Sri Vidhya Sadhana & the parampara

Sri Vidhya is the only school of thought where breathwork, chakras, kundalini and the chanting of mantras come together in a perfect blend. The tantric nature of this art makes it less academic and more of a journey with a Guru. Unlike the Vedas and other aagamas, the knowledge of Sri Vidhya has never been imparted through books; from times immemorial great sages and seers have always imparted this divine knowledge person to person.

History of Sri Vidhya

It was at the time when Lord Shiva had just created all the aagamas and vedas. Ma Parvati asked him: "O Maha Deva, there are numerous ways to achieve what we want and to walk the path of self-realisation, but all the ways are academic or have some limitation which excludes certain people or communities. Please be merciful and bless the world with a path all can walk."

Maha Deva replied that he would give her the yantra vidhya — the knowledge of yantras, which, worshipped in a certain way, blesses the devotee with all glory in life — and gave Devi sixty-four yantras. Devi still looked worried: she had asked for one art form, and now there were sixty-four, each with its own limitation. Maha Deva smiled and said, "O Devi, your concern for the world is unmatched. I hereby give the one supreme knowledge, and it may from now be called Maha Vidhya, Sri Vidhya." Saying this, he created the Sri Yantra or Sri Chakra, the supreme of all yantras, and taught Devi the methods of worship.

Devi was the first to receive, and became Shiva Shakti. She is the disciple and she is the master.

Lineage

This art was then taught to Nandhi; from Nandhi Devar the branch spread to Hayagreeva and Dattatreya, and from them to the rest of the world until now. Sri Vidhya is a tantric practice — and when the word tantric is used, the meaning is immediately mistaken. The real meaning of tantra is the intention: the intention behind how you do things and what you decide to do. That harmony decides the success of any activity. As the history suggests, the art form did not emerge as an academic one; like all performance art it can only be learned from a master, by due diligence.

Lord Shiva

Origin of the vidya — creator of the Sri Chakra and of the methods of its worship.

Devi

The first to receive; disciple and master at once, Shiva Shakti.

Nandhi Devar

Through whom the transmission entered the world of teachers.

Dattatreya

With Hayagreeva, the branch through which the vidya spread widely.

Sri Pushyanandha

The predecessor Guru of Shambavi Peetam, who gave Kundalini Deeksha to the present Guru.

Sri Aascharyanandha

Present Guru of Shambavi Peetam since February 2014.

Guru Sri Aascharyanandha

Aascharyanandha is the present Guru of the long lineage of Shambavi Peetam. He is a respected lightworker, sanyasi and healer known for his profound insights into mantra, tantra and yantra vidhya, with deep expertise in the Sri Vidhya tradition. He was initiated by the revered Guru Sri Sai Pushyanandha, predecessor to the present Guru. Within a few years of initiation he attained spiritual enlightenment, and after the demise of his Guru on 15 February 2014 he adorned the Jagadguru title of Shambavi Peetam. He became Guru at the age of nineteen and has served and enlightened society for almost eleven years since.

Sri Aascharyanandha is compassionate and very practical in his approach to life. He emphasises the integration of spirituality into daily life, and encourages people to see material and spiritual life not as different things but as two sides of the same coin — holding that only a focused, strong-willed person can elevate himself and his society.