30.

Our Spiritual Master

Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami was born to a family of educators on October 12, 1953 in
Osterkappeln, Germany. Guru Maharaj, as called by his disciples, is a writer, poet,
publicist, educator, philosopher, lecturer, and temple architect. As a disciple of Srila A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Guru Maharaj is a vaisnavi sannyasi, devotee of Lord
Krishna in the renunciation order. He is a Spiritual Master Acharya (the one who teaches
with its own example), founder of his own Spiritual Mission, and has thousands of disciples
in more than 20 countries around the world.

From early age, Guru Maharaj declared his indignity toward the injustices of men with
men, enrolling with the socialist youth at the age of 12; while at the same time he felt a
particular attraction for India and the monastic life. At the age of 14, he started his studies
of The Vedas, and being disappointed with the superficiality of political movements he
found the clarity he was searching in the eastern mystic. From young age, he experimented
calls from his Spiritual Master, and was inspired by the Vedic mantras, mainly by the
maha mantra hare Krishna, which inspired him to dedicate himself more to the
transcendental search.

His prayers and meditations were soon heard, and he received the opportunity of
connecting with his eternal Spiritual Master, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
From this moment, he started a new stage in his life, dedicating himself to a deep study of
the teachings of his Master, and to the practice of Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion).

In Paris, in 1972, he was initiated by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with the
name of Alanath das Brahmachary. From this point on, his life has been very dynamic
helping his Master in the distribution of the message from Sri Cheitanya Mahaprabhu in
Europe, as well as in America. At the age of 24, he received the sacred renunciation order
of Sannyasa with the name of Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Swami.

Throughout the service to his Guru (Spiritual Master), he has opened preaching centers in
Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Noriega, the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Panama, among others. He has
supervised the publications of his Master in many languages, and nowadays travels
continuously around the world spreading the transcendental message from the Vedas.

After the departure of his Spiritual Master, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
he followed the recommendation from his Guru of enforcing his studies in India with Srila
B.R. Sridhara Maharaj, an intimate spiritual brother of his Guru.

Deeply inspired by his Masters, Guru Maharaj went back to the West, and started
accepting disciples being supported by the Disciple Succession. He is the first western
Spiritual Master who establishes Spiritual Embassies in Vrindavan, India, so that he could
better connect his spiritual family and the ashrams on the west to the Vaishnavis from India
and the sacred Dham (the place of pilgrimage) of Krishna. Guru Maharaj is the twelfth
Acharya in the lineage of Disciple Succession after Sri Cheitanya Mahaprabhu, the Golden
Avatar (God descending to Earth) that appeared more than 500 years ago in India.
Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami is the founder of the Superior Institute for Vedic Studies
ISEV (Instituto Superior de Estudios Védicos) in America, as well as the Institute
VRINDA (The Vrindavan Institute for Vaishnava Culture and Studies) in India, with
branches all around the world.

He is the modern co-founder of WVA (World Vaishnava Association) in India. This

association tries to unite the vaishnavas from around the world, and it was initiated by the
maximum philosopher exponent of the Vaishnava School: Srila Jiva Goswami, 450 years
ago.

Guru Maharaj is the founder of the Vishnupriya Ashrams, centers dedicated to the
protection of women, where it is offered a spiritual refuge for those women who have
decided to carry on a spiritual life consecrated to God. These programs have been expanded
around the world, and are being oriented to offer a refuge for unprotected and abused
women by the actual exploiting society.

Guru Maharaj is also the founder of the Vaishnava Academy, an education institution
dedicated to create cultural programs of first order, and academically diffuse the Vedic
Culture around the world. Guru Maharaj also founded “La Casa de la Sabiduría” (the
house of wisdom), which seeks the harmony among the living beings and nature; and it also
works to accomplish respect for all living beings.

Furthermore, Guru Maharaj is currently leading ecologic communities, such as “Eco Truly
Park”, conveniently located in the District of Chancay, one hour away from Lima. This
beautiful place awaits an ecologic community with unique clay constructions, exclusive in
the world, which have become a tourist destination in Latin America. (For more
information visit: www.ecotrulypark.org or contact us at: www.vrinda.org if you want to
support the development of similar projects).

