Reflections, memories, and offerings in honor of my beloved Guruji, Om Maa Shree Nandini Maa.
My Guru
By Parbatee Maa
Om Chaitanyam Saashvatam Shaantam Vyomaateetam Niranjanam
Naad Bindu Kalaateetam Tasmai Shree Guruve Namah
Translation:
The one who is verily consciousness-incarnate, eternal, ever peaceful, beyond even the ether, blemish less, beyond all sound, beyond all measurement, beyond all time, we offer our salutations unto such a Guru.
Alternate translation:
Prostrations to the Guru who is eternal, peaceful, unattached, full of light and knowledge, beyond the stages of Nada, Bindu and Kala, and who transcends even the ether.
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Welcome
In the presence of a true Guru, the heart begins to remember its own light. This page is offered as a quiet doorway into that remembrance — honoring Om Maa Shree Nandini Maa, whose grace continues to ripple through every moment of this life. These photos and reflections are shared with reverence, not as biography, but as glimpses of transmission. May they meet you where you are, and gently open what is ready to bloom.
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✦ Meeting My Guru
I met Shree Nandini Maa at a Guru Purnima celebration in 2003. Finally, I had met someone who understood me — someone who could hear my experiences, recognize what I was speaking about, and offer guidance. She was the first to tell me, “You’re not crazy. Something good is happening within you.”
Just one week later, my husband passed away. It was sudden, and yet strangely, I remained calm. His unexpected heart attack was a shock, but somehow, I felt held by an inner strength I didn’t know I had.
Over the years, I followed Maa’s advice on meditation, and my inner experiences began to shift. Divine encounters unfolded. Some were beautiful, some puzzling. At times, the path felt difficult — but there was no turning back. I had to keep going.
In those early years, Maa would visit about once a year. I didn’t spend much time with her until the final two years before she left her body. Yet whenever I sat in her presence, my eyes would close naturally, and I would enter meditation. The knowledge came from within. She didn’t need to say much — her company itself was divine.
She answered our questions with clarity, and I often found myself asking unexpected, perhaps strange questions — stirred by the internal changes I couldn’t explain. In 2006, I had the opportunity to visit her ashram near Surat in Gujarat, India. It was a peaceful place, full of good company. There were two siddha guru murtis at the ashram: Nithyananda Baba of Ganeshpuri and Swami Muktananda. I assumed this was her lineage. Later, Maa would say, “There is no lineage — the Shakti takes you over.”
Maa preferred privacy and did not gather large crowds in the USA. Her goal was simple and profound: to help you go within and find the truth. She was, to me, a true Satguru.
Several times, she instructed me to go out and give people meditation. I didn’t feel ready. I didn’t think I was capable. But then… the bliss came.
She left her body in 2011. And now, I have finally taken up her request — to help you go within, so you too can find the truth, find the bliss… or find your bliss.
Swami Muktananda once said: When a true Guru and a true disciple meet, enormous Shakti is generated. My first meeting with Shree Nandini Maa was — for lack of better words — most electrifying.
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⚠️ Very Important
It is very important to have a Satguru when Kundalini Shakti / Holy Spirit is fully awakened within you.
There can be difficulties, and Guru can help in the management of this intense divine force — the evolutionary energy of the soul.
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✦ Words of Guruji
I do not have any books written by her, but here is something she said that continues to resonate with me:
“We live our lives, we do our work in this world and we take care of our duties. But we should also do something good so that our soul is satisfied, our soul is content and we can be peaceful. Whatever we do (for others), (in reality) we do for ourselves and not really for others.”
“If we start thinking that we have done something great for someone or that we have done someone a big favor, then whatever (good) it is we have done, that action diminishes in its stature. Our own aptitude for, and attitude to, work becomes small.” — Shree Nandini Maa
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On the Spiritual Path ॐ
“A person should go deep and search within himself, or herself. No one can be goaded down this path by someone else telling him, or her to do so. The person needs to do it by himself, or herself. Even Paramatma (Supreme Soul of God) will only assist you if you truly have the desire to know Paramatma. If you think that you are greater than the Paramatma, then Paramatma may be small but he is big as well. The proof of this is the atom bomb. It has tiny particles within it but when they all come together, the resulting explosion is immense. Similarly, God may appear to be tiny, small, and puny but the reality is that God is indeed everything. So, externally you may live as a householder — you should make your life good, give rise to a good society — but internally, at least, you should do something for yourself. Don’t do it for me — do it for your own self.”
