Autobiography of a Yogini: A Black Woman's Love Affair with her Guru

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGINI is the story of the author’s spiritual transformation and mystical and tempestuous 7-year relationship with one of the world's most renowned gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “I wasn't raised to become a devotee or follower. I was a black, single mother who was raised by a black, single mother. Education had been my path to enlightenment, pulling me up out of a chaotic childhood. With a psychology degree from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, I spent 20 years in the ashram of higher education. Although I had studied God, I was completely unprepared for contacting God the way I did through this famous and powerful spiritual leader and world figure who has over twenty million followers. Intellectual pursuits became irrelevant as I was consumed by an extraordinary relationship with a man who could read my mind and make his thoughts my own. Unbelievable spiritual powers opened within me. I became able to see, hear, and connect to the Divine at will. The unveiling of these powers was a continual source of surprise to me, as they expanded my consciousness of this world. But all of this transcendence occurred against a backdrop of heartache. Although he and I were living out this ancient love inside one of the largest spiritual organizations in the world, we were also just a man and a woman.”