Swami Ramakrishnananda, or as his disciples call him with affection, Gurudev, is one of the most respected spiritual masters of our time. He is a sannyasi, an orthodox monk who has accepted the renounced order of life within Hinduism.
Swami Ramakrishnananda is a yogi, a mystic, a philosopher, a spiritual master, and for his disciples and followers without a doubt, a completely enlightened being who has dedicated his life to the service of God and humanity.
Born in Chile on March 21st, 1958, Gurudev is now an American citizen.
At the age of eight, a spontaneous and profound transcendental experience led him to a life of passionate searching for God and the Truth. His efforts to encounter the experience again impelled him to travel and live in the most remote and diverse countries, cultures, and nations, far from the South American culture in which he was born and educated.
His search brought him to associate with great devotees, mystics, guides, and masters of different lineages, paths, faiths, and spiritual schools.
This period of searching was of great intensity. In Chile, Gurudev devoted years to the study of Christianity, especially the Gospels. He studied Zen Buddhism intensively for several years, and later entered more deeply into this wisdom through the practice of martial arts. In the Middle East, he learned Hebrew in order to study Judaism, the Kabbalah and Hassidism. Gurudev also investigated the ancient wisdom of tantra-yoga over a period of several years.
His first experience with an established religion was in 1977 when he encountered the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement in the tradition of Sri Caitanya, at the Puente Alto temple in Chile. There Gurudev began his study of bhakti-yoga, studying directly with His Holiness Sri Srimad Atulananda Acarya, studies that would later continue with His Holiness Sri Srimad Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Swami Maharaja, who granted him the titles Bhakti Sastri and Tridandi Bhikshu. These two outstanding masters of bhakti-yoga, founders of the organization Vrinda, are direct disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
An incredible and inexplicable love for India and all things related to the Vedic culture developed gradually in Gurudev’s heart. Years later, he would reveal that this attraction stemmed from past lifetimes.
In Rishikesh, His Holiness Swami Krishnananda said about Gurudev: "With the passage of the years, his love and admiration for Hinduism and Vedic culture and traditions have given him a Hindu soul in a Western body."
His Holiness Sri Srimad Swami Vishnu Devananda, a direct disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda Sarasvati, and the founder of the Sivananda centers of Yoga Vedanta, granted him diksha, or first initiation into the maha-mantra, giving him the name Ramakrishna. From that moment, the maha-mantra has never left him.
Swami Vishnu Devananda would be a guide and a source of inspiration as he began his studies of all the varied aspects of integral yoga.
In 1988, Swami Vishnu Devananda, in recognition of Gurudev\'s erudition, love, and devotion for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and of his wisdom and authority in the field of bhakti-yoga, honored him with the special title - Krishna Bhakta. This was the first and only time that Swami Vishnu Devananda, by the spiritual authority granted to him by his own spiritual master, Sri Sri Swami Sivananda, ever bestowed this rare title. Finally in 1989, in the Sivananda Ashram of Canada, Swami Vishnu Devananda personally bestowed upon Gurudev the high degree of Yoga Acarya or Master Acarya of Yoga.
Years later, the same title of Yoga Acarya was granted to him by the prestigious Sri Sankarananda Yoga Ashram of Mysore, India, as well as the title Yoga Pravina, which he received from Sri Vivekananda Yoga Pratishthan. Gurudev also received the certificate of Yoga Teacher from Brahmananda Sarasvati of Ananda Ashram.
Gurudev continued to deepen his studies of Hinduism, Vedic philosophy, and yoga, studying directly from some of the most renowned masters of his time and receiving their instruction, guidance, and benediction.
He received many diplomas and certificates from masters such as His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Satcidananda, His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda, His Holiness Swami Krishnananda, His Holiness Brahmananda Sarasvati, among others.
In the year 1990, Swami Jyotirmayananda, founder of the Yoga Research Foundation, granted him the title Yoga Ratna, or The Jewel of Yoga.
In August of 1991, he was honored by being officially initiated into the sacred thread and ordained as a brahmana within the Sanatana-dharma by Kirtanananda Swami.
