Swami Nithyananda

Swami Nithyananda
Born	(1978-01-01) 1 January 1978 Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India[1][2]
Nationality	Indian
Titles/honours	Mahamandaleshwar of Nirvani Akhada[3]
Founder of	Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam
Philosophy	Advaita Vedanta
Quotation	I am not here to say I am God—Aham Brahmasmi. I am here to prove that you are God—Tat Tvam Asi.

Swami Nithyananda, better known as Paramahamsa Nithyananda,^[4] is a spiritual guru^[5] and Mahamandaleshwar of Maha Nirvani Akhada.^[3] He is also the founder of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam headquartered in Bengaluru, India.^[6] His organization spans 50 countries with 10 million followers worldwide.^[7]

Biography

Early life

He was born with the name Rajasekaran on 1 January 1978 in Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.^[1] He was the second child of Arunachalam and Lokanayaki.^[1] Nithyananda claims to remember his birth: "It was neither dark nor light-filled; an indeterminate color covered planet Earth. Suddenly a bright and brilliant light appeared from a region, which I now see as Southern India. I entered into that light in the form of a brilliant meteor. The very next sight that I perceived with my inner eye was Arunachala, and I knew that I had assumed the body once more; I had entered the womb of my mother. It was a conscious birth. I entered into the body at 11:45 pm. I took a muhurta, which is a period of about 45 minutes in the Hindu system of time measurement, to settle into the body."^[8]

Nithyananda Biography

Nithyananda says that when he was around 9 years old he regularly met Arunagiri Yogiswara, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, at his Samadhi within the premises of Arunachala temple at Tiruvannamalai and that they talked for hours day after day. According to Nithyananda, Arunagiri eventually told him, "Dear one, you and I are one. We can never get separated. But the play is over. You will not miss me any longer. We are one" and the form of Arunagiri Yogiswara merged into his body and disappeared.

According to Nithyananda when he was about 12 years old a meditation technique given to him by Annamalai Swamigal resulted in his "awaken[ing] to the realization that I was one with the whole of Existence and everything was I!" Nithyananda says that the effects of this experience, that he now calls satori, lasted for about three days and was the beginning of a new phase of spiritual development in his life. He says that it has enabled him to see all around him whenever he wishes.^[9]

Name change

According to Nithyananda, he changed his name from Rajashekar after a mystical experience in which Mahavatar Babaji appeared to him in a darshan and gave him the name Nithyananda.^[10] Responding to the question, "who called you Paramahamsa?", (a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honour applied to Hindu spiritual teachers of lofty status who are regarded as having attained enlightenment), Nithyananda said "The Mahavatar Babaji in his mystical darshan".^[10]

Teachings and Meditation Programs

Nithyananda's teachings are based on the Upanishads and Kamika Agama, advaita vedanta, bhakti, yoga, meditation and kriyas.^[11] His discourses on Indian scriptures include Shiva Sutras, Jain Sutras Brahma Sutras, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads.

Nithyananda conducts meditation programs spanning 1 to 21-days.^[12] His discourses are available through live internet video streaming, through Nithyananda TV and also broadcast by selected television companies.

eN education

Nithyananda's organisation includes a number of "Enlightening Nithyanandam based Spiritual Education" (eNBSE) programs and schools with the stated mission "To create a quantum intelligent civilization based on consciousness, compassion, creativity and confidence in at least 10 million children".^[13]

Nithyananda Gurukul

Nithyananda Gurukul is a residential school within the ashram in Bidadi. According to nithyananda.org, the curriculum includes "standard academics", "brain yoga for balanced neurological growth", "Vedic mathematics", an "Emphasis on Ecological awareness and connection with the planet that sustains us" and an "Awareness of beauty cultivated through creative performing and graphic arts".^[14]

Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam

Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam Worldwide

Nithyananda established an Ashram at Bidadi, near Bangalore on 1 January 2003 called Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, with the stated mission of reviving Vedic tradition and sharing his enlightenment experience. The ashram offers programs on meditation, yoga and healing which are often conducted by Nithyananda.

The ashram has been involved in a number of social initiatives including disaster relief activities for hurricane Thane,^[15] relief work during the floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in 2009,^[16] donations for victims of fire accident at the fireworks factory in Sivakasi in 2009^[17] and deaths of pilgrims at Amarnath in 2012.

Awards and honours

Nithyananda at Kumbh Mela

• In 2007, he was nominated chairman of the Hindu University of America, also known as the International Vedic Hindu University, an institution in the US state of Florida.^[18]
• In 2012, Paramahamsa Nithyananda featured in the Watkins' list of the top 100 most spiritually influential living people in the world.^[19]
• In April 2012 appointed 293rd head of Madurai Adheenam. In October 2012 removed as head due to sexual-abuse allegations^[20] that have been proven false in both U.S. Federal Court^[21] and the High Court of Karnataka.^[22][23]
• In February 2013 during the Maha Kumbh Mela, Nithyananda was bestowed the title of Mahamandaleshwar by the head of Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani.^[24]

Works

• Nithyananda, Paramhamsa (2008). Living Enlightenment (Unabridged). Life Bliss Foundation. p. 894. ISBN 978-1-60607-048-2. 
• Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2008). Guaranteed Solutions for Lust, Fear, Worry ... Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-1-60607-031-4. 
• Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2004). Meditation is for You: An Introduction to the Science and Art of Meditation. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-81-902437-4-2. 
• Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2004). Open the door... let the breeze in!. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-81-902437-1-1. 
• Nithyananda, Paramhamsa (2008). Nithya Yoga. Nithyananda Vedic Sciences University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-93436-489-5. 
• Nithyananda, Paramhamsa (2008). You are no Sinner. Life Bliss Foundation. p. 172. ISBN 978-193436-407-9. 
• Nithyananda, Paramhamsa (2005). 6 Days to Total Transformation. Life Bliss Foundation. p. 256. ISBN 978-819024-370-4. 
• Nithyananda, Paramhamsa (2011). Bhagavad Gita Demystified. eN Galleria Private, Ltd. p. 1495. ISBN 978-1-60607-132-8. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swami Nithyananda.

• Official website