What is the purpose of life?

I have talked to a lot of people (and shared my own experiences) about this question, “What is the purpose of life?” or more specifically, “What is the purpose of YOUR life?”

Unfortunately, I am thinking of people at this moment who are contemplating it while in the midst of an existential crisis. Yep. It’s a real thing… and I would be lying if I said it doesn’t happen to me from time to time. Unknown

Especially in spiritual circles. People grow and have spiritual awakenings and find their former surroundings different, or not in sync with their new reality. Relationships change and understandings about how our world operated before seem obsolete. 

It’s a real pickle sometimes.

We were taught how the world works and how to get along in it. Then, when suddenly we experience any kind of big change all bets are off. 

This can be really disconcerting. It is also a doorway into the potential of your True Self.

Truth (or whatever name you give to it) is unlimited. But our life has material form… not that it’s limited Absolutely, but it is created in response to how we design it. The reality is we use something like 4% of our actual power in doing that and the rest runs on autopilot without us even knowing it.

What could be possible if you enlisted 10, 20 or even 50% of your actual power consciously? I used to LOVE to talk about this with friends growing up.

Life has two purposes.

  1. Your Self-Realization/Enlightenment (everyone is doing this regardless if they are “conscious”, the only determinant of speed is an applied energy of conscious choice) 
  1. Your individual Life Purpose – There you have it. This is not something Hollywood made up, and we all have one. It is unique to you as an individual based on your specific gifts and skills. Your ability to cultivate it and align it in a way that brings you all the goodies life has to offer is related to (not determined by) and exponentially supported by #1.

I will leave #1 out of it for a moment and talk about life, cause that’s where most of our troubles start to show up and throw us off the tracks spinning into a cataclysmic spiral of self-defeat. Seriously, let’s be dramatic about it… life can get pretty rough sometimes and there is no useful purpose in denying it. If you are one of the minorities who has had smooth sailing, please do comment on this post because you are my hero and I love to know more about what that is like! (I am not being even the least bit sarcastic)

Last week I wrote about how our culture is not set up to support serious spiritual seekers. Our culture is also not set up to support the aims of life for all humans either. 


Unknown-2I hate being the bearer of bad news, but it is what it is. 

Fortunately, there are more and more outlying groups and individuals who are in the world with an understanding of this phenomenon and creating movements to expand awareness on how to live a different way, a “new” way. That’s so awesome, I applaud them! Hooray! Help for humanity is growing every day.

For me personally, I am more old school and scientific at heart (Imagining myself in a dusty library surrounded by books in wire-rimmed glasses wearing tweed), so I am grateful to have an amazing teacher who has given me the spiritual science that employs the principles many people are building these movements in relationship to. 

So in my own effort to join the cheer squad for awakening humanity, I like to share what I know to those of you in the thick of it or who are looking for another way in. 

This is an excerpt from Durga Ma’s book, The Yoga of Wealth

Ancient spiritual teachings mention four fundamental aims of life: (1) dharma, the knowledge and application of divine law, (2) prosperity and abundance, (3) enjoyment and pleasure, and (4) freedom, liberation from limitations of any kind, including rebirth.

These four aims constitute a sequence – when you master the art of living, you can attain and maintain wealth; with wealth, you can enjoy life and find some happiness; when you’ve had enough of all that, you become naturally drawn to seek freedom from the snares associated with trying to obtain ad maintain wealth and temporal happiness.

What I am pointing to is the first aim, dharma, the knowledge and application of divine law. Ours (whatever we have constructed as our own belief system) is missing some seriously important information. 

This is often where people start getting confused and triggered around the Unknown-3.jpegmisconceptions that overlap spirituality and religion, philosophy and science because the quantifiable tangent is challenging for the mind to grasp. Until you put the “laws” into action and experience the outcome.

Are you wondering what is divine law?

Great! I can’t wait to share it, but you will have to wait to read it until next week. This has to sink in first in order to really get the most out of it. But here is another short excerpt from The Yoga of Wealth to hold you over…

Another way of looking at the four aims of life expresses the direction in which life itself is aimed. The literal definition of the word God in Sanskrit, brahman, is “growth, evolution, increase, and expansion.” As an expression (that’s you) of the Divine, life itself is divine, and as such, has these same characteristics. Life will advance, and so will we. This is inevitable.

Life expresses its divinity as and through each of us to the degree that we live in alignment with the Divine, attain and maintain wealth, experience happiness and enjoyment, and find freedom. Not only are we most content when we do not resist the current of Life toward these aims, but we perform the highest service to the world through their fulfillment. This advancing movement in the relative realm of this world is a natural characteristic of the Divine; our endeavor to live in harmony with It is the highest service to all living beings. The payoff is our own prosperity, happiness and freedom.

Stay tuned for the principles that govern our alignment with Truth/Divine!

With love,


Enlightenment & Prosperity

fullsizeoutput_1905In a recent email, I boldly approached the topic of Enlightenment & Prosperity, an obvious and simultaneously unlikely combination. It was my intent to create inquiry… because I am shameless at inviting the conversation of how enlightenment is sustainable in a modern world.

By nature I am controversial, not because I want to cause harm, but because I am designed to create awareness and conscious awakening on this planet and arguably, I believe you are too.

