.gif)
Swami Shankarananda (Shiva Yoga)
Encyclopedia
Mahamandaleshwar Swami Shankarananda (born 1942) is an American
-born guru in the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. The gurus of this lineage are noted for awakening the kundalini
energy of seekers by means of shaktipat
. Swami Shankarananda is an author and authority on the philosophy and practice of Kashmir Shaivism. He emphasises spiritual practice (sadhana
), especially meditation, mantra and Self-Inquiry
. He is a prominent spiritual teacher in Australia, where he founded the Shiva Ashram, a residential spiritual school where about 40 seekers live and members of the wider public visit for programs, retreats and courses. He is also a spokesperson for Hinduism
in interfaith dialogue.
, New York, where he played on Columbia's US Champion intercollegiate chess team, earning the title of US Chess Master
. He taught Shakespeare and English Literature
at Indiana University
. In 1970, a decisive encounter with the American yogi
Ram Dass
inspired him to go to India
where he met his guru, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa
, the disciple of Bhagawan Nityananda
of Ganeshpuri.
He spent 12 years studying with Muktananda, the first three of which were spent at his ashram in Ganeshpuri. To this day, Shankarananda makes regular visits with large groups of devotees to the town of Ganeshpuri, the seat of his lineage.
In 1974 he was initiated by his guru to awaken people spiritually via shaktipat diksha (initiation). Muktananda wrote of Shankarananda, "He is able to carry my message to everyone. Has the power to make people experience the divine presence." Since that time, Shankarananda has headed ashrams in Ann Arbor, Los Angeles
, New York
and Melbourne
.
In 1977, at the request of his guru, he was initiated into the Saraswati order of monks by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Brahmananda.
In 1991 he founded the Shiva School of Meditation and Yoga in Melbourne with the assistance of Swami Bhairavi Ananda (Devi Ma), who is the co-director. They established a residential ashram
on the Mornington Peninsula
.
Over the past 10 years, he has initiated nine swamis, several of whom run centres in Australia and internationally.
He works for harmony within his own tradition, and recognises and values the many teachers and yogis who belong to it. He has held several large events with other teachers in his lineage, and, in 2009, launched a website that documents the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda and the many gurus and teachers it has produced.
through his teacher, Swami Muktananda, who was an important disseminator of this philosophy in recent times. Described by Shankarananda as a "philosophy of Consciousness"[fn. CiE p. 15], Kashmir Shaivism, like Advaita Vedanta
, advocates the primacy of consciousness as the ground of all being. In contrast to Advaita Vedanta, however, Kashmir Shaivism regards phenomenal reality as an expression or manifestation of consciousness, rather than maya or illusion
.
The first sutra in the foundational text, the Shiva Sutras
, affirms, 'the Self is consciousness' (caitanyamatma). Shankarananda teaches that this important sutra defines the elusive Self as nothing but our own awareness. When that awareness is purified and expanded the yogi is said to have attained Self-realisation.
Instead of treating the philosophy as a theory or belief system, Shankarananda applies the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism to daily life and the practitioner’s own experience. His book, Consciousness Is Everything: The Yoga of Kashmir Shaivism, as well as discussing the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, is a guide and resource book for the practice of this yoga. The noted scholar Georg Feuerstein
said in his review of it:
. Shankarananda says that this practical and transformative element promotes a full and happy life but is almost completely absent from education in the West. The sadhana practices that Shankarananda teaches include meditation, chanting, repetition of the lineage mantra (Om Namah Shivaya), service, satsang and Self-inquiry.
Shankarananda teaches that there are three aspects of Shiva Yoga sadhana:
Thus, sadhana should not only be intellect-based or heart-based, but should reach fruition through action by means of: a) practice, and b) service. Wisdom, devotion and action are given equal importance. He follows the teaching of Muktananda who says that God, guru and Self are one. Using these three complementary aspects of the divine as navigational indicators, the seeker arrives at the goal.
therapist before her involvement with Shiva Yoga. The process is designed to uncover the connection between thought and feeling, releasing internal ‘blocks’ or contractions of energy through a series of A (possibly accurate); B (possibly beneficial); and G (God or scriptural) statements. By means of these statements the individual moves from the personal to the impersonal; from limited understanding (jiva) to higher consciousness (Shiva).
