WHO IS MATAJI SHIVĀ?

“I have dedicated my entire life to the spiritual path and to those who sincerely seek the Truth, and I have received from the Universe everything I need for this mission.

You too can receive everything if you surrender your heart…”.

Mataji Shivā

“I left wealth behind to find God and put myself in His hands, receiving His Grace.”

Mataji Shivā

Maria Letizia Bencini, born on September 21, 1961 in Livorno, Italy, known internationally as Mataji Shivā, renounced all the comforts and security offered to her by her wealthy and powerful Tuscan family when she came of age in 1979. Her family wished for their only daughter to marry and remain in the high Italian society. However, following a strong inner impulse, Mataji left everything behind and decided to dedicate herself to a profound spiritual quest.

Far from her family, she began working and supporting herself financially, and with great determination, completed the prestigious Classical High School (Liceo Classico) with high grades. Finally, once her secondary education was completed, she felt free to follow the calling of her heart.

“At the age of 20, Shiva appeared in my life in the human form of my beloved Guru, Mahavatar Babaji, and my heart recognized Him immediately.”

Mataji Shivā

Desperate in her search for a true answer from Shiva, she challenged Him to manifest Himself. She decides to climb barefoot and without luggage to the summit of Annapurna in the Himalayas, ready to die on the eternal ice if Shiva did not intervene in some way to save her life. 

Finally, after miraculously surviving this experience and other extreme adventures, Shiva revealed Himself in the form of her Guru, the famous Master Mahavatar Babaji, Shri Shri 1008 Haidakhan Wale Baba. Under His guidance and protection, He led her through an intense process of radical, quick, and definitive inner destruction, leading to her rebirth on the path of consciousness and granting her the grace of spiritual realization.  

Later, Babaji initiated her into the celebration of pre-Vedic sacred fire rituals as a pujarini of the dhuni, introducing her to the knowledge and spiritual practice of Yoga. 

After spending the initial years in Babaji's ashram in Haidakhan, and once Babaji left his physical body, Mataji lived many more years in India in complete austerity. She traveled as a hermit nun, wearing the orange robes of a renunciate, from the northern Himalayas to the southern tip of India, constantly dedicated to yogic practice.  

She lived a deeply spiritual life in isolated and unpopulated places, in the jungle, on beaches and deserted islands, solely in close contact with wildlife. For years, she embarked on adventurous pilgrimages to the most sacred places of India’s traditions.

Mataji received her spiritual name, Shivā, in 1993 directly from Shri Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma, at her ashram in Kerala, South India. Later, her students and chelas began calling her Mā Shivā Mayī, and affectionately simply Mataji, which means "mother."

“I have delved deeply into the Science of Yoga and prepared myself academically to serve others responsibly with true spiritual and scientific knowledge.”

Mataji Shivā

After spending 16 years mostly in India, deepening and practicing the spiritual teachings of Yoga and sharing them with her first chelas, Mataji began to spread these teachings in America as well, traveling between Europe and the New World. She dedicated the following years to completing her education with academic studies, graduating with a degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florence, Italy, earning a PhD with honors in Indovedic Psychology from Yorker International University, based in Pisa, Italy, and obtaining a diploma in Counseling from C.S.B., also in Pisa.

“I have dedicated my entire life to the spiritual path and to those who sincerely seek the Truth, and I have received from the Universe everything I need for this mission...”

Mataji Shivā

In 1998, Mataji began her travels in the United States of America, and in 2001, she created the Spiritual Master Program to impart her vast knowledge on Yoga, neuroscience, and quantum physics. Starting in 2002, she began traveling to Latin America to share her teachings. However, it was from 2015 onwards that she did so consistently and systematically, first in Costa Rica and then in other Latin American countries. In 2017, she founded the Haidakhandi Dharma Ashram in Costa Rica, which started as a small urban spiritual center where her students and other spiritual seekers from around the world started to gather and practice her teachings and the path of Yoga freely.

It is here that the foundations of the international movement UNA REVOLUCIÓN DE CONSCIENCIA begin to solidify, which, using digital media, transcends American borders and is dedicated to preparing humanity for a brighter new era.
 
In addition to the immense spiritual content she shares through her courses, lectures, retreats, podcasts, social media, and spiritual gatherings (satsangs), Mataji has written two books in Italian: Giocando con Dio, Autobiografia di una Yogini, which won the Anfiosso Speciale Giubileo Award in 2000 for being the best spiritual work, and Una Rivoluzione di Coscienza, Scienza e Spiritualità dello Yoga, a significant monograph on the true and original Yoga. This book is a comprehensive collection of profound knowledge transmitted by India's ancient literature, written in a lively, modern, and accessible language for everyone.  

SPIRITUAL LINEAGE

MAHAVATAR
BABAJI

“I appear in many forms but it is best that I appear in your Heart. This is where I am always. This is where I speak to you. This is where you speak to me.”

BABAJI

Who is Mahavatar Babaji? He is the Shiva Mahavatar Babaji referred to in the classic book "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI" written by Paramahansa Yogananda, a book that is considered a classic nowadays.

Mahavatar means "Divine manifestation in a human body that was not born of a woman," and Mahavatar Babaji has continuously manifested in a Divine body here on Earth since the beginning of creation to help humanity.

Babaji Himself used to say: “I am Bhole Baba, the Simple Father. I am Nobody and Nothing. I am only like a mirror in which you can see yourself. I am in your every breath. I live in everybody’s heart . My name is Maha Prabhuji, the Supreme Lord. I have come to give, only to give.”

Babaji, also known as Shri Shri 1008 Haidakhan Wale Baba, chose to settle in Kumaon, India, at the foot of the Himalayas, a place that has been the birthplace of many prominent saints.  

In 1970, Babaji made His appearance in a sacred cave in Haidakhan, in the body of a young man of about 20 years old. Several people saw Him simultaneously in different forms and places, thus experiencing His Divine Power. In September of that same year, He demonstrated His yogic powers by ascending to the summit of Adi Kailash and sitting in a yogic posture for 45 consecutive days without eating or sleeping.

During the fourteen years of His last manifestation, He built a beautiful ashram and nine temples on the banks of the Gautami Ganga River. Babaji taught the importance of living in Truth, Simplicity, and Love, and promoted the practice of japa (repetition of mantras) and Karma Yoga (selfless action offered to the Divine), the latter being His main teaching for the current era.

Although He left His physical form in 1984, He continues to be present, guiding His devotees and ashrams worldwide through His inspiration, inner guidance, and love. In His honor, many spiritual centers and ashrams have been established around the world. 

Babaji, the manifestation of Lord Shiva, emphasized the constant repetition of the Maha Mantra, the Supreme Mantra, Om Namah Shivaya, which elevates our trust, devotion, and spiritual realization.

Babaji taught by example, through life experiences and practice rather than words. He spoke little. Some of His words are transcribed below.