List of Hindu gurus and saints
Encyclopedia
These are some of the most noteworthy gurus and saints of Hinduism
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Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
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- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- Acharya Rakeshprasad Pande
- Adi ShankaraAdi ShankaraAdi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
- AkhandanandAkhandanand- Birth :Anantshri Swami Akhandanandji Saraswati , was an exponent of Bhagavata Purana and a scholar of diverse spiritual traditions including Vedanta, Bhakti, and associated Shastras...
- Amrit DesaiAmrit DesaiAmrit Desai is a Yoga master who founded the Kripalu Center and currently oversees the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, Florida, located in the Ocala National Forest.- Life and career :...
- Anandmurti GurumaaAnandmurti GurumaaAnandmurti Gurumaa , also known as Gurumaa born in Amritsar, Punjab India, is a New Age spiritual guide. She is respected by followers of many faiths including Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Sufism. Her message transcends gender, religious, political, geographic and...
(female) - Baba Lokenath BrahmachariBaba Lokenath BrahmachariBaba Lokenath Brahmachari or simply Baba Lokenath was an 18th Century Hindu saint and philosopher in Bengal.- Life and Death :Baba Lokenath Brahmachari was born on Janmastami, the 18th day of Bhadra,1137 Bengali Era to a Brahmin family in the village of Chaurasi Chakla, named as Kochua, in...
- Bhagawan NityanandaBhagawan NityanandaBhagawan Nityananda was an Indian guru. His teachings are published in the "Chidakash Gita". Nityananda was born in Quilandy , Kerala, South India.- Early life :...
- Bhakti Tirtha SwamiBhakti Tirtha SwamiBhakti Tirtha Swami , also known as Swami Krishnapada, was a leading guru and governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . He was the highest-ranking African American in ISKCON...
- Bhakti Caru Swami
- Brahmananda SaraswatiBrahmananda SaraswatiBrahmananda Saraswati was the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, a revered Hindu spiritual title in India, from 1941 to 1953.-Early life:...
- Brahmarshi Prem NirmalBrahmarshi Prem NirmalBrahmarshi Prem Nirmal more fondly known as "Guruji" is a living enlightened master and founder of the TASC, Tao Anand Spiritual Center, which aims at holistic development of individuals as well as society...
- Chaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
- Gajanan MaharajGajanan MaharajGajanan Maharaj from Shegaon , Maharashtra, India is a Saint from India. "Sant Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan" is the largest temple trust in the Vidarbha region....
- GorakshanathGorakshanathGorakshanath was an 11th to 12th century Hindu Nath yogi, connected to Shaivism as one of the two most important disciples of Matsyendranath, the other being Caurangi. There are varying records of the spiritual descent of Gorakshanath. All name Adinath and Matsyendranath as two teachers preceding...
- Gurumayi ChidvilasanandaGurumayi ChidvilasanandaGurumayi Chidvilasananda is the commonly used name of Malti Shetty , who is the current guru of the Siddha Yoga lineage. She is formally known as Swami Chidvilasananda or more casually as Gurumayi...
(female) - Gopal Krishna GoswamiGopal Krishna GoswamiGopal Krishna Goswami is a religious leader within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . He was the first Indian disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to be initiated after the establishment of ISKCON...
- Gnanananda GiriGnanananda GiriSwami Sri Gnanananda Giri believed to be born early 19 century. Since young, Gnanananda live the life of an ascetic. Gnanananda is a Mahayogi, Siddha Purusha,Himalayan sage and Indian philosopher. He believed in Advaita Vedanta since he was lineage of Peetam of Jagadguru Totakacharya...
- Hanumatpresaka Swami
- Haridas Thakur
- Hridayananda dasa GoswamiHridayananda Dasa GoswamiHridayananda Dasa Goswami is a senior religious leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and one of the most prominent disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Hridayananda Goswami is an initiating guru within ISKCON and has served as a member of the Governing Body...
- Jayadvaita SwamiJayadvaita SwamiJayadvaita Swami is a Gaudiya Vaishnava swami and an ISKCON guru. He is an editor, publisher, and a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON...
- Jayapataka SwamiJayapataka SwamiJayapataka Swami is a Vaishnava swami and a religious leader for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . He is a senior disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
- Lahiri MahasayaLahiri MahasayaShyama Charan Lahiri , , best known as Lahiri Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi and a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. He was also popularly known as Yogiraj and Kashi Baba. He revived the yogic science of Kriya Yoga when he learned it from Mahavatar Babaji in 1861...
- MadhvacharyaMadhvacharyaMadhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...
