LINKS

TEACHERS & TEMPLES:

• SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP
  Paramahansa Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 to make available the universal teachings of Kriya Yoga, a sacred spiritual science originating millenniums ago in India. The society publishes Paramahansa Yogananda's writings, lectures, and recorded talks; oversees temples, retreats, meditation centers, and the monastic communities of the Self-Realization Order; and guides the work of the Worldwide Prayer Circle, a network of groups and individuals dedicated to praying for those in need of physical, mental, or spiritual aid and for world peace and harmony.
• MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI (AMMACHI)
  Amma has inspired innumerable humanitarian activities all over the world. Some of them are free food and clothing programs, charitable hospitals, hospices, disaster relief programs, free homes for the poor and the needy, medical camps, orphanage, schools, educational institutions, widows' pension scheme, free legal advice, preservation of nature and so on. The list is long and growing everyday.
• SWAMI VISHWANANDA
  Sri Swami Vishwananda was born in 1978 on the Island of Mauritius. At the age of 14, Sri Swami Vishwananda, experienced the state of Samadhi, experiencing intense union and direct communion with God. Sri Swami Vishwananda embraces all religious paths, all cultures and all races. He has a deep affinity with Jesus Christ, Sri Shirdi Sai Baba and Mahavatar Kriya Babaji. He says, "There have been many misquotations and misunderstandings of what Jesus actually said. His true message is a message of love and acceptance, not of criticizing and condemning others."
• KALI MANDIR
  Kali Mandir is a traditional temple in Laguna Beach, California, modeled after the Indian public temple ideal -- no presiding guru, no membership, open to all.
• ATMA JYOTI ASHRAM
  Atma Jyoti Ashram is a spiritual institution devoted to the practice and teaching of Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion, as found in the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The ashram is also dedicated to living the traditional Hindu monastic life. The sannyasis (monks) of the ashram are part of the Giri branch of the Swami Order which was founded (or reformed) by the great Non-Dual philosopher Shankara in the third century before Christ.
• DEVI MANDIR
  Shree Maa’s Ashram is as big as your heart. Together with Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Shree Maa teaches the meaning and method of worship. Through the tantric traditions of prayer and meditation, Shree Maa and Swamiji teach that every home is a temple devoted to God. Shree Maa’s Ashram is home to a world of seekers devoted to the goal of self-realization.
• SIDDHA YOGA
  In the 1970s, on his Guru's behalf, Swami Muktananda brought the venerable tradition of his master's lineage to the West, giving the previously little-known shaktipat initiation to untold thousands of spiritual seekers. Muktananda established Gurudev Siddha Peeth as a public trust in India to administer the work there, and founded the SYDA Foundation in the United States to administer the global work of Siddha Yoga meditation.
• HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE
  One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Born in Northern India, he was raised from early childhood by a Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Under the guidance of his master he traveled from monastery to monastery and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster who was living in a remote region of Tibet. Swami Rama held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India from 1949 to 1952. In 1969 he came to the United States where he founded the Himalayan Institute. His best known work, Living With the Himalayan Masters, reveals the many facets of this singular adept and demonstrates his embodiment of the living tradition of the East.
• JYOTI MANDIR
  The Jyoti Mandir ("Temple of Light") is a small temple at a private residence in Encinitas, California. It is our belief that the high and true purpose of music is to uplift the consciousness, leading to actual communion with God. Toward that end, we sponsor an ongoing series of devotional music concerts, specializing in music that is oriented toward the path of Hindu devotional mysticism.
• MIRABAI DEVI
  Mirabai Devi is an international spiritual teacher and mentor for thousands of people around the world, and the founder of the Mirabai Devi Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to her mission of raising world consciousness and bringing a profound sense of freedom and the clarity to see our soul's purpose on earth (dharma).
• ANANDMURTI GURUMAA
  Anandmurti means "an embodiment of Divine Bliss." Gurumaa means "Master Mother." True to her name, Anandmurti Gurumaa is a master, a mother and an embodiment of divine bliss, love, intellect and spiritual vision.