“Firstly, the biggest issue is that people are not able to understand spirituality (Maa uses the word Adhyaatma). For the few people who have cultivated a desire to know more about spirituality, I would say: do not lose this desire — you will definitely attain something. It is not the case that you will not find anything. So, cultivate and grow this desire to know — do not lose it. Man is unable to understand Adhyaatma. He has become worldly and so enmeshed in himself and his social life that he does not know that whatever he is searching for — peace, love, fulfillment of desires — already exists within him.”
“Whatever it is that you have to do, you have to do it for yourself. You may think that there is no use cultivating spirituality — you did not find happiness even when you were searching for it. You have gotten lost in notions such as these. You need to put aside all such things and search within yourself. You are bound to find something.”
“A person might say: what will I find inside of me? A person will find peace, prosperity, and love only inside his own self. It is only inside that he can experience Paramatma. A person can only experience Paramatma outside (external to his own self) once he has experienced Paramatma within.” — Shree Nandini Maa
Guru Om
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A Devotee’s Testament to Shree Nandini Maa ॐ
The following description of Shree Nandini Maa was written by one of her followers and translated from Hindi by Ashish Chandra. It is shared here as a testament to the love and reverence she inspired.
A million prostrations to that moment When your form appeared on this earth For the infinite that long for God’s love A beautiful dream was fulfilled
From the snow-covered Himalayas to the lowest firmament, there is hardly a place where men and women would not feel pulled towards Shree Maa…
Verily, Shree Maa’s darshan is like the darshan of the mighty Himalayas — both are storehouses of immeasurably precious treasures. Like the holy mount Kailasha and the mysteries of Mansarovar, her presence reveals purity, dispassion, simplicity, and truthfulness. The holy river Ganga flows automatically from Shree Maa’s body in the form of divine knowledge, bathing those present in her company and making them worthy of God Realization.
Shree Maa is fondly called Nandini Maa by her devotees and disciples. The root cause of this universe, Om, resonates within her at all times. She is the mother of the universe, Maa, and the abode of all that is auspicious, Shree.
The ever-compassionate Maa rushes to her children as soon as they call upon her. Divine love is her only philosophy. Gentle winds always flow from Shree Maa, laden with her love, bringing salving rains to humanity suffering from worldly miseries.
In Sanatan Dharma, it is said that when Paramatma enters a physical body, that form becomes a walking temple of God. Such beings are Satgurus. Shree Maa is a Satguru. Her very remembrance induces meditation, her breath vibrates with Guru Om, and her presence uplifts all beings.
Shree Maa’s personality is an infinite ocean — impossible to capture fully. From her breath, divine music emanates; from her presence, bliss and liberation flow. She is a God-realized being, a thousand-petal lotus blossoming in dark times, countering suffering with love, truth, and divine bliss.
In her life and words, we find answers to the problems of the world and the path of Sadhana. Her silence, her mudras, her simple words — all carry the message of the Vedas. She has come among us as if to say: “Arise, awake — a new life is awaiting you.”
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✦ Explore More
For those who wish to journey further into the presence and teachings of Guruji, here are related offerings:
- Visit to Maa’s Ashram (2006) A reflection on the peaceful visit to Surat, Gujarat, and the lineage of Siddha Gurus.
- Guru Purnima Celebrating the sacred day of honoring the Guru, with memories of darshan and transmission.
- Tips on Walking with a Satguru Gentle guidance for seekers navigating the path with awakened Shakti and the presence of a true Guru.
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✦ Closing Blessing
May the grace of Om Maa Shree Nandini Maa ripple through your heart as you read these words and behold these images. May her presence remind you of the truth already alive within you — the peace, the bliss, the love that is your own essence.
Guru Om
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