Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

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Lineage Masters


paramahamsasatyanandaParamahamsa Satyananda Sarasvati

1923 – 2009

Paramahamsa Swami Satyananda Sarasvati died December 6th in Rikhia, India.  Swami-ji was our light of true yoga, Dharmanidhi’s guru and our inspiration.  He had brought the gift of Yoga to millions of practitioners through his now famous Bihar School of Yoga as well as having written or inspired countless books on Kundalini / Hatha Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Pranayama, as well as all of his published teachings.  We are immensely grateful for all of the amazing teachings he passed down and we are even more eternally beholden to him for continuing to be such a great source of grace and inspiration for all beings.

Paramahamsa Satyananda is an extraordinary spiritual adept and transmitter of the Tantrik Yoga tradition. He is Dharmanidhi’s Sat Guru (also known as Vajra Guru).

It was due to Paramahamsaji’s spiritual accomplishment and his compassionate grace that in his presence Dharmanidhi was able to recognize his true primordial nature.

Paramahamsaji traveled extensively throughout India, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Tibet, and Burma during his years as a wandering ascetic yogi in training, acquiring a vast practical knowledge of the non-dual traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism.

He established the now world-famous Bihar School of Yoga in 1964 after having finished his training with his Sat Guru, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh in 1955. After many years in retreat in the Himalayas and conclusion of a 5-year sadhana retreat known as Pancagni Sadhana, Paramahamsaji appointed Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Sarasvati as his successor and the preceptor of the lineage.

Paramahamsaji now remains mostly in retreat in a rural area of Bihar, India.

paramahamsaniranjanananandaParamahamsa Niranjanananda Sarasvati

Paramahamsa Niranjanananda is Dharmanidhi’s Junior Guru Maharaj. He and Paramahamsa Satyananda are virtually one heart and mind. Paramahamsa Niranjanananda went to live in the ashram of Satyananda at age 4 and by the age of 10 took initiation as a sanyasin monk. After living and travelling overseas for 11 years he was recalled in 1983 to India and appointed President of Bihar School of Yoga. In 1990, he was initiated into the Paramahamsa order of sanyasin monks. Paramahamsa Niranjanananda is a great visionary of the Yogic and Tantrik traditions. Through his transmissions and wise, compassionate tutoring, Dharmanidhi received a deeper understanding of the tradition.

In 1997, Paramahamsa Niranjanananda conferred the lineage transmission to Dharmanidhi through abhisekha in the akhara at the Munger ashram, and told him to start a new school of authentic Tantra for western lay people and to initiate people into this new branch of the Sarasvati order of Yoga Tantra. Paramahamsa Niranjanananda named the new order of Tantrik lay initiates “Jnanagni Kula” (or Wisdom Fire Family of Practitioners), and set out a structure of 7 levels of initiation for Dharmanidhi to guide students through.

Paramahamsa Niranjanananda has authored over 20 books and continues to travel worldwide teaching Yoga and Tantra for uplifting the health and spiritual well-being of all humanity.

swamisivanandaSwami Sivananda of Rishikesh

Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh was born into a family of spiritual maters in 1887 in Tamil Nadu, India.

After serving as a medical doctor in Malaysia, he gave up his medical practice and was initiated into sanyasa tradition by Swami Vishwananda in 1924.

Swami Sivananda was to become a magic force in India, producing dozens of highly realized and competent students who became gurus in their own right.

He wrote over 200 books and established free medical clinics. He was Paramahamsa Satyananda Sarasvati’s Sat Guru.