Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I have to live a sattvic lifestyle to practice Kriya?
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Follow brahmacharya
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Eat Sattvic / vegetarian
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Be sober?
No. Our perspective is that practice comes first.
Many traditions encourage these disciplines, and we respect them deeply. However, we do not require them in order to begin practicing. In our experience, sincere practice naturally transforms a person over time.
As consciousness expands and sensitivity increases, habits that once felt enjoyable often begin to lose their appeal. You become more aware of how different foods, substances, relationships, and behaviors affect your energy, clarity, and inner state. Change arises through direct experience rather than force or obligation.
If you wait until you are "ready" to practice, you may never begin. Practice itself is what prepares you. Shakti gradually purifies the body, mind, emotions, and nervous system according to each person's capacity.
For those who feel called to a more traditional yogic lifestyle, we are happy to offer guidance regarding sattvic living, brahmacharya, diet, and other classical disciplines. These approaches can deepen practice, but they are not prerequisites for beginning.
2. Do you offer initiation?
No. We do not offer initiation.
Our perspective is that authentic spiritual development arises through sincere practice, devotion, self-inquiry, and direct experience. While initiation holds importance within many traditions, it is not part of our offering. Shakti is already alive within you. The teachings and techniques themselves are universal, and every sincere seeker has the capacity to awaken through dedicated practice.
We strive to share these teachings as openly as possible, minimizing unnecessary gatekeeping while creating structures that naturally support commitment, consistency, and accountability. Rather than encouraging dependence on an external authority, we emphasize practice as a means of awakening the inner Guru—buddhi, the higher spiritual intelligence that exists within all beings.
Ultimately, practice itself becomes the filter. Those who are sincere naturally deepen their commitment and continue on the path, while those who are not generally move on. In this way, the teachings remain available to all, while individual effort, discipline, and readiness determine how far one progresses.
3. Are you a Guru? I’m looking for an authentic Guru to learn Kriya Yoga.
No, I am not a Guru.
Traditionally, a Guru is someone who has attained complete realization and is capable of dispelling spiritual ignorance entirely. I do not make that claim. Like every sincere practitioner, I continue to work through my karma, deepen my practice, and learn through direct experience.
Our approach at Art of Shakti is somewhat different from what many people expect. Rather than positioning ourselves as an authority to be followed, we aim to meet practitioners where they are and provide practical guidance, structure, community, and support for sincere spiritual practice within the realities of modern life.
While I hold deep respect for the Guru-disciple tradition and the great masters who have preserved these teachings, I also believe there is a danger in becoming overly dependent on personalities, institutions, or spiritual identities. The purpose of authentic practice is not to create followers, but to awaken direct experience, discernment, and inner wisdom.
Much of my perspective has been influenced by the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, who emphasized the importance of discovering truth directly rather than accepting it secondhand through another person. Ultimately, no teacher, lineage, or organization can do the work for you. Practice must become your own.
If you are looking for a traditional Guru-disciple relationship, our approach may not be what you are seeking. If, however, you are looking for sincere practice, honest exploration, and support in cultivating your own direct relationship with the Divine, you may find a home here.
4. Have you personally received initiation into Kriya Yoga?
No. I had the opportunity to receive initiation and chose not to.
At the time, it did not feel aligned with my understanding of authentic spiritual practice, so I continued with the technique, the sadhana, and direct experience instead.
As Paramahansa Yogananda observed, in Kali Yuga spiritual rituals can easily become external performances, losing their deeper transformative purpose. For me, sincere practice, devotion, and inner transformation have always felt more important than ceremony for its own sake.
5. What is your connection to Sri M?
Sri M is a teacher whose work I deeply respect and resonate with. My husband and I had the privilege of meeting him in person and receiving his blessings (see the photo on our About page).
I find many parallels within his story. Like Sri M, I was raised within a Muslim family and experienced unusual spiritual and mystical experiences from a young age. Over time, those experiences led me toward a deeper exploration of spirituality and ultimately back to Sanatana Dharma, Vedanta, and Kriya Sadhana.
I continue to study Sri M's teachings, read his books, and draw inspiration from his example of integrating spiritual practice into everyday life. His wisdom has had a meaningful influence on my own path and continues to inform aspects of the work we share through Art of Shakti.
6. What is your connection to Mahavatar Babaji?
My connection to Babaji is based on direct inner experience. You are free to believe it, question it, or disregard it entirely. I am not sharing it to gain authority, status, or credibility. It is simply part of my spiritual journey.
When I first began practicing Kriya Yoga, I was told that sincere practice during Brahma Muhurta—the sacred hours before sunrise—naturally attracts the guidance of Himalayan Masters. I did not think much of it at the time. About a year into consistent practice, I began having occasional visions of different masters in meditation. After several years, Babaji started appearing repeatedly in my inner awareness.
At first, I was confused. I knew very little about him and had not developed any particular devotion toward him. Yet his presence continued to arise during practice. Eventually I picked up a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi. As I read it, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion and unable to stop crying.
My response was not excitement, but humility. I saw my own shortcomings clearly. I questioned why such experiences would come to someone who was still working through karma, conditioning, and personal limitations. Yet the presence remained.
Over time, I came to understand these experiences not as something that made me special, but as an invitation to deepen my practice, devotion, and service. Babaji's influence has become a quiet but significant part of my spiritual life, and his presence continues to inspire much of the work we share through Art of Shakti.