Guru Maharaj is the founder of the yoga school “Inbound” (www.yogainbound.org) which
offers wonderful tours where participants can visit the sacred places in India, or our
ecological farms in Latin America and Europe, participating in an unforgettable spiritual
experience.

Guru Maharaj is the founder of the Vegetarian Society, and maintains successful internet
sites that deliver a great variety of conscious information, such as elarmonista.com,
lotorojo.net, damodara.de, and consciousart.de. This last one corresponds to “La Escuela
Armonía de Arte Consciente”(The Harmony School of Conscious Art), an international
association of people that identify themselves with the art that transcends the exploitation
and the predominant indifference in the materialistic world, and share their discoveries.
They also organize cultural, artistic, and educational activities with superior values.

Our Guru Maharaj has written and edited several books, which have been translated into
different languages. Among the books he has edited we find: “The secrets of a Yogui”,
“The mysterious India”, “The Vaishnava song-book”, “The confidential science of Bhakti
Yoga”, and “The heart of Krishna”, among others. Among his writings we find: “The first
Colombian Spiritual Master”, “The Bhagavad Gita (The Supreme Science)”, “The
liberated Woman”, “Vaishnava Etiquette”, “The spouse hand-book”, “The Game of Self-
realization”, “Pracharamrita, The Nectar of the Preach”, “Initiation, The Second Birth”,
“The Search of Purity”, “The Handbook for Spiritual Community Directors”, “Our
Family The Gaudiya Math”, etc. Guru Maharaj has also published the “Yoga Course by
Mail”, and other writings from antique and very practical Vedic Culture. His writings are
found in German, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Hunger, Hindi, and Bengali. He is also the
author of the Vedic Wisdom Collection, a series of articles that diffuse the spiritual
knowledge, and analyze the different dilemmas of modern world to the light of this
millenarian Vedic knowledge.

Guru Maharaj founded the SEVA in Colombia, an Editorial Service of the Vaishnavas
Acharyas which is used to publish transcendental literature. Nowadays, it has branches in
Lima, Quito, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Guatemala, Costa Rica,
and Mexico, among others.

Guru Maharaj is constantly traveling to visit all the preaching centers, which currently sum
up to 100 centers, in America and Europe giving daily conferences in several languages
such as German, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. In his service as a pilgrim, lecturer, and
writer, he surrounds the planet three times a year to visit his disciples, and lead the different
projects. He personally leads several programs for social support in every country he visits,
the majority in Latin America. Also, he promotes the printing of transcendental literature,
and the establishment of Spiritual Oasis meant for the illumination, study, and practice of
Bhakti Yoga. In these centers, Guru Maharaj capacitates and trains new Brahmans (people
who posses sacred knowledge); spiritual leaders from the mystic order dedicated to protect
the purity in the world.

Guru Maharaj explains in his own words: “I served my Spiritual Master Srila Prabhupada
in ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) from 1971 until his
departure from this world in 1977. Then, I received an inspiration in my heart from my
Sannyas Guru, Srila Sridhara Maharaj, and I learned the importance of Unity in Diversity.
I founded my own mission based on this loving principle: “Inspiration”, instead of
institutional imposition. This spirit was also the one that lead me to accept disciples to
continue in the service to my Masters.”

The VRINDA Mission of our Guru Maharaj is growing rapidly. Lots of spiritual siblings
are inspired by his job, and support it. Even some of them have joined him like Srila
Atulananda Acharya, one of the first disciples of Srila Prabhupada in South America, and
now Spiritual Master of the VRINDA Mission.

Having a very special modality within his being to deliver the Vedic teachings, our Guru
Maharaj has gained the love of many people, including leaders from India and important
personalities from politics, art, and religion in many countries.

His labor as a preaching monk still continues expanding, opening new preaching centers,
and intensely developing his service to humanity.
Picture texts:

“The grace of God is reached by the grace of the Spiritual Master”

“A true Spiritual Master should be an expert in the conclusions of Vedic Literature, and
should be focused on the comprehension of the Supreme Truth”.
El Srimad Bhagavatam

Maxims:

“One should approach a self-realized soul to understand the transcendental knowledge”

“The key of success in the spiritual life is the firm devotion to the Spiritual Master as well
as to God”
The Confidential Science of Bhakti Yoga