In this episode, Marydale Ma speaks with Srimathi Kannan about her spiritual journey—from a childhood immersed in music, faith, and Hindu tradition in South India to a life devoted to Kriya Yoga, seva, and devotional art. Srimathi shares how family, education, service, and initiation into Kriya shaped her path, as well as her experience translating the teachings of the lineage into Tamil. This conversation reflects on surrender, faith, discipline, and the quiet ways devotion unfolds through daily life.
About Our Guest
Srimathi Kannan was born into a traditional Tamil family in South India and raised with a rich foundation in culture, music, and spirituality. With degrees in business, accounting, and marketing research, she built a diverse professional career before her lifelong pull toward Kriya Yoga came to the forefront.
Initiated at age 30, Srimathi has since served the global Kriya community through study groups, transcriptions, and center development in Kuwait, Muscat, Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge. She now supports Mountain Region coordination and is a founding board member of the Kriya Sadhana Institute of Canada.
A classical Bharatanatyam dancer, Carnatic vocalist, and veena player, she brings devotion and discipline to everything she does. She remains deeply dedicated to translating Guruji’s books into Tamil and credits all her service to the grace of God, the Masters, and beloved Guruji.
Episode Transcript
Marydale Ma:
Om Pranams and welcome to each and every one of you on this beautiful blessed day. We’re so delighted that you’ve chosen to take time to tune in to our wonderful Living in Joy podcast. And just like all the rest of the podcasts that we have done so far, this one will prove to be a gem.
But before we get started and I introduce you to our beautiful guest, let’s take a moment to come into our own center by first of all making sure that you’re comfortable. And if you haven’t already, please silence your phone.
And then if it’s appropriate for you—hopefully you’re not driving—but if you feel like it, go ahead and close your eyes and just begin to tune into your breath.
Notice that the breath is moving with ease in and out through your nose.
And recognize on this day that you are being breathed.
That God is breathing into you and through you.
And feel that as your truth.
As your breath brings the quiet rhythm of Spirit, settling, softening, and opening you.
Father, Mother, Beloved Lord, our dear Divine Gurudev Hariharanandaji, our beloved Guruji Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, to our Paramguru Paramahamsa Yogananda, and to the entire lineage of Kriya masters through all time, we bow to you humbly with gratitude for opening this moment to us, to be in your presence and to share the beauty and the magnificence of life as spiritual beings traveling this path together.
Thank you for your grace and we dedicate this time to you, beloved ones. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Shanti. Om Shanti. Om Shanti.
Amen.
Beautiful. Thank you for that.
And now it’s my great pleasure to welcome Srimathi. It is a real joy to have you with us today. Namaste.
Srimathi:
Thank you, Ma. It is so wonderful to be here with you today.
Marydale Ma:
Well, I know I share with every single person listening today the delight that your biography has brought to us. You have been very busy since you stepped foot on this planet, doing things that are remarkable.
And it would be my pleasure to get a bird’s-eye view of what your life might have been like as a young girl in Tamil Nadu, and perhaps even let us know the feeling that you had in your home with all the music and art and everything else going on.
Srimathi:
Yeah, I was born in Tamil Nadu in a place called Tirunelveli. So it is in South Tamil Nadu. I was born in a traditional Brahmin family, and we had a lot of religious traditions and spiritual traditions, which I imbibed right from the beginning. My parents were a great influence on me regarding that.
And then I did my schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalaya. That is a school which teaches a lot of Hindu spiritual traditions. It was formed by Swami Chinmayananda and affiliated with Chinmaya Mission. So it was wonderful being in that setup as a school-going kid.
And as a child, I had the opportunity to attend a lot of Bhagavad Gita sessions. I learned Bhagavad Gita, and I participated in inter-school activities. And later on, I got the opportunity to participate in a lot of Hindu religious programs, and many spiritual personalities visited our place. So I had the opportunity to be in their presence.
Marydale Ma:
Well, that sounds like a fantastic place to grow up, and the influence not only of your immediate family, but your community sounds like it was remarkably strong and certainly drenched in a lot of tradition, especially the Hindu tradition.
As you consider that, how did that shape your life going forward, from being there to being called to Kriya Yoga?
Srimathi:
I should say it taught me a lot of things because my parents and we lived as a joint family with my grandmother. She was a very strong lady and had a great influence on my life. She taught me so many things in life that going forward, it was really easy for me.
And then I did my undergraduate at the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. That is where I first read Autobiography of a Yogi.
Marydale Ma:
Well, before we go further, it sounds like your grandmother was very influential. Since we are working through the Women’s Ministry, I think all of us would like to know some of those gems that you attribute to your grandmother teaching you.
Srimathi:
That would be an interesting story, because my grandmother was widowed at around 50 years of age. And my aunt, who was deaf and could not speak, lived with my grandmother.
Even when my father was transferred, they lived alone, and she took care of so many things happening around them. She was quite a presence. Everyone used to look up to her for advice. She was a very strong lady, and that influenced me quite a bit.
Marydale Ma:
It sounds like she gave you confidence moving forward in your young life. What a treasure that is.
You had built a successful career in business and marketing before coming into Kriya again. Can you share the moment when you first felt the unmistakable call of the Divine within you?
