Siddhayoga

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Siddhayoga-Tirtha lineage is a mystical sect of Hinduism, that relies on direct experience of life-force or kundalini shakti in addition to simple intellectual understanding of Vedic scripture (shastras). Shakti is the energy of universal Soul, so direct experience of Soul is available regardless of religion; in this sense it can be said that siddhayoga is a universal practice rather than a Hindu practice. The shakti is said to be automatically infused into the shisya (spiritual disciple] by the siddhayoga guru.

Contents 1 Definition 1.1 Layman's definition 1.2 Mystical definition 2 About Siddhayoga 2.1 Its value 2.2 Siddhayoga's influence 3 Scriptural references 4 Siddhayoga lineage 5 Shankaracharyga Tirtha lineage 5.1 Adi Shankara & his 4 main shishyas 5.2 Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja 5.3 Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha 5.4 Swami Narayan Tirtha 5.5 Current Siddhayoga gurus and ashrams 5.5.1 India 5.5.2 America 6 Other Siddhayoga lineages 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Definition

It is difficult to 'pigeon hole' siddhayoga into a standardized definition or practice because it is said to be an internal transformation, allowing a person to grow more into their nature; what they do and how they do it in the outer world is unique to their own individual path (dharma). A person who yearns to connect with their soul or God, who strives for mental peace and harmony with all people, animals, and nature, who tries to live in balance with nature's rhythms, and who aims to live purposefully, is a person who will find these higher desires fulfilled. So siddhayoga is noted as an easy means of directly experiencing your inner soul regardless of your outer path, rites and rituals. Another way it is explained is that it develops your inner divine love.

Be full of love for no particular faith or follower, but for all the creation as Reality and Self. Keep firm in 'faith unfathomable'. Faith is samadhi-nothing more.^[1]

[edit] Layman's definition

Siddhayoga is an easy, natural way to realize more peace and harmony in your life, even in a stress-filled society. Gradually over time, you uncover your inner eternal source of abundance - peace, creativity, spiritual energy, and eternal soul. Then your spiritual cup runneth over and this eternal abundance overflows into the world for all to share. What is unique is that the Siddhayoga guru makes this all happen for the disciple.^[2]

[edit] Mystical definition

The easy way of attaining it (salvation) is said to be Siddhayoga...Siddhayoga or Siddhimarga is that means by which yoga (union) can be attained without difficulty...Siddhayoga is attained by the infusion of spiritual force through the good grace of a saintly preceptor...Siddhayoga or Siddhimarga is nothing but the knowledge of the unity of Self and Brahma...^[3]

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna about externally defining an internal experience. He asks what are the behaviors of an enlightened person; how do they walk, talk, sit, etc.^[4] Krishna says an enlightened person is not know through physical habits, rather through how peacefully they behave in various life situations; how well they remain clear-minded in times of crisis, free from the grip of pleasures, attachments, fear, and anger.^[5] Such a person finds more Divine pleasure within than from their external sensory experience.^[6]

When senses cannot compare to the delight of inner spiritual joy, one has established wisdom.^[7]

[edit] About Siddhayoga

[edit] Its value

Hindu or Vedic mysticism, and in particular, Siddhayoga states the goal of life is Self-Realization, or to realize you are eternal soul and not this body.^[8] Suffering is said to be caused by identifying with your body, emotions, or thoughts, rather than with your true nature, eternal soul (some call this God).^[9] For example, on a sunny clear day, when the sky is blue, and maybe a few white clouds are in the sky, most everyone feels the glorious nature of the day. Issues that seemed like problems yesterday, are not troubling today because your spirit is inspired by nature's brilliance.

So it is with life in general; if your spirit is on high, things in life do not seem to get you down as much. Work or family related issues flow more smoothly because life seems more open, more free, more bright. Vedic mysticism says best way to inspire the spirit is by experiencing the most free and bright spirit, your soul. Since your soul is eternal, it is fully open-fully free-because there are no boundaries to eternity.

So in layman's terms, alien concepts of Self-realization or moksha really mean more freer, peaceful mind. Having less undue stress is the modern parlance.

