The Lineage
The first person known to attain final
liberation completed this transformation nearly forty thousand
years ago. She was called Adhinatha, First Master, first in the
line of spiritual masters to this day.
Lord Shivaji |
Of Adhinatha's disciples, two names
are known to us: Vishnu (a woman) and Shiva (a man), both of
whom attained the same state as Adhinatha, and through whom
the experience and teachings of Adhinatha have been preserved
and passed down. The receivers of this knowledge have, over
time, evolved into numerous branches of spiritual wisdom.
Lord Lakulisha |
Durga Ma's branch, which came to
be known several hundred years ago as Pashupat Shaivism, is
thought by most to have long since died out. However, an Immortal
by the name of Lakulisha, or Babaji, revealed himself to a man
in Gujarat, India, in the 1900s, in the foothills of the Himalayas
near Rishikesh.
Swami Kripalu |
This man was Swami Shri Shri Kripalvanandaji,
affectionately known to his disciples as Kripalu, “Giver
of Grace.” After passing through
its ups and downs and near dissolution, Pashupat Shaivism was
revived by Kripalu through the direct teachings of Lakulisha,
the twenty-eighth incarnation of Shiva.
Yogeshwar Muni |
As a descendent of the Shaivite branch
of the lineage of Adhinatha, Durga Ma has been charged to “bring
back the worship of the Goddess” by the Spiritual Master,
Yogeshwar Muni (Charles Burner), through whom she received the
complete teachings of Swami Kripalu.
Durga Ma |
Exactly what this meant to her, and
what she was being asked to do, were left to her to decipher
and to teach to sincere seekers who would benefit from her knowledge
and experience of shaktipat kundalini yoga Surrender
Meditation.
