Episode Transcript

Speaker 1: Namaste, everyone, I hope you're feeling relaxed, safe, easy, and grounded. This episode is not a typical usual episode on the podcast. In this audio, in this episode, I'm going to be explaining, introducing, and taking you through the Goddess Rising Program. This episode will be for those who are interested and curious to know more about the Goddess Rising. In case you are not interested in listening to the Goddess Rising Program, absolutely, feel free to skip it.

We launched the Goddess Rising Program this week, and I've been receiving your questions and I felt it would make much more sense to just sort of explain the context of the program through this audio. And if this audio gets a bit longer, you may go to LeelaGurukul.com, and there's also a video that I uploaded with very quick, straightforward explanation of the Goddess Rising Program. The audio tends to get a bit deeper and a bit longer, but that's the nature of it. I know many of you connect to that in-depth explanation. So this one is going to be the much deeper expansive introduction to the program.

And before I talk about the technical aspects, the modules of the program, I do want to share some of the interesting background context of my journey, my relationship with the goddesses. And forgive me if some of this information seems repetitive because many students who don't know about my background, they'll be listening to this for the first time. So I do want to start from the scratch and explain the relevance of the Leela, the Goddess Rising Program and all of that good stuff.

So many of you know I do come from a lineage of the Tantra teachers and gurus. They never told me, "You should be meditating, honoring the goddesses because this is what we do. This is how you should be doing." It all happened very organically, and it happened organically because it started at an age where I was not even supposed to be studying this work. I don't have a memory of my life when I was not inclined or attracted to the Tantra world. I've shared this before, that my school teachers would find Tantra books in my school bag. And in school I was a shy, introvert, under-confident boy. And each time I would meditate, I would find the courage, the freedom, the confidence. And that was my only and the biggest motivation to meditate every single day.

I'm not sure how I started sitting in the meditation. Perhaps that's just one of the things you learn and observe growing up in India, but also growing up in a family of gurus and teachers. And each time I went through anger, confusion, anxiety. I remember closing my eyes, sitting in meditation, doing the mantra and coming out of it feeling much more clear, calmer, stronger. And that just kick-started my journey. But this was happening until I was in fifth grade or so. Still little baby Chandresh if you want to call, but that was still a very super young childhood experience.

But something happened around that time, which sort of changed everything about how I showed up for the goddesses. I believe I have not shared this publicly ever, but I do want to share it today with the hope that it gives you more context about the source of the Goddess Rising. And this audio is not a sales pitch, not to convince you to join the program. It's only a for those who are curious to know more about the flow of Goddess Rising and why it came into the picture and how it will change your life.

So around the time I was in fifth grade, one day I was flying a kite on my terrace in India, and something happened. I kept the kite. Just like that. I just left it. I ran downstairs to the kitchen where my father, my mother, my grandma, they were all there. And I told them, "Get out of kitchen. The pressure cooker is going to burst." My mother was cooking, and she said, "You know nothing about the cooking. Get out of here. Let me do my work in peace." And they were expecting me to follow that. But I did something that day for the first time and the last time. I pushed each one of them out of kitchen, closed both the doors. And as they were about to yell at me, a huge blast happened. The pressure cooker bursted in that tiny kitchen. The boiling water was all over the kitchen. Utensils were all over. The sound was so loud that even the neighbors came to the house.

And everyone started taking their own guesses. What happened? How did it happen? And my father asked me to go to the altar, the home temple. I went there. He said, "Sit down, relax, and tell me what happened. How did you know? Did someone tell you what was going on?" And I remember telling him that there was a voice in my ears, a strong female voice. That's what I told him at that point. And today, I can tell you it wasn't a typical female voice, but it felt a feminine voice. It wasn't even a voice telling me. It was a feeling, but that feeling was clear, almost like an abstract, un-describable energy speaking to my ears. And I just followed that instruction. There were no words, no language, just that energy passed on to me, and I acted on it.