There are many ways to develop a more peaceful mind, but often they become as burdensome as other tools we use to make our lives simpler. With all of our technology to make our lives simpler, we have become enslaved to these gadgets. It is now commonplace to see people with their head stuck to a cell phone, or thumbs wired to Blackberries; there is no place to find peace and quite because some electronic device will certainly beep at us for attention.

So it is with meditation tools, often following the rules of the discipline become unnatural because they are artificially imposed, and we become more stressed out trying to reduce stress. What is the use of spending more money than you can afford on stress-reduction books, spas, and consultations when it only causes more stress? If you are trying to get your 10 minutes of meditation in when you really need to be driving to see your child's soccer game, where is the peace; where is the benefit?

The point claimed is, even when doing your best to remain balanced and freer in life, you often find yourself once again bound. Of course if peace of mind were that simple to achieve, everyone would be at peace already.

The question is, how can a person easily find more peace in their lives and reduce their suffering? Siddhayoga says that through the "grace of a Siddhayoga guru", all the work is done for you.^[10] You meditate when you can; aim for regularity, but do not force anything. It is the guru who gradually raises your spiritual energy so you feel freer and more at peace; you are not charged anything or asked for anything by the guru - so there is no conflict of interest.^[11]

The point Siddhayoga makes is that you gain peace through direct experience of peace, not from intellectual knowledge of peace. Once peace is felt, the intellectual knowledge confirms what you feel.

...birds cannot fly in the air with the help of a single wing, but they can do so with the help of both. So the devotee cannot move in the spiritual atmosphere leading to Salvation with the help of knowledge of yoga alone. The devotee can attain salvation with the help of both knowledge and yoga.^[12]

Here is a more technical explanation for those who are familiar with mystical terminology:

The unique value of a siddhayoga guru is that they prepare the kundalini shakti (spiritual energy) and it automatically gets infused in the disciple at the muladhara chakra (first chakra), awakening and raising their spiritual energy up the sushumna so shishyas may develop their Self-Realization, moksha, or eternal peace naturally without strain or artificial practices.^[13]

To be clear, Siddhayoga does not suggest people get a 'free ride' by following a Siddhayoga guru. Quite the opposite is true. Siddhayoga is said to be for those people who take responsibility for their lives, who are self-reliant, whose focus in life is to help others, the creatures, and Mother Nature. People who aim for inner and outer balance in life, eat sensibly^[14] and healthfully, who live a life of moderation, seek to be purposeful in life, and wish to have greater spiritual connection are the ones who are able to appreciate Siddhayoga most.

[edit] Siddhayoga's influence

• Founder of the modern Siddha Yoga group, Swami Muktananda recommends Siddhayoga's main book book, Yoga Vani. In Muktananda's book, Play of Consciousness, he says:

I studied books such as Mahayoga Vijnana, containing descriptions of some experiences which are helpful for the yoga of meditation. I sent for other, similar books, such as Yogavani and Shaktipat. Mahayoga has a very important place in Shaivite philosophy. In the Shivasutras, Pratyabhijnahridayam, Tantraloka, Shivadrishti, one can read what the saints say, in the light of their own experiences, about Shaktipat, the grace of a Siddha, and the dynamic play of Mother Kundalini.^[15]

• Another modern Siddhayoga guru, Shivom Tirtha, has laid out the Tirtha Siddhayoga lineage tree on his website.^[16] In 1963 he became a sanyasi disciple of Swami Narayan Tirtha, who was a disciple of Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha.^[17]

• Swami Vishnu Tirth, from another branch of Tirtha Siddhayoga lineage (brahmacharya guru of Shivom Tirtha) became a sanyas disciple of Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha in 1939.^[18]

• Yoga Vani is housed in the National Library Centers Them of Florence Italy's Siddhayoga/Kundalini collection.^[19]

[edit] Scriptural references

As stated in the introduction above, a Siddhayoga guru infuses kundalini shakti into the disciple. Various ancient texts discuss infusion of kundalini shakti and its result.

