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Roaring Truth Teller Fearless Teacher Compassionate Awakener Trailblazing Author
The first feminine leader of an unbroken wisdom lineage from India
Acharya Shunya is the living custodian of her eminent Vedic lineage from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India that has been imparting Vedic wisdom for generations. She is the first female lineage holder in a 2,000-year-old line of Vedic spiritual teachers and the first to teach in the West.
Shunya was given the title ‘Acharya’ by her Guru and grandfather, Baba Ayodhya Nath, a well-known householder saint, Vedic scholar, yoga and meditation master, Ayurveda expert of the former century in India who lived from 1900-1990.
He was the son and disciple of his Guru, Paramatman Shanti Prakash, (1870-1950) considered a living ‘seer’ of the 19th century, a prolific scholar and renowned compiler of the classic Vedic text Adi Bhagavad Gita, the revealer of infinite spiritual treasures leading to inner awakening and Self-Realization.
Acharya Shunya's father daya Prakash Sinha is a legendary playwright, spiritual historian, scholar of dharma and opinion maker In India, honored by the highest civilian award "The Padmashree" by the Government of India.
Acharya Shunya is taking forward her lineage wisdom legacy with attntion to the purity of the knowledge handled down to her across generations, and at same time, taking steps to make it accessible and applicable to the issues facing all humans in the 21st century.
Acharya Shanti Prakash
1870-1958
The Great Teacher of Acharya Shunya
A great Vedic Seer & Hindu Householder Sage
Acharya Ayodhya Nath
1900-1990
The Immediate Teacher of Acharya Shunya
A Yogi, Ayurvedic Healer, Renowned Sage
Acharya Shunya
1967-Present
The first Female Head of her Ancient Lineage
Renowned Vedic Master, Teacher and Author
Acharya Shanti Prakash
A 19th century householder sage, Sadhu Shanti Prakash is considered the fountainhead of the present era of Acharya Shunya's lineage. He is referred affectionately as 'Bade Baba' by Acharya Shunya and her students, as he is Shunya's great grandfather by paternal line.
In 1931, to spread the light of the Vedas beyond personal disciples, Shanti Prakash established the historic ‘Sadharan Dharma Sabha and Sangha” in holy city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, that undertook mass scale spiritual, devotional, educational, charitable and community health-oriented activities. The Sabha provided medical relief, social support, education, medicinal herbs, meditation tools, spiritual activism to seek inner and outer freedom, and more. ‘Sadharan Dharma’ means “Universal dharma”. At the inauguration of this initiative, Acharya Shanti Prakash gave the following motto or mission to live by: Sarva Arogyam Sarva Mukti, which literally means - Health and Spiritual Liberation for All. This mission fired by the members of the Sangha and organizations founded by Acharya Shunya in the 21st century, that continue to serve humanity with transformative Vedic education that activates health and liberates from suffering imposed by spiritual ignorance.
An esteemed Vedic scholar, he was the first known compiler of the 84-verse Adi Gita (and ancient scroll found through archeological investigation), considered by most Vedic scholars as the original Gita, that predates the 700-verse Bhagavad Gita today. There is a circle of spiritual scholars in India who till date believe that it is The Adi Gita, with its key shlokas, was uttered by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra – and these 84 verses were later expanded into 700 verses by pundits over time.
In this sacred text, Bade baba beckons all sincere seekers: “Be a true seeker after Truth, the light will then flash upon you, not only from books and sages of this world, but also from your own inner intuition (knowingness), Not only this, the sages of the next world (loka) with astral bodies, will also come forward to help you, if you are really eager to uplift yourself – to find and reclaim your inner Self.” (Adi Gita, page 86)
A Householder Yogi
Babe baba was a 'grihasta yogi' - one who is a householder, husband, father, citizen of his community and nation and at same time, one who is internally aligned as the living incarnation of Supreme 'Self'.
A Spiritual Visionary
Bade baba Acharya Shanti Prakash sits in the centre, on a raised platform, on the historic day of inauguration of "Sadharma Dharma Sabha and Sangha", 1931, City of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
The flame of knowledge burns on..
A Householder Yogi
Babe baba was a 'grihasta yogi' - one who is a householder, husband, father, citizen of his community and nation and at same time, one who is internally aligned as the living incarnation of Supreme 'Self'.
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Baba Ayodhya Nath
A Mystic, A Seer of Truth and Oneness
Baba Ayodhya Nath, Acharya Shunya's paternal grandfather and Guru, 1900-1990.
A younger Yogi: Baba Ayodhya Nath
This rare photo was taken on the day Baba Ayodhya Nath returned back to his hometown after an arduous journey in the Himalayas that last 4 years.
The flame burns on.
Acharya Shunya carries forth Baba Ayodhya Nath's Vedic legacy.
A Mystic, A Seer of Truth and Oneness
Baba Ayodhya Nath, Acharya Shunya's paternal grandfather and Guru, 1900-1990.
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A 20th century householder sage, the illustrious son of an illustrious father Ayodhya Nath was a true light in this world, whose presence, wisdom and loving guidance point us to who we are beyond the limitations of our personal conditioning and identity. Acharya Shunya loving refers to him, her paternal; grandfather in all her writings and teachings as ‘Baba’.
From a young age Baba not only showed signs of being a spiritual seeker but also demonstrated ability and interest in taking forward his father’s mission at the Sadharan Dharma Sabha. Baba was born in the year 1900 in the changing landscape of India’s social-political destiny. He was educated in Vedic texts and Yogic practices by his Guru (his father), who was a Vedic seer and a Hindu householder saint and that he also studied in the Indian school system. As an adult, he even took a government job to support his family, while imparting Vedic wisdom on his own time. But a light that would serve the world, and change it for the better, cannot remain hidden forever. Not before long, Baba became a full-time spiritual teacher, surrendering his livelihood to God and dedicating his life to the upliftment of his community. Baba shared his knowledge and blessings to whomever showed up at our door. When a higher power beckons and a calling is answered, sincerely and from the heart, it all works out in the grand scheme of things.
Baba was inspired to accomplish a solitary spiritual sojourn in the Himalaya’s, when he was in his late 20’s. He is the giver of the concept of "Yoga For Atmabodha because after returning from his solitary Himalayan sojourn Baba reinterpreted the message of Yoga and advocated Yoga in its original Vedic essence, the way the Rishis intended it to be embodied, for its original goal of Atmabodha (Self-realization). Atmabodha is awakening to the truth of our spiritual nature. He is also the founder of lived tradition of Ayurveda because from early years itself Ayodhya Nath was deeply fascinated with an experiential ,whole body spiritualized Ayurveda, that his disciple Acharya Shunya immortalizes through her book and teachings. Many of the self-care recipes Baba deduced from Ayurveda principles are now exclusively available in Acharya Shunya’s course Alchemy through Ayurveda.
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