Muktananda (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a
yoga guru
Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition, the modern ...
and the founder of
Siddha Yoga.
He was a
disciple of
Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti,
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
, and
Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit learning, Sanskrit exegetical literature from several Nondualism, non-dualist Shaivism, Shaiva-Shaktism, Shakta Tantra, tantric and Monism, monistic religious t ...
, including a spiritual autobiography entitled ''The Play of Consciousness''. In
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
style, he is often referred to as ''
Swami
Swami (; ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic who has chosen the Sannyasa, path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas ...
Muktananda'', or ''Baba Muktananda'', or in a familiar way just ''Baba''.
Biography
Swami Muktananda was born in 1908 near
Mangalore
Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...
in
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
, to a wealthy family. His birth name was Krishna Rai.
At 15, he encountered Bhagawan Nityananda, a wandering
Avadhūta who profoundly changed his life.
[ After this encounter, Krishna left home and began his search for the experience of God. He studied under Siddharudha Swami in ]Hubli
Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...
, where he learned Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
, and all branches of yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. He received sannyasa
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...
initiation in the Sarasvati order of the Dashanami Sampradaya, taking the name of Swami Muktananda. After Siddharudha's death, Muktananda left to study with a disciple of Siddharudha called Muppinarya Swami at his Sri Airani Holematt in Ranebennur Haveri District. Then Swami Muktananda began wandering India on foot, studying with many different saints and gurus.
In 1947, Muktananda went to Ganeshpuri to receive the darshan of Bhagavan Nityananda, who had originally inspired Muktananda's search for God. He received '' shaktipat'' initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...
from him on August 15 of that year. Muktananda often said that his spiritual journey did not truly begin until he received shaktipat from Nityananda. He described it as a profound and sublime experience. For the next nine years, Muktananda lived and meditated in a small hut in Yeola
Yeola (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, eːʋlaː () is a town, a municipal council, and a taluka headquarters in Nashik District in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Yeola is a city located in the ...
. He wrote about his sadhana and kundalini
In Hinduism, kundalini (, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '' muladhara''. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power ...
-related meditation experiences in his autobiography.
In 1956, Bhagawan Nityananda acknowledged the culmination of Muktananda's spiritual journey. He appointed Muktananda as the leader of an ashram in Ganeshpuri, near Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. The same year he started teaching his Siddha Yoga path. Between 1970 and 1981, Muktananda went on three world tours. During these tours, he established Siddha Yoga ashrams and meditation centers in many countries. In 1975, he founded the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland in the San Francisco Bay area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. In 1979, he established Shree Nityananda Ashram (now Shree Muktananda Ashram) in the Catskills
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
, northwest of New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Muktananda established Gurudev Siddha Peeth as a public trust in India to administer his work there. He founded the SYDA Foundation in the United States to administer the global work of Siddha Yoga meditation. He wrote many books, sixteen of which are still in print with the SYDA Foundation.
In May 1982, Muktananda appointed two successors, Swami Chidvilasananda and her younger brother, Swami Nityananda, as joint leaders of Siddha Yoga. Nityananda later resigned and formed his own group.
Muktananda died in October 1982 in Gurudev Siddha Peeth in Ganeshpuri, India. He is buried in his samādhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh
''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
shrine there.
Teaching and practice
Central to his teachings were to "See God in each other", and "Honor your Self. Worship your Self. Meditate on your Self. God dwells within you as you." Muktananda often gave a shorter version of this teaching: "God dwells within you as you."
According to Lola Williamson, Muktananda was known as a " shaktipat guru because kundalini
In Hinduism, kundalini (, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '' muladhara''. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power ...
