Kośi Biography
Evolution of a Modern Mystic
“The name Kośi means surrender—merging with the vast ocean of invisible silent light—Śūnyatā!”
Over twenty-five years ago, a radical shift in consciousness began to take root in November 1997 when Kośi received a shaktipat-diksha initiation from Swami Chidvilasananda, better known as Gurumayi, in Palm Springs California. Gurumayi, the successor of her guru Baba Muktananda, who founded Siddha Yoga Meditation in 1975 at an ashram he established in Oakland California, which is the Saraswati Sannyasin (renunciate) lineage of the famous avatar and guru of Muktananda, Sri Nityananda of Ganeshpuri India. The shaktipat-diksha of this lineage is a potent siddhi (spiritual power), which activates the kundalini shakti (primordial energy). The shatipat-diksha of Gurumayi is the divine transmission of the potent siddhis of Sri Nityananda transmitted to her by Sri Baba Muktananda in 1982 when she took her final sannyasin (renunciate) vows during the pattābhisheka ceremony and initiation conducted by Baba Muktananda.
Gurumayi describes her initiation, “At one point during the pattābhisheka, the ceremony during which Baba Muktananda passed on to me the power of his lineage, he whispered So’ham [I am] and Aham Brahmāsmi [I am Brahman] in my ear. My mind became completely blank. There was only the pulsating awareness “I am That” accompanied by great bliss and light. When my mind again began to function, all I could think was, “What is Baba? Who is this being who looks so ordinary, yet has the capacity to transmit such an experience at will?” I knew beyond a doubt that the mantra was God. I had never experienced a force so mighty, yet at the same time so soothing."
The kundalini shakti remains dormant at the base of the spine until it is awakened by a realized master. Once the kundalini shakti is awakened it ignites an inner evolutionary process of transformation from the ignorance of the ego and genetic mind to the infinite freedom of the heart. The initiation Kosi received from Gurumayi was an eternal transmission of the potent power of ancient Vedic mantras and yogic practices essential for liberation. As Gurumayi illuminates, “The mantra is God.” After receiving shaktipat-diksha from Gurumayi the kundalini awakening of Kośi was so forceful it quite literally blew her out of bed in the middle of the night—a major shift in consciousness described in detail in her book Organic Awakening. This initiation into the power of the mantra was the very beginning of a transformational process that has unfolded since the divine moment of shaktipat-diksha of the Sri Nityananda Saraswati Sannyasin divine lineage.
A few months later, in January of 1998 Jesus appeared in a brilliant light during a deep meditation at Muktanda’s Ashram in Oakland California asking Kośi to meet him in a church she had never heard of—the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In the spring of 1998, she answered his call, quit her job, and left for Jerusalem. The mystical experience of Jesus Christ continued leading her throughout the Holy Lands of Jerusalem, Egypt, and Mount Sinai. She was subsequently ordained as a minister in a large public ceremony on June 9, 1999 at Radiant Light Ministries, which was a non-dual multi-faith ministry in San Franciso California. Her ordination and mystical experience of Jesus marked the beginning of her ongoing service and also served as a catalyst for an intense search for liberation.
In June of 2001 during a retreat, it became painfully clear due to Gurumayi's intense popularity (thousands of people were flocking to her at that time) that it was impossible to ask her any questions. Realizing this, out of sheer desperation, Kośi knelt on the ground in front of a large statue of Jesus praying through tears of intense longing for an enlightened master that would be able to answer the many questions burning in her heart. After this heart wrenching prayer for help ended, she heard Jesus say, “You will receive the answer to all of your questions at the water’s edge.” Seven days later, while presiding over an outdoor wedding service in San Francisco, a Sun Dog (circular rainbow) appeared in a clear blue sky overhead. After the service, while the rainbow still radiated in the sky above, a man burst out of the audience exclaiming that she must meet Gangaji who was an American teacher named after the sacred river Ganga in India. Kośi immediately recognized this must be the master she had prayed for— the water’s edge. Over the next seven days, he arrange for a meeting with Gangaji, which was the beginning of a deeply intimate and committed relationship that served as a catalyst for a potent introduction to the life-changing teachings of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.
