Testimonials
Alka is a bright, dynamic, and engaging teacher whose subject matter—based on her lifetime in the close company of her father, Swami Shyam—is unparallelled. Swamiiji’s unprecedented ability to express the inexpressible through songs, writings, satsangs, and his brilliant renditions of many scriptures has been the focus of her life. Alka has an uncanny ability to make you feel that you are right there in the room with Swami ji as, with great love and humour, he blows open all one’s conditioned, bound understanding. Any opportunity to take a class with her is a rare privilege that is not to be missed.
Leslie Anderson – MD FRCP
Alka is a great light-awakener, and her brightness and enthusiasm lift you so that you can experience and express that light. She listens fully to your expression and gives great feedback that fosters your confidence and enlightens your being.
Amarnath – A Devotee of Swami Shyam For Forty Years
Not only does Alka sing Swami ji’s songs beautifully, she also expresses the meanings of those songs in a comprehensive, lyrical way. She communicates the subtlest aspect of Swami ji’s graceful poetry in a clear and coherent manner.
Ellen Reitman – Photographer, Canada
I have been inspired by Alka’s dedication to her teaching. She has imbibed Swamiji’s knowledge and her wish is only to live the knowledge of her own Self as pure, free, forever, and to share that knowledge with all her friends. I have taken her meditation and chanting classes, and the fervour with which she teaches conveys her understanding and grasp of the subject matter. Her life is a life of dedication to the highest knowledge. Swami ji would always say that if you don’t capture time, time will capture you; Alka is a master of capturing time.
Daniel Chernin – Board of Directors of IMI
It is great to be able to appreciate Alka and her classes, which I have been attending since I was lucky enough to meet Swami ji in 1980, a time when I first heard the beautiful songs with brilliant meanings that were just pouring out of him. Since then I have studied, with Alka, not only Swami ji’s songs but also his Research Findings, and many of his commentaries on India’s most important philosophical and scriptural works—a number of which I’ve had the honour and privilege of editing for publication. Through all this, as I have grown, I have watched Alka develop and grow into a brilliant communicator and interpreter of the highest awareness, who now teaches freely and spontaneously from her own realization of what Swamiji has given her.
Susan Cowan – Author
Alka is an expert guide to the wisdom of the Vedic scriptures. Her sessions are enriched with the experience, the answers, and the profound range of knowledge she received from her time with Swami Shyam, her Guru and father. She is lively, deep, and captivating in all her expression.
Catheine Polischuk – Honorary Doctor of Meditation
I have been fortunate enough to study with Alka for many years. Her classes are a unique and direct experience of one’s true Self. Alka’s depth of wisdom, her celestial voice, and her ability to communicate purely and clearly are a testament to Swami Shyam’s legacy. One feels enriched and enlightened through her knowledge and radiant presence.
Kristin Jarden – Meditation and Vedant Philosophy Teacher
I have thoroughly enjoyed taking classes with Alka for many years. She has a wonderful grasp of all the different subjects I have studied with her, from the Bhagavad Gita to Patanjali Yog Sutras, the Upanishads, satsangs, and Swami Shyam’s Hindi songs. Alka has a great power of communication and expression, she obviously loves her topic, and she is always engaging and encouraging with her students. Not only have I learned a great deal from all her classes, but in each and every session one gets the direct experience of the Pure Space, the Aatma Darshan, the ever-free Self. That is the unique brilliance of her courses. I highly recommend anyone to take classes with her. Not only is she knowledgeable and wise beyond her years, but she is delightful as well!
Philippa Jarden – Doctor of Meditation
I have studied with Alka for many decades, and without doubt she is an exceptional, outstanding teacher. She is steeped in the timeless knowledge of Vedant Philosophy, songs of the Pure Space, and satsang. Great communicators give the direct experience of what they know, and Alka’s presence and words of wisdom carry the direct experience of what she lives, enabling the listeners to imbibe this precious knowledge as their own. Having had an enlightened being as her father and Guru, Alka has lived her whole life with an innate and infectious sense of pure delight. The combination of intrinsic joy and insightful knowledge makes Alka a teacher who is truly unique and extraordinary.
Robyn Jarden – Teacher of Meditation, Praanayam, and Vedant Philosophy
I have had the pleasure of taking classes with Alka for many years. With her warmth and lively teaching style, she is able to convey the depth of every subject in a wonderfully approachable way. And she has certainly mastered her subject matter!
Arlene Kezwer – Author of Baking: Easy, Elegant & Eggless
For decades now, I have taken Alka’s classes on Swami ji’s songs, his commentaries on the Upanishads, and his Hindi Research Findings. When Alka teaches Swami ji’s songs and shares the subtle nuances of his poetry, I feel I am sitting right with him. Alka has diligently transcribed and translated the many personal sessions in which Swami ji revealed to her the hidden meaning of the Upanishads, and she has directly absorbed and shared those revolutionary insights. Alka’s joy and sense of humour and her deep understanding of Swami ji’s teachings make learning with her a delightful discovery. I would highly recommend whatever she offers you on this website. The inspiring revelations will be endless.
Shaarda – Chairperson, Department of Philosophy, I.M.I.
It is very rare to be able to call an enlightened being your father. I met Alka ji when she was just eleven years old, and I have watched the unfoldment of her highest awareness, in close association with Swami ji, throughout all the years since then. Her love has always been for that knowledge which can bring peace and happiness in a person’s life. Not only did Alka imbibe Swami ji’s teachings, but through her meditation those teachings become her own knowledge. She is able to convey this knowledge in lively, dynamic, and joyful talks which convey a depth and insight that is rare to find.