Swami Janakananda
Encyclopedia
Swami 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. He is the oldest active sannyasin disciple of Satyananda Saraswati
in Europe.
, Denmark
he was introduced to yoga
by his medical doctor as a child and continued to practise as a teenager and while in his twenties. From 1962 to 1965 he was part of a professional pantomime
group, in which he learned through intensive practice how to use physical yoga
as a means for creative expression and concentration.
In 1968 he met his teacher Swami Satyananda Saraswati, who initiated him into Kriya Yoga
and other advanced tantric practices. For two years he lived with Swami Satyananda in his ashram in Bihar
, India, and for several months traveled with him throughout the country.
, Finland
, Norway
, Germany
and France
. It is today Scandinavia's largest yoga school and a well-known institution of the Satyananda Yoga tradition in Europe, training thousands of students each year in classical yoga and meditation.
, Sweden or one of the independent branches of the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School. He has been a resident and guest teacher at the Ananda Ashram in New York through the 1980s and again in 2006, and has travelled extensively, teaching meditation, giving lectures and participating in conferences in Sydney, Singapore, Bogota, Buenos Aires, London, and several other locations around the world.
In 1971 Swami Janakananda was one of the first in Europe to teach the full Kriya Yoga sequence of 22 kriyas, during a period of 21 or 33 days of silence, and he has done so ever since, twice a year, in retreats at Håå Course Center. Swami Janakananda maintains that, according to the tradition, and his own teacher, Kriya Yoga should only be taught under the special conditions of an ashram
, during a period of strict silence.
In the early 1970s, Swami Janakananda advanced the teaching of the tantric sexual rituals
. But, faced with misunderstanding in the media and society in general, he quickly discontinued the teaching of this practice in favor of the more deep-reaching methods of tantra. Nevertheless, he has had "a profound, and often unacknowledged influence on many Western Neo-Tantric teachers and practicioners of sacred sexuality".
He is also one of the pioneers in teaching and publicizing the deep relaxation Yoga Nidra
, which is currently available in four languages.
In 1977, Swami Janakananda organized “Meditation Yoga 77”, an international yoga congress held in Stockholm
and attended by an eclectic list of speakers, reflecting the many Indian teachers who would visit the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School in succeeding years.
From the start of his teaching career, Swami Janakananda has incorporated many different tools and mediums in order to inspire his students and divulge the methods of yoga. To this end he has actively used art, technology and science. Swami Janakananda was a close friend and associate of the late tantric poet and painter Sohan Qadri
. For many years, they worked together on promoting the tantric practice of yantra
meditation in the West. Swami Janakananda is prominently featured on The Seer, a short film about the life and art of Sohan Qadri.
Janakananda has collaborated in scientific research into yoga with the University of Cologne
, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, The Kennedy Institute in Copenhagen, among others. He has also facilitated a deep-reaching study into Kriya Yoga's effect in the brain, performed by neuroscientist Erik Hoffmann, Ph.D.
Janakananda writes articles for the yoga magazine Bindu and contributes articles to several publications, and his book Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life has been published in nine languages.
Swami Janakananda has conducted anthropological research, bringing to light evidence that demonstrates that ancient knowledge of yoga is not limited to the Indian subcontinent alone, but has existed at different times throughout most of the world.
During the 2009 and 2010 concert seasons, Swami Janakananda was invited by Danish Radio to guide the tantric meditation "Returning" to a national radio audience.
Swami Janakananda bases his teaching on a holistic view of yoga where all dimensions of the human being is touched. He stresses non idealism and the importance of active participation in life.
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
yoga and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
teacher and a writer, who has had a significant influence in the dissemination of yoga and meditation in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Northern Europe. He is the oldest active sannyasin disciple of Satyananda Saraswati
Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Swami Satyananda Saraswati , was a sannyasin, yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He founded the International Yoga Fellowship in 1956 and the Bihar School of Yoga in 1963...
in Europe.
Early life
Born Jørgen Dreiager on 13 June 1939 in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
he was introduced to yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
by his medical doctor as a child and continued to practise as a teenager and while in his twenties. From 1962 to 1965 he was part of a professional pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
group, in which he learned through intensive practice how to use physical yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
as a means for creative expression and concentration.