In October of 2002, Kośi received a letter from Gangaji giving her permission to offer satsang. A few months later in San Franciso California, was the timeless moment that Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi became the guru of Kośi. In the early morning, during deep meditation just before satsang began, Sri Ramana appeared in a vision silently sitting in front of Arunachala Siva in the pitch black night with thousands of stars shining over his head. He did not say a single word, but suddenly revealed thousands of empty satsang halls—empty satsang hall after empty satsang hall appeared over and over again. After this, he revealed thousands of satsang halls overflowing with people. Then he slowly dissolved into the stars in the sky above Arunachala and vanished. After this vision, during a period that lasted for more than two years, Kośi set up satsang halls in beautiful venues all throughout California, with professional sound, flowers, advertising, and not a single person came, which Kośi describes as the empty satsang hall yoga—not only was this a deeply humbling experience, the empty satsang hall yoga was, and is, the ultimate teaching of Sri Sri Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.
A few years later in October of 2010 after attending countless retreats and satsangs with Gangaji around the world, Kośi was in the very early stages of a deep and rather shocking realization that Gangaji’s teaching, primarily based on the teaching of her Master, HWL Poonja (better known as Papaji), is actually a corruption of the teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi that ultimately does not support the liberation known as moksha. As this realization was evolving, she experienced an excruciatingly painful betrayal of the teacher-student relationship and egregious abuse of power, which only served to confirm that something was definitely off with Papaji’s teaching. The reason, however, eluded her—the teaching seemed potent and produced very high states of consciousness and deep realizations, but at the same time would stagnate producing no real tangible progress—a paradox. She intuitively felt the only effective way to resolve this paradox was to meet Sri Arunachala Śiva—the divine eternal master of Ramana.
Her divinely ordained meeting with Arunachala Śiva actually did resolve the paradox. It was a potent transmission that ignited a permanent realization of emptiness described in Buddhism as Śūnyatā—emptiness beyond all ideas of emptiness, which is the essence of the heart sutra mantra—Gate Gate Pāragate Pārasamgate Bodhi Svāhā (gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment—so be it). The potent transmission of emptiness emanating from the mountain was also the advent of the miraculous appearance of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi at Ramana Ashram during his birthday celebration in December 2010, and again in her hotel room in January 2011 (please see the detailed account by Kośi below).
A few months later in May of 2011 at an ashram in Washington DC, Kośi was introduced to and received a life-changing blessing from Sri Amma Karunamayi, the saint and avatar whose birth as “Thai” (the divine mother) was prophesized by Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. This sacred moment of anointing was a catalyst for an explosive sudden end to her relationship with Gangaji. She subsequently received shaktipat initiation from Sri Amma Karunamayi in July of 2011, which was the catalyst for a deep lasting realization known as the coming of the clear awareness in Buddhism—the purest lasting clarity and stateless state of pure happiness—an indescribable clarity that never ends.
In December of 2012 at Karnaumayi’s ashram in India she was initiated into the ancient Kaśyapa Gotra and yogic teachings of Sanatana Dharma her Holiness Sri Karunamayi transmits. The teaching shifted dramatically after this initiation and transmits Śiva (the divine masculine—the formless presence of God) and Kaśyapa (the divine feminine—the all of creation) as the clear way—the invisible mountain path of liberation. The clear way is the Sanatana Dharma of Sri Bhavan Ramana Maharshi—Śiva Kaśyapa—the clear way within you transcendent of time and space. She continues to receive the omniscient support of Sri Amma Karunamayi, which infuses her teaching with potent yogic energy.
In May of 2012, Kosi was invited to offer satsang in Kauai Hawaii, which is known as the garden island where ancient native Hawaiian women gave birth. The first satsang offered in Kauai was the birth of her potent perspective of Sri Ramana’s timeless teachings and the beginning of her ongoing service through Wisdom Rock Foundation—the non-profit that supports her work around the world—ending global suffering one person at a time.
