Bodhinatha Veylanswami | |
|---|---|
| File:Bodhinatha Veylanswami.jpg Bodhinatha Veylanswami, Hindu Saivite Guru Mahasannidhanam of the Kailasa Parampara of the Nandinatha Sampradaya | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 15 October 1942 |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Sect | Shaivism Shaiva Siddhanta Nath (Nandinatha Sampradaya) |
| Religious career | |
| Predecessor | Sivaya Subramuniyaswami |
| Initiated | Sannyasa |
| Initiation | March 1972 Alaveddy, Sri Lanka |
Bodhinatha Veylanswami (born 15 October 1942) is an American Hindu sannyasi (monk) and religious leader who serves as the head of Kauai's Hindu Monastery and publisher of Hinduism Today magazine.[1] He is regarded within the tradition as the 163rd head of the self-identified Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and serves as the guru of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, a 382-acre temple-monastery complex on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
He is known for initiatives aimed at digitising the Saiva Agamas, the scriptures of the Saivite tradition and a foundational source for Hindu temple liturgy, and making them freely available online for study and preservation. He has also promoted a reform-oriented interpretation of Saivism that discourages animal sacrifice and advocates vegetarian practices within Hindu religious life.[2] Members of the Adi Saiva Sivachariyar priestly community have honoured him as “The Supreme Acharya who has uplifted and preserved the Agamas and the Agama tradition.”[3]
Bodhinatha presides over three organisations: Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy Publications and Hindu Heritage Endowment.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Bodhinatha was born in Berkeley, California, on 15 October 1942. He began studying Vedanta and meditation in 1960 and soon developed a strong interest in monastic life. In March 1972, he received sannyasa diksha from Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in Alaveddy, Sri Lanka. A few weeks later, he received the name Veylanswami at the Murugan Temple in the Palani Hills.[4]
In 1988, in preparation for initiation as an acharya in the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order, Bodhinatha undertook a six-month pilgrimage across India. Upon returning to Kauai, he was ordained as the first acharya of the religious order.[4]
From 1993 onwards, Bodhinatha supervised the formation and development of Hindu Heritage Endowment, a tax-exempt endowment that provides financial support to several Hindu institutions and initiatives around the world. The organisation includes more than 80 individual funds, with combined assets exceeding US$10 million.[5]
On 21 October 2001, Bodhinatha was appointed successor to Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and formally assumed the title Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.[4]
Spiritual lineage[edit | edit source]
Bodhinatha is the appointed successor of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, an influential Hindu Saivite guru. In A Survey of Hinduism, Hindu studies scholar Klaus Klostermaier wrote that Subramuniyaswami “did much to propagate a kind of reformed Saivism through his books.” Bodhinatha has continued this reform-oriented interpretation through Kauai's Hindu Monastery, which discourages animal sacrifice within Saivite practice.[6]
As founder-editor of Hinduism Today, Subramuniyaswami became one of the most prominent advocates of Hinduism outside India.[7] He appointed Bodhinatha as leader of Saiva Siddhanta Church and as the 163rd Guru Mahasannidhanam of the Kailasa Parampara lineage,[4] a position of religious authority within the Saivite tradition.[8]
He follows the Shaivism sect, particularly the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, and belongs to the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara.[9][10]
Spiritual lineage: Maharishi Nandinath → Sundaranandar (later Tirumular) → Kadaitswami → Chellapaswami → Siva Yogaswami → Sivaya Subramuniyaswami → Bodhinatha Veylanswami.[11]
Worldwide activities[edit | edit source]
Bodhinatha Veylanswami was a keynote speaker at the Hindu Convocation of the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Melbourne, Australia, described as an assembly of several prominent Hindu spiritual leaders from India.[12]
In December 2009, he moderated the session “Is Yoga Hindu?” at the Parliament of the World's Religions,[13] an event that later contributed to the Hindu American Foundation's “Take Back Yoga” campaign.
Bodhinatha is a frequent speaker among Hindu communities, especially within the Hindu diaspora in the United States, Malaysia, Mauritius and Singapore. Indo-American News described him as “a formidable force in championing the cause of Hinduism”.[14]
Under Bodhinatha's guidance, the monks and initiates of Kauai's Hindu Monastery have continued the construction of Iraivan Temple, described as the first all-granite, hand-carved Hindu temple in the United States. He has also participated in outreach and unity initiatives associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[15]
Images[edit | edit source]
-
Bodhinatha attends a conference of Natha Sampradaya swamis hosted by Balagangadharanatha Swamiji. Includes Yogi Adityanath on center right.
-
Bodhinatha on the Guru Peedham (the seat of authority) of Kauai Aadheenam
-
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives samaya diksha, initiation into the sacred Aum Namah Shivaya mantra, to a devotee at Tirunnavamalai in 2008.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Kauai's Hindu Monastery – Our Guru Lineage".
- ↑ "Today at Kauai's Hindu Monastery". 18 July 2011.
- ↑ "Today at Kauai's Hindu Monastery". 24 July 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Kauai's Hindu Monastery – Our Guru Lineage".
- ↑ Endowment Stories Archived 11 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Kamika Agama – Purva Pada (Shaivite Hindu Text).
- ↑ A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd edition, p. 231.
- ↑ "Hinduism does not have an organised hierarchy, but to followers of the Saiva tradition Sri Bodhinatha is a pope-like figure." SMH News, Australia
- ↑ Dancing with Siva. USA: Himalayan Academy. 1997. pp. ŚLOKA 152. ISBN 9780945497974.
- ↑ Dancing with Siva. USA: Himalayan Academy. 1997. pp. ŚLOKA 151. ISBN 9780945497974.
- ↑ "Our Spiritual Lineage, the Kailasa Parampara".
- ↑ PROGRAM / Convocation of Spiritual Leaders of India | Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions Archived 6 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ ABC Religion Blog – Is yoga Hindu? Archived 15 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.indoamerican-news.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ PTI (2023-11-24). "'Reach out to fellow Hindus. Together we will connect everybody in world,' says RSS chief Bhagwat". ThePrint. Retrieved 2023-12-22.