The One Leading the Shaktipat
Who was Nityananda actually?
Monthly at the Full Moon, Kabira presents a Shaktipat Ceremony. The ceremony is devoted to Bhagavan Nityananda, whose picture is presented at the altar.
During the ritual, we welcome his wisdom, guidance and support into the space.
But, who was this Bhagavan (lit. Lord or Blessed One) actually?
Early Years
Details about the early childhood of Nityananda are relatively unknown. Most likely he was born around 1897 in Kerala. He was found as an abandoned baby in a basket in the farm fields, some say with snakes coiling around him. He was adopted by a farming couple, the Nairs, who took him in alongside five other siblings and called him Raman. Even in childhood, Bhagavan Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which earned him the name Nityananda – He who is always in Bliss.
When both his foster parents passed away, at ages 3 and 6 respectively, he lived with their employer, a wealthy lawyer called Ishwara Iyer. Iyer was an enlightened yogi who had mastered austerities. Nityananda's disciple Muktananda would later proclaim that Iyer was his first guru. Nityananda lived in his house, washed the dishes, and swept the floor. When Iyer passed away during Nityananda's teenage years, he started traveling and became a wandering yogi, studying scriptures.
He travelled by foot, lived in solitude, and stories tell that he performed miracles along the way, which he never took ownership of. Some say Nityananda lived in the Himalayas in a tree top for six years; others say he roamed throughout India.
Most stories tell that he reappeared as a young man in southern India, in a place called Guruvan (meaning guru's forest), near Kanhangad, Kerala—which would later become a place of pilgrimage.
Nityananda arrived in the Tansa valley in Maharashtra around 1923. He built resthouses, a clinic, a school, a well, and restored the hot springs around Vajreshwari and Akloli—supporting the local Indian Adivasi tribe, who were despised by most of the population.
As Nityananda arrived in Ganeshpuri in 1936, he entered the Shiva Temple, asking for a simple hut to rest his head. The family running the temple welcomed him in. As he received more visitors, the hut transformed into an ashram.
He spent the last 25–30 years of his life in Ganeshpuri, close to Vajreshwari and Akloli, supporting the local community by providing food, schools, and building the first hospital in Ganeshpuri.
As he prepared for his mahasamadhi (passing of the body) in 1961, he said:
“Everyone comes here for money and only money.
The more they are given, the more they seek; there is no end to their greed.
When they come, they are pedestrians, sometimes without a proper dwelling place; and when they get the necessities, then comforts and luxuries are demanded: a car, a bungalow, and so on.
When earlier prayers are granted in the hope that contentment would follow and that they would then seek higher values, another demand is placed in a never-ending series of wants and desires.
Not much point in allowing this body to continue—hence samadhi tomorrow.”
— Nityananda: The Divine Presence, M.U. Hatengdi (1990)
His personality
He was famous for his love for children (to whom he would give free meals in the morning). He ate simple food and spoke very little, mostly mumbling.
Most years, he was surrounded by people meditating and sitting in silence. He wore a simple loincloth and enjoyed walking around for hours. He rarely looked at people directly, instead gazing inward, his eyes half-open.
He paid little attention to gifts or acts of worship. When people sat beside him to start a conversation, he would often just turn over and snortingly fall asleep. At times, he would lose his temper, especially when he felt people were not serious in their spiritual practice or had ulterior motives.
When his disciple Muktananda visited him and proclaimed, “I surrender to you,” he simply said, “Go away.” A breakthrough for his successor, Muktananda.
When seekers asked him to write books, he said:
“What the poet-saints Narada, Mira, Kabir, Tulsidas, and others have said is just what I have said. It is not necessary for me to say any more.”
He suffered from rheumatic arthritis in his hands and feet. Just moments before he left his body, his fingers and hands stretched out completely, as in peaceful relaxation.
“I am Everything,
Everything is in me.”
The Lineage and tradition
Sages define three types of siddhis (paranormal powers):
Impure siddhis – acquired through unclean vows and incantations
Mantra siddhis – acquired by reciting a mantra under specific conditions
True siddhis – attained through discipline and practice of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga
Beyond these, there is a supreme power: mahasiddhi. This is not earned through effort but is a divine gift—presence. These powers do not require austerity or ritual; they manifest naturally, often without one being aware of them.
There is a powerful tradition of gurus called the Siddha Yoga Tradition. A master can touch a disciple or simply point a finger, thereby initiating the process of Siddha Yoga. In Siddha Yoga, you don't "do" yoga—it happens spontaneously within. Japa (mantra repetition), pranayama (breathwork), discipline, and asanas (postures) are automatically included. Nityananda was part of this tradition.
His teachings
Most people would come and meditate with Nityananda—sitting silently, receiving darshan (the descent of grace) through his presence. He rarely spoke.
Over the years, one of his students wrote down his teachings in a book called the Chidakash Gita.
Nityananda didn’t preach or lecture. His brief messages or instructions (e.g. reciting a mantra), whether given in person or in dreams, were full of power. Most people reported receiving answers to their questions before even asking them, or having problems dissolve in his presence.
He would recommend different paths to different seekers, depending on their temperament and capacity:
“You can finish your journey like this – within a fraction of a second.”
Yet, he treated everyone equally, saying:
“Have the same feeling of love for everyone as you have for your own self.”
He welcomed the world as a divine play of consciousness:
“The universe is infinite, and it is your own self. See the world as a form of the inner self. The world is not separate from the world. This is Vedanta, this is devotion, and this is worship. Dwelling right within you is your own lord.”
When asked to show God, he would say:
“Yes, he is within you. Go there.” Or, “Just look around. Everyone is God. Everyone is God.”
“O soul, you should see the inner beauty.
It is so sweet, so fascinating, so joyous.
Not even a drop of that inner ocean can be found on the outside.
Therefore, turn within.
Meditate. Meditate, meditate!”
“Search inside of yourself.”
“God is the witness of your mind.”
“When the mind is there, the person is an ordinary human being. When the mind has been transcended, the person becomes a great being, a saint.”
In short, the teaching can be captured in essence through a simple phrase:
"The heart is the hub of all sacred places, go there and roam."
An understanding that most people experienced during Shaktipat.
Resources:
Muktananda, Swami (1996). Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri (2nd revised ed.). Siddha Yoga Publications.
Kodikal, Deepa. Life of Bhagawan Nityananda & Chidakasha Geeta. Publisher Surendra Kalyanpur, Mumbai, 2007.
