BD: Sounds like the end of a chapter, a time of new beginning.

LEP: Yes, it was. Probably the biggest event in my life happened when I was in transit back to Sweden. I spent the night in New York City and was waiting for my evening flight at Kennedy Airport. I went into a bookstore at the airport, and I came out with a book called Your Sun Sign as Your Spiritual Guide, written by Swami Kriyananda. This was my first introduction to astrology.

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I remember how I found a quiet place and how I was immediately absorbed in the book. The book really called me. At that time, I didn’t know anything about astrology, spirituality, yoga, and meditation which were mentioned in the book.

 

BD: Clearly a turning point for you. What happened next?

 

LEP: The book sparked my interest in astrology. Your Sun Sign as Your Spiritual Guide relates to Western astrology, even though I later found that Swami Kriyananda’s descriptions of the Sun signs can fit the Vedic astrological signs as well. I could sense that what happens above, in the planets and constellations, also happens here below.

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I began to study Western astrology on my own, just as a hobby. Sometimes I wondered who Swami Kriyananda was. He didn’t say much about himself in the book.
 

BD: Were you back in Sweden during this time?

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LEP: Yes, I needed something to do, and I went back to school. I got a degree in business, of all things: business and secretarial administration. I didn’t think of myself as a business person at all. But it felt practical, and I knew it would help me get a good job. And to my surprise, I actually enjoyed the studies, despite myself. They were well taught, and I learned a great deal. I then found a good job with the University of Stockholm, in the Department of Educational Research. I have also worked for the Social Administration, as well as small businesses in Stockholm.

 

BD: You had become quite successful as a business person during this time?

LEP: I would not say I was a successful business person but I enjoyed the work. After a while I felt that something was missing. I found myself searching  for deeper experiences. 

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I had not been writing very much, only some journaling, but I felt that doing something like creative writing could open something within me. I was very fortunate to get into a creative writing class at the University of Stockholm with just twenty students. We had a number of excellent writing teachers, and one of them in particular became an important teacher for me. A poet and a psychologist named Thomas Tranströmer.

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During my time as his student, he was involved in a project: a long poem, a sequel to his other work, called “The Seasons.” The poem explored the cycle of life, going beyond the earthly plane into the cosmic dimension. Editing and discussing this poem became an important part of my creative writing experience with him. I am very fortunate to have had wonderful teachers in my life. It is a great blessing. Tranströmer is loved and respected for his poetry in Sweden. He received the Nobel Prize in literature in 2011, and I took this class with him in 1980. 

BD: Clearly you have been a seeker, Lina, and fortunate also in the finding. What way did your path of self-discovery turn next? 

 

LEP: I began to meditate and do yoga regularly, and for a while I worked with the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School. I lived at their retreat center in southern Sweden and in Denmark.

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Eventually I learned more about Swami Kriyananda, the initial catalyst for my spiritual journey. I learned that he had founded a community in California called “Ananda,” and I eventually met him when he was offering retreats in Como, Italy.

 

I felt the same connection with Swami Kriyananda that I had found in his book. I was spending time with people from Ananda who were there to start a community. Those dreams were eventually realized in what is now Ananda Europe in the Italian town of Assisi.

 

But I came to the US and joined the Ananda community in Nevada City, California, a beautiful place in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This has been my home ever since. I met my husband, Binay, here. He had been part of the Ananda Village community right from the beginning, one of the first people to join in 1968 when it was starting up. 

 

Binay and I started a jewelry business. He wanted to make jewelry that brought metaphysical and spiritual meaning to people. This is when my business studies became helpful. And the use of gems and jewels to enhance spiritual experience was interesting to me, as well.

BD: This was the start of a great adventure for you both. How did the business develop?

LEP: In the beginning, we sold what we had made at craft shows across California and the western US. We also sold jewelry in Sweden. Staying connected with my family in Sweden was important to us. Our daughter grew up spending the summers in Sweden with her grandparents. 

BD: When did the interest in Vedic gems arise for you?

LEP: It was around 1990 that Dr. David Frawley came out to Ananda. He spoke about Vedic astrology and Vedic use of gems. This is when I began reading about Vedic astrology. I read David Frawley’s excellent books and another good book written by James Braha. I became increasingly interested in Vedic astrology, especially since we also worked with the gemstones. 

BD: It sounds very natural how you were drawn into deeper study of Vedic astrology. 

 

LEP: When the first Vedic astrology symposium took place in San Rafael, California, in 1992, my husband and I were there. I remember that B.V. Rahman was there as a keynote speaker. This was the beginning of the Council of Vedic Astrology. 

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My husband, Binay, and I had a booth at the conference showing some Vedic gemstones. He had recently gone to India and Sri Lanka, and we had a number of yellow sapphires and other gems available for Jyotish Upayas. We were there to show and sell gemstones, but of course I was very curious about what was going on in the astrology classes as well.

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Later I came upon the audio Vedic Astrology Correspondence Course by Dennis Flaherty. I thought the classes were really well done, and I listened to them a lot. 

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A difficult time came when my father passed away in 2006. My mother was quite alone in Sweden, and I was often there to support her, until she passed away in 2022. 

When I needed some space of my own, I would study Vedic astrology. I was quite methodical because I wanted to do readings professionally.

I began to study with Dennis directly, taking classes and learning how to read charts from case studies he reviewed with me. I found him a wonderful teacher. He became my mentor and guided me to become a professional Vedic astrologer. With his support, I took the certification. 

BD: With your rich experience of Ananda over four decades, have you had quite a bit of contact with Swami Kriyananda?

