Siddha Yoga

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This page is Siddha Yoga, the new religious movement, for other uses see Siddha Yoga (disambiguation).

Siddha Yoga is a spiritual group teaching traditional Hindu or yogic practices both in India and in the West. The group has an organizational foundation by the name of SYDA Foundation (a domestic not for profit corporation registered in New York State),[1] founded by the second guru of the Siddha Yoga lineage, Swami Muktananda (1908 – 1982). As of 2006, the guru is a woman, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda (born June 24, 1955 ). The group has its U.S. headquarters at a large country ashram called Shree Muktananda Ashram composed of two former resort hotels in South Fallsburg, New York State. Its original home remains the ashram called Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri in rural Maharashtra, India. "Siddha Yoga" is a registered trademark of SYDA Foundation.[2]

Contents

[edit] Tenets

The central tenet of Siddha Yoga is that the goal of seekers is to find the Self, inner consciousness, in all humans, and in everything. The aim of Siddha Yoga is to help every human being realize and experience that they and all other humans have an inner Self which is perfect and divine, and that a reachable goal is the end of human suffering and the attainment of supreme bliss.

  • Honor your Self, Worship your Self, Meditate on your Self, God dwells within you as you.
  • See God in each other.
  • The heart is the hub of all sacred places; go there and roam.
  • Nothing exists that is not Shiva.

The primary philosophical bases of Siddha Yoga are Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta.

[edit] Practices

The main practices of Siddha Yoga include:

  • Meditation – The form of meditation practiced is silent with attention focused on a mantra and/or on the flow of breath. The mantra most often used for meditation is the mantra Om Namah Shivaya.
  • Chanting – Students chant sanskrit mantras which can either be Nama Sankirtana (chants that consist of short sanskrit phrases) or swadhyaya (chanting of longer texts). The texts include the Guru Gita, morning and evening Arati, Shree Rudram, and the Kundalini Stavaha.
  • seva – Students practice seva through volunteer work at either an ashram or a center in their city. Seva can also mean any service done as an offering to God.
  • dakshina – A financial offering or gift to the Guru. Traditionally, when students seek the teachings or blessings of a saint, they make an offering of dakshina. The practice of giving dakshina is an expression of appreciation for what has been received on the spiritual path.
  • Satsang refers to group meetings or programs, usually held weekly, at the ashrams and Siddha Yoga meditation centers. Satsang includes talks, meditation and chanting.[3]

[edit] History

  • 1908 – May 16, Muktananda is born
  • 1947 – August 15 Muktananda receives shaktipat initiation from Bhagawan Nityananda
  • 1955 – Chidvilasananda is born
  • 1956 – 1961 Muktananda founds Shree Gurudev Ashram, later renamed Gurudev Siddha Peeth, the main Siddha Yoga ashram, on a property given to him by Bhagawan Nityananda and located at Gavdevi, near Ganeshpuri, India.[4]
  • 1961 – Bhagawan Nityananda dies.
  • 1970 – 1981 Muktananda tours the West at his students' invitation, three times.
  • 1974 – Muktananda establishes SYDA Foundation
  • 1979 – Muktananda founds Shree Nityananda Ashram which later becomes Shree Muktananda Ashram.
  • May 1982 – Muktananda installs his translator Swami Chidvilasananda and her brother Swami Nityananda as co- successors of the Siddha Yoga Path.
  • 1982 – October 2, Muktananda dies
  • 1985 – Nityananda steps down (amidst controversy, admitting to breaking his vows of celibacy).[5] He has since started his own group (Shanti Mandir) and he is now known as Mahamandeleshwar Swami Nityanand.
  • 1992 – PRASAD Project founded.[6]
  • 1997 – Gurumayi founds the Muktabodha Institute with its own publishing imprint, Agama Press.[7]

[edit] Holy Days

[edit] References in Popular Culture

[edit] Movies

  • Startup.com References in two scenes: One is a copy of a painting of the Goddess Lakshmi from the Shree Muktananda Ashram, the other is a scene where Kaleil is chanting the Guru Gita while driving.
  • The Guru Reference is in a scene where the character Lexi is asking Swami Bu about the nature of his teachings. "Muktananda says, 'See God in each other.'"
  • Kissing Jessica Stein Reference is in a scene where Helen is meditating while Jessica is calling her and leaving a message. One can see a small picture of Swami Muktananda on the altar.

[edit] Criticism

Some former members have accused the Siddha Yoga leadership of abusive behavior which is at odds with its teachings and wider accepted norms. William Rodarmor made these accusations public in “CoEvolution Quarterly" of winter 1983.[8]

Lis Harris repeated and extended those in The New Yorker of November 14, 1994.[9]

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.[10]

The 'Leaving Siddha Yoga' website was started in July 1996 to provide information about alleged problems in Siddha Yoga.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ New York State's Division of Corporations Entry for SYDA Foundation
  2. ^ SYDA Terms of Use
  3. ^ Siddha Yoga Glossary page
  4. ^ Hinduism Today, "Baba Muktananda's 'Meditation Revolution' Continues" October, 1992 http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1992/10/1992-10-03.shtml
  5. ^ Hinduism today, April 1995 , on Nityananda's renounciation of his position available online
  6. ^ PRASAD Project webpage
  7. ^ Muktabodha Indological Research Institute Muktabodha Webpage
  8. ^ Rodarmor, William, article "The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda." , CoEvolution Quarterly, Winter 1983 available online
  9. ^ Harris, Lis article, O Guru, Guru, Guru, The New Yorker,November 14, 1994 available online
  10. ^ 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. available online
  11. ^ Leaving Siddha Yoga website

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Books

  • Brooks & Sabharathnam, Meditation Revolution: A History and Theology of the Siddha Yoga Lineage, Agama Press, 1997, ISBN 0-9654096-0-0

[edit] External links


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