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46-495: According to no other source than Sivaya Subramuniyaswami , this is the history of the Sampradaya and its founder. The Nandinatha Sampradaya traces its beginning to at least 200 BCE . Its founder and first known spiritual preceptor was Maharishi Nandinatha . Nandinatha is said to have initiated eight disciples, Sanatkumar , Sanakar , Sanadanar , Sananthanar , Shivayogamuni , Patanjali , Vyaghrapada , and Sundaranandar ,

92-566: A Siddhar who later becomes Tirumular by a chance happening, and sent them to various places to spread the teachings of Shaiva Siddhanta . Though some of these disciples were sent as far as China to spread the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy of their Guru, the work of two is especially important. Patanjali is remembered as the author of the Yoga Sutras . This crucial text is one of the most widely quoted and respected texts on

138-434: A deep and inner meeting, Yogaswami gave him the name Subramuniya, an epithet of Sri Murugan . Subra means 'the light that emanates out from the central source'; muni means a silent teacher, and ya means 'restraint'. Subramuniya means a self-restrained soul who remains silent or speaks out from intuition . After a few visits, Jnanaguru Yogaswami initiated Subramuniya into sannyasa and ordained him into his lineage with

184-399: A highly realized Siddha can greatly quicken spiritual practice. Some even say that without the diksha (initiation) of such teachers, the human instincts will always fail to lead to this highest Realization. The Nandinatha Sampradaya is maintained today by several groups stemming from MahaRishi Nandinatha's eight disciples. The Kailasa Parampara is based out of Kauai, Hawaii , U.S.A. where

230-934: A language oriented toward his followers at the time, who were Westerners. Subramuniya in the 1950s and 1960s might be placed in an American metaphysical lineage that can be traced from 19th century Theosophy to the New Age Movement in the late 1970s. Accordingly, Subramuniya's early publications, The Self-God (1959), Cognizantibility (1958), Gems of Cognition (1958) and Clear White Light (1968) do not mention Saiva Siddhanta, Hinduism, Shiva, his guru or lineage or his avocation of temple worship so prominently found in his later works. All of Subramuniya's early works stress meditation, an advaita based monism and yoga. Subramuniya also experimented with combining aspects of Hinduism with Christianity in another context. He opened two centers in San Francisco in 1957: one Hindu,

276-682: A monastery and mandir (temple) is maintained. The Sannyasis (Monks) of this order continue to spread the teachings of this Sampradaya through the Himalayan Academy and the " Hinduism Today " magazine. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami is the living preceptor or the 163rd Guru Mahasannidhanam of the Kailasa Parampara of the Nandinatha Sampradaya. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (born Robert Hansen ; January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001)

322-542: A nath. The three words are used interchangeably. A list of eighty-four siddhas is found in a manuscript (manuscript no 48/34 of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) dated Lakshmana Samvat 388 (1506) of a medieval Maithili work, the Varna Ratnakara (devnagari: वर्ण-रत्नाकर) written by Jyotirishwar Thakur , the court poet of King Harisimhadeva of Mithila (reigned 1300–1321). An interesting feature of this list

368-477: A public Spiritual Park called "Spiritual Park- Pointe de Lascars". He oversaw more than 50 independent temples worldwide. His influence reflected the reach of his publications, including the approximately 30 books he wrote. Subramuniyaswami was described by Klaus Klostermaier as "the single-most advocate of Hinduism outside India". The book Religious Leaders of America explained Subramuniyaswami's role as "a pillar of orthodox Hinduism." Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

414-709: A riverbank near the foot of an extinct volcano. Also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery, Kauai Aadheenam is a 382-acre (155 ha) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island. In 1979 he published the Holy Orders of Sannyas, defining the ideals, vows and aspirations of Hindu monasticism . In 1979 he founded the Hinduism Today magazine , and in the early 80s, after his world tours, focused his magazine on uniting all Hindus, regardless of nationality or sect, and inspiring and educating seekers everywhere. In Sri Lanka, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami formally took possession of

460-413: A siddha (see siddhar ) refers to a being who has achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that siddhas allegedly attained physical immortality . Thus siddha, like siddhar , refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the siddha tradition

506-480: A slap on the back giving the following instructions: "This sound will be heard in America! Now go 'round the world and roar like a lion. You will build palaces (temples) and feed thousands." This event was witnesses by several Jaffna area devotees, notably a local magistrate named Thiru S. Subramaniam. Yogaswami continued to communicate with Sivaya Subramuniyaswami through Kandiah Chettiar until his death in 1964. In

