Mukundananda

Swami Mukundananda
Born	19 December 1960 India
Nationality	Indian
Founder of	Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog, Jagadguru Kripalu University of Spiritual Science, Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog Trust, India, Radha Govind Dham, Delhi, Radha Govind Dham, Cuttack, Radha Govind Dham, Berhampur, Radha Govind Dham, Jajpur, Radha Govind Dham, Parlakhemundi and Radha Govind Dham, Karanjia
Guru	Kripalu Maharaj
Philosophy	Bhakti yoga

Swami Mukundananda (born December 19, 1960) is a Hindu teacher of spirituality, yoga and meditation. He has a background in technology and management and is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi^[1][2] and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.^[3][4]

Spiritual Journey

At the age of 23 Swami Mukundananda changed his plans for a corporate career and took up sannyasa (renounced order).^[5] He travelled around India to gather spiritual knowledge. He met spiritual leader Kripalu Maharaj in 1989, and under him studied the Vedic scriptures.^[6]

Swami Mukundananda traveled around the world to disseminate the philosophy and knowledge of the Vedas, following the wishes of his spiritual master, Kripalu Maharaj.^[7] His travels to different countries include the United States,^[8][9]Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Trinidad and Europe.^[5][10] In the United States, he has lectured in fortune 500 companies and also at universities, including Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University , Princeton University, Stanford University and Kellogg School of Management.^[5][11] His lectures encompass the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavata Purana, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayan, other Eastern scriptures, and Western philosophies.^[12][13][14]

Organizations and Centers

In (2007) he founded a system of Yoga called JKYog which emphasizes the Yoga of the Body, Mind and Soul,^[15][16] In United States and created an accompanying a nonprofit organization called Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog.^[17] He has also instituted Jagadguru Kripalu Yog Trust, India.

He has established over twenty Satsang centers (congregation center) ^{[18][19][20][21]} in different parts of USA such as Albany, Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fairfax, Queens, Fort Lauderdale, Harrisburg, Houston, Grand Prairie, Los Angeles, Manchester, Maryland, Phoenix, Plano, Frisco, Raleigh, Tampa, Bridgewater.

He has also established several Satsang centres ^[22] in different parts of India such as in the state of Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Anand, Bhav Nagar, Mehsana, Palanpur, Patan, Vadodara, Valsad, Vapi), Madhya Pradesh (Indore, Khandwa), New Delhi (Ashok Vihar, IP Extension, Ranjit Nagar, Rohini & Punjabi Bagh, Vikaspuri), Odisha (Aska, Athagarh, Banki, Baripada, Betanoti, Bhanja Nagar, Bhawanipatna, Boudh, Brahmapur, Chasakhand, Chhatrapur, Cuttack, Dispur, Dhenkanal, Gunupur, Humar, Jajpur, Karanjia, Katuru, Kendrapada, Ladugaon, Malda, Paralakhemundi, Phulbani, Rairangpur, Rambha, Sambalpur), West Bengal (Kolkata).

Devotee members of the organization meet regularly in these centers to participate in the satsang.^[23][24] The regular congregational meeting includes meditation, prayer, kirtan, video lecture, discussion, and arati. These satsang centers also organize Swamiji’s programs in their cities almost every year.^[25]

Discourses on TV

Swami Mukundananda’s programs are broadcast daily on 4 channels: Disha TV, TV Asia, Sanatan Channel, and ITV. Spiritual topics are discussed using references and quotations from Vedic and other religious scriptures.

Most Popular Lecture Series & Youtube Channels

Some of the popular lecture series of Swami Mukundananda include

• Art of Mind Management ^{[26][27][28][29]}
• Grow from Within to Succeed in Life ^[30][31]
• Bhagavad Gita ^[32][33][34]
• Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapuran ^[35]
• Patanjali Yoga Sutras ^[36]
• Narad Bhakti Darshan ^[37][38][39]
• Taittiriya Upanishad ^[40][41][42]
• Ram Katha ^[43]

Bal-Mukund Program

Bal-Mukund^[44][45] is a specially designed personality development program for children, envisioned by Swami Mukundananda. It endeavors to educate young minds in the knowledge of Vedic wisdom to lead a virtuous life with a service attitude, and to help build courage, confidence and faith while expanding the power of concentration and focus.