An intelligent person should regard this teacher as their preceptor by whose contact inexpressible bliss is produced in the disciple. - Kularnava Tantra^[20]

A real preceptor is one who can produce blissful sensation in the body of the disciple by their sight, touch, or instructions. - Yoga Vasistha^[21]

Siddhayoga goes by many names including, sahajayoga, mahayoga or siddhamahayog, and is documented in texts written over 1,000 years old. One ancient Tantric scholar who wrote on the subjects was Abhinavagupta. ^[22]

See also: Satguru

[edit] Siddhayoga lineage

There are unclear accounts of at least two prior gurus of this lineage, so we start here:

• His Holiness 108 Sri Swami Gangadha Tirthaji Maharaj
• His Holiness 108 Sri Swami Narayan Dev Tirthaji Maharaj [born circa 1879]
• His Holiness 108 Sri Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirthaji Maharaj [1888-1958]
• His Holiness 1008 Sri Sri Srimat Swami Narayan Tirthaji Maharaj [-2001]

Narayan Dev Tirtha

Shankar Math - Uttarkashi

Holy Ganga river at Shankar Math

Baba & his successors

[edit] Shankaracharyga Tirtha lineage

• Sri Adi Shankaracharya [born circa 509 BCE, but various dates are attributed]
• His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Bharati Krishna Tirtha Maharaja [1884-1960]
• His Holiness 108 Sri Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirthaji Maharaj [1888-1958]
• His Holiness 1008 Sri Sri Srimat Swami Narayan Tirthaji Maharaj [ -2001]

[edit] Adi Shankara & his 4 main shishyas

Main article: Adi Shankara

The lineage began when Lord Narayana passed on the eternal Vedic wisdom to Brahma, the he to Vasishtha, onto Shakti, to Parashara, to Veda Vyasa, and to Shuka. (The lineages was passed on from father to son). From Shuka it was passed on from guru to shishya; this began the tradition of wandering monks. From Shuka to Patanjali to Gaudapada to Govinda to Chandra Sharma to Adi Shankara. Vyasa told Govinda of the advent of the incarnation of Shiva as Adi Shankara and to meet and give him sanyas diksha, Shankara's purpose in incarnating was to comment on the Brahma Sutras.^[23] Shankaracharya set up four religious seats in the north, south, east and west of India to act as a lighthouse to guide religious seekers towards the truth for the millennia to come. at each seat he assigned a sanyas as its head. additionally, Shankaracharya set up 10 monastic orders. 1) Tirtha, 2) Ashrama, 3) Vana, 4) Aranya, 5) Giri, 6) Parvata, 7) Sagara, 8) Saraswati, 9) Bharati, 10) Puri.^[24]

[edit] Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja

Main article: Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja

From here the lineage of Shankaracharyas was passed down until His Holiness Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja, author of Vedic Mathematics^[25] and Vedic Metaphysics.^[26]

He was born into a highly learned and religious family in 1884. He won many awards as a student,k and graduated with an MA at the top of his class. He was highly skilled in the subjects he studies; Sanskrit, public speaking, mathematics, philosophy, English, history and science.

Jagadguruji was initiated into the holy order of Sanyas in Banaras (Varanasi), India by His Holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Trivikrama Tirthaji Maharaj of Sharadapitha on 14 July 1919. after only two years he was installed as Shankaracharya of Sharadapitha in Dwaraka on 27 February 1921. Guruji was a strong proponent of dharma, and the balance of spiritual and worldly duties. Jagadguruji was equally learned in Ayurveda and Jyotish astrology and Chandas Shastra. He was also an ardent speaker for the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity.

In 1925 the Shankaracharya of Puri became seriously ill. Jagadguruji was asked to take over as Shankaracharya of Puri. For the remainder of his life, over the next 35 years he presided in this capacity. He was also the founder-president of the World Reconstruction association (Vishwa Punarnirmana Sangha) in Nagpur India. The aim of this association was to propagate world peace and universal brotherhood.

In 1958 Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship, brought Sri Jagadguruji to America. It was the first time in the 1,000 year-old monastic Shankaracharya history that a Shankaracharya visited America. His Holiness also had rare mathematical skills and shared the unique mathematical laws of nature that he discovered through sadhana and reading the Vedas at many American universities. In April 1958 Newsweek Magazine reported on this historic visit. During His three-month visit to America He left his disciple, His Holiness Sri Srimat Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirthaji Maharaj to preside over the Shankaracharya seat.