YOGA STUDIOS:

• SOUL OF YOGA
  The Soul of Yoga is dedicated to the Mother of us all, as represented by Kuan Yin. Our intention is that every time you practice yoga at the Soul Center you feel safe, calm and happy, the Divine Presence within you. Developing a sweet, personal relationship and "union" with this Loving Presence is the SOUL OF YOGA.
• YOGA CENTER OF CALIFORNIA
  The only yoga center serving Orange County for over 30 years, Yoga Center of California has taught thousands of busy people how to deeply relax and enjoy greater health and vitality. In addition to teaching students postures or exercises for releasing physical tension, they share a variety of meditation and life-skill techniques from all the main yogas. This allows their students to stay relaxed and calm in any situation. Their goal is to give students a deep experience of yoga so they can have peace of mind and a feeling of well-being anywhere, any time.
• BODACIOUS LIVING
  Anusara Yoga studio in Carlsbad. The mission of Bodacious Living is to provide students with the tools to live life with more peace, wellness and playfulness through the practice of yoga. Bodacious Living seeks to be a living expression of service to the greater good, its maxim stemming from Mother Teresa's words: "We cannot do great things - only small things with great love."
• BIRD ROCK YOGA
  Located in Northern Pacific Beach, Bird Rock offers over 20 classes a week, focusing on Ashtanga and Vinyasa styles. They also have kirtans twice a month, and other special events.
• OMADAWN YOGA STUDIO
  The brainchild of Dr. Jack Ebner, Omadawn is a holistic healthcare center established for the practice and teaching of wellness and healing. The Omadawn Healthcare Center was the first multi-disciplinary holistic healthcare center in Orange County offering chiropractic, acupuncture, nutrition, massage, yoga, meditation, and other natural healing and personal growth modalities into an integrated framework.
• YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION CD
  Yogawonders.com is the destination for all the people who want to experience true relaxation, eliminate stress, and cure diseases through ancient tantra yoga techniques.

RETAIL:

• YOGA SWAMI
  Yoga Swami, located in downtown Encinitas across from the Lumberyard, is dedicated to providing a resource for all those who practice yoga. The idea was not born just of ourselves, but from the natural demand of the yoga community.
• SOULSCAPE
  A Conscious Living Gift & Bookstore located in the Lumberyard in the beautiful newly renovated Downtown Encinitas on the Coast Highway 101. A great resource for spiritual literature, music, devotional items, yoga supplies & apparel, and gifts for any occasion.

KIRTAN WALLAHS:

• JAI UTTAL
• WAH!
• KRISHNA DAS
• GIRISH
• TEMPLE BHAJAN BAND
• GOVINDAS & RADHA
• LILY DIAMOND
• KUMUDA
• VAIYASAKI DAS
• DONNA DE LORY
• LARISA STOW & SHAKTI TRIBE
• DURGA DAS