The Shiva Process is a practical and direct expression of the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism and is also aligned with the technique of ātma-vicāra, or Self-inquiry, taught by Ramana Maharshi
.
The Shiva Process is an integral
method which links meditation with techniques from Western psychology
. Shankarananda says that it is "mystical psychology" because it pays attention not only to the individual practitioner but to the movement of spiritual energy. It is practiced on a regular basis at the Shiva Ashram and Shiva Centres. Shiva Process can be practiced individually (personal inquiry), in a group (group inquiry) or with a facilitator (one-on-one coaching).
Shankarananda's book, Self-Inquiry, is an in-depth discussion of his method of Shiva Process Self-Inquiry.
During his spiritual process Shankarananda met and studied with a number of great beings, including Nisargadatta Maharaj
, Sri Goenka
, Neem Karoli Baba
, Anandamayi Ma, Hari Das Baba
.
In his satsangs Shankarananda draws on the teachings of a number of great beings, especially Baba Muktananda, Bhagavan Nityananda, and others such as Ramana Maharshi
, Sri Ramakrishna, G. I. Gurdjieff
and yogis and mystics of the Sufi, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist traditions.
representative on the advisory board of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Interreligious Dialogue and he is the patron of the Hindu Community Council of Victoria (HCCV). He was invited to be a major speaker at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Melbourne, 2009.
in Haridwar, India.
In 2010, in further recognition of his international work in spreading the sanatana dharma (universal religion), he was invested as a Mahamandaleshwar of the Mahanirvani Akhara by Mahamandaleshwar Vishveshwarananda Maharaj. The ceremony took place on November 22 in Ganeshpuri, India. Swami Shankarananda is only the second Western-born Mahamandaleshwar in the Mahanirvani Akhara.
His official title is Sri Mahamandaleshwar 1008 Swami Shankarananda Saraswati of the Mahanirvani Akhara.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born guru in the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. The gurus of this lineage are noted for awakening the kundalini
Kundalini
Kundalini literally means coiled. In yoga, a "corporeal energy" - an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti, lies coiled at the base of the spine. It is envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent, hence a number of English renderings of the term such as 'serpent...
energy of seekers by means of shaktipat
Shaktipat
Shaktipat or Śaktipāta refers in Hinduism to the conferring of spiritual "energy" upon one person by another...
. Swami Shankarananda is an author and authority on the philosophy and practice of Kashmir Shaivism. He emphasises spiritual practice (sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
), especially meditation, mantra and Self-Inquiry
Self-enquiry
Self-enquiry is a practice designed to rapidly bring about Self-realization, Self awareness, spiritual liberation or enlightenment, and is most commonly associated with its most famous modern advocate, Sri Ramana Maharshi...
. He is a prominent spiritual teacher in Australia, where he founded the Shiva Ashram, a residential spiritual school where about 40 seekers live and members of the wider public visit for programs, retreats and courses. He is also a spokesperson for Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
in interfaith dialogue.
Biography
Born Russell Michael Kruckman, son of artist Herbert (Herb) (1904–1998) and school teacher Selma (1908–1998). He was a Pulitzer scholar at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York, where he played on Columbia's US Champion intercollegiate chess team, earning the title of US Chess Master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
. He taught Shakespeare and English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. In 1970, a decisive encounter with the American yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
Ram Dass
Ram Dass
Ram Dass is an American contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now. He is known for his personal and professional associations with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, for his travels to India and his relationship with the Hindu guru Neem...
inspired him to go to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where he met his guru, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa
Muktananda
Swami Muktananda is the monastic name of an Indian Hindu guru and disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. Swami Muktananda was the founder of Siddha Yoga...
, the disciple of Bhagawan Nityananda
Bhagawan Nityananda
Bhagawan Nityananda was an Indian guru. His teachings are published in the "Chidakash Gita". Nityananda was born in Quilandy , Kerala, South India.- Early life :...
of Ganeshpuri.
He spent 12 years studying with Muktananda, the first three of which were spent at his ashram in Ganeshpuri. To this day, Shankarananda makes regular visits with large groups of devotees to the town of Ganeshpuri, the seat of his lineage.
In 1974 he was initiated by his guru to awaken people spiritually via shaktipat diksha (initiation). Muktananda wrote of Shankarananda, "He is able to carry my message to everyone. Has the power to make people experience the divine presence." Since that time, Shankarananda has headed ashrams in Ann Arbor, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
In 1977, at the request of his guru, he was initiated into the Saraswati order of monks by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Brahmananda.
