His Divine Grace Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaja, also called Guru Maharaja by his disciples, was born in Germany on the 12th of October in 1953. At a very early age a restlessness manifested within him over the injustice towards human beings. At the age of 17 he searched for clarity in Yoga along with studying of the Vedas, and rendered himself to the strict regulations of monistic life. He is a direct disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. After having been initiated by Srila Prabhupada in the year 1972 in Paris, under the name Alanath das Bramachary, he served his master by helping him distribute the message of Lord Caitanaya Mahaprabhu throughout Europe and America.
At the age of 24 received the sacred order of sannyas, renunciation. His Sannyas name is Bhaktiloka Paramadvaiti Swami. The life of Guru Maharaja was very dynamic, opening centers and spreading the transcendental message of the Vedas. He appeared into the twelfth generation of masters, of the Brahma Gaudiya Sampradaya disciplic succession, descending from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
His Divine Grace B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaja is the spiritual master of Ramakrishnananda Swami.Guru Maharaja is the founder of the Institute for Higher Vedic Studies in America, and also the Vrinda Institute in India which has centers all over the world. He is the co-founder of the World Wide Vaishnava Association that helps with communication between the different transcendental families that are located around the globe. He has written many books such as: The first spiritual master in Colombia, The free woman, the Bhagavad Gita - the supreme science, Yoga courses, books about the history of Vaisnavism,Initiation- the second birth, Ecology and meditation and many pamphlets and articles about themes and current problems of the world. He also edited the confidential science of Bhakti Yoga, The secrets of a Yogi, The mysterious India and many others. He maintains many websites in German, English and Spanish. Srila Guru Maharaja is involved in a great variety of activities that include his continual attention as lecturer and unceasing advisor for the communal life that is based on spiritual and ecological principles. Apart from being a monk, and the founder of over than 100 Yoga centers, he is an artist and the founder of the Harmony School of Conscious Arts, He participated in the production of numerous artistic documentaries; he's written and directed musical and theatrical projects, he designed and constructed projects with profound symbolic meaning and ecologic art such as the Eco Truly Ashram planetarium in Lima, Peru.Guru Maharaja was the first western monk that opened centers in India where he established a restoration project of the beautiful gems of Vaishnava architecture such as the famous Vrinda Kunya, that served as an oasis to receive the Spanish speaking pilgrims, and is especially dedicated to offering the services of the Vaishnava academy to all His students and disciples that arrive from the American continent. Currently he is traveling throughout America and Europe, giving lectures in English, German, Spanish and Portuguese; broadening the understanding and distribution of the transcendental literature, as well as performing the sacred function of accepting disciples. His profound realizations help many people in the path toward perfection in Yoga. His work continues to expand thanks to the love that he feels toward all humanity and his desire to serve his Spiritual Master. He motivates the vegetarian society and many programs of social concern in every country. His disciples, followers and friends are numbered in the hundreds, and they help him with his mission. . Through his loving way of presenting the Vaishnava teachings he has created affectionate bonds with many people including kings in India and important personalities in politics, art and religion. What is most rare is that he has obtained recognition for all of that without reducing his qualities of humbleness, purity, wisdom, simplicity and his sincere desire to help others.