OUR CORE TEAM

Shri Ma Kristina Baird, co-founder of Shri Kali Ashram (with Bhagavan Shanmukha), has been practicing Tantra for the past thirty years. It was her perseverance over the last thirty years that saw Shri Kali Ashram founded to preserve and impart this science without compromising on the quality of teaching—neither the science and culture of Shaivism, nor that of Tantrism. She practices the Shaiva-Shakta Tantras or the rahasya sampradāya on a daily basis and credits it with shaping her life. Like Bhagavan Shanmukha, she is a knowledgeable teacher in this field. ​ She has also put every effort into helping Bhagavan Shanmukha write, prepare and see published two of the most important books towards understanding the Vedic, Āgamic, Tantric, Yogic, and Buddhist ideologies: Divine Initiation and Third-Eye of the Buddhist. She helped to shape these publications and without her, they could not have taken place. She advises on all aspects of the ashram and maintains many of the practical aspects, including web design, publishing, and correspondence. ​ She says, “Our goal at Shri Kali Ashram is to offer new vistas into traditional learning. Traditional learning has no sense of formality or hierarchy. It engenders one to express with affection. If it is not an affectionate environment, one cannot learn. A traditional teacher or ācārya is seen as a very close friend. In the traditional systems there is no culture of the teacher and the student as isolated beings.” ​ She explains that the human body has not changed over the past few millennia. Thus there is no need to modify the Tantras and Yoga as so many contemporary teachers do to create their own brand or style of yoga. The Tantras have foreseen that as long as we have this human body, we don't need to change anything but only to learn and integrate the principles of life. The timeless formulae of the Tantras were composed after philosophically and mathematically analyzing the macro world and us. It gives unique answers that cannot be matched by even the best of modern thinkers or institutions. For i.e., only now is it understood that the theory of the quantum mind or quantum consciousness is paralleled in the principle of Shiva and Shakti, as opposed to the West's emphasis on matter alone as the source of the Universe. ​ Tantric science is based on timeless formulae, and therefore, transcends cultural fads and limitations. It is universal and timeless, similar to how mathematics is in the modern world. Anyone, anywhere uses maths, and on many different levels. It is not confined to one race, generation, or application. It is therefore a profound and beneficial science. ​ Ma Kristina has a B.A. (Hons.) in Religious Studies from Otago University (N.Z.) with Honours papers in Sanskrit from Australian National University.

I was born in Colorado, USA. I am the son of spiritualist lawyers who showed me life in two different worlds. At work my parents were using the law to fight for the rights of others; children, battered women, injured workers.  From this I saw the value of humanity, each individual’s right to freedom and love. At home my parents were reading ancient and modern philosophy such as Rumi, Milarepa, Gurdjieff and I’m pretty sure all the modern spiritual self help books available. From this I learned avenues to foster and express freedom and love. ​ During the first 25 years of my life I kept my spiritual side private and outwardly went with the flow of modern America. I played sports through college and graduated with a major in economics. Out of college I got a job at the United States Federal Reserve Bank. I married a successful corporate lawyer. Life was good. However, not wanting to work in a box for the next sixty years, I left the Fed and found a job in wine sales, eventually managing multiple markets for a billion dollar wine portfolio. I lived the “perfect” life according to the American Dream until I could no longer deny I was not fulfilled. ​ After an emotionally devastating divorce I left my life in the United States and played semi-professional football (soccer) in Germany for a few months until I realized modern life in Europe was similar to that in the US. Wishing to explore my options I moved on, this time to Asia, a place I hoped would show me different paradigms for life. In 2006, Two weeks after landing in Thailand I attended a Tantra Yoga class and decided to stay for a month to explore Tantra philosophy and Tantra Yoga. I was still in Asia 15 years later studying, sharing and practiced Kaula Tantra. I began teaching in 2008 and for six years I ran the daily programs at an ashram in India. During that time we certified over a thousand teachers in Tantra Yoga. ​I am currently living the teachings and celebrating my understanding and integration of reality.

I was born in a Hindu fisherman household and growing up my mother did her daily rituals and regularly visited the temple. Even in this somewhat traditional setting I saw mostly confusion and unhappiness. My father’s family worshiped the goddess until my father was young. My grandfather was killed in a religious war in Kerala. With this tragedy and modern education telling us our beliefs are just blind faith, with no scientific rational, my father turned away from the goddess culture and all of religion. From this time there was a distaste toward the traditional goddess practices in my family yet I see more confusion now. Life in the modern world has also not given me answers. I have heard some talks on tantra and what i have heard is interesting but I know to really see if there are answers for me here I need to commit some time to live in this reality. I am happy to be again in this community and look forward to learning and creating a peaceful, joyful life. In 2009, I cooked for Shri Kali Ashram in Agonda. I was young and restless at that time and wanted to see the world. I took a job in Dubai to explore and see another reality. After many years as a commercial kitchen construction consultant in Dubai, I am looking forward to simplifying my life and getting back to cooking and sharing love through healthy, nourishing meals.