Teachings of Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Ma Jaya first shared her "River Poem" in the 1970s, describing the sacred river Ganges in India for which she named the body of water on her beloved Kashi Ashram. On May 26, 2012 at Ma's memorial and what would have been her 72nd birthday, Ma's ashes were placed into the waters as this recorded excerpt from the poem was played. (3 minutes, 50 seconds)

Please join the Kashi satsang (spiritual family) in chanting a mantra of health and protection for Ma Jaya. This recording, taken from live gatherings at Kashi Ashram, begins with a minute of "OM", continues with 108 repetitions of "OM DUM DURGAYEI NAMAH", the bija (seed) mantra for Mother Durga, and ends with OM. You will hear three rings of a bell at the beginning and end of the mantra repetitions. (9 minutes, 41 seconds)

Kali Natha Tantric Yoga emphasizes appreciation of shakti, the divine feminine in all forms, male and female. We learn to live fully in the moment, free of ego thoughts. The symbolic battles in which dieties battle demons signify the inner battle in which the ego self fights to remain separate from the soul's essential nature which is filled with the essence of shakti. (5 minutes, 19 seconds)

Ma Jaya explains to a group of Kali Natha yoga teachers and students the role of the breath and moving past negative emotional thought patterns. This is an essential step in the process of kundalini rising, in which consciousness opens and rises through the chakra energy centers along the spine. (7 minutes, 14 seconds)

The desire to merge with the Divine Beloved is different from the wanting of instant gratification associated with worldly desire. Ma Jaya describes her own devotion to her Guru, Neem Karoli Baba as well as to dieties such as Krishna, Shiva, and the Mother. To ask or pray for help in getting what we want for ourselves and for others is to show faith that our prayers are being heard. Ma also speaks of the role of gratitude, even within the asking. 8 minutes, 40 seconds

How can we serve others in need without burning out? Here Ma Jaya describes the process of "drinking as we pour". Through the discipline of meditation, we learn to drink from the well of divinity. As we carry the space of meditation into our daily lives, we can then cultivate the ability to continue to drink and at the same time pour or share the abundance of that joy with others. 3 minutes, 12 seconds

In this excerpt from a live darshan at Kashi Ashram, Ma Jaya shares how to focus on the breath and fire to free ourselves of mistaking ego identity for our true, essential selves. The freedom that comes through meditation on the fire with breath awareness brings us into a bissful experience of the moment. 4 minutes, 40 seconds

Ma Jaya illustrates the interfaith teaching of embracing all forms of the divine as she tells a story about a sadhu (spiritual seeker). Laxmi, goddess of prosperity, and Kali, fierce warrior goddess exemplify the contrast between two dieties and traditions. 5 minutes, 35 seconds

The experience of great light is a universal spiritual image. In this live teaching, Ma guides her audience through breath and meditation techniques to bring the actuality of light into the every moment. This transformative practice helps one to move from negative thinking to deliberate awareness. (9 minutes, 10 seconds)

Ma Jaya speaks of the essential, intuitive process of paying attention to one's own inner wisdom. This podcast is an excerpt from a live darshan from Kashi Ashram.  (9 minutes, 14 seconds)

  Ma Jaya speaks in a live February 2010 question and answer session, when a chela (student) asks about Ma's paintings of gods and goddesses associated with the Vedic and Hindu traditions and the lineage of Kali Natha Yoga and Ma's Guru, Neem Karoli Baba. At the time of this recording, Ma was painting a series of Sri Bhagavati, Sri Bhagavat, and Rudra paintings. These are among the many names associated with Shakti and Shiva, the divine manifestations of female and male energy. (6 minutes, 18 seconds)  

In this live recording, Ma Jaya shares with a group of Kali Natha Yoga teacher trainees on the subject of gratitude.  She explains gratitude's importance and how it can be used as a tool to free us from karmic spaces such as jealousy and the desire to be right. (7 minutes, 9 seconds)

