This past March, the death of the relatively unknown Indian sage Vimala Thakar caused little more than a blip on the international news radar, even in her native India. But according to EnlightenNext’s Elizabeth Debold, Alka Arora, and Mary Adams, Thakar’s life and work merit deep consideration by anyone interested in spiritual liberation in a contemporary context.

In this moving tribute, Debold, Arora, and Adams explain why this powerfully enlightened being may have been history’s best example of a woman whose liberation completely transcended her gender. Most enlightened women have tended to express their spiritual authority through traditionally feminine roles, such as that of Divine Mother. But Thakar’s awakening was of a different order. She conveyed a presence and perspective that was deeper than her femininity, but paradoxically did not deny the fact that she was a woman. Sharing their experience of meetings with Thakar at her mountain home in Rajasthan, Debold and Adams also reflect on their own explorations of the particular challenges faced by women on the spiritual path, painting an inspiring picture of a new kind of freedom and enlightenment possible for women today.

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