nine Planets and their teachings which have revealed their cosmic reality to me. First of all one should listen to the CD with a receptive mind and heart, with deep shraddha and surrender to the higher cosmic forces. Secondly one should learn some of the relevant mantras and begin to chant them as a daily sadhana. It is important that we repeat the chants with a degree of devotion, not mechanically. Unless the Jyotish Devatas are alive in us and connected to our every breath, then our practice of Jyotish may still be limited.

The planets are powerful, no doubt, and we must honor and respect them, but if we approach them with humility and innocence, with the devotional art of surrender then they will guide our lives through divine grace. For this to occur we should not try to manipulate their energies, or getting them to fulfill our desires. We should find out what they regard as best for us and accept that with peace and joy.

Charlotte: So, what�s next for Yogini Shambhavi? I read that you are on your way, soon, to go to Brazil for a Yoga Shakti Retreat. That sounds amazing. Please tell me about what an adventure that must be.

Shambhavi: I love traveling to Brazil as it holds the powerful Shakti force in its earth formations and Nature. We do regular programs in Brazil, where The American Institute of Vedic Studies, educational programs, courses and several books have been translated in Portuguese. Brazil has a powerful Goddess energy and force of nature. My book, Yogini Unfolding the Goddess Within has been translated in Portuguese and helps many women understand their own innate shakti force and grace.

Charlotte: Any plans to publish another lovely recording; or book soon?

Shambhavi: I have a third book that is in the editing stage that will be an expansion of the themes in my first Yogini book. It should be out early next year with the Devi�s grace. It will cover my travels, experiences and teachings throughout the world, but particularly in the Himalayas.

For me the grace has to direct my flow and it seems to be in the direction of Soma mantras.

The CDs have been a great help to sadhaks worldwide in their personal sadhana.

Yogini Shambhavi Biography:

Shambhavi is a noted spiritual Yogini and author of two important books on the Goddess and her worship (Yogini: Unfolding the Goddess Within and Yogic Secrets of the Dark Goddess) which have been best sellers in India. She has also recorded a beautiful chanting CD of healing Yogini Bhava: Shakti Mantra Invokes the Divine Within that has reflect traditional transformative bija mantras and invocations of the Devi. Her new CD Jyotir Bhava of Vedic astrology mantras has also just been released through Lotus Press.

Shambhavi is regarded as one of the most important and dynamic women teachers coming out of India, emphasizing Shakti Sadhana or the worship of the Goddess. She is noted for her clear, direct and uncompromising expression. Shambhavi has functioned as a spiritual healer and guide for more than ten years working with an international clientele in

India, Europe, South America (Brazil) and North America. Shambhavi is a Jyotish Visharada from the Council of Vedic Astrology (CVA) and a certified Ayurvedic Jyotishi (Ayurvedic Astrologer) with the Amerian Institute of Vedic Studies.

Shambhavi has guided many sadhaks on the spiritual path, especially women seeking to discover the Shakti or Goddess power within themselves. She also teaches programs with the American College of Vedic Astrology (ACVA), the Council of Vedic Astrology (CVA), the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA), the British Association of Vedic Astrology (BAVA), Sivananda, Kripalu and Yogaville. She is on the Advisory Board for Tathaastu magazine and the California College of Ayurveda. She has spoken before various Hindu temples, ashrams and associations in India and in the West.

Note: Shambhavi's on-line articles and books on our website for more information on her important work and Shambhavi's Facebook page that features numerous pictures and photo galleries of India and her programs and retreats with Vamadeva.

Shambhavi also offers consultations for purely spiritual guidance for which an analysis of the birth chart is not required. In addition she provides special Mantra Intitiation Shakti Sadhana for a higher level of working with her. For astrological consultations we usually have a long waiting list, so you may need to book more than a month in advance. We do give preference to our course and program students, to sadhaks and those seeking spiritual guidance, and to those having major health issues.

Please contact Shambhavi ( Shambhavi.[email protected]) for setting up a consultation, ask for 'Vedic astrology consultation information form,' fill out and email back to us.

Vamadeva has trained Shambhavi to handle all astrological consultations. It is only through these Vedic astrology consultations with Shambhavi that one can access his personal guidance, except for his private students. These Vedic astrology consultations with Shambhavi provide the individual with a unique and powerful insight and guidance into total well-being and unfolding all the higher potentials of life.

Her powerful mantra chanting is tempered with Shakti�s grace resonating at the deepest core of her soul stirrings. The passion and shraddha in her voice draws one into the vibrations of the Mother Goddess.

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Charlotte Benson's Biography:

Charlotte Benson (Jyoti Devi) has been a full-time consulting astrologer since 1972. She holds professional diplomas from the American Federation of Astrologers, the International Society for Astrological Research, the National Council for Geocosmic Research, as well as a certificate from the American College of Vedic Astrology. She is the President Emerita of the Arizona Society of Astrologers, currently serves on the board of the American College of Vedic Astrology, and was recently awarded the title of Jyotish Kovid from the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences.
www.charlottebenson.com
602 952-1525
Phoenix, AZ USA.



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