Siddha Yoga

Siddha Yoga is a spiritual group teaching traditional Hinduor 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 in New York State), founded by the second guruof the Siddha Yoga lineage, SwamiMuktananda(1908– 1982). The guru who is the latest in the lineage of teachers of Siddha yoga is a woman, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda (born June 24, 1955). The group has its U.S. headquarters at a large country ashramcalled 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.

History

• 1908– Muktananda is born
• 1955– Chidvilasananda is born
• 1956– Muktananda founds Gurudev Siddha Peeth the main Siddha Yoga ashram, located in Ganeshpuri, India.
• 1961– Bhagawan Nityanandadies.
• 1970– 1981Muktananda 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.
• 1982– Muktananda dies, before his death he makes Chidvilasananda and her brother Swami Nityananda co-gurus of Siddha Yoga.
• 1985– Nityananda steps down (amidst controversy, admitting to breaking his vows of celibacy). (He has since started his own group (Shanti Mandir) and he is now known as Mahamandeleshwar Swami Nityanand.)

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.

Siddha Yoga's core teachings are Muktananda's two aphorisms, "God dwells within you as you," and "See God in each other."

The primary philosophical bases of Siddha Yoga are Kashmir Shaivismand Vedanta.

Practices

The main practices of Siddha Yoga include:

• Meditation– The form of meditation practiced is silent with attention focused on a mantraand/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 that are chanted most commonly 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– Dakshina refers to a donation of money and/or material objects to the organization.

• Satsangrefers to group meetings or programs, usually held weekly, at the ashrams or one of several hundred small Siddha Yoga meditation centers around the world. A typical satsang program will include talks by one or more students or a visiting swami, several periods of chanting (in sanskrit), and a period of meditation. The centers usually conclude the program with announcements and socializing.

Holy Days

• Maha Shivaratri
• Navaratri
• Diwali
• Guru Purnima
• Rakhi

See also

• kundalini
• shaktipat
• samadhi
• satguru

References in Popular Culture

Movies

• Startup.comReferences in two scenes: One is a copy of a painting of the Goddess Lakshmi from the Shree Muktananda Ashram, the other is a scence where Kaleil is chanting the Guru Gita while driving.
• The GuruReference 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.'"

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 1983in an article titled "The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda" ¹

Lis Harrisrepeated and extended those in the "New Yorker" of November 14, 1994in an article titled "O Guru, Guru, Guru" ²

The "Leaving Siddha Yoga" organization exists to support people wishing to leave.

References

• Brooks & Sabharathnam, Meditation Revolution: A History and Theology of the Siddha Yoga Lineage, Agama Press, 1997, ISBN 0965409600
• New York State's Division of Corporations Entry for SYDA Foundation
• ¹ Rodarmor, William, article "The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda." , CoEvolution Quarterly, Winter 1983available online
• ² Harris, Lis article, O Guru, Guru, Guru, The New Yorker,November 14, 1994available online

Press articles - Favorable

• Hinduism Today, "Baba Muktananda's 'Meditation Revolution' Continues" October, 1992 http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1992/10/1992-10-03.shtml
• Hinduism Today, "Muktananda's Legacy," April, 1995 http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1995/4/1995-4-05.shtml
• Hinduism Today, "Your True Companion: The Self Within" by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, April1997http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1997/4/1997-4-21.shtml
• Hinduism Today, "Former SYDA Co-Guru Explains" January, 1986http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1986/01/1986-01-09.shtml

External links - Favorable

• Official site of the SYDA foundation.Information on ashrams, worldwide programs, and bookstore.
• Yahoo group dedicated to exploring the teachings of Siddha Yoga
• Official site of the Oakland, Ca. Siddha Yoga Ashram.Information on programs in Oakland, California, USA.
• Official site of Nityananda's groupInformation about the group started by Nityananda.
• An artist, filmmaker, and author, inspired by Muktananda and his successor Gurumayi, writes of her years in Muktananda's ashram

External links - Critical

• Leaving Siddha Yogasite run to support people leaving Siddha Yoga and critical of its ethics.
• "Traumatic abuse in cults"Critical essay by ex-follower.
• Open letters, other ex-members speak out bitterly
• Yahoo forum for people who have left Siddha Yoga
• Ex-cult Resource CentreCollection of archive documents from AOL Religion/Hinduism/Siddha Yoga

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddha+Yoga Wikipedia article Siddha Yoga.