Constantina Rhodes

Biography

Constantina Rhodes, Ph.D. is a translator of Sanskrit devotional poetry and the author of several books and dozens of scholarly articles on Hindu Tantra, Kundalini Yoga, Kashmir Shaivism, and the traditions of the Goddess in India. She is also a Certified Intuitive Counselor and Reiki practitioner, and she teaches courses and workshops in both academic and metaphysical settings.

She is especially interested in the goddess Lakshmi, who is the subject of her latest book, Invoking Lakshmi: The Goddess of Wealth in Song and Ceremony. Constantina contributed "Shri-Lakshmi: Majesty of the Hindu King" to the edited volume Goddesses Who Rule (ed. Elisabeth Benard and Beverly Moon), and her "Lakshmi, Hindu Goddess of Abundance" is the inaugural chapter of the three-volume work Goddesses in World Culture (ed. Patricia Monaghan). Her online article "Prayers for Invoking Lakshmi" appears on www.beliefnet.com.

Constantina holds a doctorate from Columbia University. She was a full professor with tenure at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida before moving back to New York City, where she teaches in the Program in Religion at Hunter College of the City University of New York as well as at the New York Open Center. She has served on the steering committee of the Society for Tantric Studies; was an inaugural member of the Tantric Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion; and has held elected office as President of the American Academy of Religion/​Southeast. She is interviewed about classical yoga in Saraswati Clere's documentary, YogaWoman.

Constantina has practiced yoga and meditation for most of her life. She spent two years living and studying in India, and over the course of several decades she has received mantra initiation in the lineages of Transcendental Meditation, Integral Yoga, and Siddha Yoga. As a Certified Intuitive Counselor, she engages in an ancient art that both enhances and is enhanced by her longtime meditation practice.

The Art of Translation

Constantina focuses on translating Sanskrit devotional texts that have never before been translated. These surely are labors of love. As she works with the Sanskrit, she enters into a very special relationship with the language itself. Constantina strives to translate the literal meanings with integrity while lending voice to their spiritual essence, introducing these texts and their traditions as a gateway into the sacred realm of their origins.

Lectures and Experiential Workshops

In addition to her university courses, Constantina offers lectures, classes, and workshops relating to her books as well as to the various stages of intuitive development. Building on the foundation of both her scholarly and intuitive backgrounds, her workshops combine "left brain" and "right brain" elements. Lectures are followed by contemplative exercises and guided meditations. Unique each time, these meditative segments encourage students to experience the depths of their own luminous consciousness and to engage it in every aspect of their lives.

Intuitive Consultations

Constantina's Intuitive Consultations are deeply focused sessions to access guidance from an expansive, meditative perspective. Sessions are conducted over the telephone, by Skype, or in person in Manhattan. For further information, click on Consultations above, or feel free to email Constantina.