So this is what came into my inbox in response to the rise of enlightenment as a multi-billion dollar industry (respectively under the titles of meditation, yoga, and mindfulness):


“Anandi, there’s an elephant in the room……if so called “enlightenment” leads to prosperity, why then are some so called enlightened beings (and I don’t subsribe to a done deal in this regard at all, as in FINISHED and now I’m enlightened sort of thinking) why are some “gurus” so poor/NOT very prosperous?……ya know?….I’m in mystery here……..not trying to stir the pot, just really flummoxed”

By all means… STIR THE POT!!! If we are truly interested in Truth, we have to be willing to communicate and start the conversation about the things we don’t understand (me included). So, thank you (you know who you are ;)!)

I will start by saying I am just as flummoxed as you are, and I totally agree! This is a tough question to respond to, but it is one worth having which is not only an elephant in the room… it is an elephant in spiritual communities everywhere. Let’s break it down, and expect that you may get triggered. Ours is a world where communication is the most challenging connection to remain clear within, so my apology and best efforts to do so.

1. Enlightened folks of the highest order have made choices that have given them the greatest prosperity(wealth) in the world, Truth.

2. That they are often poor and destitute is more a reflection of us, than their enlightenment.

3. We don’t value Truth, we value the dollar.

Ouch, I know. This is a really crappy way to look at it. If you have ever had a spiritual or enlightened experience you might understand that in a myriad of ways, all of which I could argue are valid, and eventually lead back to what I have already said.

So what is to be done? How does enlightenment create prosperity and vice versa?

It is one thing to have an enlightened experience, it is another altogether to live an enlightened life. This type of life, while idealized and altruistic is extremely difficult (not impossible) in modern times. While awakening/enlightened consciousness is gaining momentum and attention as profitable, it slowly gains value.

I promise this ends on a high hope note…

We now have organic foods, local products, permaculture, naturopaths, and a whole host Healthy-Lifestyleof outlying commerce that supports another way of living. The way of living that supports one on the journey to not just the concept of enlightenment and eventual knowing the Truth of who they are, but being able to sustainably LIVE aligned with that truth. The body and environment is just as much a part of this whole scheme as the mind. Our world is a reflection of the internal environment of her people.

Historically “guru’s” were found by disciples. More specifically, wealthy men. You had to give everything to your guru, which included your money, cows, and anything else of value. In exchange? You served your guru (sometimes as long as 12 years) before you were invited into initiation or being taught the mysteries.Shisya

Are you cringing?!? It’s pretty intense. No wonder people carry a lot of suspicions around about gurus (another topic). But let’s keep in mind this was a tradition, at a different time  (though people still pay thousands of dollars to sit with gurus) and in a different part of the world. I am not advocating or bashing this tradition- just putting it forth as a frame of reference.

This happened(s) in part of the world where people value spirituality and enlightenment and it is seen as customary and noble to give everything up and go into spiritual life.

These same people beg every day in the village for their food and survival (not only for themselves but for their guru). The most incredible part (for me) is how the villagers (householders) respond with excitement to give their food and money to these people. It is understood as an opportunity to relieve their karmic debt and a joy and honor to support people who are doing tapas (penance) which in turn, serves the villagers as well (since Yoga is based in the metaphysical fact that we are all One.)

I am not vying for Westerner’s to adopt Eastern traditions, as intrigued and inspired as I am by them. What I am saying is that

this is more about looking at how we define prosperity, and how we perceive value, in an attempt to satisfy our personal and collective desire for happiness.

This is a conversation to begin the dialogue about how we manifest our own enlightenment in our personal life, and align it with Western systems and conditions that already exist to shift the collective consciousness into a more sustainable system.

It’s not reinventing the wheel as much as improving it.

Ultimately Truth always wins and prosperity is delivered, but wouldn’t it be nice if it would also sustain our livelihood?

Since you made it to the end of my post, I have a special gift for you!

I’m offering a FREE LIVE 2-hour workshop online Saturday, October 13th @ 10am EST “3 steps for Manifesting Spiritual & Material Abundance.”

Maybe… it sounds campy, but trust me, it’s awesome! You can register here for FREE and decide for yourself 🙂

So grab your coffee or tea and join me, I look forward to connecting with you!



The Journey Begins

Welcome to the Spiritual Leadership Voyage, we are so glad to have you aboard!

This program is steeped in profound knowledge and wisdom that can change your life. Durga Ma wrote the contents of this program while she was attaining Liberation through meditation and spiritual study. It is a roadmap, derived from ancient eastern wisdom and translated for the modern Western seeker.

Durga Ma encourages us to seek the company of those who have what we seek or are on the path to achieving the same thing. The path can be long and oftentimes solitary, so it is with great excitement that this program has come to fruition at such a vital time when we are able to have guidance and support to step into the full expression of our individual spiritual leadership.

This program is intended not just for knowledge and practical guidance, but for support and integration of a budding community of evolving spiritual leaders that serve through their individual purposes to have a tremendous positive impact on the world and her people.

You are invited to commit to yourself and your progress, to be empowered and to empower one another to speak your truth with integrity and harmlessness, knowing that this is a community founded in sacred space to provide the safety of self-expression and exploration. Please take this commitment seriously, for it is essential to your growth.