CLASSICAL MUSIC

• DEBASHISH CHAUDHURI - Tabla
  Debashish is one of the most promising and acclaimed tabla players from Kolkata, India. He is currently based in Los Angeles. He began learning Tabla at five years old from the late Pandit Nanku Maharaj of Benaras and subsequently from late Pandit Kanai Dutta of the Farukkabad gharana. For more than thirty years, Debasish has been under the noble guidance of his guru and uncle The World-Renowned Tabla Maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri of the Lucknow Gharana.
• PANDIT SWAPAN CHAUDHURI - Tabla
  Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, the brilliant master the tabla, credits his family for the encouragement and early training that have earned him a place among the greatest classical musicians of India. His parents initiated him into the study of tabla when he was five and greatly inspired him to excel. The poetic style, clarity and elegance of his music, both as a soloist and accompanist, have earned him great respect and appreciation from fellow musicians as well as audiences around the world. His virtuosity and ingenuity have ushered in a new style of tabla playing.
• USTAD ALI AKBAR KHANSAHIB - Sarode The classical music of North India is an uplifting and extraordinary music, dating back thousands of years. Ali Akbar Khan is one of today’s most accomplished Indian classical musicians. Considered a "National Living Treasure" in India, he is admired by both Eastern and Western musicians for his brilliant compositions and his mastery of the sarode (a beautiful, 25-stringed Indian instrument). Concert violinist the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin called Ali Akbar Khan, "An absolute genius...the greatest musician in the world," and many have considered him the "Indian Johann Sebastian Bach."
• ALI AKBAR COLLEGE OF MUSIC
  The Ali Akbar College of Music offers education in the classical music of North India at the highest professional level. Our primary instructors are the internationally recognized sarode Maestro Ali Akbar Khan and the master of percussion Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, from whom our students learn the necessary musical skills, knowledge and understanding to contribute significantly to musical life. Our international student body ranges from beginner to accomplished professional. Facilities include several practice rooms, classrooms and a concert hall.
• PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR - Sitar
  Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitarist and composer is India's most esteemed musical Ambassador and a singular phenomenon in the classical music worlds of East and West. As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician. He is well known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. This however, he did only after long years of dedicated study under his illustrious guru Baba Allaudin Khan and after making a name for himself in India.
• PANDIT JASRAJ - Vocals
  The contemporary doyen of North Indian vocals, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj needs little Introduction. Born in a family that has given to Indian classical music four generations of outstanding musicians, the Mewati maestro had his initial grooming in music under his father, late Pandit Motiramji. He then underwent intensive tutelage under his elder brother and guru, the late Sangeet Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Maniramji. Endowed with a rich, soulful and sonorous voice which traverses effortlessly over all three and a half octaves, Panditji’s vocalising is characterised by a harmonius blend of classic and opulent elements, projecting traditional music as an intense spiritual expression, at once chaste and densely coloured. This gives his music a very sublime emotional quality, touching the soul of the listener. He has been guided in this by his spiritual guru, late Maharana Jaiwant Singhiji of Anand, another doyen of the Mewati gharana.
• PANDIT SHIVKUMAR SHARMA - Santoor
  Born in 1938, a musician par excellence, a great composer, an understanding & kind guru, a sensitive and aware citizen, this living legend is truly a personification of the ethos and values of India. The world of music will forever be indebted to him for his incredible contribution. To state that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has created history in the world of music, is an understatement of the maestro’s achievements and contributions. After all how many musicians can boast of single handedly bringing forth an obscure, almost unknown instrument to the level of being "indispensable" on the concert platform! Musicians and their instruments do become synonymous, but how often does an instrument acquire an identity because of a musician!
• U SRINIVAS - Mandolin
  To Shrinivas the mandolin was his first love. He expended all his latent talent to conquer this little known instrument. Such was the proficiency he attained that his father soon realized that what he had on his hands was a "child prodigy" and no less! The creative energy in Shrinivas swirled like a tidal wave around the Carnatic music world. The way critics gushed, it was hard to tell if they were talking about a child or a god!
• MUSICAL NIRVANA
  A wonderful resource for information about classical Indian music, musicians, instruments, recordings, etc.
• MYSTICA MUSIC
  Listen and download mp3 music at MysticaMusic.com. Good quality mp3 music in genres like Indian Classical, Instrumental, Sufi, New Age, Meditation, and Devotional, by top artists from India.

PILGRIMAGE TOURS TO INDIA:

• MASTER'S DARSHAN TOURS
• POLESTAR TOURS

RESOURCES:

• CLOUD 9 RECORDING STUDIO
  The studio with the nicest "vibe" in town! You will feel it the moment you enter the studio. There is a wonderful energy here that caters to the creative soul within. During sessions, take a break and walk down to the ocean and get refreshed. It’s just 2 blocks away! People love coming here to relax, be inspired and create!
• LAKE OF FLOWERS PRODUCTIONS
  Free audio and video downloads! Everything they produce is freely available for download as high quality video and audio files, offered in cooperation with Gaudiya Kutir and The Internet Archive (online at archive.org). Their productions are also available on CDs and DVDs for a nominal fee.
• THE MISTRESS OF SPICE
  Aparna Khanolkar is an Ayurvedic personal chef serving North County San Diego since 2004. She also teaches Ayurvedic, Indian and healthy cooking classes privately and workshops in a group setting.
• SITE5 WEB HOSTING
  
  Reliable, affordable, downright awesome web hosting.