And he was impressed. And something happened that day. My relationship with my father changed forever. It changed for good. I became more of his student and he became more of my guru. He didn't declared anything formally, but he started taking me to the Tantra temples with him. And this is a few months later, we went to a very powerful Tantric Shiva temple, and we were supposed to be there for four days. Again, my mother was there, my Nani was there, my sister was there. And I woke up one morning, early morning, and I said, "Let's leave this town." And it wasn't a nearby town. That was, I think, minimum of 10 to 12 hours of drive by road. And I said, "We have to leave." And everybody was like, "We just reached here yesterday. We can't leave." And I said, "The whole town is going to be flooded." And everybody thought I'm just making up a story because I don't want to be there in that temple. And I kept on saying, "We should leave."

And somehow, my father, I believe, was convinced that I'm not making up something. And he decided to leave with everyone. We all left. And guess what happened? As we were leaving, the rain was becoming stronger and stronger. And I remember at one point my parents told the driver to stop somewhere for the tea. And he said, "If we stop for even 10 minutes, we'll be stuck here for God knows how long." And the floods became officially one of the worst in that particular state, even nationally. It was a national news. And one of my father's good student and friend, he was even arranging a helicopter in those days to find us because the cell phones didn't exist. So he started getting worried because he called the hotel and they said, "They left already." So this was the horrific level intensity of the flood.

But these incidents sort of made my teacher believe in my intuition. I was too young to even understand what was going on. So what was happening with me informally started becoming more and more official, started finding a more organized space. And again, I was not told to sit formally, to do this and that. I was just invited more and more to play. I was not told to follow a certain norm or ritual. I was still allowed and encouraged to connect to the Devi space in my own way. I do remember asking my teacher that when I sit across the Devi image, I find it very tough to connect to her because who am I? A random teenager. And here is Maa Kali, so infinite, powerful. And he said, "Does it feel that uncomfortable for you to connect with your mother or your Nani?" I said, "Not at all. I mean, I get to throw all the tantrums to my Nani, definitely my Nani, and of course to my mother."

And he said, "That's what I want you to do through all your tantrums to Maa Kali, to show up in your complete raw energy. Don't pretend to be something that you're not." It took me years to fully dive into that advice, and I'm still trying, still going for it. And this is what I encourage you also, right, all the time to do it. But the point is, even before I understood human relations, my relationship to the goddesses was more prominent.

And perhaps this is one of the reasons why I feel so strong about honoring and protecting the Devi energy. In the Tantra traditions, the role of Hanuman, monkey god, the role of Shiva, the role of Krishna is to protect, honor and love the goddesses around them, the female energy, the feminine energy around them. And a part of me always feels so connected and related to the role of Shiva, Hanuman and Krishna because I feel that I think that my role in this life is to show up in that protective space for the feminine energy. Because it takes a lot to piss me off, but I've often found myself becoming angry, uneasy, and taking it very personally when someone messes with the feminine energy. I find it very hard to control the emotion, although it's one of my assignments to myself, to channel that anger in a more creative outlet.

And this is the reason why I always kept this relationship with the Devi energy so hidden, so private, because it always felt so personal. Imagine a relationship that started even before I understood other relations. It has to be so personal, right? It has to feel that private. And I am a very private person at the heart center. So why I decided to suddenly talk about the goddesses? Because each one of you who reach out to me, you started reaching out for a very clear reason. And that reason was the goddess energy. My inboxes, my emails, my conversations with everyone, even with strangers, it organically would move into the divine feminine. My friendships, my relationships, my connection to the feminine, organically, it would transmute into that sacred feminine space. And believe it or not, I lived in confusion, uneasiness over this dynamic that I always shared with the divine feminine until I started embracing, honoring and showing up for that space. And everything has changed in my life after I started stepping in for this role.

In fact, before I started sharing Goddess Rising, before I started recording the Goddess Rising, I was very confident about how my life was looking like and feeling like. And I truly felt this is it. This is a great space. I'm feeling content, great, perfectly aligned with everything. And after I started the Goddess Rising, a lot of my illusions and delusions, which I didn't know exist, they started collapsing. But not for a minute, not for a moment, I wanted to change that. As these illusions were collapsing, I was coopering, I was trusting because these were the illusions, these were the elements I knew I had hidden them under the carpet maybe 13 years ago, maybe 16 years ago or even longer. And I was hoping this is it. I mean, they're gone, they're buried, but they were not.

