“The empowered person is a role model to all beings.”

It is a total privilege to introduce you to this week’s guest on A Curious Yogi Podcast – the trailblazing Vedic spiritual teacher Acharya Shunya. I came across Shunyas book Sovereign Self at a bookstore in Delhi and couldn’t pick it up at the time, but I kept thinking about it – and I am so glad I did. After plowing through the 400 pages to“claim your inner joy and freedom with the empowering wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.”

 I knew I had to try to get her on the show. Much to my delight and surprise, Shunya was totally gracious in talking about that empowering wisdom and her own story, and she gives us so much tangible knowledge to apply and churn in our own practice. 

In our conversation, Shunya generously answers many of my personal questions and shares the teachings in such a potent and approachable way. I know there is something here for you, curious yogi. 

We touch on SO much in this illuminating talk. Here are just some of the highlights;

➖ 11:33  “I’m not only the first female lineage holder in my family history, but also the first divorcee. And I didn’t have a map to navigate what it means to have turbulent relationships when you come from a lineage that has perfect relationships.”

➖ 14:08 “This knowledge is sound. It can deliver a relaxed landscape, a clear landscape. It’s not theoretical pow-wow to give an effect – it truly is a living knowledge.” 

➖ 23:44  “The version of a yogini sitting on a stark rock meditating, these are suggestions. My rock is going to be my living room couch. And I am going to meditate and still have a 100% authentic experience. And I’m not going to compromise to pretend to be something I am not. So began my journey into true spirituality.”

➖ 35:02 “Ishvara is not a person, a thing, it is a supreme concept of universal being which can be anything – it’s magical.”

➖ 41:46 “Spiritual bypassing happens when we become only this or that. We do not have to only believing in oneness and letting that direct our behaviour. I think oneness has to direct has to direct our consciousness but our behaviour moment to moment has to be adaptive, yet authentic because it has to answer to that oneness one day.  It has to be both at the same time.”

➖ 47:55 “We had a century of teachers coming out of India teaching extreme peace or extreme passivity. And I do not agree with it. It’s a package. And I think it has weakened people. We have to be powerful in a dharmic way so our power is a friend to the whole world. Our power should project us  and give a very clear message to those who are lost or unconsciousness.”

➖ 53:55  “Just be who you are and try to apply the knowledge. If it starts making you more expansive from within, more powerful, effective rather, less giver of abuse and less taker of abuse, more of a peaceful warrior, you’ll know you’re in the right place.”

Acharya Shunya is a truth-teller, a mystic teacher, a trailblazing spiritual teacher and a bestselling author who facilitates bold authenticity, divine awareness, self-remembrance, and wisdom pathways to awakening within. As the first female head of her 2000-year-old Vedic lineage from India, Acharya Shunya’s open-hearted, inclusive nondual teachings reinterpret and re-contextualize ancient Hindu teachings and goddess legends for modern times, always honoring her progressive Vedic roots while breaking the shackles of tradition to bring modern-day women, an inclusive, feminist spirituality. In Roar Like a Goddess, Acharya Shunya empowers women everywhere to step into their divine immensity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives through her revolutionary revision of ancient India’s primary goddess archetypes. She is the Founder of The Awakened Self Foundation and the Not For Profit Vedika Global, Inc., organizations headquartered in northern California that empower, educate, and inspire a worldwide community of students through online courses, workshops, and retreats in alchemical Ayurveda, inner Yoga, universal Adwaita and trainings to Awaken the Inner Goddess.

Learn more at AcharyaShunya.com and AwakenedSelf.com 

Thanks for listening! 

With love,

Bobbi

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