Alakananda Ma, affectionately known as Ma, grew up in a small town in England to a Jewish father and a Christian mother. At the age of eight, she knew her path would lead her to benefit humanity much as the saints of old. By the age of twelve, a mystical experience led her to discover her vocation as a healer. After taking novitiate with an enclosed Cistercian abbey, she received her medical degree at a top London medical school.

Her path eventually led her to India and to the life of a spiritual renunciate. As a sadhvi, she practiced the teachings of the eastern saints and found her sadguru, Raghudas Maharaj, her Ayurvedic guru, Dr. Vasant Lad, and her soul mate, Sadanandaji.

At the passing of Raghudas from his body, Alakananda Ma was given instruction by Raghudas’ spiritual mother, Kamala Bai, and his sister Gangatai, to go to America and create Alandi Ashram in honor of Raghudas and his lineage. Travelling to Colorado in 1985 with eighty dollars in their pockets, Ma and Sadanandaji started Alandi Ashram in a backyard teepee. In 1990 the Ashram moved to its present location in a home in Boulder. From these humble beginnings, Alandi has developed a temple, Ayurvedic clinic, Ayurvedic school and a thriving community.

For twenty years, Sadananda and Alakananda Ma have led the life of hidden, humble servants while continuing the spiritual practices given to them by their teachers in India and by the Sufi, Jewish, Christian and Buddhist teachers who found them in America. In response to the pressing needs of the times and the urging of her mentor Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Alakananda Ma has emerged from her hidden life to share with the world the remarkable teachings of the Mother’s path of unity, as well as the life-giving wisdom of Ayurveda.

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Sadananda was born and raised in a mixed Catholic and Baptist family in a Mexican neighborhood of Denver. A series of mystical experiences during his teens and twenties led him to study with the masters of the East who were arriving in America during the late 1960's and early 70's. After studying at the Naropa Institute and Insight Meditation Society, Sadananda travelled to India to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha. For seven years he lived the life of a traditional sadhu, meditating in temples, ashrams and cremation grounds and he became a beloved disciple of his sadguru, Raghudas Maharaj.

Sadananda has always been a musician. In the 70's, as a singer and songwriter, he studied and performed at the Denver Folklore Center. In India he imbibed kirtan at the feet of the true kirtan masters of Maharashtra. Today Sadananda is an adept kirtan leader and inspiring meditation instructor.

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Raghudas Maharaj hailed from a small village near Satara in southern Maharashtra. At the tender age of sixteen, he left home to become a hermit in the Himalayas. His northern journey took him as far as Alandi where Jnaneshwar appeared to him, saying, “Stay here with me.”

Known as “the saint of Alandi,” Raghudas spent the next fifty-six years immersed in meditation beside the tomb of Jnaneshwar. At an early age, he attained the state of mahasiddha.

Raghudas led a humble, hidden life, admitting only a handful of disciples into his inner circle. He taught the path of love, simplicity and oneness, embracing Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews and Buddhists with impartial affection. Working through astral bodies, he continues to guide and bless all who come to Alandi Ashram.

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Sant Jnaneshwar was born over seven hundred years ago in the village of Alandi, on the banks of the Indrayani river. The son of a sannyasi, he was shunned by the local Brahmins. It is said that Jnaneshwar won the right to investiture with the sacred thread by making a water buffalo recite the Vedas.

At the age of twenty-one, Jnaneshwar spontaneously dictated the Bhavartha Dipika, the first ever vernacular commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. This scintillating feat, uniting the Yogas of Devotion and Knowledge, earned the young Sant enduring fame.

He is widely revered as an incarnation of Krishna. At the age of twenty-two, he was entombed in a state of deep meditation known as jivan samadhi. Centuries later, Sant Eknath entered the tomb and saw a radiant youth seated in meditation.

Jnaneshwar is still believed to be alive, anchoring his light body as a crystal of enlightened energy radiating from Alandi to the entire world.

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Alandi: The Marathi word Alandi is a corruption of the Sanskrit Alankapuri.

On the physical plane, Alandi is a village located fifteen kilometers from Pune, on the banks of the Indrayani River. Since ancient times, the village has been a shrine of Shiva as Siddheshwar, Lord of Spiritual Attainment. Today, the Alandi Jnanshewar temple is a major pilgrimage center, drawing hundreds of thousands of devotees on festival days.

On the spiritual plane, Alankapuri is the location of the Blue Pearl, ten fingerbreaths above the crown of the head, embodying the supreme level of consciousness, attainable by human beings—absolute, pristine awareness imbued with love and devotion.

Founded in the name of the saints of Alandi, Sant Jnaneshwar and Raghudas, who fully attained the state of dwelling in Alankapuri, Alandi Ashram, Boulder, welcomes all seekers with unbiased hospitality.

UNESCO World Peace Centre in Alandi, India http://www.mitpune.org/wpc/home.html

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