 

LEP: I knew him over many years. I spent the most time with him while I was in Como, Italy. He was there intermittently, and because there were fewer people, we would eat and do things together in a small group. Here, in Ananda Village, I would mostly see him when he gave classes and hosted community events. He traveled a lot too. He would spend time in Assisi, Italy and with Ananda communities in India.

BD: For how many years have you been an active member of your Nevada City Ananda community?

 

LEP: I first arrived in 1986. Except for the times we spend in Sweden, I have lived here with my family ever since.  Our immediate Ananda community has 200 members.

BD: Would you say a little more about your life there in the community these days? 

 

LEP: I’ve been working with the business for a long time. Quite recently, we stopped doing craft shows because of getting older, and doing craft shows is a lot of work. Now the focal point of our business is our crystal shop here at Ananda, where we specialize in Vedic Gemstones and jewelry. We also have other natural stones and crystals. 

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We have a website, NorthernLightsVedic.com, and I do formal readings over Zoom with people who find me online. Many are interested in knowing their Vedic gemstones, and I will calculate their birth chart. I also offer brief, informal readings with people who come into the shop. We show them the gemstones and jewelry that are suitable for them according to their charts, and explain why they are beneficial to them. My husband, Binay, is a jeweler, and he creates custom astrological jewelry with the Vedic gemstones. I enjoy the brief readings in the shop—friendly, personal, more fun.

 

BD: Can you say a little more about what is special about your readings in the shop? They sound somewhat spontaneous, maybe intuitive?

 

LEP: Yes, they are more spontaneous. This is a different approach from the full readings that I offer. Then I study their chart at length.

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BD: This process appears to provide a lot of meaning to your work in the shop. It becomes a place for spiritual aspirants to seek deeper purpose and discover more about themselves.

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LEP: Yes. We meet many people who come here to Ananda for retreats. It feels very good to have a gemstone and jewelry shop and to make connections with them.

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We have a beautiful garden with lots of tulips here at Ananda, and the tulip gardens have gotten a lot of attention from far and wide. People come from many places just to look at the gardens. And of course many of them stop by our gem shop. Neighbors from the area also visit our store.

 

BD: In a community like Ananda I’m imagining that there is opportunity to integrate spiritual practices into your daily life.

 

LEP: Yes, I go to community Sadhana every morning. It grounds me for the day and inspires me as I move through my daily activity. From time to time I feel the need to take a longer break. I recently went to a Kriya Yoga Retreat that lasted for eight days. It was in a beautiful, secluded setting. Being silent was central to that retreat time.

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Kriya Yoga is the core of my life and practice. Kriyananda was a disciple of Parahamsa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda was a
disciple of Swami Sri Yukteswar. Sri Yukteswar was also a Vedic astrologer in India, and from time to time he would recommend Vedic stones to students and people who came to him for darshan.

 

BD: Early in your life you experienced writing as a spiritual practice, especially with your mentor Thomas Tranströmer. I wonder if writing has continued as a  lifelong practice for you.

 

LEP: I have been writing a newsletter that reports on the astrological features of the month ahead for a long time. Now that I have more time, I find my interest in writing growing, and I am thinking of writing more articles. I also do my own journaling.

 

BD: Would you say that many of the people who seek readings with you are wanting support with spiritual questions?

 

LEP: Many people look to astrology for direction in their lives. The planetary positions in the houses and the Dasha periods, as well as long-term transits, offer clues about how they can navigate. I’m there to help, but I can’t tell people what they should do. I can guide them toward a better understanding of how planets influence the circumstances in their lives at different times. And I may recommend a gem or other Upaya that might be helpful to them on their spiritual journey.

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BD: With the degree of complexity in most Jyotish charts, how do you determine what Vedic gems to recommend to a person?

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LEP: Supporting the Lagna Lord is often a good choice because the Lagna Lord is important and represents self, our physical self, and our character. Sometimes the Lagna Lord has some problems and might hurt another planet; then it is better to wear a gemstone for a planet that supports the Lagna, or Lagna Lord.

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But I also look at the chart from the Sun, the Moon and the Aruda Lagna. Sometimes the Dasha lord can be a good choice. I have to look at the chart as a whole in order to select a gemstone that is most beneficial.

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BD: You mentioned recommending other remedies in addition to gemstones to your clients.

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LEP: I can also recommend mantras and colors. I also mention activities that are in alignment with the planet in question. For example, for Saturn, I might suggest service and giving donations to charity. For Mars I often recommend action and movement as an important Upaya, such as walking, exercise, yoga, or sports. Gardening is grounding. For Venus it can be helpful to explore art and creativity, and for Mercury it can be writing or studying. Diet can also tell us something. It depends on what the person likes doing, of course.

BD: As you describe the planets in relationship to the charts of your clients I get a strong sense of the old expression, “As above, so below.” The essentially human energies are symbolically reflected by (or maybe even reflections of) the planets and the gemstones both.

LEP: Yes, absolutely. Wearing a gemstone will strengthen our connection with the planet associated with it. The universe as a whole manifests an interconnectedness between our embodied nature, our souls, and the stars.  We are said to be born at a time that is in alignment with our karma. The energies of the nine planets are found in gemstones of the earth. I think of it as “what is above us” in the heavens, is also “below us” in the earth. 

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BD: Lina, I am so glad that you made yourself available for this conversation. Your vision of the conjunction of Vedic astrology and the human experience is awe inspiring. Thank you!

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LEP: Well I also thank you for your time and attention to bring my thoughts to the readers of the CVA Journal. I invite you, and any of the readers, to stop by our gemstone shop, Northern Lights, if ever you happen to be near Nevada City, California and our Ananda community here.