In 1991 he founded the Shiva School of Meditation and Yoga in Melbourne with the assistance of Swami Bhairavi Ananda (Devi Ma), who is the co-director. They established a residential ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
on the Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
.
Over the past 10 years, he has initiated nine swamis, several of whom run centres in Australia and internationally.
Lineage
Swami Shankarananda places great importance on lineage, saying that a guru should come from an authentic lineage. He belongs to the shaktipat tradition (see below) of Bhagavan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, sometimes called the "Siddha lineage". Shankarananda received shaktipat initiation from his guru, Swami Muktananda, who was initiated by his guru, Bhagavan Nityananda. Bhagavan Nityananda seems to have called his path Raja Yoga. Baba Muktananda called his path Siddha Yoga, and also Maha Yoga, Maha Kundalini Yoga, Purna Yoga or Gurukripa Yoga. Shankarananda calls his yoga Shiva Yoga, emphasising the link with Kashmir Shaivism. He points out that all these names designate the same yoga, based on shaktipat initiation.He works for harmony within his own tradition, and recognises and values the many teachers and yogis who belong to it. He has held several large events with other teachers in his lineage, and, in 2009, launched a website that documents the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda and the many gurus and teachers it has produced.
Shaktipat guru
Muktananda emphasised the importance of a Self-realised guru who can awaken and guide the kundalini energy of a seeker. Swami Shankarananda was instructed by Muktananda to awaken people at meditation intensives by touch. Muktananda gave him a wand of peacock feathers that he himself had used to give shaktipat. Shankarananda is one of the first Western shaktipat gurus of the Siddha tradition. Shankarananda says that within every person there is a great power and a great potential that can be awakened by means of the grace of the guru and through spiritual practice.Kashmir Shaivism
Swami Shankarananda came into contact with Kashmir ShaivismKashmir Shaivism
Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is a school of Śaivism consisting of Trika and its philosophical articulation Pratyabhijña...
through his teacher, Swami Muktananda, who was an important disseminator of this philosophy in recent times. Described by Shankarananda as a "philosophy of Consciousness"[fn. CiE p. 15], Kashmir Shaivism, like Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
, advocates the primacy of consciousness as the ground of all being. In contrast to Advaita Vedanta, however, Kashmir Shaivism regards phenomenal reality as an expression or manifestation of consciousness, rather than maya or illusion
Maya (illusion)
Maya , in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality...
.
The first sutra in the foundational text, the Shiva Sutras
Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta
Shiva Sutras are a collection of seventy seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 8th century C.E....
, affirms, 'the Self is consciousness' (caitanyamatma). Shankarananda teaches that this important sutra defines the elusive Self as nothing but our own awareness. When that awareness is purified and expanded the yogi is said to have attained Self-realisation.
Instead of treating the philosophy as a theory or belief system, Shankarananda applies the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism to daily life and the practitioner’s own experience. His book, Consciousness Is Everything: The Yoga of Kashmir Shaivism, as well as discussing the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, is a guide and resource book for the practice of this yoga. The noted scholar Georg Feuerstein
Georg Feuerstein
Dr. Georg Feuerstein is a German-Canadian Indologist specializing on Yoga. Feuerstein has authored over 30 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism...
said in his review of it:
Swami Shankarananda has succeeded in making Kashmir's Shaiva Yoga come alive in these pages and I consider this work the best introduction to that tradition so far.
Sadhana
Shankarananda refers to academic education as "first education". He says there is a "second education", which involves the spiritual transformation of a person. In the Eastern tradition this is called sadhanaSadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
. Shankarananda says that this practical and transformative element promotes a full and happy life but is almost completely absent from education in the West. The sadhana practices that Shankarananda teaches include meditation, chanting, repetition of the lineage mantra (Om Namah Shivaya), service, satsang and Self-inquiry.
Shankarananda teaches that there are three aspects of Shiva Yoga sadhana:
- Wisdom
- Devotion
- Action
Thus, sadhana should not only be intellect-based or heart-based, but should reach fruition through action by means of: a) practice, and b) service. Wisdom, devotion and action are given equal importance. He follows the teaching of Muktananda who says that God, guru and Self are one. Using these three complementary aspects of the divine as navigational indicators, the seeker arrives at the goal.