In a live darshan teaching, Ma Jaya answers a student's question, "Does the joy of the heart equate to the joy of the soul?" Ma responds with an explanation of the difference between the soul, which is always joyful, and the human heart, which can be broken until one learns to fall in love with the soul's beauty. (7 minutes, 11 seconds)

Ma Jaya shares ways to enrich one's life through perceiving, acknowledging, and meditating on the mystical aspects of the stars and moon. Her teachings of living in the moment with gratitude and awareness of nature and the cycle of life and death provide spiritual seekers on all paths with valuable insights and useful practices. (8 minutes, 10 seconds)  

Ma Jaya describes to a live audience ways of accessing and utilizing one's higher mind to facilitate healing, silence, and simplicity. The visualization of a fire burning negative thoughts helps to allow kundalini to rise through the chakras and lift consciousness toward freedom from the ego. (7 minutes, 41 seconds)  

In an excerpt from a guided meditation, Ma Jaya offers a taste of the formless bliss described in all spiritual traditions. The question "Who will leave this place?" refers to a seeker's willingness to return from that bliss in order to serve humanity and Mother Earth.(9 minutes, 23 seconds)

This recording is an excerpt from a guided meditation beginning at the heart center and moving upward through the chakras toward the universal formless, empty place of oneness high over the head. This is the mystical process of transforming the breath from oxygen into the nectar of prana or vital life force.(11.5 minutes)

Kashi Ashram's annual celebration of Durga Puja includes the honoring of Saraswati, goddess of the arts, creativity and learning, and consort of Brahma. In this excerpt, Ma Jaya tells a story of the sacred flame and explains how the soul has no gender.(10.5 minutes)

During a live outdoor darshan and puja at Kashi Ashram, Ma Jaya shares her experience of Mother Saraswati, goddess of the arts and learning. Ma describes learning to stay open and follow the heart's voice into the song of life, death, and a space free of loneliness, filled with the miracle of one's own creativity. (6.5 minutes)

During a live darshan at Kashi Ashram, Ma Jaya shares teachings about the blissful true nature of joy to be found in stopping the mind's thoughts and living fully in the moment.(5 minutes)

In a live darshan at Kashi Ashram, Ma Jaya guides a meditation through the chakras toward the universal formless center common to all spiritual traditions, using the image of a "fierce fire that does not burn."(8 minutes)

Ma Jaya continues to share teachings with a live audience in Miami, explaining how to use gratitude, service, and humor as tools for transformation. (6 minutes)

Ma Jaya teaches about tools for spiritual transformation and speaks of the breath as a powerful tool for healing as she guides a meditation for an audience at Unity by the Bay in Miami. This podcast is an excerpt from a live May 2009 recording. (6 minutes)

Ma Jaya tells the story of Hanuman, the Hindu god of service, and explains the importance of service on the spiritual path. The video was made at a celebration of Hanuman Jayanti, or Hanuman's birthday. (7 minutes)

Step outside of time and into the Now. Ma Jaya shares the essence of living fully in the moment and becoming free of the distractions that pull us away from that simplicity. An excerpt from a live question and answer darshan, Ma explains the process of overcoming karma, depression, and suffering.(10 minutes)

Ma Jaya reads a question from a student: "How do you accept the unacceptable?"  She answers with four stories from her own experience, as she learned difficult lessons of service. She concludes, "You don't accept the unacceptable, you accept your ability to do something about it.(8 minutes)

The soul is pure spirit, without gender.  Introducing an intensive weekend for men -- both gay and straight-- Ma Jaya asks them to transcend all self-judgment and identify with their souls.  For both men and women, this podcast is an outstanding example of Ma's teaching.  At the end of this recording, as Ma leads her students into meditation, you may find that she has opened a new door into your own experience of spirit.(8 minutes)

Stress kills, and yet it is always with us. Ma Jaya offers a way to reduce our accumulated stress by coming more fully into the moment.(3 minutes)

