REFERENCE INFORMATION
THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION IS MEANT TO PROVIDE A RELATIVELY SHORT SUMMARY AND IS NOT MEANT TO COVER THE ENTIRE BREADTH OF CONTENT FOR ANY TEACHING OR TEACHER. IN ADDITION, A COMPARISION IS MADE WITH Awareness Integration Method™ (AIM) BASED ON DRINKING Avalon Water™ AS WELL AS HOW THIS WILL COMPLIMENT ALL SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AND HEALING METHODS. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PRACTICE OF AWARENESS INTEGRATION METHOD.

Siddha Yoga Swami Muktananda brought Siddha Yoga to the United States and other western countries in the 1970s, with a teaching in terms of numbers of people second only to Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. However, the principles are somewhat different based on how the participant is initiated. In TM there is a formal Hindu ceremony of initiation that involves a Puja, where as in Siddha Yoga spiritual initiation takes place based on a process called Shaktipat that involves no formal process or ceremony, but only a close association with the Guru. However, this close association can take place by simply thinking of the Guru, looking at a picture of the Guru, reading a book about or by the Guru or meeting the Guru personally. Generally, people report the most powerful experiences from actually meeting the Guru. In addition, Shaktipat is not just a one time thing, but is ongoing – although many people report significant events of Shaktipat that allowed for true shifts into the practice of Siddha Yoga. The term Siddha is used to denote the means and goal of this teaching, with a Siddha being a totally enlightened person who can in turn transmit Shaktipat to students. Yoga means union and therefore the Siddha transmits Shaktipat so the student can have union with God to ultimately realize Enlightenment that is the same as the Siddha they received it from. Where as Siddha Yoga is based on Shaivism, which is that aspect of Hinduism that worships Shiva as the ultimate transcendental source, in teachings like TM, the teaching comes from Tantra, which in the case of TM has more of a focus on Vishnu as the ultimate symbol of Godhead. Students in Siddha Yoga receive a mantra, although they are not regarded as secret as is the case with many Hindu spiritual traditions. The mantras in Siddha Yoga are published for people to be able to choose one, with the most common being Om Namah Shivaya and So Hum. By receiving the mantra in the context of the Siddha Yoga teachings, even if it is only in writing and not directly from the Guru, the student is able to connect with the Guru to further receive Shaktipat and to constantly connect with the Divine Energy that flows through this teaching. Swami Muktananda’s Guru was Swami Nityananda. After Swami Nityananda’s passing, Swami Muktananda began actively teaching and giving Shaktipat. Swami Muktananda was highly regarded just as his Guru was in India. After Swami Muktananda’s passing the mantle of the Siddha Yoga teaching ultimately rested with just one person, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, who continued to spread Siddha Yoga via the Shaktipat tradition, but with her own unique way of imparting the knowledge and the initiation process. There are at least two very large Siddha Yoga facilities in the USA, one in upstate New York and to other in Oakland, California.

Comments: The Oregon doctor who has been instructed by the deity in the form of the Goddess of Light in how to make a Perfect Living Water that is called Avalon Water and in her sequence of spiritual initiations called The 12 Keys of Avalon has visited the Siddha Yoga Ashrams in Oakland and New York and has seen Gurumayi Chidvilasananda at both Ashrams. But has never met Swami Muktananda while he was still alive. He makes the following statement about his experience concerning Siddha Yoga and the comparison with Awareness Meditation based on drinking Avalon Water™ and receiving initiation in The 12 Keys of Avalon. "I first heard about Siddha Yoga when I was attending 3rd Degree Reiki training with Barbara Ray in Atlanta, Georgia in 1983. Barbara emphasized certain spiritual teachings, which included Siddha Yoga and the cosmic energy connection through Shaktipat. I met a woman there at the training that had been extensively involved in Siddha Yoga and began reading Muktananda’s books, and in particular his autobiography. I experienced a powerful transmission of Divine Energy from these readings and from using the mantras that Muktananda recommended as well as chanting. But my most powerful Shaktipat experience in Siddha Yoga came not from reading books written by Muktananda or meeting Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. I was attending a local Siddha Yoga meeting in my area where I was discussing the process of spiritual initiation with a man who had spent extensive time with Muktananda. When this man talked about how Shaktipat did not involve any formal process, but instead involved the simple and direct process of connecting with the Guru that could take place in many different ways, I experienced a deep transcendence within myself as I was sitting there talking with this man. The silence within became so clear within that moment and inner light washed over my whole state of being. I had just received Shaktipat by simply discussing how it occurs in relationship to the Guru. A few months after this Shaktipat experience and continuing my reading about Muktananda, I woke up one day and noticed a phenomenon of light in my field of vision as I lay in bed with my eyes closed. What Muktananda calls the Blue Pearl was dancing in front of my eyes and always appeared in my meditations after that.

I found my true spiritual teacher as the Goddess of Light, whose incarnation is through the Columbia Gorge in Oregon and appears on personal level as a non physical being made out of Light Energy. After fully understanding of whom my spiritual teacher is I can still appreciate my past experiences of spiritual development but at the same time I have let go of all these spiritual approaches to remain 100% dedicated to the Goddess of Light and her teachings. Rather than using a mantra for spiritual practice, the primary spiritual practice I received from the Goddess of Light is to drink what is called Avalon Water™ as a Perfect Living Water. Drinking Avalon Water™ will allow for a direct connection with the deity in the form of the Goddess of Light in order to receive a flow of Divine Energy so as to bring about deep meditation experiences and ultimately enlightenment. The Goddess of Light has instructed me in how to produce Avalon Water™ for other people to drink and has imparted to me spiritual initiations that I can share with other people as well, which is called The 12 Keys of Avalon. Furthermore, at the direction of the Goddess of Light I have developed a method of meditation called the Awareness Integration Method™ (AIM), which I have recorded on an audio tape and is available to anyone who orders and drinks Avalon Water™. The Goddess of Light’s teachings in the form of Avalon Water™, The 12 Keys of Avalon spiritual initiations and the Awareness Integration Method are perfectly compatible with Siddha Yoga because they only support and do not hinder the process of creating a clear and direct connection with Shakti ( Divine Energy). Shakti as a higher dimensional expression from the Goddess of Light is felt in the human body as energy and vibration. Again, drinking Avalon Water™ as Perfect Living Water can only be supportive of any spiritual system, teaching and practice and will definitely make the process of meditation and connection with the Guru much clearer and more powerful."