Swami Muktananda on Bhagavan Nityananda

Swami Muktananda

on

Bhagavan Nityananda

Swami Muktananda was a Siddha—one in whom realisation had matured into stillness. He lived in a small ashram in the Gavdevi area, about half a kilometre from Ganeshpuri. Those who came to him felt that he possessed a rare capacity: the power to awaken in a seeker the complete recognition of Bhagavan Nityananda.

From a young age, hardly sixteen or seventeen, this yogi wandered through innumerable mandirs and maths, driven by an inner urgency that allowed no rest. Nearly three decades earlier, his search brought him to Yeola in the Nashik district. Within a short time, seekers gathered around him in great numbers at Songiri Math. Without proclamation or display, his presence revealed an uncommon spiritual ripeness. People sensed that here was a saint who had touched something real.

Visions, transformations, and quiet inner shifts occurred around him. Once, a farmer’s wife, drawing water from a well, beheld Lord Maruti—not as imagination, but as experience. Such incidents were not sought, nor emphasised. Swami Muktananda continued his sadhana in Suki, serving silently, allowing his inner state to work upon the lives of thousands.

At Chalisgaon, he stayed in an old mansion believed to be disturbed by unseen forces. Fear dissolved in his presence. Those trapped in ignorance and superstition found relief, not through argument, but through stillness. Yet, despite his own spiritual stature, Swami Muktananda remained a seeker—his heart unsatisfied, his longing unresolved.

He travelled widely, meeting many holy men, including Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Each meeting brought clarity, yet not completion. Finally, in Nashirabad, he encountered a saint named Zipruanna, a sage who lived perpetually absorbed in consciousness. This saint spoke simply:
“Your Sadguru is in Vajreshwari.”

Swami Muktananda went straight to Vajreshwari. The moment he beheld Bhagavan Nityananda, the search ended.

It was like a traveller crossing an endless desert who suddenly reaches water—not merely to drink, but to rest. After wandering through lifetimes and years, he had found his Sadguru. Nothing more remained to be sought.

Years earlier, in Mangalore, Swami Muktananda had seen Bhagavan Nityananda in his naked Avadhuta state. Only later did destiny reveal the meaning of that meeting. Recalling it, Swami Muktananda would often be overcome with emotion. He spoke of the grace by which Bhagavan Nityananda initiated him through Shaktipat—of a transmission beyond words. When he spoke of Bhagavan and His lila in Ganeshpuri, his voice would soften, sometimes faltering, as if speech itself hesitated before truth.

Swami Muktananda was always accessible—welcoming devotees, dissolving doubts, and offering the nectar of understanding without insistence or force.

On Bhagavan Nityananda

Silence as Service

Q. “Why does Bhagavan Nityananda remain inside his room, absorbed in sadhana? Why does he not come out to serve the poor and the suffering? What use is such sadhana to the world?”

Swami Muktananda:

“You assume that Bhagavan Nityananda sits in silence for his own sake. This is not so. He is not withdrawn from the world—he is embracing it. His prayer is for all mankind. Though its effects may not be visible to your eyes, can you deny what happens to thousands whose minds become quiet and fulfilled after his darshan? Is this not service? Is not a single glance of grace more powerful than countless lectures or volumes of words?”

“Why does Bhagavan Nityananda not teach?”

Swami Muktananda:

“You mean, why does he not speak at length? Saints differ in expression, though their realization is one. Bhagavan Nityananda abides mostly in silence. Yet his few words, his actions, his conduct, and the guidance he gives through dreams and inner promptings—are they less potent than speech?”

Beyond Description

Q. “Can Bhagavan Nityananda be described?”

Swami Muktananda:

“If you see Bhagavan Nityananda as a person like ourselves, description is possible. But if you know that he abides continuously as all-pervading Consciousness, while appearing in a body, then he is beyond description. Still, for the sake of the human mind, one may attempt.”

