Authentic Essence

We have some exciting news for you! Ben here! You’ve no doubt heard me talk about my primary teacher, Dr. Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh. Meeting him was one of the most auspicious, synchronous and pivotal events of my life. He was my first exposure to the path of Tantra, and has been my primary teacher ever since. When I found out he would be in Colorado for a private retreat during mid-March, I wondered if we might be so lucky as to host him for an evening here in Boulder before his event. So I asked him to if he would come do a Kirtan and sating with us. Kirtan and Satsang are both community practices, and are central to the path of Tantra. Kirtan is a form of Bhakti yoga, the path of devotional love. Through call-and-response singing of chants and mantras, the heart is sweetly opened and nourished. Satsang is most often translated to mean “in good company”, and is the practice off sitting together, as a group of truth-seekers with a teacher. It’s an informal, yet deeply sacred opportunity to sit in the company of someone whose wisdom we admire, and bring our honest inquiry to them directly.

We are blessed to have an evening with Hareesh– who is a devoted practitioner, masterful teacher, and doctorate level scholar of the tradition– bringing his rich blend of lived experience and academic understanding. Join us for sweet evening of devotion and truth, to taste for yourself the authentic essence of Tantra.

Bio: Christopher Wallis 

Christopher Wallis is a Sanskritist and scholar-practitioner of Classical Tantra with thirty years of experience. He was initiated by a traditional Indian guru at the age of sixteen, and received education at yoga āshrams, both in India and the West.

Subsequently, he engaged in fourteen years of formal education in Sanskrit, South Asian Studies, and classical Indian religions.

He combines his own practice of more than 25 years with a rigorous inquiry into the original Sanskrit sources to accurately translate and bring to modern practitioners this ancient non-dual wisdom. The practices aim to facilitate both spiritual awakening and enhanced well-being for people in all walks of life. His community of students frequently praise his deep love for the tradition and the clarity of thought and expression.

His teachers, mentors, and gurus, in chronological order, include: Gurumayī Chidvilāsānandā (root-guru), Paul Muller-Ortega (Śaiva Tantra and Classical Yoga); Alexis Sanderson (Śaiva and Śākta Tantra and Sanskrit); Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication); Somadeva Vasudeva (Śaiva Tantra), Adyashanti (Meditation), and others who wish to remain anonymous.

His degrees include a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in South Asian Studies from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley