3. Childhood to Enlightenment

Nithyananda took birth in the holy city of Tiruvannamalai in South India on January 1, 1978. He was spiritually inclined right from the tender age of 3 when he started his yoga training with Raghupati Yogi, his teacher and master of all dimensions of yoga. Nithyananda quickly mastered various meditation techniques, spiritual practices and yogic postures.

At the age of 12 while in meditation on the Aru´¢cala hill, he had the deep enlightenment experience of physically feeling oneness with the whole Universe.

These kind of powerful experiences kindled the spiritual urge of Nithyananda even further and he left home at the early age of 17 on his quest for the Ultimate.

He wandered the length and breadth of India traveling thousands of miles, mostly on foot, and taking the strict vow of not touching money throughout his spiritual wandering.

His intense unrelenting research and development in the inner world science led to the realization of his avataric mission on planet Earth – to initiate and establish one and all into j¤van mukti or living enlightenment.

Temple-town of Tiruvannamalai, home to the sacred hill of Arunachala

Though Raghupati Yogi demonstrated to Paramahamsa, teleportation, levitation and other similar super normal feats, he also made him understand that these were not attributes of spiritual growth and that the understanding of the Supreme Truth lay beyond all this.

It was Raghupati Yogi who arranged for Paramahamsa to deliver his first public lecture on the Patanjali Yoga Sutra at the age of 10 in Tiruvannamalai. Distributing flyers for the occasion, he gathered over 1000 people for this unique event.

Maataji Kuppammal - a catalytic force

Brahmayogini Vibhudhananda Devi Mataji Kuppammal was a spiritual guide and caretaker to Paramahamsa during his early days of spiritual growth in Arunachala. At the tender age of 12, when Paramahamsa was having deep spiritual experiences, Kuppammal took care of him physically and emotionally, explained to him his growing consciousness and trained him in various spiritual practices with an apparent foresight into the future.

Preparing the body-mind to experience and sustain the energy of Enlightenment.

With Yogi Ramsuratkumar - a mystical bonding

Yogi Ramsuratkumar or Visiri Swamigal was an enlightened master, who was a contemporary of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi in Tiruvannamalai. He was wellknown and well-liked in Tiruvannamalai. Paramahamsa became a regular visitor to this sage.