He met His Holiness Swami Krishnananda of the Divine Life Society in India, a disciple of Swami Sivananda, with whom he had the great opportunity to delve deeper into the knowledge of hatha-yoga.
In 1995 His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda Sarasvati requested that Gurudev initiate disciples in the sacred Vedic mantras and granted him the order of renounced life, or sannyas, within the Sarasvati order, under the name of Swami Ramakrishnananda. Swami Jyotirmayananda himself recommended to sincere seekers, that they see Gurudev as their spiritual master.
During that same year, Swami Ramakrishnananda met and received formal initiation from His Divine Grace Sri Baba Brahmananda Maharaja, born in Isanagar, India, in 1931 and a disciple of the great siddha saint His Divine Grace Bhagavan Mastarama Babaji Maharaja.
In 1996 His Holiness Sri Srimad Tamal Krishna Goswami formally accepted him as a siksha disciple and gave him important instructions in bhakti, according to the Gaudiya Vaishnava school.
On one of his journeys to India, in the sacred city of Vrindavana, Gurudev met someone who would later become one of his most important instructing masters, or siksha-gurus, His Divine Grace Srila Narahari Dasa Babaji Maharaja, a Vaishnava saint in the Gaudiya tradition, a pure devotee of Krishna, and disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Nityananda Dasa Babaji, this saintly Babaji gave Gurudev important instructions and invaluable guidance on the path of bhakti-yoga.
Gurudev\'s love for bhakti and his devotion to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, inspired him to ask for confirmation of his sannyasi, or renounced monk vows, from a Vaishnava sannyasi in the line of Krishna bhakti, in a traditional Vedic ceremony in the Ashram of Vrinda. His Divine Grace B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami Maharaja confirmed his vows of sannyas and granted him the title Bhaktivedanta.
In the year 2000, Gurudev decided to leave the Middle East where he had studied Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and had been especially interested in Hassidism and Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah. He arrived in the United States where the religious freedom and tolerance of the American people moved him to dedicate himself completely to sharing his message and the experience in his heart.
In 2001, Gurudev was personally initiated in the mantra of Durga Devi Mata, by Her Holiness Ma Yoga Sakti .
In the year 2003, he decided, for the first time, following a request by his guru maharaja and many of his friends, to create the Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Mission, in order to spread his message and officially accept disciples in the ancient Vedic tradition.
In 2007, he met another one of his instructing spiritual masters, or siksha-gurus, His Holiness Swami Swahananda, of the Ramakrishna order, disciple of Swami Vijñananda. The respected swami officially initiated him, granting him valuable guidance in meditation.
The life of Swami Ramakrishnanandaji is an example of perseverance in the search for the Truth, surrender, respect, and service toward his gurus and his masters, a life of incomparable passion for God. Gurudev’s devotion, or bhakti, and his constant experience of the Self, or Vedanta, have made him a faithful representative of his title, "Bhaktivedanta".
Swami Ramakrishnananda’s vision and realization of Hinduism, the Vishwa Dharma, is expressed in his message and is particularly suited to modern society. It is an invitation for humanity to live every moment to the fullest, in totality and in complete watchfulness.
In 2008 Gurudev decided to found the Vishwa Dharma Mandalam as the proper frame to spread the Vishwa Dharma religion on a large scale. In September of the same year, he founded the Ramakrishnananda Ashram, Gurudev\'s vision for an ideal society where the values of the Vishwa Dharma religion come into practice. For Gurudev, the ancient message of yoga, Hinduism and the past spiritual masters is the realization of the unconditional truth as the true and authentic nature of every being.
Gurudev’s work, exemplified by lectures, activities and workshops imbued with his wisdom, sincerity, and devotion, has inspired the Hindu community, along with his disciples, friends, and the general public, to offer him and his mission their utmost appreciation, affection and support.
For all those who know him, Swami Ramakrishnananda is a true source of inspiration.
Vishwa Dharma ki Jai!
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"Isn't it incredible that you never trusted yourself as an authoritative source about your identity?"
Swami Ramakrishnananda
Swami Ramakrishnananda
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