Muktananda

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Swami Muktananda (May 16, 1908-October 2, 1982) is the monastic name of an Indian guru. He was the founder of Siddha Yoga new religious movement. He wrote a number of books, including the autobiography The Play of Consciousness.

Contents 1 Life 2 Quotations 3 Criticism 4 References 5 Further reading 5.1 Books 5.2 External links

[edit] Life

He was born near Mangalore in Karnataka State, India into a wealthy family. At 15 he encountered Bhagawan Nityananda, a wandering avadhoot who profoundly influenced his life. ^[1]

He studied under Siddharudha Swami at Hubli where he learned Sanskrit, Vedanta and all branches of yoga and took the initiation of sannyasa, becoming Swami Muktananda. He began wandering India on foot.

In 1947 he went to Ganeshpuri to receive the darshan of Bhagawan Nityananda. In The Play of Consciousness he describes this initiation as a profound and sublime experience.

He spent the next eight years living and meditating in a little hut in Yeola. He wrote about his meditation experiences there in his autobiography.

In 1956, Nityananda gave Muktananda a small piece of land at Gavdevi, near Ganeshpuri, on which Muktananda developed an ashram.

In the 1970s, on behalf of his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda, Swami Muktananda brought the tradition of Siddha Yoga to the West, giving shaktipat initiation to thousands of spiritual seekers. Muktananda established Gurudev Siddha Peeth as a public trust in India to administer the work there, and founded the SYDA Foundation in the United States to administer the global work of Siddha Yoga meditation. ^[2]

Swami Muktananda wrote many books; sixteen are still in print.

In May 1982, Swami Muktananda appointed two successors as joint leaders of the movement, Swami Chidvilasananda, his former translator, and her brother Swami Nityananda who later resigned.

He died in October 1982 and is buried at Ganeshpuri.

[edit] Quotations

Swami Muktananda's main messages are:

• Honor your Self, Worship your Self, Meditate on your Self, God dwells within you as you.
• See God in Each Other

[edit] Criticism

Some former members of Siddha Yoga have accused Muktananda of abusive behaviour which is at odds with his teachings. William Rodarmor made these accusations public in “CoEvolution Quarterly" of winter 1983.^[3] Lis Harris repeated and extended those in the The New Yorker of November 14, 1994.^[4] Sarah Caldwell stated in 2001, in the academic journal Nova Religio, that Muktananda was both an enlightened teacher and a secret practitioner of an esoteric form of Tantric sexual yoga.^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ Baba Muktananda; 'Meditation Revolution' Continues Ten Years After His Passing Hinduism Today, October 1992, accessed June 2006
2. ^ Muktananda's Legacy Hinduism Today, April 1995, accessed June 2006.
3. ^ Rodarmor, William, article "The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda." , CoEvolution Quarterly, Winter 1983 available online
4. ^ Harris, Lis article, O Guru, Guru, Guru, The New Yorker,November 14, 1994 available online
5. ^ Sarah Caldwell (2001). "The Heart of the Secret: A Personal and Scholarly Encounter with Shakta Tantrism in Siddha Yoga". Nova Religio 5 (1): 9-51. [1]

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Books

• Play of Consciousness: A Spiritual Autobiography, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-81-8
• Where Are You Going?: A Guide to the Spiritual Journey, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-60-5
• Meditate: Happiness Lies Within You, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-62-1
• From the Finite to the Infinite, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-31-1
• Secrets of the Siddhas, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-31-1
• Kundalini, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-34-6
• I Am that: The Science of Hamsa from the Vijnana Bhairava, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-914602-27-6
• Nothing Exixts that Is Not Shiva: Commentaries on the Shiva Sutra, Vijnana Bhairava, Guru Gita, and Other Sacred Texts, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-56-7
• Selected Essays, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-37-0
• Lalleshwari, SYDA Foundation, ISBN 0-914602-66-7
• Satsang With Baba - Volumes 1 - 5, SYDA, ISBN 0-914602-40-3
• Getting Rid of What You Haven't Got, Wordpress ISBN 0-915104-00-8
• To Know the Knower, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-914602-91-8
• God is With You, Siddha Yoga Publications ISBN 0-914602-57-8
• The Nectar of Chanting, SYDA Foundation, ISBN 0-914602-16-0
• A Book for the Mind, SYDA Foundation, ASIN B00072BT0G
• Ashram Dharma, SYDA Foundation, ISBN 0-911307-38-9
• Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-45-1
• Conversations with Swami Muktananda: The Early Years, Siddha Yoga Publications ISBN 0-911307-53-2
• Does Death Really Exist?, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-36-2
• I Have Become Alive, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-26-5
• I Love You, SYDA Foundation, ASIN B00072OCI2
• I Welcome You All With Love, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-911307-65-6
• Light on the Path, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-914602-54-3
• Mukteshwari, SYDA Foundation, ASIN B0006DXSAK
• Mystery of the Mind, SYDA Foundation, ASIN B0006E4WW2
• Reflections of the Self, Siddha Yoga Publications, ISBN 0-914602-50-0
• The Perfect Relationship, SYDA Foundation, ISBN 0-914602-53-5
• The Self is Already Attained, Siddha Yoga Meditation Publications, ISBN 0-914602-77-2
• Caldwell, Sarah The Heart of the Secret: A Personal and Scholarly Encounter with Shakta Tantrism in Siddha Yoga. - an essay by a Siddha Yoga student
• Brooke, Tal. "Riders of the Cosmic Circuit". Chariot Victor Pub, 1987 ISBN 0-595-09315-9

[edit] External links

• SYDA
• Leaving Siddha Yoga Official Website