Video: Swami Ramakrishnananda's Spiritual Journey 

Swami Ramakrishnananda, or as his disciples call him with love and affection, Srila Gurudev, is one of the most respected spiritual masters of our time. He is a sannyasi, an orthodox monk that has accepted the renounced order of life within Hinduism, one of the most ancient religions and traditions known to humanity. Over time he has become one of its most loyal representatives in the Western world.  

Swami Ramakrishnananda is a yogi, a mystic, a philosopher, a spiritual master, and for his disciples and followers, undoubtedly a completely enlightened being who has dedicated his life to the service of God and Humanity.

He is an American citizen, originally born in Chile on March 21^st, 1958.

A spontaneous and profound transcendental experience at the age of eight led Swami Ramakrishnananda to a life of passionate searching for God and the Truth. His efforts to experience it again made him travel and reside in the most remote and diverse places, countries, cultures, and nations, far from the South American culture in which he was educated.

This search has brought him to associate with great devotees, mystics, guides, and spiritual masters of different lineages, paths, faiths, and spiritual schools.

His first encounter with an established religion was in 1977 with the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious current, which follows the tradition of Lord Sri Caitanya, in the Puente Alto temple, Chile. It was there that he began his studies of bhakti-yoga directly with His Holiness Sri Srimad Atulananda Acarya, studies that would later continue with His Holiness Sri Srimad Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Swami Maharaja, who granted him the titles Bhakti Sastri and Tridandi Bhikshu. These two outstanding masters of bhakti-yoga, founders of the organization Vrinda, are direct disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Gradually, in his heart, an incredible and inexplicable love for India and all things related to the Vedic culture developed, which he later attributed to previous lifetimes.

His Holiness Sri Srimad Swami Vishnu Devananda, a direct disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda Sarasvati, granted him first initiation, or diksha, in the maha-mantra with the name Ramakrishna. From that first initiation, the maha-mantra has never left Swami Ramakrishnananda. Swami Vishnu Devananda would be a guide and a source of inspiration in the first years of Swami Ramakrishnananda's studies of integral yoga, in all its varied aspects.

In 1988, Swami Vishnu Devananda, in recognition of his erudition, love, and devotion for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and of his wisdom and authority in the field of bhakti-yoga, honored him with the special title - Krishna Bhakta. This was the first and only time that Swami Vishnu Devananda, by the spiritual authority granted to him by his own spiritual master, Sri Sri Swami Sivananda, had ever bestowed this rare title to anyone. Finally, he reached the highest degree of

Yoga Acarya or Master Acarya of Yoga, a title he received personally in 1989 from Swami Vishnu Devananda, the founder of Sivananda centers of Yoga Vedanta in the Sivananda Ashram of Canada.

He received the certificate of Yoga Teacher from Brahmananda Sarasvati of Ananda Ashram.

Years later, the title Yoga Acarya was granted to him by the prestigious Sri Sankarananda Yoga Ashram of Mysore, India, as well as the title Yoga Pravina,  which he received from Sri Vivekananda Yoga Pratishthan.

Swami Ramakrishnananda continued to deepen his studies of Hinduism, Vedic philosophy and yoga, directly from some of the most renowned masters of his time, receiving their instruction, guidance, and benediction.

 He received many diplomas and certificates from masters such as His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Saccidananda, His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda, His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Brahmananda, His Holiness Swami Krishnananda,  His Holiness Brahmananda Sarasvati, and others.

In the year 1990, Swami Jyotirmayananda, founder of The Yoga Research Foundation, granted him the title Yoga Ratna, or The Jewel of Yoga.  

In August of 1991, he was honored by being officially initiated into the sacred thread and ordained as a brahmana  within the Sanatana-dharma by Kirtanananda Swami.

He met His Holiness Swami Krishnananda  of the Divine Life Society in India, a disciple of Swami Sivananda, with whom he had the great opportunity to delve deeper into the knowledge of hatha-yoga.

In 1995 His Holiness Sri Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda Sarasvati requested that he initiate disciples in the sacred Vedic mantras and granted him the order of renounced life, or sannyasi, within the Sarasvati order, under the name of Ramakrishnananda Swami. Swami Jyotirmayananda himself recommended to some sincere seekers, that they see Swami Ramakrishnananda as their spiritual master.  

During that same year, he personally met and received personal formal initiation from His Divine Grace Sri Baba Brahmananda Maharaja, born in Isanagar, India, in 1931, and a disciple of the great siddha saint His Divine Grace Bhagavan Mastarama Babaji Maharaja.

In one of his journeys to India, in the sacred city of Vrindavana, he met the one who would later become one of his most important instructing masters, or Siksha-gurus, His Divine Grace Srila Narahari Dasa Babaji Maharaja, a Vaishnava saint of the Gaudiya tradition, a pure devotee of Krishna, and disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Nityananda Dasa Babaji.  This saintly Babaji gave instructions of great value and very important guidance in the path of bhakti-yoga to the restless seeker.

Swami Ramakrishnananda's love for bhakti and his devotion to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, pushed him to ask for confirmation of his sannyasi, or renounced monk vows, from a Vaishnava sannyasi in the line of Krishna-bhakti, in a traditional Vedic ceremony in the Ashram of Vrinda. His Divine Grace B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami Maharaja confirmed his vows of sannyasi and granted him the title Bhaktivedanta.

In the year 2000, Swami Ramakrishnananda arrived in the United States, where he decided to give himself up completely to sharing what happens within his heart. It was only in the United States, in 2003, that he decided, for the first time, at the request of his Guru Maharaja and many of his friends, and with the intention of spreading his message, to officially create a formal institution, the Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Mission, a religious Hindu organization, where, for the first time, he began to officially accepting disciples in the ancient Vedic tradition.

In 2001, he was initiated in the mantra of Durga Devi Mata, personally by Her Holiness Ma Yoga Sakti.

In 2007, he met another one of his instructional spiritual masters, or Siksha-gurus, His Holiness Swami Svahananda,of the Ramakrishna order, disciple of Swami Vijñananda. The respected swami officially initiated him, granting him valuable guidance in meditation.

His vision and realization of Hinduism, sakshi-yoga, is expressed in his message; it is particularly suited to modern society.

The life of Swamiji is an example of perseverance in the search for the Truth, surrender, respect, and service toward his gurus and his masters, a life of incomparable passion for God.

The message of Srila Gurudev is an invitation for all mankind to live each moment in its fullness and totality with complete awareness. For him, the timeless message of yoga, Hinduism, and the ancient spiritual masters is to realize the unconditional freedom as the true and authentic nature of every being.

His devotion or bhakti and his constant experience of the Self or Vedanta, make him a faithful representative of his title, Bhaktivedanta, and of Hinduism. 

His works, lectures, workshops, and activities, imbibed with his wisdom, seriousness, and devotion, inspired the affection, appreciation, and support that he receives from both the Hindu community, as from his disciples, friends, and the public at large.