He then recalled the words of Shri Shankaracharya:

Śrī Śaṅkarācārya

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (Verse 538–539)

munīnām api maunī ca
vācālaḥ paṇḍitān api |
bālonmatta-piśācānāṁ
bālo’py eṣa mahā-muniḥ ||

sarvatra vijayī bhūtvā
sarvabhūta-hite rataḥ |
ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ
sa jīvanmukta ucyate ||

(श्लोक ५३८–५३९)

मुनीनामपि मौनी च
वाचालः पण्डितानपि ।
बालोन्मत्तपिशाचानां
बालोऽप्येष महामुनिः ॥ ५३८ ॥

सर्वत्र विजयी भूत्वा
सर्वभूतहिते रतः ।
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः
स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते ॥ ५३९ ॥

munīnām api maunī – Silent even among the silent sages
vācālaḥ paṇḍitān api – Eloquent among the learned
bāla-unmatta-piśācānām bālaḥ api – Appearing childish, mad, or ghost-like among such people
eṣaḥ mahā-muniḥ – Yet he is the great sage
sarvatra vijayī bhūtvā – Victorious everywhere
sarva-bhūta-hite rataḥ – Engaged in the welfare of all beings
ātmany eva ātmanā tuṣṭaḥ – Fully content in the Self alone
saḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyate – Such a one is called a Jīvanmukta
Is silent without suppression
Acts without self-consciousness
Teaches without instruction
Serves without intention
Abides without effort

Śaṅkarācārya is not describing an abstract ideal here. He is describing the natural state of an Avadhūta—one who:

“Among the silent, he is supremely silent;
among the learned, he is supremely wise;
among children, madmen, and the ignorant,
he behaves like one of them—yet he is the greatest sage.

Victorious everywhere,
ever engaged in the welfare of all beings,
fully content in the Self alone—
such a one is known as a Jīvanmukta.”

Why This Verse Perfectly Fits Bhagavan Nityananda.

This is precisely why Swami Muktananda could say—without exaggeration—that Shri Baba was “the highest Avadhūta among Avadhūtas.”
Bhagavan Nityananda’s silence, unpredictability, childlike conduct, sudden compassion, and absolute contentment align exactly with Śaṅkara’s definition.

The Silent Transformation

Bhagavan Nityananda is a refuge. In his presence, desires lose their urgency. Emotions subside without effort. The mind grows quiet, as if emptied into something vast and still.

It is like a weary traveller resting beside a great lake. Without doing anything, he is refreshed. Bhagavan Nityananda’s purity works in the same way—not by instruction, but by contact. His absorption in Consciousness naturally awakens the same in others.

This is his service.

People return from his darshan—rich and poor, learned and simple—not only from India, but from distant lands, carrying an unspoken joy. They feel they have found something they had forgotten.

Outwardly, Bhagavan Nityananda’s body is like any other—flesh and bone, dark and radiant. Yet standing before him, one is compelled to turn inward and ask:
Where does this joy arise from?

And the answer reveals itself—from Consciousness itself.

The same Consciousness pervades all existence. Because Bhagavan Nityananda abides in it without interruption, it radiates effortlessly around him.

The seers have said:

“Avaghe vishvachi maze ghar”
The whole universe is my home.

After darshan, one feels inwardly complete. There is no exchange, no transaction—only fulfillment. In the presence of shraddha and grace, nothing more is required. The devotee feels he has found an unfailing source of happiness, like the Chintamani that fulfils all longings. This is not imagination; it is lived experience—the recognition of the Self.

Seeing with the Inner Eye

To believe that Bhagavan Nityananda’s sadhana is confined within four walls is ignorance. Great beings illumine the world simply by being what they are. The Ganga flows whether one draws from it or not. The sun and moon illuminate all without moving from their place.

The moon does not visit each house to cool the earth.

To understand such beings, one must look inward.

Saint Bahinabai says:

“Bhave hi vidyate devo
Na pashane na mrinmaye
Bhav tethe deva…”

God does not dwell in stone or clay. He is found only in bhava—the living feeling of faith within the heart. Where there is bhava, there is God. Bhava fulfils all desires and finally leads one to liberation.