Sri Jagadguruji was loved and respected by the religious leaders from all religions, by people of many nations, by the learned, rich and poor. Crowds gathered daily just to catch a glimpse of Him; the milk of human kindness flowed from His heart. On 2 February 1960 Jagadguruji died in Mumbai.^[25]

[edit] Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha

Main article: Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha

Excerpt: Swamiji was born in 1888 (Vaishakh Shukla 6 (Khastee)) in Vikrampar division of Dacca, Bengal. He was the son of a highly devoted orthodox brahmin family, and from childhood had a deep admiration for the path of yoga (the path of love or Self-Realization). When swamiji was a siddhayoga brahmacharya (see Siddhayoga lineage section), he expressed his desire to his guru, Sri Narayan Dev, to become a [sanyasi]. His guruji sent him to Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Bharati Krsna Tirtha to fulfill his holy request. Later he founded Shankar Math in Uttarkashi (Himalayas), then Siddhayogashram (Varanasi). Swamiji died (took mahasamadhi) in 1958 in Kolkota.^[27]

He wrote several books including:

• Yoga Vani: Instructions for the Attainment of Siddhayoga (Bengali, Hindi, English)^[28]
• Guru Bani: 100 Ways to Attain Inner Peace (Bengali, Hindi, English)^[29]
• Jap Sadhana (Bengali, Hindi)^[30]

[edit] Swami Narayan Tirtha

Main article: Swami Narayan Tirtha

Excerpts:

Called Baba or Guruji by his disciples, was born in 1917 (Kartik Amawasya).^[31] Swamiji began his path of renunciation in 1939 (at the beginning of World War II). He left his home and headed directly to Puri where He met Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha, with whom he became a brahmacharya, and in 1950, was initiated into sanyas His guruji made him his successor of Siddhayogashram and Shankar Math.

Sri Swami Narayan Tirtha traveled widely on pilgrimage covering almost all the reputed religious places & temples. He was the great religious leader in Siddhayogashram, Varanasi & Shankar Math at Uttarkashi. Besides religious deliberation he carried out various social/educational duties to redress the distress of suffering humanity. One of the many rare qualities found in Guruji was that he was quite accessible - his door was open to all who required his darshan. In last decade of his life, Baba loved to spend most of the year in Shankar Math, Uttarkashi.^{[citations needed]}

In 1988 Baba gave His blessings to one of his disciples, Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha to open an ashram in his name in America (Swami Narayan Tirtha Math^[32]).

Swamiji took mahasamadhi (died) on 2nd March, 2001 at His Siddhayogashram in Varanasi. He left Swami Atmananda Tirtha as successor of his India ashrams.

[edit] Current Siddhayoga gurus and ashrams

[edit] India

Swamiji Narayan Tirtha's successor in India is Swami Atmananda Tirthaji Maharaj, who resides mostly in Siddhayoga Ashram. He speaks and writes fluently in Bengali, Hindi, and English.

• Shankar Math is located in Uttarkashi, in the Himalayas (UA state). It was given to Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha by the raja (king) of the region, who was helped by Swamiji.

• Siddhayogashram is located in Varanasi, and was built by Swamiji Shankar Purushottam Tirtha's disciples who wished him to live closer to them, since, in those days, a visit to Shankar Math required 2 weeks walking from Rishikesh.

[edit] America

Swamiji Narayan Tirtha's successor in America is Swami Sadashiva Tirthaji Maharaj, who also runs the ashram website, SwamiNarayanTirtha.org. He speaks English, Hindi and Bengali and has studied Ayurveda, Jyotish, and Vastu shastras. He is the author of Bhagavad Gita for Modern Times, and the Ayurveda Encyclopedia.

• Swami Narayan Tirtha Math was founded by Swami Sadashiva Tirtha in New York, USA.

[edit] Other Siddhayoga lineages

There are many Siddhayoga lineages, and many other groups, not using the word Siddhayoga, that experience the infusion of kundalini shakti and other descriptions of Siddhayoga-Tirtha lineage. Some lineages brand out from the same source, other lineages are completely unrelated. ^[33]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Swami Narayan Tirtha Math