Ishwari Elsa Cross began following the Siddha Yoga path in 1976 at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Mexico City. She serves as a Siddha Yoga meditation teacher and as a translator for Siddha Yoga publications, talks, courses, teaching and learning events, and the Siddha Yoga path website. She offered seva in Gurudev Siddha Peeth from 1982 to 1984.

Ishwari is a renowned poet, and, under the name Elsa Cross, her collected poems (1964-2012) were recently published in Mexico. She has won many awards for her work, including the Xavier Villaurrutia in Mexico and the Roger Caillois in France. Ishwari earned a PhD in philosophy from National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she is a professor of philosophy of religion. She has a son, Agastya, and lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico.