Where I come from

Growing up in the quiet West Country of the United Kingdom, I had many questions about life that seemingly few people could answer. Questions about the deeper mysteries of existence – where were we before birth, where do we go after death, who is God? – remained unanswered during my childhood.

Being surrounded by nature gave me the space to explore and develop a deep connection with the natural world. Living miles away from other children, the fields and forests became my playground – a place where I could wander, reflect, and spend long hours immersed in nature. Yet even this deep connection with nature was not enough. The mind still wanted to know and understand the deeper purpose of life.

The Inner Calling

Meeting my best friend Patricia, who was 84 years old when I was 17, was an unusual and meaningful friendship. She opened a door for me to explore this deep hunger to understand why we are here and what our true purpose in life might be.

Patricia was a rare human being that was not in the slightest frightened of death. She knew that she was much more than the body and was free to explore life without fear. Without fear her mind was much more open to asking the deeper questions about life.

With many of these questions still unanswered, I chose to study Biochemistry (1996) and later Neuroscience (2000) at Imperial College and University College London. Yet even after completing my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, the fundamental questions of who we are and who God is remained unanswered.

What is our true potential? What are human beings truly capable of? These questions led me into a ten-year journey of self-discovery through Tai Chi, Chi Gung, martial arts, yoga, and various healing modalities.

Meeting the Guru

Nevertheless, the deeper knowledge of who we truly are and who God is still eluded me. The strong inner pull to find answers eventually led me into the New Age tradition, which ultimately brought more confusion than clarity.

This search finally brought me to meeting my spiritual master, Paramahamsa Vishwananda, in 2006.

I met Sri Paramahamsa Vishwananda in Kentish town in North London.
My first and second darshans in London were filled with a lot of expectations from my side. After dropping my expectations, on the third meeting of Him, I experienced a love that was so profound it was undeniably God’s love.

Soon after meeting Him, a deep recognition arose that I had finally found what I had been searching for my whole life. Over time, deeper knowledge of the journey of the soul, the destination of life, and the true identity of God began to unfold.

Walking the Path

But knowing all of this then raised another question – what next? The answer was simple: time to share, time to teach, time to give back.

The twenty years I have spent with my spiritual master have been a time of experience, reflection, challenge, and growth, learning how to align with the deeper journey of life in order to attain the true aim of life.

To enter this spiritual path with Paramahamsa Vishwananda felt like the right thing to do, but nevertheless I still tested God to see if this was truly the path I was meant to follow — to become a monk in the Hindu tradition with Paramahamsa Vishwananda (Guruji). If I had to walk this path for the rest of my life, I had to be sure!

It was made very clear to me… this was the path that was shown to me, internally and outwardly. It felt perfect… but it took a little time for my mind to trust my heart.
On the day of my initiation as a monk (July 7th 2007), Paramahamsa Vishwananda invited me to come and live with Him in Germany — an invitation that would completely change the course of my life. This meant leaving my work, my friends, and my family behind, which was not that difficult.

Initially it felt a little unfamiliar living in an ashram. I had only ever visited one once before living in one! But I was very happy to be in the presence of Guruji and to learn from Him. It took me several months to organise leaving my job and other commitments before moving to Germany in October 2007.

There were many challenges whilst living in the first ashram in Germany… mostly the food — the cooking was not that good. The chef improved with time, thank God.
Guruji announced that eight Swamis would be initiated and that He would test them, but He did not tell us who He had chosen. Different tests were given: speaking on the spot to a room full of 100 people, being dedicated in one’s sadhana and daily prayers, diligently undertaking one’s duties, and so on.

To enter into the Hindu tradition was easy and not easy at the same time. On one side I was very intrigued and wanted to know all about the ceremonies and practices. Doing meditation and yoga was very natural… but chanting all these new mantras as part of the ceremonies was extremely difficult. I was eventually chosen to become a Swami and had to train to chant all these mantras. To be honest, I was pretty much the worst of the whole group, since the English language is so different from Sanskrit. It took a lot of practice to learn the mantras properly.

On June 13th 2008, Paramahamsa Vishwananda initiated me as a Swami — one on the path of self-mastery. Swami means master of oneself. So this is the path laid out before me in this life: to attain that state and knowledge of one’s true self.

In 2008 we moved to our new ashram, Shree Peetha Nilaya, since the old ashram, Steffenshoff, was simply too small. We could barely house all the guests and there was not enough space for everyone! Shree Peetha Nilaya was run down and needed a huge amount of work for five years before we could open it to the general public.

The five years of construction and preparation were vital in building a small but very committed group of community members who would take His mission forward. In 2013, Shree Peetha Nilaya was opened, and in 2018 the main temple was completed.

I got to serve Maha-Lakshmi in the main temple, which was a joy to behold! She gave me many experiences of Herself and helped in many ways to gain a deeper understanding of what happens in the service to the Deities. As the years progressed, I found myself becoming responsible for many of the departments at Shree Peetha Nilaya and eventually overseeing and working in nearly all of them.

Transformation

Transformation can happen in a single second… but I have to admit that for me it unfolded through many stages and moments.

For example, one night, feeling very angry and frustrated, I wondered why I had been working so hard day after day for weeks and months. When I sincerely asked within, “Why am I working so hard?”, the answer arose clearly from within: everything I was doing had one purpose – to help bring people to experience the Love of God.

It all made sense… and that clarity never left me. That is why I do what I do in my life — to help people experience the Love of God through the grace of my Satguru.

Serving from the Heart

My life is now dedicated to helping people experience what they have always longed for – to experience God’s love. To have a real and authentic experience of the Love of God that fundamentally transforms how you experience yourself and how you see the world.

Helping people understand a larger picture of life and guiding them towards a deeper knowledge and experience of themselves brings me no greater joy.

Living Devotion

This path is laid out through the approach of Bhakti Yoga.

It encompasses a wide variety of disciplines such as:

• Yoga and Meditation (Atma Kriya Yoga, Babaji Surya Namaskar, Project Mantra)
• Creative Arts (Music – Kirtan & Bhajans, Sacred Art, Dance)
• Knowledge – study and understanding of the Scriptures (Guru Gita, Bhagavad Gita, Shreemad Bhagavatam)
• Rituals (Hindu rituals and Sanskrit chanting)
• 5 Elements Retreat – harmonising and healing the imbalances of the elements that affect the body and the mind.

All of these help one to heal and rediscover that incredible inner joy and connection with the Divine. Through this journey, one comes to realise that life itself is a journey of love and a sharing of that love with God, who dwells within the heart of all beings.

A Personal Welcome

After living for many years at Shree Peetha Nilaya Ashram in Germany — the main headquarters of Paramahamsa Vishwananda’s international mission, Bhakti Marga — the time finally came in 2024 to return to the United Kingdom and share what I have learned in the country of my birth.

Today I am living at Shrinivasa Ashram in Sible Headingham. Serving in the temple, taking care of the Deities, welcoming visitors from all walks of life, supporting the many temple celebrations throughout the year, teaching, and travelling to different cities and places across the country.

Wherever I may be — at the Ashram or on one of my journeys — again and again I discover that I am not the only one who has asked these questions about God and the purpose of life — the same questions that began my own journey as a child growing up in the countryside of England.

If your own journey has brought you to ask these questions about life, about God, or about your deeper purpose, then perhaps our paths will meet somewhere along the way. It would be my joy to share what I have learned over these years on the path and to walk a small part of that journey together.

Curious to learn more?

Find more information about my home at Srinivasa Temple here or write an e-mail to: anashuya@bhaktimarga.co.uk

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