In 1968 he met his teacher Swami Satyananda Saraswati, who initiated him into Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga finds mention in the ancient spiritual texts of Patanjali Yogasutras "Tapah svadhyayeshvara pranidhani kriyayogah" . It was later revived by Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri in the 19th century. Subsequently Paramhansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi reported the same for his...
and other advanced tantric practices. For two years he lived with Swami Satyananda in his ashram in Bihar
Bihar School of Yoga
The Bihar School of Yoga is an internationally acclaimed school of Yoga founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 to fulfill the instruction given by his Guru, Sri Swami Sivananda of propagating the ancient wisdom of yoga from door to door and from shore to shore...
, India, and for several months traveled with him throughout the country.
Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School
In 1970 Swami Janakananda returned to Denmark where he founded the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School, Copenhagen's first yoga school. The Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School grew quickly and expanded to 12 independent branches in Denmark, SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is today Scandinavia's largest yoga school and a well-known institution of the Satyananda Yoga tradition in Europe, training thousands of students each year in classical yoga and meditation.
Teaching
For the past four decades, Swami Janakananda has been active in Northern Europe, teaching in Håå Course Center, SmålandSmåland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
, Sweden or one of the independent branches of the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School. He has been a resident and guest teacher at the Ananda Ashram in New York through the 1980s and again in 2006, and has travelled extensively, teaching meditation, giving lectures and participating in conferences in Sydney, Singapore, Bogota, Buenos Aires, London, and several other locations around the world.
In 1971 Swami Janakananda was one of the first in Europe to teach the full Kriya Yoga sequence of 22 kriyas, during a period of 21 or 33 days of silence, and he has done so ever since, twice a year, in retreats at Håå Course Center. Swami Janakananda maintains that, according to the tradition, and his own teacher, Kriya Yoga should only be taught under the special conditions of an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
, during a period of strict silence.
In the early 1970s, Swami Janakananda advanced the teaching of the tantric sexual rituals
Neotantra
Neotantra, or Tantric sex, is a term used for the modern, western variations of Tantra. The term refers to both the New Age and modern Western interpretations of traditional Indian and Buddhist tantra...
. But, faced with misunderstanding in the media and society in general, he quickly discontinued the teaching of this practice in favor of the more deep-reaching methods of tantra. Nevertheless, he has had "a profound, and often unacknowledged influence on many Western Neo-Tantric teachers and practicioners of sacred sexuality".
He is also one of the pioneers in teaching and publicizing the deep relaxation Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra
Yoga-nidra or "yogi sleep" is a sleep-like state which yogis report to experience during their meditations.The practice of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating, abdominal...
, which is currently available in four languages.
In 1977, Swami Janakananda organized “Meditation Yoga 77”, an international yoga congress held in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and attended by an eclectic list of speakers, reflecting the many Indian teachers who would visit the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School in succeeding years.
From the start of his teaching career, Swami Janakananda has incorporated many different tools and mediums in order to inspire his students and divulge the methods of yoga. To this end he has actively used art, technology and science. Swami Janakananda was a close friend and associate of the late tantric poet and painter Sohan Qadri
Sohan Qadri
Sohan Qadri is a yogi, poet and a painter from India who has lived in Copenhagen for the past 30 years. His paintings result from states of deep meditation, and are informed by the colors of India: luminous, dye-infused works on meticulously serrated paper...
. For many years, they worked together on promoting the tantric practice of yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
meditation in the West. Swami Janakananda is prominently featured on The Seer, a short film about the life and art of Sohan Qadri.
Janakananda has collaborated in scientific research into yoga with the University of Cologne
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, The Kennedy Institute in Copenhagen, among others. He has also facilitated a deep-reaching study into Kriya Yoga's effect in the brain, performed by neuroscientist Erik Hoffmann, Ph.D.
Janakananda writes articles for the yoga magazine Bindu and contributes articles to several publications, and his book Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life has been published in nine languages.
Swami Janakananda has conducted anthropological research, bringing to light evidence that demonstrates that ancient knowledge of yoga is not limited to the Indian subcontinent alone, but has existed at different times throughout most of the world.
During the 2009 and 2010 concert seasons, Swami Janakananda was invited by Danish Radio to guide the tantric meditation "Returning" to a national radio audience.
Swami Janakananda bases his teaching on a holistic view of yoga where all dimensions of the human being is touched. He stresses non idealism and the importance of active participation in life.
External links
- Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School Official website
- The School and Swami Janakananda An official presentation of Swami Janakananda
- Kriya Yoga III - Time for Learning... Time for Insight... Time for Teaching... Autobiographical article in Bindu Magazine