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| Swami Chidvilasananda Gurumayi (1955 - ) |
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 Swami Chidvilasananda is the guru of the Siddha Yoga lineage. She was a disciple of Swami Muktananda. Chidvilasananda acquired the title Swami in 1982 when she was initiated as a sannyasin into the Saraswati order and took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. At this time Muktananda formally designated her as one of his successors, along with her brother Subhash Shetty, by this time known as Swami Nityanand. Nityanand stepped down as guru in 1985 and Swami Chidvilasananda continued as sole guru of Siddha Yoga. [1] Although controversy follows Gurumavi, because of her public disputes with her brother and accusations that Siddha Yoga uses intimidation methods to keep people from criticizing the ashram [3], Gurumavi still continues to draw vast audiences. ΅§The better you come to know the saints, the more you will come to trust them. Develop full faith in their teachings and their experience of God. The will be an anchor for you.ƒή Gurumayi Chidvilasananda |
Date of Birth: 24 Jun, 1955
Location: India
State: Maharashtra
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Views: 2077
Summary
Swami Chidvilasananda was born with the name Malti Shetty on June 24, 1955, in Mumbai, India. She became a devotee of Swami Muktananda and Siddha Yoga at a young age. She became his official English language translator. By 1982, her guru Muktananda decided to name his successor before his death. He decided to name a male successor and a female successor. Malti was picked to be his female successor. On April 26th, in Ganeshpuri, Malti was renamed Chidvilasananda, was shorn of her radiant black hair, and took vows of monkhood. [2] His male successor turned out to be her brother, Subhash Shetty, who went by Swami Nityanand. The two Swamis had very contrasting styles and personalities. Eventually, in 1985, Nityananda stepped down as swami under much scrutiny. Chidvilansananda has been the lone swami since her brother's departure. Swami Chidvilansananda has been carrying her mission for years now. She seeks to tell others that they can reach Enlightenment and find self-realization. Sadly, Siddha Yoga is a place of controversey now. Some claim that the place puts fear into people to not criticize the ashram and everything and everyone associated with Nityanand has been gotten rid of. Scandal has followed the order even before Gurumayi's reign. Muktananda was accused of misdeeds himself. SYDA'S first taste of scandal came when, shortly before his death, Swami Muktananda was accused of failing to live up to the principles of celibacy by which he set such store. The accusations saw print in a 1983 article by William Rodarmor, published in CoEvolution Quarterly (now the Whole Earth Review). Rodarmor's article was based on twenty five interviews with members and former members of SYDA, and it detailed sexual activities Muktananda was alleged to have engaged in with female devotees, many of them fairly young. According to the article, members of Muktananda's inner circle had overlooked his behavior, or tried to rationalize it, for years. Then, in 1981, a swami named Stan Trout publicly distributed a letter in which he accused the then seventy-three-year-old guru of betraying the trust of young ashram women and causing their families anguish by extracting sexual favors from them in the name of spiritual enlightenment. [3] Even with all these scandals, the ashram and order is still thriving.
References:
Related Links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chidvilasananda [1] [2]
www.siddhayoga.org/guru/gurumayi.html
www.rickross.com/reference/siddha/siddha1.html [3]
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