Editing Ma Jaya (section)

== Early life and spiritual beginnings ==
Ma Jaya was born as Joyce Green in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]], and grew up in a cellar apartment near [[Brighton Beach]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=McCoy|first=Terrence|date=2013-05-16|title=Kashi Ashram: Claims of Rape, Child Abuse, and Kidnapping|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/kashi-ashram-claims-of-rape-child-abuse-and-kidnapping-6392115|access-date=2020-02-25|website=Miami New Times}}</ref> Her mother died from cancer when Jaya was thirteen years old.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Ma Jaya said that as a young girl, she had conversations with unhoused people who lived underneath [[Coney Island boardwalk]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} The interactions led her to spend more time on Coney Island where she eventually met her husband, Sal DiFiore.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Ma Jaya and DiFiore married in 1956 and had three children. Jaya struggled with obesity in her thirties and in 1972 enrolled in [[Jack LaLanne]] weight-loss class where she learned breathing exercises for weight loss. While practicing the breathing exercise at home, she claimed to have series of mystical visions of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]], and [[Neem Karoli Baba]]. After an alleged experience of [[stigmata]], Jaya began meditating on a regular basis and became acquainted with spiritual teacher [[Hilda Charlton]] who helped to introduce her to spiritual seekers in the New York area.<ref name=":12" />