Bhagawan Nityananda

A mystic born Enlightened. 

Bhagawan Nityananda, also known as Swami Nityananda, was a revered Indian spiritual master and yogi. He is widely regarded as an enlightened being and a Siddha Guru (perfected master) in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta.
 

Details about Bhagavan Nityananda’s birth are relatively unknown, but according to his disciples, Nityananda was found as an abandoned infant in Tuneri village, Kozhikode, India, by a woman named Uniamma Nair, who was married to Chathu Nair. Even in childhood, Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which gave rise to the belief that he was born enlightened (Avadhoot). He was eventually given the name Nityananda, which means, “always in bliss”.
 

By the time the child was 6 years of age, Chathu Nair had already expired and Uniamma was ill. Realizing that she would not be able to look after Raman, she handed over the child to her landlord Shri. Ishwar Iyer, who was a well-to-do lawyer and who had many farms and land on which worked the poor couple. Ishwar Iyer who had a daughter and three sons, happily adopted Raman as his own.
 

Around the age of 13, Raman was taken along with Ishwar Iyer for a spiritual trip. After a visit to Banaras (now Varanasi), Raman made a surprising statement to his foster father. He said that he would not be able to return back to Kerala as he would be visiting further up North.A disappointed Iyer returned back alone after failing to convince Raman, but with an encouraging promise from Raman that he would visit him at the right time. From there Raman visited and stayed in the Himalayas and also is believed to have visited many other countries like Sri Lanka, Burma, Singapore, etc
 

Nityananda gained a reputation for creating miracles and wonderful cures. He started building an ashram near Kanhangad, Kerala state. Many incredible stories abound, especially from Sri Nityananda’s early days, such as this one: The local police thought he must be producing counterfeit money to pay for the building of his ashram, so Nityananda took them to a crocodile-infested pool in the jungle. He dived in and then produced handfuls of money, which was apparently enough to satisfy the police.
 

By 1923, Nityananda had wandered to the Tansa Valley in Maharashtra state. There, his reputation as a miracle worker attracted people from as far away as Mumbai, though he never took credit for any miracles. He said,“Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of God.” Nityananda gave a great deal of help to the local adivasis (an aboriginal tribe of India), who were despised by the population at large back then. Nityananda set up a school, as well as providing food and clothing for them.
 

As a guru (teacher), Sri Nityananda gave relatively little by way of verbal teachings. Starting in the early 1920s, his devotees in Mangalore would sit with him in the evenings. Most of the time he was silent, though occasionally he would give teachings. A devotee named Tulsiamma wrote down some of his teachings and his answers to her specific queries. Later, these notes were compiled and published in the Kannada language and came to be known as the Chidaksha Geeta.

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Nityananda had the power to transmit shaktipat (spiritual energy) to people. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behavior, even to the point of throwing rocks on occasion. This was his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.

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Nityananda’s passing, the leaving of his physical form, unfolded over several months. His departure, which was a conscious one, was tearful and sad for Bhagawan, but not for the reasons one might suspect. It is reported [1] that many, if not most, came to him window-shopping, seeking maya (illusion)— seeking the fulfillment of material desire— instead of the highest spiritual gifts that Nityananda had to offer. On the evening of August 7, 1961, sometime after midnight Nityananda was reported to have 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."

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Those who met Nithyananda were from all walks of life. Nithyananda blessed all. Yogis and Sages sat in his vicinity, knowing the importance of silence and the value of “silent communications”. Many received shaktipat just by being in his presence. Bhagwan mentioned clearly, “This one has no Guru and no disciples.” but yet those who were touched, illumined and enlightened by his grace, further went out into the world and spread his glory and grace, thus keeping the flame of Nithyananda prevalent even to this time. Bhagwan was not much known while he was in his physical body due to the extreme low profile life he maintained, but the powerful grace and divine energies soon spread through the illumined ones who had received his grace, and soon it spread around the globe. Today, Bhagwan Nithyananda is known around the globe as he continues touching the lives of those who have known him and also those who have not clue about who he is.

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