And the universe kind of validated and approved the Goddess Rising in a way that I was not even expecting. I was reaching out to the Leela team members, everyone who assisted, supported in making this program happen. I was sharing with them, "What do you think of this module? What do you think of this?" I was speaking to plenty of women to make sure the program is honoring them in a very safe and loving space. And as I started recording each module and everything started dismantling and collapsing in my own space, that became the most powerful testimonial. And at this point, I'm 101 percent confident.

And I'm telling you in this complete confidence that this is it. This is the program you need to dismantle your illusions, to get rid of your conditioning, to let go of that trauma, fear, suppression and step into your courage, step into your freedom, step into your playfulness. And I'll be channeling the energy of Shiva, Kali, Hanuman and Krishna to hold that safe space for you. And one thing I feel so grateful in my entire career of more than 13 years now, no one has questioned why a man is talking about divine feminine or why is he qualified to talk about it? I felt one percent doubtful about it before the Goddess Rising. What if someone ask about it, and what do I answer? Because it's such a vulnerable relationship I share. How do I put that into words? And even that doubt, that one percent doubt, started feeling so wrong because I realized that doubt is coming from the whole collective noise out there. And I had to come back to my heart and feel that trust, feel that strength that has always empowered me to empower the divine feminine.

And I hope with this program, more and more men show up to hold that safe and loving space for the feminine and more and more women show up to hold that powerful space for themselves and for others as well. Now, I want to talk about how, technically, with modules, with the chapters, this program is going to change your life. The program is divided into a few modules, and each module has advanced Tantric meditation. And all of the meditations are Tantric. The whole program is based on the Tantra. So Tantra is something you will begin from day one until the last day and beyond.

The first module, the first chapter is about the roots of the Devi consciousness. In the roots, we talk about how the patriarchy was trying to destroy the fears, the wild goddess energy, how the goddesses, especially Goddess Kali, she was branded as a demonic goddess, and her temples were built in the cremation grounds, in the places where the trash of the city was collected. And the caste system was so big and relevant in India in those days, and she was branded as the goddess of the untouchables, the lower caste and so on. But ultimately, Goddess Kali became the goddess of the most powerful men, powerful people, powerful seekers, and of course the goddess of the misfits. And this is all shared in the root, the root of the goddess energy. The more you dive into the roots of it, the more you realize, although it happened thousands of years ago, it's still unfortunately relevant to our journey. Still we are suppressed. Still we are branded as the unconventional misfit when we claim that power, that wild, fierce energy in us.

The next module is about relevance of the Tantra goddesses. In this module, we talk about how the wild, fierce Tantric goddess was branded as a demonic goddess, and they were replaced with the more domesticated version of the goddesses where they were brainwashed and forced to serve the patriarchy, to serve a certain set of society. But the more you understand the relevance, the more you understand the key attributes of the Tantra goddesses and how the women were reduced as objects in the monasteries, temples and how the relevance of them kept on becoming more and more stronger with more Tantric energy stepping in, that is the foundation of the relevance of the goddesses.

And this chapter was created with one clear intention, that you could be working in Wall Street or you could be a CPA or you could be working in any profession, belonging to any religion, any culture. You should still be able to find a certain relevance with the Tantric goddesses. And my hope is with this particular module, you find that liberation and freedom from all the notions, preconceived conceptions, ideas, narratives about the Tantric goddesses, and you step into the essentials, the essential steps to reclaim your power. And that's what the module four, next module is all about.

In this module, we talk about mind, body, and awareness, the three essentials to understand in the Goddess Rising world how the mind limits you through the lens of identity, information, and memory, how the energy of the body, the sexual energy, emotional energy, also the external energy affecting the body, how that tames and limits your Goddess Rising. And finally, understanding of your consciousness, the chetna, the awareness, the mantras, the sadhana, the alter set-up, the meditation, all of that together.