awakening occurred so readily in his presence". Through ''Shaktipat Intensives'' participants were said to receive shaktipat initiation, the awakening of Kundalini Shakti that is said to reside within a person, and to deepen their practice of Siddha Yoga meditation. Historically, Shaktipat initiation had been reserved for the few who had done many years of spiritual service and practices; Muktananda offered this initiation to newcomers and yogis alike. There are several published accounts that describe the reception of ''shaktipat'' from Muktananda. Paul Zweig wrote one such account of receiving ''shaktipat'' from Muktananda. In '' Gurus of Modern Yoga'', Andrea Jain, in her chapter on Muktananda, quotes an anonymous source, who describes his moment of shaktipat, when he was 19 years old, conferred by Muktananda with a wand of peacock feathers in 1975:
Alleged sexual assaults
Sarah Caldwell, in an essay in the academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
''Nova Religio'' (2001), argued that Muktananda was both an enlightened spiritual teacher and a practitioner of Shakta Tantrism, but also "engaged in actions that were not ethical, legal or liberatory with many disciples." According to Lola Williamson, "Muktananda stressed the value of celibacy for making progress on the spiritual path, but he almost certainly violated his own rules." Author Andrea Jain asserts "Muktananda engaged in secret sexual rituals with several of his young female disciples—some of whom were teenagers—that were meant to transmit ''sakti'' to the tantric hero."
In 1981, Stan Trout, a swami for Siddha Yoga, wrote an open letter in which he referred to a number of stories of Muktananda engaging in sexual activities with young women, and threats and harassment in order to force people to "stop talking about your escapades with young girls in your bedroom." In 1983 William Rodarmor printed several allegations in '' CoEvolution Quarterly'' from anonymous female devotees that Muktananda regularly had sex with them and raped them. In the article, based on twenty five interviews, former devotees charged that Muktananda had molested under-age girls, and engaged in sexual interactions with young devotees, which "drew naive young women into esoteric Tantric rituals." Lis Harris repeated and extended Rodarmor's allegations in an article in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' (1994).
Bibliography
* ''Light on the Path'' (1972), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Mukteshwari: The Way of Muktananda'' (1972), SYDA Foundation
* ''Getting Rid of What You Haven't Got'' (1974), Wordpress
* ''Ashram Dharma'' (1975), SYDA Foundation,
* ''I Love You'' (1975), SYDA Foundation
* ''Selected Essays'' (1976), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''God is With You'' (1978), Siddha Yoga Publications
* ''I Am that: The Science of Hamsa from the Vijnana Bhairava'' (1978), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''I Welcome You All With Love'' (1978), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''In the Company of a Siddha: Interviews and Conversations With Swami Muktananda'' (1978), Siddha Yoga Publications
* ''The Nectar of Chanting: Sacred Texts and Mantras Sung in the Ashrams of Swami Muktananda'' (1978), SYDA Foundation,
* ''Play of Consciousness: A Spiritual Autobiography'' (1978), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Satsang with Baba : questions and answers between Swami Muktananda and his devotees'' (1978), Volumes 1 – 5, SYDA,
* ''Kundalini: The Secret of Life'' (1979), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''To Know the Knower'' (1979), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Meditate'' (1980), State University of New York Press,
* ''Kundalini Stavah'' (1980), SYDA Foundation,
* ''The Perfect Relationship: The Guru and the Disciple'' (1980), SYDA Foundation,
* ''Reflections of the Self'' (1980), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Secret of the Siddhas'' (1980), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''A Book for the Mind'' (1981), SYDA Foundation
* ''Does Death Really Exist?'' (1981), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Lalleshwari'' (1981), SYDA Foundation,
* ''Where Are You Going?: A Guide to the Spiritual Journey'' (1981), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''I Have Become Alive: Secrets of the Inner Journey'' (1985), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''From the Finite to the Infinite'' (1990), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Mystery of the Mind'' (1992), SYDA Foundation
* ''The Self is Already Attained'' (1993), Siddha Yoga Meditation Publications,
* ''Bhagawan Nityananda'' (1996), Siddha Yoga Publications,
* ''Nothing Exists that Is Not Shiva: Commentaries on the Shiva Sutra, Vijnana Bhairava, Guru Gita, and Other Sacred Texts'' (1997) Siddha Yoga Publications,
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Muktananda
1908 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Hindu religious leaders
Indian Shaivite religious leaders
Indian autobiographers
Indian spiritual writers
Indian yoga teachers
Kashmir Shaivism
Modern yoga gurus
Tulu people
Writers from Mangalore