“A true teacher unconditionally transmits love and energy - the fire that ignites and sustains our inner growth.
Everything of true meaning that I discovered within
myself happened through the grace of my teachers.”
—Swami Khecaranatha
Swami Khecaranatha (born Steven Ott) began practicing Kundalini Yoga under Swami Rudrananda (Rudi) in 1971. Rudi recognized him as a teacher within this lineage in 1972.
Khecaranatha ("Nathaji") lived in an ashram for 30 years, and has traveled to India, Nepal, & Asia, spending extended time in meditation and spiritual practice. At the same time he is very accessible, and understands the pressures of living in the world. He has dedicated his life to spiritual development and to serving others in their spiritual quest.
Khecaranatha grew up in an international environment. When he was six he moved to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina—basically the bottom of the earth. He lived there until age 12, then moved directly to North Africa, where he lived in Tripoli, Libya. In 1970 he returned to the United States.
Shortly thereafter, Khecaranatha met Swami Rudrananda—in October of 1971. He moved into the ashram in January of 1972 and lived in Indiana, Massachusetts, and most recently, Portland, Oregon. In June of 2001 he came to Berkeley to start a spiritual center, now known as Rudramandir.
In July of 2002, Steven took vows of Sannyas to formally affirm his complete and unconditional dedication to serving the Divine. Ma Yoga Shakti, a well-respected Swami who lives in New York City, initiated him into the Saraswati Order. He was given the name Swami Khecaranatha, which means, "moving in the fullness of the divine heart."
While "Sannyas" literally translates as renunciation, it is often misunderstood to mean giving up everything in this world. True renunciation is an inner state, and one that has as its own outward manifestation, an unmistakable integrity. Ma Yoga Shakti recognized that in Swami Khecaranatha. Before the initiation her words to him were "One can take sannyas as a householder, and the term is 'garhasthya sannyas.' A swami can in fact recognize that in certain persons, the depth of their surrender and service is such that although a householder, they can be recognized as a swami. Especially in more modern days this is possible. Once I have meet you and if I feel that you fall into this special category I will give you sannyas. But only if I recognize the service and surrender within you."
On meeting Khecaranatha, Ma Yoga Shakti found this service and surrender within him and gave him sannyas although she was fully aware that he was going to live as a householder—acknowledging that he was one of those extraordinary people who could be both a sannyasi and a householder. In the Tantric tradition, Sannyas does not mean renouncing the world and becoming a monk. Since the Tantric tradition recognizes that the entire world is one, we therefore don't seek to renounce the world but to experience the unity of it. In fact, sannyas really means renouncing our small self or ego—that part of us that lives in the differences—in order to know and serve that unity.
The aim of sannyas is twofold. One is to find the divine within ourselves (some call this liberation or Moksha) and the other is to work for others in their search. Sannyas means the total dedication of oneself to serving the divine, and the spiritual well-being of others. A Swami, or Sannyasin, is unconditionally committed to serve, love, and support other people in their spiritual growth.
“Rudi took samadhi in 1973. After that I continued to work with Swami Chetanananda—one of the lineage holders of this practice—to develop the ashrams that Rudi had started. (I am no longer associated with Chetanananda). Rudi and Chetanananda have given me wonderful opportunities to grow and to know God. They provided the spiritual nourishment, the guidance, the support, and the example. But my growth came from very hard work.
I started out a Texan, a Methodist, and a Nerd—you know, the three strikes and you're out rule! The environment that I grew up in was as far away from eastern spirituality as you can get. The distance between unconsciousness and consciousness is immeasurable! If I had followed the apparent direction of my life I would now be running 'Steve's Bait and Donut Shop' somewhere down south.
What deterred me from that? I would say two things: my extreme discomfort with the direction that my life was heading, and grace. Probably the two are inextricably related to each other. Perhaps it was grace that gave me just enough insight into life to know that there must be more than Monday Night Football and As The World Turns.
Certainly it was grace that led me to spiritual work. I was a 'declared' atheist throughout my teenage years—so imagine my surprise when all of a sudden at age 19 all I could think about was God. Through a series of not-so-coincidental events I met Rudi in 1971. I had actually heard about him, without knowing his name, from a friend of mine who had seen him a year earlier. I came to realize that my friend was simply carrying the seed of my connection with Rudi to me.
I only knew Rudi for about 18 months in his physical form, but he gave me the most important understanding of my life—that spiritual freedom comes from a total dedication and effort to be free of our small self and to live in service of God. Rudi taught me through his life—through example—that unconditional surrender and service are imperative for anyone who wants to attain real spiritual growth. And for anyone who is granted the opportunity to teach, that becomes the fundamental platform for continued growth. So the lesson here is that unconditional dedication, effort, love, service, and surrender are keys to spiritual growth.
The unfolding of the spiritual process that was ignited when I was with Rudi has required tremendous work—the commitment has been worth every minute and ounce of energy that it has taken. After 30 years of complete dedication to my inner work I can truly say that I am still witnessing Rudi's grace unfolding in my life. I am even more committed in my work today that I was a year ago and know that a year from now I will find an even deeper level.
My advice to anyone who thinks that they want to know God is this: be careful what you ask for because getting it will mean that you have to pay the price with tremendous hard work. But there is no greater treasure in this life. The treasure is an authentic spiritual life filled with joy, love, and a celebration of the divine within each of us.”
“The relationship to a teacher who can provide unconditional love, energy, and spiritual nourishment is truly one of the greatest treasures we can receive in our lives. Transforming our lives from one of ordinary awareness to living in Divine awareness is a real challenge, and one that is almost impossible without the love, energy, support, and sometimes guidance from a teacher. I am deeply grateful that Rudi provided that nourishment for me, which is the primary reason that I have committed my life to serve and teach—so that I might provide that same gift for someone else. While recognizing the importance of the teacher in each individual's spiritual growth, I am not at all interested in ‘guru worshipping.’ You are free to decide the kind of relationship you want. I am honored and privileged to unconditionally share the grace of my teachers.”
“It is very important to me that this spiritual practice, for which I am one of the lineage carriers, grows and becomes available to others in search of their spiritual freedom. To that end, I have begun to train and initiate some of my students so that they can help me to perpetuate this practice. It is my hope that some of these people will open centers in the future.”
—Swami Khecaranatha
Sonia Foscoli has been committed to this practice since 1987. She was initiated as a teacher in this lineage in 2003 by her teacher and partner, Nathaji. Professionally Sonia teaches hatha yoga at the center, and has a private practice in massage, movement coaching and structural bodywork. Sonia's background includes training and experience in Visceral Manipulation, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, Energy Balancing, Cranial Sacral Therapy, and Swedish Massage. She is a certified Aston-Patterner®.
Jennifer's early years in ballet and gymnastics provided a natural platform from which to become a yoga teacher in her 20's. It was during her yoga teacher-training course at the Sivananda Center in Canada that she was introduced to the basic concepts of Ayurveda. Shortly afterwards she left her corporate life and began to study and experience Ayurvedic medicine, which included spending time in both in India and Nepal. It was during her years at the Ayurvedic College that she met her spiritual teacher, Nathaji. One year later she was asked to start training and teaching under his guidance.
Sassi LaMuth first discovered Kundalini Yoga when she read Swami Rudrananda's book, Spiritual Cannibalism, in 1978. For the last 27 years she has dedicated her life to this practice. She is devoted to her teacher, Swami Khecaranatha, who initiated Sassi as a teacher in this lineage in the fall of 2003. Sassi and her husband David Lee currently serve as office managers of Rudramandir.