Once you understand the three essentials, we move on to the next and super important milestone of the Goddess Rising Program. And that is the transmutation of your energy, be it anger, be it sexual energy, be it emotional energy. Tantra is all about transmutation, and Goddess Rising cannot be completed or even discussed if we do not step into the transmutation of its entire flow. Transmutation is all about transcending and channeling our energies to a higher outlet. Transmutation invites the new identity, it creates the foundation for the 2.0 version that we always talk about in Leela. And you will be given the worksheets. You'll be supported by me, by two of our very strong mentors and teachers in Leela, Margot, and Alexius.

And we want to make sure no matter what happens, you show up for the transmutation, and you effortlessly and lovingly and playfully learn to transmute and transcend. Once this milestone is done, the journey changes. It's like moving to a different planet from here onward because the next module is about learning and planting the intention. Intention is the conscious desire of your soul. And in this module we sort of connect the two bridges, the bridge of all of the stuff we learned so far about the roots, about the essentials, about transmutation, and we connected to the sankalpa, the intention. This is where you question what are you tolerating? What would your life look like if you let particular aspect of it just go, dissolve it? How would it feel to step into your power? How would it feel to unlearn and undo the conditioning? We work with you in this module to plant your intention, to go deeper into your intention and grow through it, bloom through it.

And right after you plant your intention and reimagine it, revisit it, we move on to the next module, which is the Goddess Durga module. Now begins an altogether new journey. It's like a movie where, like in Bollywood movies, there's a story happening before the interval point, and then after the interval, everything goes through a new adventure. It's supposed to be the more exciting part of the movie. And that's what happens in this program. From here onward, everything is moving into a new dimension because now we are connecting and diving into the goddess energies on a very specific level, number one being Goddess Durga. In this module, we talk about the balanced energy of Goddess Durga, why she's relevant, what's her story, what elements she represent, who is it for? Why is Goddess Durga always seen with a lion? When you look up Goddess Durga, there are many names for her. Which one is the right form? What does she symbolize? What rituals can we do to honor and live with the Goddess Durga energy? How can we channel her energy in a practical, accessible way?

Believe it or not, Goddess Durga is going to be the most relevant Tantric energy in the coming years. She's the energy that is for so many of the Leela listeners, and they may not know it yet, because she represents the grace, the elegance, the beauty. But also there is the lion that she's not unleashing yet, but she releases him when she needs to bring that fire. So that's where her magic is so, so powerful. And of course, there is an advanced Tantric meditation as you step into the Goddess Durga energy.

The next module after Goddess Durga will be about Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance. But in Goddess Rising, we also talk about the Tantric forms of Goddess Lakshmi, which is Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari, Goddess Shri Vidya and we talk about how to practically live with the conscious abundance, manifest it, nurture it. What are the key elements of Goddess Lakshmi? What roles of her have evolved over time? What's the Tantric perspective around the Lakshmi energy? How could you manifest her energy of abundance into your day-to-day work? How would you invite her into your meditation and why she is so amazingly powerful for the seekers who are aiming and intending to live a life of spiritual abundance and material growth.

After Goddess Lakshmi, we move on to Goddess Saraswati. And of course, in Goddess Rising, we talk about the Tantric form of Goddess Saraswati. Who is Goddess Matangi. We dive into her various elements. How can a seeker connect with Goddess Saraswati within their creative courage? What role she plays in the spiritual and emotional growth of seekers, how does she represent creativity and expression for the seekers? How to work with her, what exactly is a good timeframe to work with her? Is there a particular mantra to work with her? Everything about tapping into your creative courage is covered into Goddess Saraswati. With my one-on-one students, I invite in Goddess Saraswati energy when they need to tap into something related to their creative expression, throat chakra. And in Goddess Rising, we fully and deeply touch into her energy. Of course, there is advanced meditation with all of these deities and goddesses.