After this sacred birth in Hawaii, she was invited to teach in the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Manilla Philippines, Croatia, and the Czech Republic where her teaching began to flourish.
Kośi currently offers the sacred teachings online and in person at various locations in America and Europe.
"I have known Kosi since 2014 and know from direct personal experience she can guide one to the deepest core of one's being. Her teaching is in line with the great wisdom traditions and has nothing to do with partial teachings like neo-advaita or other approaches inspired by personal development or new age thinking. Coming from the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, after the death of my previous teacher, I had the good fortune of meeting her and benefit from her powerful presence and realization in the Clearway program. I am deeply grateful to Kosi for her potent transmissions, particularly for one which cut through a deep knot in the heart chakra that was linked to my birth trauma. Her powerful realization and transmission allowed me, through the following meditations, to directly reach the ground of my being, the heart space I longed for all my life. How can you thank a teacher who guides you to your Self? Kosi and her teaching provided me with the direct experience I always wanted, and she has been an amazing teacher during all those years, through her compassion and love, her deep intuition, and her psychological knowledge, Kosi has helped me see through my psychic knots and cleared the way to my Heart. For the rest, there can only be silence, love, and infinite gratitude."
Marco—Student of Kosi - Lausanne Switzerland
Kośi (pronounced Ko-shee) has over twenty years of experience and direct realization of the life-changing teaching of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. The focus of her teaching is the ancient practices essential for your eternal salvation, which is the evolutionary process of the deep intimate discovery of your true nature—unending happiness. Her teaching is infused with a unique scientific and mystical perspective that provides you with the essential context and practices that support real tangible progress—the clear way—the mountain path of liberation also known as Sanatana Dharma—the eternal natural way that transcends time and space.
The depth of her realization and teaching represent the power of presence—the purest triad union of Jnana Marga (path of wisdom), Bhakti Marga (path of devotion), and Karma Marga (path of selfless service). The ancient yoga and transmission of this teaching represent a radical departure from the predominant western perspective of Sri Ramana’s teachings commonly referred to as neo-advaita and its known limitations. Her emphasis on the infinite depth and science of the teachings emphasized by Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi that supports real noticeable results.
A few hours after the miraculous appearance of her Holiness Sri Amma Karunamayi, the over ten year relationship with Gangaji came to an explosive end. To honor Gangaji her long-term relationship with Gangaji, and the many years of support she received from her, Kośi sponsored a Yagya—an ancient fire ceremony (actual ceremony depicted above) . This sacred fire ceremony also anointed the beginning of her divinely ordained relationship with Sri Amma Karunamyi whose presence and wisdom transcends human understanding. This ceremony was conducted in October of 2011 on the banks of the Ganga river in Varanasi India not far from where the Kosi river converges with the sacred river Ganga. This was an auspicious moment of release and rebirth that marked the beginning of Kośi’s teaching throughout the world.
Birth of Kośi
A Single Drop in the Infinite Ocean of Śūnyatā!
In October of 2010 a shocking realization was unfolding—the very early stages of realizing the western perspective of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teaching, which is based primarily on the teaching of HWL Poonja (better known as Papaji), does not support true and final liberation from the karmic wheel of suffering and at the same time, it also seemed to be a profound catalyst for awakening—a paradox.
Over many years, it became more and more obvious that Papaji’s narrow perspective on absolute reality leads to a mental construct that allows the underlying egoic identification and associated patterns of suffering to continue endlessly as a self-reflective loop of consciousness that generates bliss states that come and go like clouds in the sky. Ultimately, this unending loop leads to the complete stagnation of any real progress. This was confusing. His teaching seemed to work and ultimately didn’t work. It seemed to be powerful, even life-changing—the fastest way to moksha—liberation from eons of suffering—but it did nothing to address patterns of suffering that continued again and again. After many years of direct experience, it was clear that the only possible solution to this puzzling conundrum was to travel to Tiruvannamalai India to meet the master of Sri Bhagavan face-to-face—a sacred meeting with the holy mountain—Sri Sri Sri Arunachala Siva.