Srimathi:
I would say it happened gradually. As a child, I was always attracted to Lord Krishna. I had a separate altar in my room apart from the family altar.
During summer holidays, my friends and I used to portray Ramayana and Mahabharata stories for our families and neighbors.
Later, when I joined The Hindu newspaper in marketing, I was involved in education outreach. I used to go to schools and explain how the newspaper could be used in education. Reading articles written by children quietly shaped my journey.
Marydale Ma:
So you think reading Autobiography of a Yogi, combined with your grandmother’s influence and being around others, helped shape your spiritual journey?
Srimathi:
Yes, of course. And a major part was my time at Sathya Sai Institute, where our very first course was the summer course on Indian culture and spirituality.
We attended lectures by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and our days started with yoga and suprabhatam prayers, and evenings had bhajans. It was a regimented lifestyle with value-based education.
Marydale Ma:
What a rich opportunity. That’s a huge blessing.
So that led you, when you were 30, to be initiated into Kriya. What was that experience like for you?
Srimathi:
From age 17, when I first read Autobiography of a Yogi, I was longing for Kriya Yoga but didn’t know where to go. When we moved to Sarnia, Canada, my cousin in Denver enrolled me unexpectedly in an initiation program. I was initiated by Yogacharya Bhadran Baba.
It was a surprise, but it was wonderful. My cousin became my guru-bhai. I could feel the grace of God and Gurus flowing through me, purifying my system. I could feel Gurudev’s presence.
Marydale Ma:
What a wonderful story. From that day of initiation, how did it transform your understanding of yourself and your life?
Srimathi:
I was always spiritual, but this deepened my understanding. Surrender and faith became central. My meditation deepened over time.
Marydale Ma:
You were always anchored in seva and service across many cultures. What have you learned from that?
Srimathi:
Seva and sadhana are like the two wings of a bird. Without one, the other is incomplete. That understanding came from my Sathya Sai Institute days.
Marydale Ma:
How do you balance worldly duties with your spiritual practice?
Srimathi:
I give priority to my spiritual path, allot time for meditation and scripture, and also fulfill my duties as a householder.
Marydale Ma:
You’ve also become an accomplished musician and dancer. How does that artistry play into your spiritual life?
Srimathi:
I learned Carnatic music from age eight, veena later, and Bharatanatyam at age 37. These arts are devotional. When I sing, I feel the Lord in front of me and within me.
Marydale Ma:
That devotion also led you to translating Guruji’s works into Tamil. How did that begin?
Srimathi:
In 2019, I met Guruji in Balighai. He gave me permission to translate his works. I started with smaller books. My team is international. We have translated the Living and Giving series, Kriya Yoga, and other books.
Marydale Ma:
How has Guruji’s presence shaped your life?
Srimathi:
His words are mantra to me. Even in small matters, he guides me. Once he answered a thought I hadn’t spoken. He reads me like a book.
Marydale Ma:
As a woman, what wisdom would you offer others on the spiritual path?
Srimathi:
Explore with an open heart. Be patient. No two spiritual paths are the same.
Marydale Ma:
How would you describe the differences between Yoganandaji, Gurudev, and Guruji?
Srimathi:
They teach the same truth in different ways. Guruji has simplified and made the teachings more accessible.
Marydale Ma:
If you could leave our listeners with a blessing, what would it be?
Srimathi:
Watch your thoughts—they become words.
Watch your words—they become actions.
Watch your actions—they become habits.
Watch your habits—they become character.
Marydale Ma:
Wonderful. Bravo. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. And now we’re going to reflect back on your journey from the young girl who is immersed in music and faith to a devoted servant of the masters of the Kriya lineage.
And what brings you your deepest joy?
Srimathi:
It is talking about Kriya Yoga. It is telling everyone and being with people to make them understand how our Guruji, how our Gurudev, how they have brought spirituality into our lives and how meditation has deepened our experiences.
I love talking about that to everyone here. So that is what I would say.
Marydale Ma:
So you are truly living in joy. You’re the perfect example for our podcast.
And we thank you so, so very much, Srimathi, for your luminous presence and for sharing so openly from your heart. Your life reminds us that devotion takes many forms—prayer, service, art, and every single small act that you do, which are so, so many.
And to our listeners, may our beautiful guest’s journey awaken something beautiful within you. Let her story remind you that when we follow the call of the soul, grace meets us at every step.
If this conversation has inspired you, please join our growing circle by subscribing to Living in Joy on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
We’d love it if you could share your reflections, because your voice and your presence help us to move into the light together.
And before I leave you, I’d just like to share some words from Yogananda. He wrote in Whispers from Eternity:
“I sing a hymn unuttered by any other voice.
To Thee, O Spirit, I give no intellectual, premeditated, and disciplined aria—only the untutored strains of my heart.
For Thee, no hothouse flowers watered by careful emotions,
only rare wild blossoms that grow spontaneously on the highest tracks of my soul.”
With humility and joy, we close in remembrance of You, beloved Lord, Masters, and to each and every one of you. May your life continue to open in joy.
We look forward to seeing you again soon. God bless you. Om Shanti. Om Shanti. Om Shanti.
Amen.
