Sadananda
Sadananda was born in 1949 in Denver, Colorado. He began his formal spiritual studies at the opening semesters of Naropa University, and then studied Budhist meditation and philosophy for five years with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Advised by Rinpoche to study vipassana, Sadananda attended the first three month retreat ever held at Insight Meditation Centre, with Joseph Goldstein. Becoming qualified as a beginning meditation instructor, Sadananda opened a meditation centre in Five Points, Denver.
Traveling overland, from the United Kingdom to India, through Turkey, Iran and Afganistan, Sadananda gained an indepth knowledge of Islam, Sufism and a variety of other cultures and religious philosophies. After a long search for an authentic spiritual master in India, Sadananda met Raghudas Maharaj, his guru. During seven years of pilgrimage, studying yoga, meditation, and Indian mysticism, Sadananda lived as a barefoot wandering renunciant according to the ancient spiritual tradition of India. He meditated in the jungle, living without money as prescribed in India's spiritual texts, staying at ashrams and temples.
Sadananda became a disciple of Raghudas Maharaj, also studying with Father Bede Griffiths, Nisargadatta Maharaj, J. Krishnamurti and Anandamayi Ma. In his pilgrimage he traveled from the southern tip of India to the Himalayas. Sadananda met Alakananda Devi and his guru asked him to stay with her. Their relationship slowly blossomed into a spiritual marriage. Together they developed deep friendships not only with saints, yogis, and renunciants, but beggars, trash pickers, untouchables and lepers. They also developed friendships with many Indian families. Along with Alakananda Devi, Sadananda worked at Om Yeshu Niketan, Goa, as a meditation therapist in a community for western hippies who had become psychotic.
Sadananda was instructed by two God Realized women of his lineage to go to America and there make an ashram for Raghudas Maharaj. Since arriving in the United States 1985, Sadananda and Alakananda have led parallel lives. They have also developed life experiences and personal learning on individual paths.
Sadananda is a musician, artist, meditation teacher,spiritual guide, flower essence maker and healer. He leads weekly gatherings for Vedic chanting, devotional singing, spiritual guidance. He has also studied raga singing (Indian classical music) and has become a well known local muscian. Sadananda has made many flower essences, developing an innovative new form of Vibrational Healing "Geographical Essences" (related to flower essences). In conjunction with these essences, he has developed Earth healing ceremonies and taught Earth Healing to others, especially youth. Sadananda created the Healing Garden at Alandi Ashram, according to ancient Vedic and Ayurvedic principles of gardening and has led many earth healing public ceremonies in the garden.
At Alandi Ashram, Sadananda has done ground-breaking work at the interface of spirituality and environmentalism. He also mentors youth in creating earth-friendly, non-com petetive, non-consumer lifestyles With Rabbi Zalman Schachter through Naropa Institute of Continuing Education, Sadananda has studied Jewish mysticism, Jewish prayer, Hasidism, Spiritual Direction, Life-Cycle Rituals and Paradigm-shift studies. In 1997 he expanded Alandi Ashram into an intentional community. The Gurukula was started in 1998, where Sadananda teaches yoga, meditation, devotional singing and mentors youth.