Namaskara,
I’m Swami Dhyānānanda, a monastic in the tradition of Advaita Vedānta, following the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. My aim is to help underserved people find more peace and fulfilment in life. Therefore, I discuss safer ways to approach and practice spirituality and spiritual disciplines from an intersectional angle. I operate for the nonprofit foundation Pranava Stiftung (Germany) whose services are independently of religious association.
Three decades commited work for dismantling discrimination, and finally finding applied and effective empowerment led me to become a teacher of meditation, Yoga, Sanskrit and understanding spiritual practices (traditionally trained in India). While I am trained in direct monastic tradition, I am committed to a contemporary implementation and to making ancient knowledge of liberation accessible to communities which have been largely excluded from these teachings. Traditional knowledge archives for more happiness and ultimately self-realisation are effective. They offer solutions to problems we have learned to accept as unsolvable. I advocate for the preservation of that knowledge, and aim to build a bridge for those who can benefit from this knowledge, to find it and study it in a safe and welcoming environment and framework.
Before corona times, I conducted courses, workshops, and retreats for BDIPoC for meditation, radical relaxation and holistic self regulation, in theory and practice. From 2024 onwards, in-person events continue. In these, I also try to answer all your questions in topics such as „Decolonise Yoga“, „My Nervous System vs. Europe“, inner peace and balance, and personal spiritual practice. Fundamental questions about the meaning, purpose, and practice of introspection, retreat, faith/religion/spirituality can also be explored together. Those with more specialized interest can form or join a study group for introduction to Sanskrit (Devanagari reading, writing, pronunciation, grammar), mantras, Vedic chanting, general understanding of Bhagavad Gītā, or basic concepts from Vedic scriptures and Vedānta.
Classes are open to people of all religions or belief systems and (dis-)interests. Being able to explore and discuss spirituality in a well-informed way, open-ended concerning one’s conclusions, and apart from New Age or dogma, I consider important for a fulfilled life. I am convinced that the problematic aspects of religion and spirituality are not the core teachings but instrumentalization and interpretations from a place of bias, greed and want of power.
There is more info on this in the blog and archive of prior (purvashrama) activities. (some of that content is in German and can be translated with google translate)
Swami Dhyānānanda