- Maharishi Mahesh YogiMaharishi Mahesh YogiMaharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
- Mahavatar BabajiMahavatar BabajiMahavatar Babaji is the name given to an Indian saint by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples who met Mahavatar Babaji between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramhansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi , including a first hand telling of Yogananda’s own...
- Mata AmritanandamayiMata AmritanandamayiMātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī , primarily known simply as Amma ["Mother"], is a Hindu spiritual leader and guru, who is revered as a saint by her followers. She is widely respected for her humanitarian activities...
(female) - Meher BabaMeher BabaMeher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
- Mother MeeraMother MeeraMother Meera, born Kamala Reddy is believed by her devotees to be an embodiment of the Divine Mother .-Life account:...
(female) - MuktanandaMuktanandaSwami Muktananda is the monastic name of an Indian Hindu guru and disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. Swami Muktananda was the founder of Siddha Yoga...
- Narayan Dutt Shrimali
- Narayan MaharajNarayan MaharajNarayan Maharaj was a Hindu Indian spiritual master considered by his followers to be a sadguru. He lived in Kedgaon, India.-Early life:...
- Neem Karoli BabaNeem Karoli BabaShri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
- NimbarkaNimbarkaNimbarka , is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology of Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. According to scholars headed by Prof. Roma Bose, he lived in the 13th Century, on the assumption that Śrī Nimbārkācārya was the author of the work Madhvamukhamardana...
- Nisargadatta MaharajNisargadatta MaharajSri Nisargadatta Maharaj , born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita , and a Guru, belonging to the Inchgiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya....
- Paramahansa YoganandaParamahansa YoganandaParamahansa Yogananda , born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a...
- Radhanath SwamiRadhanath SwamiRadhanath Swami is a Gaudiya Vaishnava guru and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . He works largely from Mumbai in India and also travels extensively throughout Europe and America. He has been instrumental in the founding of the Mumbai Bhaktivedanta hospital...
- Raghavendra SwamiRaghavendra SwamiRaghavendra Theertha was a Hindu saint and philosopher who served as the head of the Sri Mutt in Kumbakonam from 1624 to 1636. He wrote a commentary Sudha Parimala on the Nyaya Sudha, an exposition of Dvaita philosophy...
- Ram DassRam DassRam Dass is an American contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now. He is known for his personal and professional associations with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, for his travels to India and his relationship with the Hindu guru Neem...
(Richard Alpert) - Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
- Ramana MaharshiRamana MaharshiSri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
- RamanujaRamanujaRamanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
- Sai Baba of ShirdiSai Baba of ShirdiSai Baba of Shirdi , also known as Shirdi Sai Baba , was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim devotees as a saint....
- Samarth RamdasSamarth RamdasRamdas was a prominent Marathi saint and religious poet in the Hindu tradition in Maharashtra, India. Samarth Ramdas was a devotee of Lord Hanuman and Lord Rama...
- Sant Dnyaneshwar
- Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu
- Satguru Sivaya SubramuniyaswamiSatguru Sivaya SubramuniyaswamiSivaya Subramuniyaswami , also known as Gurudeva by his followers, was born in Oakland, California, on January 5, 1927, and adopted Saivism as a young man. He traveled to India and Sri Lanka where he received initiation from Yogaswami of Jaffna in 1949...
- Satsvarupa dasa GoswamiSatsvarupa dasa GoswamiSatsvarupa das Goswami is a senior disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness , better known in the West as the Hare Krishna movement...
- Satya Sai Baba
- Shastri Narayanswarupdas
- ShankaracharyaShankaracharyaShankaracharya, is a commonly used title of heads of mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, a 9th century CE reformer of Hinduism. He is honored as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna...
- Shriram Sharma AcharyaShriram Sharma AcharyaShriram Sharma was an Indian seer, sage, a prominent philosopher, a visionary of the New Golden Era, and the Founder of the All World Gayatri Pariwar, which has its headquarters at Shantikunj, Haridwar....
- Sri Anandamayi Ma (female)
- Sri AurobindoSri AurobindoSri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
- Sri ChinmoySri ChinmoyChinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
- Sri Narayana Guru, writer of Daiva DasakamDaiva DasakamDaiva Dasakam Malayalam: ദൈവ ദശകം or Ten Verses To God is a prayer penned by Narayana Guru circa 1914. In 2009 the Kerala state government recommended that it should become the national prayer of India.-Daiva Dashakam in Malayalam:1ദൈവമേ! കാത്തുകൊള്കങ്ങു...
{male}- Sri Sri Ravishankar
- Sri Sarada Devi (female)
- Sri Yukteswar GiriSri Yukteswar GiriSri Yukteshwar Giri is the monastic name of Priyanath Karar , the guru of Swami Satyananda Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda. Sri Yukteshwar was an educator, astronomer, a Jyotisha , a yogi, and a believer in the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible...
