Our Story
Henry Adams once said: “a teacher affects eternity; she can never tell where her influence stops.”
I feel fortunate to have had many wonderful teachers on my spiritual path.
My first teacher, Mrs. Trish Sanders, was never my formal classroom teacher, but became one of the most influential people in my life.
A gardener in every setting, she planted the seeds for everything I have done since high school. Mrs. Sanders was, in so many ways, the living embodiment of Goddess Kushmanda, one of my favorite goddesses I wrote about in my second book, The Way of the Goddess.
Goddess Kushmanda lives in your heart chakra, as the healing power of love. She is the mother of the universe, who birthed the entire universe through her heartfelt laughter. Mrs. Sanders was known for her legendary laughter, and was like a mother to so many of us.
She taught me how to forgive all kinds of abuses I encountered in my life, especially those I dealt with on my deeper spiritual journey. And she empowered me to rewrite the script of ancestral trauma.
She was so humble. Despite hundreds of students who thanked her for changing their lives with her speech coaching and drama teachings, she always remained rooted in simply paying forward what she felt grateful to receive from others.
An hour after she left her body, on June 3rd, 2023, the fourth day of the goddess festival of Navratri (when we evoke Goddess Kushmanda), per my 10-day cycles of practice, I spoke into the universe in our Circle of Life that I intended to do whatever I can, as an instrument, to pay forward what Mrs. Sanders gave me (and so many others), which was the opportunity to liberate the power of my voice, in service of Truth and healing.
Two weeks later, I received a call from SoulWisdom Press & PR. Advisor Michael, with an invitation to create my own hybrid publishing and public relations agency, to do exactly this.
The opportunity to free the power of my expression of the eternal victory of the light of the highest Truth is one that carries deep personal significance.
That is because I experienced the darkness of the all-too-common corruption that occurs in the name of spirituality amongst some of my teachers.
As soon as I really awakened my inner guru, they tried to do whatever they could to take my power. They even tried to stop the publication of my most recent book, The Way of the Goddess, by writing a 109-page personal attack on my character to my publisher, claiming that they possess a copyright on all the wisdom teachings of ancient India.
In another instance, a hacker hijacked my Instagram account and held it ransom. In his photo, he made a mudra (sacred hand gesture) of awakened consciousness, with his face covered in black, and chains across his hands and heart.
Both of these unfortunate incidents highlight to me the importance of embodying the proper use of power, the necessity of humility on the spiritual path, and the true role of a guru, to awaken the guru within others.
Today, I stand strong in my resolve, to be of service to the spiritual power of words that celebrate the eternal victory of light over darkness. I also feel called to serve the liberation of ancient wisdom from all chains of exploitation, including but certainly not limited to, cultural appropriation.
As Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai once proclaimed at the United Nations:
“Terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop me, but nothing changed in my life except this — weakness, fear and hopelessness died, strength, power and courage was born.”
I want others who have suffered from various guru scandals to know that you, too, can connect with the light within, through the ancient wisdom teachings, no matter what you have gone through.
I believe that the ancient tradition of Guru-Shishya Parampara, the teacher-student tradition of transmission of sacred knowledge, is a very important one.
I feel eternally grateful to have had two teachers, following Mrs. Sanders, who personify what a true guru is, by awakening and celebrating the guru within me.
One is a 95-year-young guru named Swami Parthasarathy, who runs Vedanta Academy, the only institution in the world that empowers you to awaken your intellect.
Swamiji (as he is affectionately called) teaches you to question everything, including teachers and teachings, and to examine whether what you hear and read aligns with reason, logic, and sound judgment. And if it does, to only then accept it - and live by it.
Swamiji’s way of explaining the verses of Vedanta’s sacred philosophical texts, verse by verse, and his example of being a householder sage, empowered me to awaken my inner guru.
For 12 years, I embodied a self-created monastic lifestyle. While still living in the world, wearing regular clothes, and not going by any special titles, I followed the conduct of a monk, continuously disciplining my mind to master the art of detachment and control over my senses.
I spent as many days as I could in complete silence, making mantras and nature, the goddess of the Ayurveda tradition that my biological ancestors are renowned in, my dearest friends.
But it was the experiences of life that truly taught me how to let go of all that is not pure or true. I openly share the profound transformations I have had, of overcoming eating disorders, betrayal, codependency, and all forms of abuse.
I have learned how to feel my feelings fully, and to let go of all that is not in service of the pure love that is our true nature and purpose to connect with. To grow beauty out of darkness, like how a lotus flower emerges from the mud.
And speaking of lotus flowers, I feel so grateful to have had the great honor of apprenticing with Padma Shri Daya Prakash Sinha. ‘Padma’ means “lotus flower,” and ‘Padma Shri’ is one of India’s highest civilian honors.
Daya Prakash Sinha, one of my beloved teachers, received a Padma Shri for his extraordinary Hindi plays, which have been studied by Ph(D) students worldwide.
Daya Prakash Sinha was a top ranked (now retired) government official in India. He carefully and lovingly imparted to me the violence of non-violence, and the power we all have to author our own life’s script.
He taught me about dictatorship, narcissism, and the potential we have to become what we seek. I learned from him that, to be a true spiritual person in this corrupt world, one must also be a warrior, to protect the purity of ancient wisdom teachings, have the courage and strength to speak the Truth that sets us all free, and follow the path of dharma: our greatest protection on the spiritual journey home.
Today, I lead my own organization, The Ancient Way, and SoulWisdom Press & PR. as part of it, to carry forward the mission of my educational and biological ancestors, using my own words, and with nothing but gratitude for all that I learned from teachers who taught me, through both darkness and light.
The word guru means “remover of darkness,” and awakening your inner guru is the sole purpose of a spiritual quest.
I continue to study and learn, because the more we learn of spirituality, the more we realize how much we do not know.
I invite you to join me, in whatever way calls to you, in igniting the fire of spiritual transformation to awaken your inner guru, and live in harmony with Mother Nature, so you, too, can continuously learn to lead, serve, and love with integrity.
And that we may, together, not only acknowledge, but deeply celebrate and reflect the light, power, and might of the radiant sun: a symbol of the Self in me, that is one and the same as that within you, and at the innermost core of all living beings.
OM TAT SAT - Truth is all there is
I bow to the eternal victory of the light of Truth over darkness.
May the light of the highest Truth set us all free.
~ Ananta Ripa Ajmera, Founder, SoulWisdom Press & PR