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552-436: Is God. The following table summarizes the eight supreme qualities of a liberated soul. Because of the quality of Sūksmatva , the liberated soul is beyond sense-perception and its knowledge of the substances is direct, without the use of the senses and the mind. The quality of avagāhan means that the liberated soul does not hinder the existence of other such souls in the same space. A soul after attaining siddhahood goes to

598-570: Is Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's comprehensive treatise on Shaivism in three books and more than 3,000 pages, composed in what he called "talkanese" - a flowing version of written English that resembles the spoken language and evokes ancient Hindu oral traditions. His Master Course includes three books : Some of his other books: The four areas of service established by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and now carried out by his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami , and monastics, are: Saiva Siddhanta Church , Himalayan Academy, Hindu Heritage Endowment, and

644-522: Is a secret land deep in the Himalayas, where great yogis, sadhus and sages who are siddhas live. The concept is similar to Tibetan mystical land of Shambhala . Siddhashrama is referred in many Indian epics and Puranas including Ramayana and Mahabharata . In Valmiki's Ramayana it is said that Viswamitra had his hermitage in Siddhashrama, the erstwhile hermitage of Vishnu , when he appeared as

690-442: Is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of perfection of the intellect as well as liberation or enlightenment . In Jainism , the term is used to refer to the liberated souls. Siddha may also refer to one who has attained a siddhi , paranormal capabilities. Siddhas may broadly refer to siddhars , naths , ascetics , sadhus , or yogis because they all practice sādhanā . In Jainism,

736-515: Is an international quarterly magazine founded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1979. It is a public service of his monastic order, created to strengthen all Hindu traditions by uplifting and informing followers of the Hinduism everywhere. Siddha Siddha ( Sanskrit : सिद्ध siddha ; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who

782-562: Is prevalent in South India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Spiritual lineage  : Maharishi Nandinath → Sundaranandar, Siddhar who later becomes Tirumular → → → Kadaitswami → Chellapaswami → Siva Yogaswami → Sivaya Subramuniyaswami → Bodhinatha Veylanswami Gurudeva was author of more than 30 books offering insights on Hindu metaphysics , Saivism , mysticism , yoga , and meditation . His works are highly regarded by many contemporary Hindu leaders . His Master Course

828-527: Is said that these teachers have realized their oneness with the Supreme God (they call "Shiva") and have merged as completely as humanly possible with this Divine source of all. With such realization, it is said, comes limitless bliss and direct command of every power in the universe. There are many accounts of miraculous powers demonstrated by the Teachers of this lineage. It is taught that the aid of such

874-535: Is still practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called siddhas (or siddhars or cittars) who are on the path to that assumed perfection after they have taken special secret rasayanas to perfect their bodies, in order to be able to sustain prolonged meditation along with a form of pranayama which considerably reduces the number of breaths they take. Siddha were said to have special powers including flight. These eight powers are collectively known as attamasiddhigal (ashtasiddhi). In Hindu cosmology , Siddhaloka

920-632: Is that the names of the most revered naths are incorporated in this list along with Buddhist siddhācāryas. The names of the siddhas found in this list are: In the first upadeśa (chapter) of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika , a 15th-century text, a list of yogis is found, who are described as the Mahasiddhas. This list has a number of names common with those found in the list of the Varna(na)ratnākara : In Tamil Nadu , South India,

966-591: The Hinduism Today international quarterly magazine. The mission of the Church is to preserve and promote the Śaivite Hindu religion. Membership in the Church extends to many countries of the world, including the US, Canada, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka and several European nations Hindu Heritage Endowment is a public service trust founded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1995. Hinduism Today

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1012-659: The Saiva Siddhanta Church , which spread from Sri Lanka ( Alaveddy , Jaffna ) to the United States ( San Francisco , California , then Kauai , Hawaii ) between the 1940s and 1970s. The teachings of the Nandinatha Sampradaya, value highly the necessity of a living preceptor to carry the unseen, energetic essence of these teaching to devotees. The Nandinatha Sampradaya is a Siddha Yoga Tradition ("Siddha" means literally attainment), and its Gurus have often demonstrated great mystical abilities and wisdom. It

1058-569: The Sannyasin ." Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's training in classical Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga developed him into a dancer. He joined the San Francisco Ballet Company, becoming their danseur by the age of nineteen. At twenty years of age, he took the first ship to leave for India after World War II . He celebrated his twenty-first birthday just days before going ashore and walking through

1104-569: The Tirumantiram , which is a well known Tamil text. The Tirumantiram is still chanted in Tamil Nadu . It covers a wide variety of topics and illuminates much of the esoteric mystical insight of this Sampradaya. It illustrates the life style and moral conduct advocated by this tradition. It provides much insight into the mystical meditations and tantras (techniques) valued by the Nandinatha Sampradaya. It places great emphasis on repetition of

