Title: Deeksha
The fire from heaven
Author: Kiara Windrider with Grace Sears
Publisher: New World Library
Copyright: 2006
Review Score: 4.00 
Summary:
A deeksha is the transfer of cosmic energy from a trained, enlightened being to a non-enlightened being. It's said to be a divine gift of grace which creates a neurobiological shift in the brain. Deeksha usually involves a hands-on transfer of power but can also be transmitted just by being in the company of an enlightened being and through other forms of communication. The deeksha method of enlightenment is dircted by an Indian avatar known as Bhagavan. Bhagavan is the common Indian name for anyone who is God-realized, and avatars are divine beings in human form who come to earth to advance humanity in some way that would otherwise be impossible.
Author Windrider defines enlightenment as the realization that "underneath all of our separate illusions of reality, there is essentially one soul, one mind, one body, and one consciousness." Enlightenment is not viewed as a spiritual event but rather as a biological event related to a change in brain chemistry. This book makes the prophecy that once a critical mass of enlightened beings is achieved, "the collective DNA of humanity will change and global enlightenment will occur." Windrider's goal is to quicken this process by making the deeksha transformational tool accessible to all those who wish to use it. "...once the first few thousand are enlightened, the rest of humanity will open like flowers."
Message of Love:
Enlightenment is given rather than earned
Score: 3.00
"Bhagavan says he can only tell you what love is not...what most people call love, he emphasizes, is not love." We think love has to be a certain way with certain people under certain conditions, and this is a trap that blocks the total joyfulness and total happiness that is always available to us. Any emotion or feeling that's fully experienced can lead to bliss. It's our resistance to and judgment of the thought or feeling that leads to pain.
Inspiration:
Score: 5.00
Inspiration is by far the most important feature of this book. The compelling, real-life stories of the author and six other ordinary, contemporary people who became enlightened fills the reader with "can do" energy. You think "if they can do it, I can too." Each story is flavored by the teller's personal belief system and life experiences. The variety of enlightenment experience and backgrounds is what makes it so interesting. Further contact with the story-tellers is subtly encouraged by providing their personal email addresses.
--Windrider is the first to share his journey. He begins by revealing his former angst about not being an enlightened being. "I had wondered if there was something wrong with me, whether I hadn't prepared enough or whether I wasn't worthy." But then finally his enlightenment came about in an effortless and natural way. "I felt an abrupt shift. It was as though I had walked through a thin curtain...My body is an empty shell for the whole universe to use."
--Grace is second. She felt like she was hit by lightening and became very disoriented. Later on she said "it seemed as though the whole universe were smiling on me with infinite patience and love, welcoming me."
--Barry sensed an energy descend through his crown chakra and felt his body dissolve. "To this day, the body continues to be orchestrated through a super conscious connection, and I, in a way, am just along for the ride."
--Karen was able to see, with absolute knowing that all is taken care of forever. "In this state of pure being there is nothing to do and no one to do it."
--Mitchell realized there was no difference between self and God. "I was in a reality in which all was one, and this was the natural course of things. I felt so alive!"
--Patricia felt extreme gratitude. "I knew that this would be a permanent transformation. There was nowhere to go; there was no state to reach. The search was over."
--Miranda saw Christ. "..another large light being, maybe three times taller than a human being, appeared in front of me. It was Christ. He placed his hands on top of my head and gave me a deeksha. My whole body became light."
Practicality/Relevance:
Score: 5.00
The concept that enlightenment is given rather than earned is grist for the thinking mill. What if you really don't have to be a saint or meditate all day every day for 30 years? Windrider firmly insists no striving is necessary. All we ever have to do is let go of our linear, step-by-step expectations of how and when it should happen and just receive it. "I was expecting enlightenment to be a high, like an LSD trip..." Whereas enlightenment is simply allowing reality to be what it is. To be enlightened is to access the soul directly without interference of the mind.
Windrider's scariest, most woo-woo idea has to do with the push for enlightenment coinciding with the "new creation cycle," which is supposed to start in 2012. This is the so-called zero point in time when evolution speeds up; there's a rise in our base harmonic frequencies; a deterioration of magnetic fields, and it all somehow works together like the perfect storm to cause a 3-day reversal in the magnetic pole. Windrider's interpretation of the 2012 event is linked to predictions of the Mayan calendar that "signify the end of linear time, and represent the beginning of the great cosmic shift."
Organization/Readability:
Score: 3.00
This book is worth reading. It has a clear, persuasive purpose: to explain deeksha to the world and to introduce Baghavan as a spiritual leader. With the exception of the optional prophetic information presented in appendix 1, the content is based on empirical reports by and about people who serve humanity by answering prayers to recognize God as self. There's no push to join a religion. No pandering for donation money. The reader accepts or ignores further interaction with the deeksha process based on resonance with the material.