Books Written

Swami Mukundananda has authored the following books:

• Bhagavad Gita ISBN 978-0-9833967-2-7 (2013)
• Essence of Hinduism ISBN 978-0-9826675-8-3 (2011)
• Spiritual Dialectics ISBN 978-0-9826675-9-0 (2011)
• Yoga for the Body, Mind and Soul ISBN 978-0-9833967-1-0 (2011)
• Inspiring Stories for Children; Vol. 1: ISBN 978-0-9826675-0-7 (2010)
• Inspiring Stories for Children; Vol. 2: ISBN 978-0-9826675-1-4 (2010)
• Inspiring Stories for Children; Vol. 3: ISBN 978-0-9826675-2-1 (2010)
• Inspiring Stories for Children; Vol. 4: ISBN 978-0-9826675-3-8 (2010)
• Bal-Mukund Festivals of India ISBN 978-0-9826675-4-5 (2010)
• Bal-Mukund Wisdom Book ISBN 978-0-9826675-5-2 (2010)
• Bal-Mukund Saints of India ISBN 978-0-9826675-6-9 (2010)

Spiritual Retreat

Every year Swami Mukundananda conducts four spiritual retreats ^{[46] [47] [48]} in different parts of USA. They are typically organized in the following locations -

• Florida (in the month of April)
• Fresno, West Coast (Memorial day weekend)
• East Coast (in the month of July)
• Dallas (Labour day weekend)

These retreats include yoga, meditation, subtle body relaxation, Keertans, spiritual discourses, outdoor chantings, cultural events, Q/A sessions, and other activities. In addition to these programmes for adults, specific programmes are organized for children (Bal-Mukund programme) and youth that focus on character building.

• 
  Retreat Lecture
• 
  Retreat Discourse
• 
  Retreat Yoga
• 
  Retreat Bal-Mukund
• 
  Retreat Parikrama

External links

• jkyog.org
• Bhagavad Gita commentary by Swami Mukundananda
• Bal-Mukund Playground for Vedic Wisdom
• Radha Govind Dham India

References

1. "IITian swamijis? Meet the unusual engineers Ishani Duttagupta & Shantanu Nandan Sharma". The Economic Times, Oct 2, 2011
2. "Offbeat route to success - An Article on IITD Alumni". IIT Alumni News, By Janani Rajeswari S, 23 Oct 2010.
3. "Techie Swami Mukundananda Embarks On 7-Month US Tour". ebscohost.com.
4. "Spiritual leader visits Rolling Meadows". ABC7 News. August 7, 2011
5. "Swami Mukundananda Enlightens Devotees through Lecture Series Across America". indoamerican-news.com.
6. Indian Diaspora: Socio-Cultural and Religious Worlds. BRILL. 30 January 2015. pp. 105–. ISBN 978-90-04-28806-5.
7. "Swami Mukundananda holds yoga camp in NJ". NRJ Today.
8. "Swami Mukundananda to visit Houston". india-herald.com.
9. " Swami Mukundananda Enlightens Devotees through Lecture Series Across America". Indo American News, August 2, 2012.
10. "World religion students visit temple, Swami Mukundananda". westmorelandtimes.com.
11. TooStep. "Swami Mukundananda Leads the "The Path to God Realization"". toostep.com.
12. "Inspiring Discourses by Swami Mukundananda". dharmacafe.com.
13. "With 'Who am I' begins the quest for spiritual knowledge". indiapost.com.
14. "Swami Mukundananda answers questions on Spirituality". indiapost.com.
15. "Swami Mukundananda Offers Discourses on 'Science of Devotion'". ebscohost.com.
16. "Yogic practices give direct and tangible benefits". indiapost.com.
17. "Monthly Archives: July 2013: The Swami and the mayor". Deborah Fleck, Staff Writer, July 23, 2013. Irving Blog, the Dallas News.
18. "Satsang Centers" JKYog.org
19. "Press Release" www.pr.com/
20. "US Tour" http://www.prweb.com/
21. "2009 US tour" http://www.prweb.com/
22. India Satsang Centers
23. "Dallas Weekly Satsang" radhakrishnatemple
24. "Weekly Satsang" Pasadena centre
25. "Yearly Program". www.prlog.org
26. "Art of Mind Management Youtube". Lecture Series
27. "Art of Mind Management News". Indo American News
28. "NewsGram Interview". NewsGram
29. "Art of Mind Management Event"
30. "Grow from Within News Article".indiacurrents.com
31. "Grow from Within Weekly Program". pasadenanow.com
32. "Bhagavad Gita Youtube".Lecture Series
33. "Bhagavad Gita weekly program". http://india-herald.com/
34. "Karma Yoga:Detach and De-Stress".creationsmagazine.com
35. "Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapuran Youtube".Lecture Series
36. "Patanjali Yoga Sutras Youtube".Lecture Series
37. "Narad Bhakti Darshan Youtube".Lecture Series
38. "News Article".meghalayatimes.info
39. "Spirituality Question Answer".www.indiapost.com/
40. "Taittiriya Upanishad Youtube". Lecture Series
41. "Understanding the nature of God".theobserver.com
42. "The Goal of Life Blog".http://thepanaceacommunity.ning.com/
43. "Ram Katha Youtube"
44. "Bal-Mukund Vedic Wisdom". bal-mukund.org
45. "Bal-Mukund cultural event". courant.com
46. Chicago Retreat
47. JKYog Retreat
48. USA Retreat