1150-510: The Vamana avatar . He takes Rama and Lakshmana to Siddhashrama to exterminate the rakshasas who are disturbing his religious sacrifices (i.28.1-20). Whenever siddha is mentioned, the 84 siddhas and 9 nathas are remembered, and it is this tradition of siddha which is known as the Nath tradition. Siddha is a term used for both mahasiddhas and Naths So a siddha may mean a siddha, a mahasiddha or

1196-520: The Indian yogic practice, known as prayopavesha in Sanskrit scripture, to abstain from nourishment and take water only from that day on. He died on the 32nd day of his self-declared fast at 11:54 pm on November 12, 2001, surrounded by his twenty-three monastics. He followed the shaivism sect ( Shaiva Siddhanta ) of Hinduism. He belongs to Nandinatha Sampradaya 's Kailasa Parampara. Saiva siddhanta

1242-750: The Subramuniya Yoga Order, and the other a Hindu/Christian hybrid, the Christian Yoga Church. A typical Sunday worship at the Christian Yoga Church included the singing of Christian hymns, readings from the New Testament and the Bhagavad Gita or Upanishads and a sermon related to Christian or Hindu mysticism. In this context, Master Subramuniya was known as Father Subramuniya. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami moved his ashram to Kauai in 1970, establishing Kauai Aadheenam, on

1288-519: The city, nothing looked the same anymore. I was in another dimension. Everything was different. I had lost something: the desire for the realization of the Self. I felt complete. I felt alone." Back in Colombo, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami met his final teacher before meeting his guru. One day, his teacher arranged a meeting between Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and his long-awaited satguru , Sage Yogaswami . After

1334-664: The eight characteristics in a poem, which is given below. கடையிலா ஞானத்தோடு காட்சி வீரியமே இன்ப மிடையுறு நாமமின்மை விதித்த கோத்திரங்களின்மை அடைவிலா ஆயுஇன்மை அந்தராயங்கள் இன்மை உடையவன் யாவன் மற்று இவ்வுலகினுக்கு இறைவனாமே The soul that has infinite knowledge (Ananta jnāna, கடையிலா ஞானம்), infinite vision or wisdom (Ananta darshana, கடையிலா காட்சி), infinite power (Ananta labdhi, கடையிலா வீரியம்), infinite bliss (Ananta sukha, கடையிலா இன்பம்), without name (Akshaya sthiti, நாமமின்மை), without association to any caste (Being vitāraga, கோத்திரமின்மை), infinite life span (Being arupa, ஆயுள் இன்மை) and without any change (Aguruladhutaa, அழியா இயல்பு)

1380-557: The grand Gateway to India in Mumbai . Sivaya Subramuniyaswami spent almost three years on the island of Ceylon , now called Sri Lanka . Before meeting his guru, he studied with his fourth "catalyst" for a year and a half. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami just wanted to meditate, but his teacher made him work to help village people with reconstructing rural areas. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami visited and lived in many Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. He

1426-530: The line of successorship, Subramuniya was considered the 162nd Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara . In late 1949 Subramuniya sailed back to America and embarked on seven years of ardent, solitary yoga and meditation In 1956, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami said, he had a tremendous spiritual experience in Denver , Colorado, where "the soul body would finally fully inhabit

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1472-666: The main building of his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy, founded in 1949. In 1986 Sivaya Subramuniyaswami founded a branch monastery in Mauritius in response to the government's request that he come there "to revive a languishing Hindu faith." In 1991 he produced the Nandinatha Sutras, 365 aphorisms that outlines the path of virtuous Hindu living. Especially in the early 1990s he campaigned for fair treatment of temple priests , particularly that they should receive

1518-409: The panchakshara (or five lettered) mantra: Om Namah Shivaya Spiritual lineage  : Maharishi Nandinath → Sundaranandar, Siddhar who later becomes Tirumular → → → Kadaitswami → Chellappaswami → Siva Yogaswami → Sivaya Subramuniyaswami → Bodhinatha Veylanswami Its historically established origins revolve around the figure of Kadaitswami, a sadhu of North Indian origin, who initiated

1564-499: The physical body". The following year, in San Francisco , Subramuniya founded what is now Himalayan Academy and opened America's first Hindu temple at 3575 Sacramento Street, near Presidio Park . In Switzerland , 1968, he wrote of Shum, a mystical language of meditation that names and maps inner areas of consciousness . The biographies of Subramuniya show a time of transition between 1950 and 1957. Subramuniya states that he

