Lyndal Vercoe was inspired in 1981 when she heard H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi explaining that the sounds of Sanskrit are beeja mantras, which are the sounds which the Kundalini makes when awakened. But it was not until 1989 that she found a teacher who could teach Sanskrit in Australia. Initially, she only hoped to learn the Sanskrit alphabet, but after a few weeks, she found the language so engaging she continued to study for another five years. Then she was inspired to attempt to translate the "Devi Mahatmyam" into more accessible English. When the first edition was published no diacritical marks were available on computers. It was some years later that her son-in-law, Sadanand G. Mankar, became involved and the Devanagari script and transliteration were made possible.

Dr. Sadanand G. Mankar (Senior Justice of the Peace, Ph.D. Management, MA Music, Ph. D. AM-Music Therapy-by research, Sangitāchāryā Ph.D. Music...