A life of practice and teaching
Born in Pittsburgh as the eldest of 13 children, he graduated from Columbia University and also studied in France, Lebanon and Japan. Before becoming a spiritual teacher, his life took him through Broadway, business and Wall Street, giving him first-hand experience of modern professional life.
His spiritual path has included Kashmir Shaivism, Vedanta and Siddha Yoga alongside Buddhism, Sufism and Christianity, as well as Western psychology and approaches to human potential. He has taught meditation, A Course in Miracles and HeartMath.
Meeting Muktananda
In 1975, he met Swami Muktananda and received Shaktipat initiation. Brahmananda has described this as a turning point, including a profound Kundalini awakening and a spontaneous healing from severe rheumatoid arthritis. He spent the following eight years studying, practising and working with Muktananda in his ashrams, received initiation as a sannyasi and took the name Brahmananda.
In 1981, Muktananda asked him to establish an ashram in Los Angeles and appointed him National Coordinator of Siddha Yoga centres and ashrams across the United States. After later returning to householder life for a period, marrying and raising a family while continuing to teach, he subsequently returned to life as a Swami.
Teaching in the world
In 1995, he founded the God Realization Ministry, sharing Siddha Yoga principles in more than 200 Christian churches. He has travelled and taught in more than 75 countries and served as Spiritual Director at Simple Peace Retreats in Assisi, Italy.
His message is not about withdrawing from life, but discovering how awakening can be lived and embodied within it.
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