A disciple of H H Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, India, and a student of Raja Choudhury of A Thousand Suns Academy, Tara was born into a spiritual family on the cosmopolitan island of Trinidad, West Indies as part of the Indian Diaspora.
Her father gave her the name Usha [Dawn] and her grandmother gave her the name Tara [Star]. Today, Tara Maa strives to live the essence of her names – to be a light guiding individuals to heal self so they can discover the light that they are – to bring peace and harmony, healing, love and light into their little piece of their world.
Tara was a young leader full of joy who had self-confidence and the ability to overcome challenges. She loved to dance and laugh, and, had the opportunity to be in gatherings as sacred scriptures were discussed.
Then at the age of 13, her family moved to Canada, where, as an immigrant teenager in small town Manitoba, Tara lost her identity, joy, self-confidence and sense of belonging.
Oblivious of how these losses and challenges impacted her, Tara got an education, got married, found employment and had a family. Later, after 22 years of marriage, her husband commented that she was always angry and scowling. This became the catalyst to begin the process of awakening to re-discover her true identity and transform this dissatisfaction with life into feeling joyous, empowered and at peace in the roles she fulfilled in her family, professionally in her work and spiritually in the context of the international community.
Trusting in the divine plan as it was revealed to her, Tara went to Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India for three months in 2001. A few days after being at the Ashram, H H Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji offered to be her guru and this journey with the divine went into high gear. Tara uses coaching, Focusing, ecstatic dance, breath work, yoga and meditation for her own healing and transformation. She travels to India regularly to meet and learn from her spiritual master, many mystics and spiritual leaders; and, continue to serve and share love and blessings as a Spiritual Life Coach and Retreat Facilitator.
On this mystical journey of life, Tara is aware of her own inner divine power – her inner Shakti – her Kundalini; and, with a dedicated commitment to her sadhana / spiritual practice, she was shown the relationship between the ego-self and the divine Self to re-discover her true identity, and ultimately, embody the joy, essence, full expression and radiance of the Divine Shakti.
Having the courage to explore her fears and insecurities, Tara mastered transforming challenges and crises into opportunities to explore, accept and embrace all that she is. Today, Tara Maa dances with the Divine, experiences ecstatic states and mysticism of Oneness with all of creation, and lives the joy and freedom of being in and accepting the moment as it is in all the various relationships with herself, others and the environment. From her divine self, Tara Maa lives a balance of a material and spiritual life in all the roles she plays with her family, friends and associates.
From these deep transformations and trust in the divine, came the ability to guide strong individuals who want to move through their sadness, anger, insecurities and fears to live spirituality in each moment in all the roles they play at home, work and leisure; discover their true self and explore their full potential. With the grace of her guru and learnings from her teachers, Tara developed a signature system to empower individuals to awaken their inner eternal divine self to be and live their best in all of their various relationships with self, others and the environment.
In her capacity as sevak at Parmarth Niketan Ashram www.parmarth.org , Tara Maa manages the Yoga Program, facilitates retreats with fellow visiting teachers, responds to individuals seeking guidance. As the Project Coordinator for Culture, Diversity and Interfaith Harmony for IHRF – Canada https://ihrf.com/, she organizes and facilitates meditations and satsangs, and represents Sanatan Dharma at Interfaith Gatherings as well as facilitates retreats for Divine Shakti Foundation https://divineshaktifoundation.org/. In Manitoba, Canada, Tara Maa offers New Moon Healing Energized Meditations sessions, Full Moon Ecstatic Healing Dance sessions providing opportunities for the community to gather in satsang, as well hosts ShantiLotus Healing Retreats.. She uses Ecstatic Healing Dance, SOMA Breath® https://www.somabreath.com/#a-aid=TaraMaa , Kundalini Shakti Vidya, Satsangs, and Meditations to guide and empower individuals to release all that is no longer serving them, heal that which needs to be healed, create relationships with all that they are and access their inner eternal divine self for vitality, joy, knowledge, wisdom, freedom and intuition. Tara volunteers at Klinic Health Centre https://klinic.mb.ca/ as a Welcome Volunteer and at the Assiniboine Park Conservancy https://www.assiniboinepark.ca/ as a Leaf and Zoo Ambassador. Additionally, she contributes to the Indo-Canadian Telegram [a community newspaper serving the Indo-Canadian population, focusing on local events, culture, and news relevant to India and Canada] regularly on various topics of how to live spirituality in daily life.