Shiva Process Self-inquiry
Swami Shankarananda has developed a method of Self-inquiry, the Shiva Process, to deepen spiritual understanding and increase self-awareness in everyday life, especially in the areas of career, relationships, health and spirituality. He was assisted in this work by Devi Ma, who was an experienced GestaltGestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy is an existential/experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating...
therapist before her involvement with Shiva Yoga. The process is designed to uncover the connection between thought and feeling, releasing internal ‘blocks’ or contractions of energy through a series of A (possibly accurate); B (possibly beneficial); and G (God or scriptural) statements. By means of these statements the individual moves from the personal to the impersonal; from limited understanding (jiva) to higher consciousness (Shiva).
The Shiva Process is a practical and direct expression of the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism and is also aligned with the technique of ātma-vicāra, or Self-inquiry, taught by Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
.
The Shiva Process is an integral
Integral yoga
In the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, Integral yoga refers to the process of the union of all the parts of one's being with the Divine, and the transmutation of all of their jarring elements into a harmonious state of higher divine consciousness and existence.Sri...
method which links meditation with techniques from Western psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. Shankarananda says that it is "mystical psychology" because it pays attention not only to the individual practitioner but to the movement of spiritual energy. It is practiced on a regular basis at the Shiva Ashram and Shiva Centres. Shiva Process can be practiced individually (personal inquiry), in a group (group inquiry) or with a facilitator (one-on-one coaching).
Shankarananda's book, Self-Inquiry, is an in-depth discussion of his method of Shiva Process Self-Inquiry.
Great beings
Swami Shankarananda emphasises the critical importance of enlightened masters, or as he calls them, “great beings”. These outstanding yogis have the power to transform. They stress meditation on the Self, leading ultimately to the highest state of consciousness, sahaja samadhi. Shankarananda says that this state is not a trance or absorption in the void, but is an integrated state which a master brings to his or her ordinary life.During his spiritual process Shankarananda met and studied with a number of great beings, including Nisargadatta Maharaj
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj , born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita , and a Guru, belonging to the Inchgiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya....
, Sri Goenka
S. N. Goenka
Satya Narayan Goenka is a leading lay teacher of Vipassanā meditation and a student of U Ba Khin. He has trained more than 800 assistant teachers and each year more than 100,000 people attend Goenka sponsored Vipassana courses....
, Neem Karoli Baba
Neem Karoli Baba
Shri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
, Anandamayi Ma, Hari Das Baba
Baba Hari Dass
Baba Hari Dass was born in 1923 near Almora, India. He is a silent monk and guru who was classically trained in the tradition of Ashtanga Yoga. He has maintained a continual vow of silence since 1952...
.
In his satsangs Shankarananda draws on the teachings of a number of great beings, especially Baba Muktananda, Bhagavan Nityananda, and others such as Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
, Sri Ramakrishna, G. I. Gurdjieff
G. I. Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff according to Gurdjieff's principles and instructions, or the "Fourth Way."At one point he described his teaching as "esoteric Christianity."...
and yogis and mystics of the Sufi, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist traditions.
Interfaith
As a spokesperson for interfaith in Australia, Shankarananda actively promotes interfaith dialogue and regularly participates in interfaith conferences and symposia. He is also the HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
representative on the advisory board of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Interreligious Dialogue and he is the patron of the Hindu Community Council of Victoria (HCCV). He was invited to be a major speaker at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Melbourne, 2009.
Mahamandaleshwar
In 2007 Swamiji was invested as a mahant (spiritual leader) of the Panch Agni AkharaAkhara
In Hinduism, Akhara is an organization of the different sects of Sadhus Vairaghis yogis or Hindu Renunciates....
in Haridwar, India.
In 2010, in further recognition of his international work in spreading the sanatana dharma (universal religion), he was invested as a Mahamandaleshwar of the Mahanirvani Akhara by Mahamandaleshwar Vishveshwarananda Maharaj. The ceremony took place on November 22 in Ganeshpuri, India. Swami Shankarananda is only the second Western-born Mahamandaleshwar in the Mahanirvani Akhara.
His official title is Sri Mahamandaleshwar 1008 Swami Shankarananda Saraswati of the Mahanirvani Akhara.