About Nirakara Vani
(Pronounced: nih-RAH-kah-rah VAH-nee)
Often simply called Vani; formerly known through the ego-identity of Matthew Mansfield
Antara Pathways, Inc. was founded by Nirakara Vani, whose life journey has moved through trauma, healing, and awakening. The pivotal moment came at age 38, when Vani experienced a profound Near-Death Experience (NDE) that dissolved the form-bound identity of Matthew and revealed the deeper truth of Source. Out of that experience, Antara Pathways was born.
Walking this path alongside him is his loyal service dog, Roxy, whose gentle presence offers comfort, grounding, and companionship. Together, they embody the spirit of healing and compassion at the heart of Antara Pathways.
To hear Vani share this experience in his own words, listen to his interview on the Philosophical Entertainment podcast.
What Does Nirakara Vani Mean?
In Sanskrit, Nirakara means formless, pointing to the infinite Source beyond shape or boundary.
Vani means voice, the expression of truth carried from that boundless place.
Together, Nirakara Vani is “the formless voice”, a reminder that wisdom and love flow not from ego, but from the infinite.
Awakening Through Death
In the NDE, the boundaries between life and death fell away. What seemed like the end became the beginning of a new awareness: that death is not a finality, but a passage, a death-before-death that frees us from the illusions of ego and awakens us to life in its fullest expression. From this threshold, Nirakara Vani emerged, formless, a vessel for the voice of Source, carrying forward the message that love is safe and ever-present.
This revelation echoed and deepened earlier struggles with trauma and night terrors. For years, Vani endured vivid, harrowing dreams, including one where he was cast in the role of “the devil.” These dreams were not just torment but teachers. They revealed that when we identify with a character, whether in dreams or in waking life, we inherit its limits. As long as he believed he was the devil, he could only see cruelty. As long as we believe we are only the ego, we are confined to the ego’s narrow results.
The Ego as Query
The NDE and the dreamscape together revealed a unifying lesson: the ego functions like a query into the infinite database of Source. If the ego is fear, it will only return fear. If it is pride, it will return pride. But when we release the mask of ego, we open ourselves to the limitless field of Source, and new answers, love, compassion, peace, can return to us. This is the heart of transformation: dissolving the ego, changing the query, and receiving wisdom the ego alone could never access.
From Vision to Pathway
Antara Pathways carries forward this truth: that healing, awakening, and even the sacred passage of death can all be understood as invitations to release the ego and return to Source. Vani’s journey from trauma to transcendence, from near-death to renewed life, is the foundation of the organization. His work, joined with a growing community, is devoted to guiding individuals and families through life’s most profound transitions, including end-of-life care, legacy work, spiritual companionship, and the embrace of love in the face of fear.
A Note from the Founder
“What we see is shaped by who we believe ourselves to be. When I thought I was only a character in the dream, I could only return the results of that character. But when I let go of the ego, in the dream, in trauma, in the near-death, I remembered something greater. I remembered Source. Antara Pathways exists to remind us all of this truth: that even in fear, grief, or endings, there is always a broader vision waiting to be seen. Love is the circuit that always completes, and in its embrace, all is safe.”
— Nirakara Vani, Founder