After Goddess Saraswati, we move on to Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali, as we all know, she's a favorite of Leela universe, favorite of many of you. And Goddess Kali, of course, it's a powerful, complex, wonderful, deeper topic to cover. And in this module, I have shared various aspects of Goddess Kali, her relationship with the divine feminine, her origin, her source energy. Why are people afraid of her? We discuss the Tantric perspective on why certain teachers don't want to work with her or why some seekers desperately wants to work with her. What's the extreme energy polarity with her? Why is she so uniquely looking in her pictures, why there's blood and skulls there? And yet, there are so many other aspects of Maa Kali that portrays her as the most compassionate mother.

One thing I can tell you, Kali, the name means space, infinity. And goddess Kali's not at all how she looks and appears on the Google images or in your books and various other online platforms. She's much more deeper, expansive and infinite than that. And that's what we cover in the Goddess Kali module. Each module gives you a very powerful, deeper respect of how to work with these goddesses in a way that is super practical, fun, playful. And in this module, we invite in the Yoni Shakti, the Yoni worshiping and how to actually work with the right mantras for it.

And the final module of the Goddess Rising is about Shiva. Shiva is known as the founder of Tantra, the ultimate teacher. And in the Goddess Rising, we invite the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva, which is the masculine and the feminine blend of Shiva. We invite this particular form so that deep inside us, we balance the feminine and the masculine. Deep inside us, we balance the fire and the water. The Shiva energy is of the healer energy. Any seeker who aspires to be a healer, a teacher, a yogi, a Tantric, that is the Shiva energy you need. And we conclude the Goddess Rising with Shiva energy so that it all balances down in the most powerful way.

But this is not it. Few more surprises. We have a bonus talk in the Leela universe in the Goddess Rising Program about the 10 prime goddesses of Tantra, also known as the Dus Mahavidya, which means that 10 big goddesses. In this audio, in the Dus Mahavidya audio, we talk about the various aspects, introduction to one of the most advanced topic in Tantra. And this was recorded as a bonus talk because the kind of seekers that Leela attracts are always so curious, ambitious, and they want to go as deep as possible. So the [foreig module was created in the end to give you a deeper outlook into the Tantric world of the goddesses.

Of course, there is a specific meditation that you get for your intention setting, you get for Maa Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Shiva. But at the conclusion of the program, you get one concluding Tantric meditation, and that is for lifetime. It's the kind of meditation my teachers go for. It's the kind of meditation I aspire to go into and have recorded that longer meditation for the seekers who are willing and ready to tap into the most healing aspects of their journey.

By the end of the program, each student gets their prime mantra from me as well. The ones who are already working with me, of course, they have the mantra, but the new ones, the new seekers, the beginners, they get the prime mantra. And prime mantra is the seed mantra that you can meditate on for the rest of your life. Goddess Rising is not designed as an online program where I talk at you and throw things at you and it doesn't matter what you do with it. It's an interactive experience. The reason why all the previous cohorts have been so loved and successful, because we know story of each student. They grow with us, we grow with them. We know their challenges. We know their vulnerability. We know where they want to feel safe, and we make sure we provide that environment. This is what makes Leela programs full of safety, love, warmth and playfulness.

And I feel the responsibility and the fun and the growth has only escalated with Goddess Rising. It's the kind of program I wish I had access to when I was going through my own Tantric journey and experience, and it's certainly for those who are ready to experience the divine awakening of the goddess within, who are ready to live with freedom, courage, and playfulness. When you go to LeelaGurukul.com and go to the Goddess Rising page, it's all explained in different words there, but the signup is kept really simple and easy and fun. You simply hit on the Buy Now option, and you join the program. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us through Instagram or through an email. If you wish to speak to a team member and you have more and more questions, feel free to let us know, and we'll be with you. And if you have listened to this audio until this point, I'm thankful, grateful, and sending you lots of love, warmth, and hugs. See you in the Goddess Rising. Be well.

Useful Links

Chandresh's YouTube Channel

Goddess Rising Program

Private Guidance Program with Chandresh

Buy the book - Break the Norms

Instagram: @cbmeditates