Shiva Yoga Lineage

Bhagawan Nityananda
(1885-1961)

Bhagawan Nityananda: Mysterious Sage

Shiva Yoga belongs to a line of masters that stretches back to antiquity. In modern times the central figure is Bhagawan Nityananda (circa 1885-1961), the mysterious sage of Ganeshpuri, India. Although little is known about his personal background, people who met him believed that no external event could shake him from the state of bliss and they gave him the name Nityananda, "everlasting bliss."

Many thought of Nityananda as an incarnation of Lord Shiva, the original guru. His presence transformed the jungle of Ganeshpuri into a holy site and a place of pilgrimage. Thousands flocked to him for wisdom and spiritual sustenance. He taught mainly in silence, and disciples absorbed his teaching simply by sitting in his company.

Bhagawan Nityananda never gave a specific name to his yoga, nor did he offer a coherent teaching, although he did speak about the Self, higher consciousness and kundalini, the spiritual energy within everyone. His devotees were generally the humble villagers of the surrounding area and they thought of him as a God man--a saint who could grant their every wish. They went to him for health, for children and for good fortune. A few also recognised him as a fount of spiritual energy, shakti, whose presence could transform a seeker by the transmission of grace, or shaktipat.

Baba Muktananda (1908-1982) with Swami Shankarananda

Baba Muktananda: Bringing Yoga to the West

Outstanding among Bhagawan Nityananda's disciples was Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (1908-1982), an ardent seeker of God from his earliest years. Intelligent and proud, he mastered many yogas and many skills. In Nityananda's presence his consciousness exploded into divinity. The shock and joy of that awakening made him realise that yoga was of little value unless there was a Self-realised guru at the source. The essence of his teaching, which he called Siddha Yoga, lay in this awakening, shaktipat, or transmission of the guru's grace.

Known to all as Baba, an affectionate name for spiritual father, Muktananda was an articulate and disciplined man. He gave coherence and verbal form to Nityananda's unstructured teachings and took many world tours throughout Australia, the U.S. and Europe, establishing ashrams and centers and awakening thousands by touch. By the time of his death in 1982, Muktananda had many Indian and non-Indian Self-realised disciples.

Swami Shankarananda

Swami Shankarananda: Accessible, Contemporary Master

Swami Shankarananda (Swamiji) is one of the foremost of Baba's Western disciples. Following the teachings of his great predecessors, he awakens people by shaktipat and teaches classical techniques of meditation on the Self.

As one of Muktananda’s foremost teachers of Kashmir Shaivism, Swamiji has integrated this powerful philosophy into Western culture through courses, workshops, study groups and everyday practices. His clear explanations of mystic teachings are accesible to everyone.

Swamiji also has contributed to the unfolding of yoga in the West through a dynamic form of Self-inquiry called the Shiva Process. It is a practical and easy methodology to improve relationships, achieve personal freedom and improve the quality of everyday life.

Drawing on the powerful traditions of ancient yoga practices, Shiva Yoga brings the wisdom of the inner Self into every aspect of life. It enlivens relationships, work, health and spirituality. It gives a sense of purpose and wonder to the ordinary and teaches practitioners how to live with intelligence, peace and joy.