The instant I heard that the master of Sri Bahavan Ramana Maharshi was a mountain in India named Arunachala Siva was like a bolt of lightning pierced my heart—a moment of complete and total awe. The divinely ordained relationship between Ramana and his beloved mountain Arunachala was simply mind-blowing. Not only was Ramana's teacher a mountain—it was also a living eternal master. Usually, the master of a master has either been buried in a samadhi tomb or reduced to ashes, but amazingly Ramana's teacher is still in physical form. How rare? How precious is this? This profound mystery was the catalyst for traveling to Tiruvannamalai India to stand at the feet of Sri Arunachala Siva who is the living presence of Ramana's Master. The deep inner intuition was clear—the only possible way to solve this paradox was to seek the guidance of this mysterious mountain—the eternal master of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi—one of the greatest sages and saints to ever walk the earth.
This intuition proved to be true—a great change began to take place on December 31, 2010—Ramana's Birthday at Sri Bhagavan Ramana Ashram in Tiruvannamalai India. A few weeks after arriving at Ramana Ashram, I happened to be standing outside Bhagavan's samadhi tomb when Sri Ramana Maharshi walked out into the sunlight. It was clearly Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi standing there and he was staring at me with his famous penetrating gaze. After what seemed like an eternity he asked, “This name of yours. Is it real?” In that instant, my birth name and everything associated simply vaporized—my attention suddenly shifted within to examine what the real nature of this name actually was. In that instant of unexpected inquiry, a deep realization of emptiness began to unfold. It felt like my heart suddenly expanded and opened like a lotus flower in the sun. It was only an instant, but when I looked back he was gone.
The next day I was deadly ill. I was so sick there was no real possibility of doing anything. It was my great good fortune that the hotel in which I was staying had a window that looked out upon the majestic form of Arunachala Siva. As I lay there, with a fierce sore throat and fever, the question arose; "Why would Ramana call this mountain his Master? Who is Arunachala Śiva?" Since I was a prisoner in my own body, and there was no possibility of doing anything else, surrendering to this illness as a sort of divinely ordained vision quest was really the only option. For several days, I laid on the bed from dawn until dusk, in the most profound silence, and contemplated the mysterious form of Sri Arunachala Siva. It was so simple. Staring out the window all of my attention was completely consumed by a deeply intimate meeting with this eternal Master.
No words can ever describe what unfolded. It was a mysterious meeting of something that no words can ever describe. After several days of being immersed in this deep contemplation, beautiful poetry emerged from the depths, "Om Arunachala who can describe you? You are the form of emptiness," wordless words flowed from the depths of pure being after days upon days of being enfolded in the mysterious splendor of this ancient master. I was completely enraptured by what I can only describe as the living presence of Sri Sri Sri Arunachala Siva.
After seven days, I was feeling refreshed and the illness had all but vanished. It was dusk and the sun was setting low on the horizon. As the amber light of the setting sun flooded the room, I was staring out the window at the majestic form of Sri Arunachala when Sri Ramana Maharshi suddenly materialized. He was sitting cross-legged and seemed to be floating a few inches above my bed. He was very alive solid like you could reach out and touch him, but at the same time, it was like he was made out of light, like a hologram. He was completely silent and his eyes shown with radiant ethereal light.
He sat there in the most profound silence for several minutes when suddenly an image of a large river flowing into the Ganga appeared in front of him. Both rivers merged together and vanished into the huge expanse of the ocean on the Indian coast. As he sat there, staring deep into my eyes, he telepathically said, "Leave your name and everything it means at the feet of Arunachala Siva." He paused for a very long time and suddenly said, "śūnyatā!" After saying this he vanished with an audible and yet strangely silent swishing sound as a flash of light. At the time I was completely stunned—a miracle beyond all ideas of miracles had just spontaneously unfolded. "What just happened? Sunyata is Buddhist? Why did he say Sunyata?" I wondered, in shocked amazement. In that timeless moment, the name Kosi Sunyata was born.