In this video, recorded during darshan at Kashi Ashram, Ma Jaya speaks about the spiritual path, including raising kundalini, dealing with fear, and the goal of self-discovery.(2 minutes)

It is thought, the ego thought, that steals time out of your life. Ma Jaya speaks of thought and depression, and then introduces us to the Hindu goddess Kali, who can devour all negativity.(3 minutes)

Welcome to our first video podcast. In a live darshan at Kashi Ashram, Ma speaks of the wounded heart.(1 minute)

How dare you think you are just a thought? With this question, Ma Jaya shows how us to develop awareness of our passing thoughts, how to stop them for a moment, and how to feel who we truly are.(6 minutes)

In an informal session with her students, Ma Jaya reads and responds to a question on the relationship between thoughts and karma.(6 minutes)

Ma Jaya often begins guided meditations with instructions for becoming more aware of the breath. This short podcast begins with her instruction “close your eyes.” We suggest you use it as a tool to begin your own meditation.(2 minutes)

This podcast is a selection from an intensive called “Stepping into the Death of the Ego,” in which Ma Jaya asks us to burn our limiting ego in the fire of awareness.(7 minutes)

Speaking to Kali Natha Yoga students and teachers, Ma explains that yoga creates more space in the body, especially the heart center. Into this space comes sound, in the form of mantra or chanting, bringing even greater opening. Ma also demonstrates the Breath of Intention, a combination of chanting and breath which can bring us closer to our spiritual Beloved. This podcast offers insight for the practitioners of any yoga, or the devotees of any path.(9 Minutes)

Ma gives us a very simple formula for receiving the blessings of the universe -- whether material or spiritual.(4 minutes)

Ma Jaya answers women's questions about power and anger, the true meaning of shakti, and how to respond to sexist language in the scriptures of every religion. The questions were not recorded, but they are clear from the context.(6 minutes)

A moment of freedom is a moment without thought or ego. Ma points out the many ways our thoughts can bind us, and invites us to taste freedom in meditation.(9 minutes)

Ma recently answered several questions around the themes of love, fear, and shakti (feminine power). This podcast contains two of those questions and Ma's replies.(6 minutes)

Ma emphasizes compassionate hands-on service, both as an essential part of the spiritual path and as a way to help a suffering world. The picture on the right is Hanuman, a Hindu deity who exemplifies the spirit of service.(2 minutes)

Instead of denying negativity, or acting on it, we can offer it up to god or goddess, or to the essence of love. Giving up negativity and opening to love heals the wounded heart.(4 minutes)

Before going into meditation, it is important to check our posture. This podcast leads us through the steps of aligning the body for meditation and becoming more aware -- a process Ma calls The Seven Points of Kali Natha Alignment.(6 minutes)

Ma explains the higher and lower ego, and speaks of the fears that we have in meditation, and our choice to go beyond them. This podcast can lead you into meditation.(6 minutes)

Ma explains the way of detachment, or the Chidakash. This teaching, which Ma learned from her teacher Swami Nityananda, allows us to work with the sick and dying from a place of clarity and detachment./h3>(3 minutes)

Ma Jaya speaks about using meditation and pranayam (breath control) to help us break our addictions.(4 minutes)

Ma speaks with great sweetness and simplicity about "that piece of eternity that ties us all together...."(3 minutes)

Introducing a weekend intensive just before the New Year, Ma speaks of discipline as a joy, not a chore, and explains how procrastination steals us from the moment.(5 minutes)

Ma Jaya developed Kali Natha Yoga from ancient roots. In this Darshan, given on Yoga Day USA, she shows the connection between yoga practice and the development of intuition and awareness.(5 Minutes)

Ma Jaya speaks of the soul, and reminds us of the 'mystic seed' within us all.(5 minutes)

In this darshan, Ma Jaya explains how to deal with the habitual thoughts that can box us in to depression. She also speaks of tantra and earthly samadhi, and recites lines from Ram Prasad, 'This time I will devour thee utterly, Kali Ma…'(12 minutes)