- Srimanta SankardevaSrimanta SankardevaMahapurusha Srimanta Shankardeva , was the greatest Assamese saint-scholar, playwright, social-religious reformer and a colossal figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam, India...
- Swami Sathyananda SaraswathiSwami Sathyananda SaraswathiSwami Sathyananda Saraswathi also known as Chenkottukonam Swamiji, was a Hindu spiritual teacher, orator, historian and religious scholar. He was the founder of Hindu Aikya Vedi, and remained its chairman until his death....
- Swami NigamanandaSwami NigamanandaSwami Nigamananda Paramahansa . His followers idealized him as their worshiped and beloved thakura.Nigamananda was a sannyasi of the Shankar's cult...
- Swami ChidbhavanandaSwami ChidbhavanandaSwami Chidbhavananda was born in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents named him 'Chinnu'. He studied in Stanes School, Coimbatore. He was one of the two Indians in his class, the rest being British...
- Swami Chinmayananda
- Swami Dayananda SaraswatiSwami Dayananda SaraswatiMaharishi Dayanand Saraswati was an important Hindu religious scholar, reformer, and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya – "India for Indians" – in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak...
- Swami JanakanandaSwami JanakanandaSwami Janakananda Saraswati is a tantric yoga and meditation teacher and a writer, who has had a significant influence in the dissemination of yoga and meditation in Scandinavia and Northern Europe...
- Swami KrishnanandaSwami KrishnanandaSri Swami Krishnananda Saraswati Maharaj was a Hindu saint. He was a foremost disciple of Swami Sivananda and served as the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, India from 1958 until 2001...
- Swami Lakshamanananda
- Swami NigamanandaSwami NigamanandaSwami Nigamananda Paramahansa . His followers idealized him as their worshiped and beloved thakura.Nigamananda was a sannyasi of the Shankar's cult...
- Swami NiranjananandaSwami NiranjananandaSwami Niranjanananda Saraswati is the successor of Paramahamsa Satyananda, founder of Satyananda Yoga, who passed on the worldwide coordination of Satyananda Yoga to Swami Niranjanananda in 1988....
- Swami Rama TirthaSwami Rama TirthaSwami Ram Tirth , also known as Swami Ram, was an Indian teacher of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. He was among the first notable teachers of Hinduism to lecture in the United States, traveling there in 1902. He was preceded by Swami Vivekananda in 1893, and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in...
- Swami RamaSwami RamaSwāmī Rāma was born Brij Kiśore Dhasmana or Brij Kiśore Kumar, to a northern Indian Brahmin family in a small village called Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. He became the lineage holder of the Sankya Yoga tradition of the Himalayan Masters...
- Swami RamdasSwami RamdasSwami Ramdas was a philosopher, philanthropist, and pilgrim. Giving up worldly possessions at a young age, he became a wandering monk...
- Swami SatchidanandaSwami SatchidanandaSwami Satchidananda , born as C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder, was an Indian religious teacher, spiritual master and yoga adept, who gained fame and following in the West during his time in New York. He was the author of many philosophical and spiritual books, including a popular illustrative book on Hatha...
- Swami Sathyananda SaraswathiSwami Sathyananda SaraswathiSwami Sathyananda Saraswathi also known as Chenkottukonam Swamiji, was a Hindu spiritual teacher, orator, historian and religious scholar. He was the founder of Hindu Aikya Vedi, and remained its chairman until his death....
- Swami Satyananda
- Swami SivanandaSwami SivanandaSwami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
- Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
- Tamala Krishna GoswamiTamala Krishna GoswamiTamal Krishna Goswami , born as Thomas G. Herzig in New York City, NY United States served on International Society for Krishna Consciousness's Governing Body Commission since its inception in 1970. In January 1972, he accepted the renounced order of life sannyasa in Jaipur...
- TukaramTukaramSant Tukaram was a prominent Varkari Sant and spiritual poet during a Bhakti movement in India.Sant Tukaram was born and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune in Mahārāshtra, India. He was born to a couple with the family name "More", the descendent of the Mourya Clan with first...
- Upasni MaharajUpasni MaharajUpasni Maharaj, born Kashinath Govindrao Upasni, was considered by his disciples to be a satguru. He lived in Sakori, India and is said to have received God-realization from Sai Baba of Shirdi...
- Vallabhacarya
- YogaswamiYogaswamiJnanaguru Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna was Sri Lanka's most renowned 20th-century spiritual master, a Śivajnani and a natha siddhar revered by both Hindus and Buddhists...