People who wish to expedite the process of receiving diksha are urged to volunteer to help with work (online or in person) of the Soma Matha Center. As a person offers service, they meet with small obstacles. This helps prepare a person to be equipped to face larger challenges that arise once a person has received initiation. A student’s ability to follow instructions and the way that they respond to the inner inner obstacles arising from spiritual practice are best tested and honed through seva (service).   

There are many opportunities to volunteer, depending upon one’s knowledge and skills. We need help responding to communications online, creating social media posts, editing and formatting texts and teachings, and fund raising. Students are welcome to offer whatever useful skills they have to help facilitate our teachings and services. Local students can schedule with us to help with lawn work, animal care, and cleaning and preparing for pujas.

It is not necessary to be physically present to receive diksha. Diksha can be received virtually via zoom call. Diksha is typically scheduled for an auspicious day and given along with some form of puja or homa ceremony. Many disciples like to be physically present either at the time of receiving diksha or after the completion of purashcharanam. In this case, it is possible for a student to receive purnabhishekam directly from Swamiji - which is a ritual in which blessings are conferred by pouring consecrated water over the head of the disciple.  

After diksha it is typical for students to perform purashcharanam (an intense period of practice designed to help activate the power of the practice after receiving initiation). Purashcharanam requirements may vary depending on the type of initiation, but typically lasts for at least 41 days. Specific instructions will be given to a person when receiving diksha. After this, it is the duty of the student to regularly perform the practice they have received initiation for. They should not discuss their practice with others. After receiving diksha, a person is a formal disciple. They should strive toward a high level of proficiency in their practice of yama and niyama and help create a good reputation for the Shukla Bhadra Sampradaya (lineage). In Addition, students should remain energetically connected by receiving ongoing teachings and blessings and by continuing seva (service) and danam (donation) as they are able. 

After you request diksha, Swamiji will determine when you are ready to receive the initiation you have requested. Sometimes when requesting initiation, people are given tasks to accomplish to prepare themselves, or simply requested to wait. 

Initiation qualifies a person to do the practice with Swamiji’s blessing. It does not qualify a person to teach or to give initiations. Only an awakened teacher can confer empowerments. We require that people receiving initiation do the practice humbly for the peace of the world and for their own spiritual upliftment. Initiates should not make a display of their practice or discuss the teachings or their experiences with others.  

Everyone’s experience is different. It is not abnormal when starting practice after initiation to experience a quickening of the karmas. Some people experience small obstacles or setback which help to remove greater future potential troubles. After initiation we must strive humbly to see everything as the Lord’s will and not to get upset, but to rise to the occasion to receive the grace which helps us remove our karmas. Only when we humbly face our inner thoughts and emotions, will it be possible for expansion of spiritual awareness.   

You receive the spiritual blessing which authorizes you to do the practice.

Yes, we require that aspirants seeking diksha strive diligently to better their practice of the yamas and niyamas (including maintaining a vegetarian diet). We do not expect perfection, but we do expect sincere self-evaluation and ongoing efforts to better one’s practice of yama and niyama. This is necessary for a person to put the philosophy into practice. And it is necessary for a student to be able to make progress in their practice. After receiving diksha, a person receives a lot of grace from the guru, but they also potentially open themselves up to great troubles or dangers if they do not practice in the right ways. It is very important that a student have not only an intellectual understanding of the process, but also practical experience, which is developed by practicing the yamas and noyamas over time as a person faces challenges.  

Typically it is not advisable to seek diksha if you have connections to other teachers or lineages. Receiving diksha binds you energetically to a guru and lineage. In many cases, receiving diksha from two sources can be counter productive, as it can tend to pull a person out of the inner accomplishments gained through a connection to the first lineage. In rare cases, a person who has connections to other lineages may feel called to seek diksha from Swamiji also. If you are feeling such a calling, please seek the permission of your guru to request diksha first. Only with your guru’s express permission, will Swamiji even consider providing diksha to people already connected to other lineages. Further questions about this could be emailed to info@somamatha.org    

It is necessary to have an intellectual understanding of the process of spiritual awakening for a student to have sustained progress in their practice. It is necessary not only to have an intellectual understanding, but also some practical knowledge of the process. An intellectual understanding is gained by receiving teachings. A practical understanding is accomplished by practicing the yamas and niyamas and by offering seva (volunteering). Spiritual learning is different than typical education. In other forms of education, we introduce knowledge into the mind. In spiritual learning, we must do the opposite: remove delusions, attachments, and false notions from the mind. The ego nature, however, instinctively opposes the process of spiritual awakening as it works to preserve its own identity. It is necessary to work hard over time, with awareness of the process, to overcome the bonds of egoism. A guru can explain the process and empower the practice, but a student must do the work to derive a benefit from practice.    

No. Mantra empowerment is given by Swamiji as a blessing. It is not the same as initiation. Mantra empowerment adds a little spiritual energy to your practice of that mantra, for increased balance, health, happiness, and success in life. Initiation is only given to serious students after months of preparation. Initiation helps to begin the process of effacing the ego and coming into realization of the Divine Atman. Receiving a mantra empowerment does not make a person a formal disciple of Swamiji, receiving diksha / initiation does.   

Diksha is the Sanskrit word for spiritual initiation. Initiation is a blessing given by a teacher which consecrates a person and makes them eligible to do a spiritual practice. Initiation from a guru empowers a practice. Without initiation, it is generally not possible for spiritual practices to yield their true results or benefits. Initiation can only be given by an awakened teacher. In certain cases, disciples of a teacher may be trained and ordained to provide diksha on behalf of that teacher. Receiving diksha establishes a formal connection and commitment to a Swamiji and the Shuklabhadra Sampradaya lineage.  

A person is eligible to seek initiation after they have received Ganapati Mantra empowerment and completed our 24-week student primer course. Students seeking initiation should be practicing the 20 yamas and niyamas taught in the primer course and they should be offering some service to the Soma Matha Center.