I've been blessed with what I can only describe as several visitations from Sri Ramana Maharshi. I've also had many mysterious mystical experiences prior to these visitations, including the mysterious vision of Jesus Christ in 1997 at Gurumayi's ashram in Oakland California. I am and was always in complete awe of these mysterious experiences—all of them were infused with the highest spiritual teachings, most of which I did not understand until years later. Ramana's inexplicable appearance was shocking and deeply moving and at the time it seemed very strange that he would use the word Sunyata—one of the highest teachings of the Buddha. Clearly, his miraculous appearance was the transmission of his highest teaching—the living emptiness in the core—but the deeper significance was not fully understood until many years later.
The significance of the appearance of Sri Ramana and subsequently the appearance of the Sri Sri Sri Amma Karunamyi has evolved over time. One of the first verbal teachings Sri Amma gave in 2011 was that Ramana’s awakening, which is often perceived as instant enlightenment in the west, is not at all what it seems on the surface—it was actually eons in the making. Ramana himself mentioned he remembered that in his previous life he left his body before his practice of vichara (self-inquiry) fully cut the knot of egoic consciousness—the ultimate release known as moksha. In 2020 it came to light when reading the Ramana Gita that the man known worldwide as Sri Ramana was actually the reincarnation of Subrahmanya, which in Buddhist traditions is another name for Sanankumāra—a direct disciple of the Buddha. Sanankumāra was an extremely advanced yogic master who demonstrated potent siddhis (spiritual power) during the life of the Buddha. In this context, it makes perfect sense that Sri Ramana would say, “Sunyata!”
It also took many years of deep inquiry and extensive research to understand the full import of the corruption of Sri Ramana’s teaching, which is the predominant western perspective based on Papaji’s teaching that is known throughout the world as Neo Advaita or the global satsang movement instigated by Papaji and his students. Papaji’s narrow focus on the absolute reality and his insistence that practice was not necessary for moksha, unfortunately, negates the essential practice, context, and application of the advanced yogic practices Sri Ramana’s teaching represents. It is important to understand that Papaji’s teaching is not synonymous with Sri Ramana’s teaching. Papaji’s teaching is corrupt and only serves to inflate the ego leaving students in an endless loop of reflective consciousness that does nothing to address the underlying issues of karma, samskaras, gunas, or the genetics of suffering. It is absolutely essential for all of these underlying causes of suffering to be fully addressed for liberation.
Context is essential for the mind to understand, and more importantly, is essential for the mind to let go completely and surrender to the source through the potent yogic practices recommended by Sri Ramana and well documented in ancient Vedic Scripture. The deep life-changing teachings of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi—is the deepest surrender to the divine as the divine—a vast unseen intelligent presence. The name Kosi always meant surrender—a river vanishing into the ocean—the vast indescribable expanse of the living truth known as the Self, which is Sunyata. Since that time, it has become very clear that Kosi Sunyata was the full name given by Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Taking this name on destroyed every vestige of my birth name as well as the past or any possibility of a future tied to this name—the name Kosi Sunyata represents the great and eternal surrender of the mantra, teaching, and practice of living emptiness.
Chills ran up and down the entire length of the body when a young man informed me in 2015 that he met a man named Garuda in Thai Land whose teacher was a man named Emmanuel who had left his body in California in 1984. This man was given the name "Sunyata" in the indescribable silence of Ramana's presence when Ramana was still in physical form at Ramana Ashram in the 1946 time frame! Whoa! Emmanuel apparently immediately recognized Sunyata as his name, mantra, and practice—the vast invisible conscious intelligence of quantum reality.
Sunyata is a vast living consciousness contained within form and free of all forms. Sunyata is always aware as the mantra, emptiness, and living silence we all are in the core. The purest of pure teachings—the clear awareness—always aware sunyata. This is the great and eternal teaching of the Buddha—form is emptiness and emptiness is form—The Heart Sutra!
Sunyata. This is the single word that describes the life and teaching of Sri Ramana. Always aware Sunyata—the living emptiness in the core.
Jai Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi! I bow to your most Holy and Eternal feet. Sunyata!
“Sunyata is the mantra, teaching, and practice of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and his beloved Master Sri Sri Sri Arunachala Siva—Tat Sat”