1610-513: The practice of Yoga. Its translations are studied today in Yoga Centers throughout the world. Most of the mystical, Sanskrit vocabulary of Yoga teachings are first codified in this text. The Ashtanga Yoga (eight-limbed) process of Yoga comes from this text. The text contains a spiritual blueprint for using the physical body to yoke consciousness to the Divine source. Tirumular authored

1656-546: The said Nandinatha Sampradaya in northern Ceylon at the end of the 19th century. His disciples and successors, Chellapaswami and later Yogaswami , continued and deepened the tradition in the Jaffna region , which was then undergoing a major phase of religious ascendancy and affirmation known as the Hindu Revivalism, especially Shaivism. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami , the third successor in this spiritual lineage, founded

1702-495: The same respect enjoyed by the clergy of other religions. In 2000, he translated the first two books of the Kural into English and also published How to Become a Hindu , showing the way for seekers to formally enter the faith, confuting the notion that "You must be born a Hindu to be a Hindu." In November of that year, he launched Hindu Press International (HPI), a free daily news summary for breaking news sent via e-mail and posted on

1748-850: The term siddha is used to refer the liberated souls who have destroyed all karmas and have obtained moksha . They are free from the transmigratory cycle of birth and death ( saṃsāra ) and are above Arihantas (omniscient beings). Siddhas do not have a body; they are soul in its purest form. They reside in the Siddhashila , which is situated at the top of the Universe. They are formless and have no passions and therefore are free from all temptations. They do not have any karmas and they do not collect any new karmas. According to Jains, siddhas have eight specific characteristics or qualities . Ancient Tamil Jain Classic 'Choodamani Nigandu' describes

1794-472: The top of the loka (as per Jain cosmology) and stays there till infinity. Siddhas are formless and dwell in Siddhashila with the above-mentioned eight qualities. Saiddhantika Non - Saiddhantika In Hinduism, the first usage of the term siddha occurs in the Maitreya Upanishad in chapter Adhya III where the writer of the section declares "I am Siddha." In Hindu theology, Siddhashrama

1840-518: The web. In 2001, he completed the 3,000-page Master Course trilogy of Dancing with Siva , Living with Siva , and Merging with Siva – volumes of daily lessons on Hindu philosophy, culture and yoga, respectively. Learning on October 9, 2001, that he had advanced, metastasized intestinal cancer, confirmed by a host of specialists in three states, all concurring that even the most aggressive treatment regimens would not prove effective, he declined any treatment beyond palliative measures and decided to follow

1886-515: Was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young man. He was the 162nd head of the self claimed Nandinatha Sampradaya 's Kailasa Parampara and Guru at Kauai's Hindu Monastery which is a 382-acre (155 ha) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii 's Garden Island. In 1947, at the age of 20, he journeyed to India and Sri Lanka and in 1949,

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1932-471: Was born in Oakland, California on January 5, 1927 as Robert Hansen. He is quoted as relating how, at the age of six, "the totality of the power of the eternity of the moment began to become stronger and stronger within me from that time onward." He was most inspired by the life of Swami Vivekananda and his four small volumes: Raja Yoga , Bhakti Yoga , Karma Yoga and Inspired Talks , and most particularly by Swami Vivekananda's poem, "The Song of

1978-485: Was initiated into sannyasa by the renowned siddha yogi and worshiper of Lord Shiva , Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Jaffna , Sri Lanka who was regarded as one of the 20th century's remarkable mystics. In the 1970s he established a Hindu monastery in Kauai , Hawaii and founded the magazine Hinduism Today . In 1985, he created the festival of Pancha Ganapati as a Hindu alternative to December holidays like Christmas. He

2024-579: Was one of Shaivism 's Gurus , the founder and leader of the Saiva Siddhanta Church . He is part of the guru lineage of the Sri Lankan Alaveddy Hindus. His various institutions form a Jaffna-Tamil-based organization which has branched out from his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy to meet the needs of the growing Hindu diaspora of this century. He also established a seven-acre (2.8 ha) monastery in Mauritius, which includes

2070-600: Was ordered not to teach until he turned thirty in January 1957. He spent some of these seven years traveling around the United States, teaching hatha yoga classes and exploring various non-traditional religions, such as Christian Science , Theosophy , and the science of the mind, the closest Western religions to Hindu thought. His shift to a teaching ministry as Master Subramuniya in 1957 blends elements of these religious movements with Hindu yogic and Vedanta teachings in

2116-441: Was received by the monks there and saw how they lived and dressed. This experience influenced in a very strict way the monastic protocols that he later put into action in his own monastic order . In the caves of Jalani, Kurugala Balandha, Sri Lanka, he fasted and meditated until he experienced what he felt to be enlightenment . Sivaya Subramuniyaswami relates his feelings while returning to Colombo , Sri Lanka: "Returning back to

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