In this interview I talk with Swami Chetananda, an American teacher in the Shaiva-Shakta tradition in the lineage of Bhagavan Nityananda, of Ganeshpuri India, and Swami Rudrananda, of New York City. He has met and studied with many spiritual teachers and in addition to Hindu lineages he holds the Padampa Sangye lineage of Tibetan Buddhism via Lama Tsering Wangdu.

We discuss Swami Chetananda’s childhood mystical experiences as an altar boy in the 50s, his time in New York City with the Siddha guru and Asian antiquities importer known as ‘Rudi’, explore the core practice of Nitynanda’s lineage, encounter a career crimin al Nepalese tantric master, hear Swami Chetananda’s opinion of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini yoga system, and meet several of the 20th centuries most famous Indian spiritual figures including Muktananda, Laksmanjoo, and Anandamayi Ma.

- Growing up in Indiana in the 50s and early spiritual experiences

- Childhood as an altar boy and mystical visions of spirit guides

- The mechanics of mantra

- Discovering yoga and practicing 4-6 hours a day

- The spontaneous energetic experiences that prompted Swami Chetananda to seek out a teacher

- Meeting Rudi and Rudi’s background studying with Nityananda and becoming the premier importer of Asian antiquities in the US

- Rudi’s celebrity connections and meeting the who’s who of the New York art and music world

- Early training and day-to-day life with Rudi

- The energetic transmission of shaktipat in Siddha Yoga

- Swami Chetananda’s scathing opinion of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga

- Criticisms of Yogi Bhajan’s ‘breath of fire’

- The core breathing practice of Nityananda’s Kundalini Yoga lineage

- Parallels to the 9 Palaces practice of Qigong

- Opening the energy system through breathing

- The role of the guru in Siddha Yoga

- Studying with Muktananda after Rudi’s death

- Muktananda’s energetic powers

- Exposure to Kashmiri Shaivism

- Meeting Lama Tsering Wandgu in Kathmandu

- Receiving the Padampa Sangye lineage from Lama Wangdu

- Receving empowerment to teach Vajrakilaya practices from Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche

- Working with ritual objects to uncover sadhanas

- Mystical visions while practicing Chöd in Nepalese cemeteries with Lama Wangdu

- Encounters with Laksmanjoo, Anandamayi Ma, Satya Sai Baba, Dadaji

- How to recognise advanced practitioners

- The Nepali tantric master who used his powers for crime

- Growing love as the core spiritual practice

- Practice vs philosophy

To find our more about Swami Chetananda, visit: http://chetanananda.org

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Music 'Deva Dasi' by Steve James