Shri Gurudev Mahendranath

Shri Gurudev Mahendranath (April 29, 1911–August 30, 1991) was a British occultist, mystic, writer, poet, sannyasi, tantric guru, Avadhut and founder of the spiritual organization known as the International Nath Order.

Biography

Born Lawrence Amos Miles in London, England on April 29, 1911, his interests in the area of spiritual investigation and the Pagan way of life began at an unusually early age. During his childhood, he had a number of unique experiences which began the course of his inner development and later led to his spiritual attainment and recognition by a vast public.

As a young man, Shri Mahendranath met and exchanged ideas with the advanced thinker and mystic, Aleister Crowley. Personal experiences and the advice of Mr. Crowley suggested that he might gain valuable insight by the deeper study of meditation and the I Ching oracle with Indian and other Asian Masters.

After some years, Shri Mahendranath arrived in India in 1953. On the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima, he was given initiation (diksha) as a sannyasi into the Adinath Sampradaya by H.H. Shri Sadguru Lokanath, the Avadhut of the Himalayas. He was later given Tantric initiation by Shri Pagala Baba of Ranchi into the Uttara Kaula sect of Northern Tantrics and became his successor.

During his life as a sannyasi, Shri Mahendranath traveled to Ceylon, Thailand, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Australia. He also received initiations as a Bhutanese Lama, Meditation Master in Soto Zen, as well as into Taoism and both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.

Shri Gurudev Mahendranath left his body and achieved Mahasamadhi on August 30, 1991. His last residence was his hermitage—Shambhala Tapowan—near the Vatrak river, in the state of Gujarat, India. It was his stated belief that he was the last guru of both the Adinath sub-sect of the broader Nath Sampradaya and the Uttara Kaula tantric sub-sect into which he had been initiated; both of these sub-sects became defunct with his passing.

International Nath Order

In 1978, Shri Gurudev Mahendranath founded an organization now known as the International Nath Order (originally the Western Nath Order) in order to share his own spiritual development with other sincere people in the West. As a sadhu, bhikkhu, and sannyasin, Shri Mahendranath received many initiations during his years of travel in India and Asia. Among these traditions, Shri Gurudev's greatest personal interests have been with the Adinath and Uttara Kaula sects. It was Shri Mahendranath's stated belief that he was the final Guru and Sannyasi member of both these sects.

As Guru of these ancient sects, Shri Mahendranath resolved not to pass on the Indian Sannyasi initiation into these sects. He made no new Indian sadhus. This decision was made in response to changes in Indian socio-religious patterns and the difficulty experienced by sadhus of tantric traditions to be welcomed and supported outside of areas where they were well known and loved. The spiritual pattern of sadhu or sannyasi life and its support by a broad public is foreign to the social structures of the West and most other countries of the world.

To meet this situation and to give occult spiritual pursuits greater expression in Western lands, Shri Gurudev put into motion the formation of the International Nath Order. The Guru tradition and initiation which he has passed on includes not only wisdom teachings from Indian, Bhutanese, and Soto Zen sources, but also includes gems of Taoism, and such wisdom as is rediscovered by the science and yoga of meditation and contemplation.

A Nath or Devi of the International Nath Order is not bound by the rules of Asian sadhus, and may work for gainful employment, marry, and live the normal way of Western patterns. The International Nath Order is for people who want, and will work for:

Spiritual Development toward Awakening.
The development of Occult attainment (Siddhi).
A new, better, and more enlightened Social Order based on the Pagan past.

Before his death, Shri Gurudev Mahendranath appointed Shri Kapilnath as his successor as head of the International Nath Order,Mahendranath (1990), The Ultimate Promulgation & Pronunciamento of H.H. Shri Gurudev Mahendranath giving him the title Gurunath.Mahendranath, Shri Gurudev. Personal correspondence, 1987–1989

Writings

Shri Gurudev Mahendranath wrote numerous articles and essays on tantra and the spiritual life, including the Twilight Yoga Trilogy, the Levogyrate Tantra, and The Londinium Temple Strain, subsequently collected under the title The Scrolls of Mahendranath in 1990. These works present the essentials of spiritual life and the tantric path in a humorous, non-dogmatic and non-sectarian manner. In 2002, an expanded online version of The Scrolls of Mahendrath & Other Writings was published at by the International Nath Order. This online version contains Gurudev's poetry and earlier essays which were not included in the original print edition.

Notes

References

Mahendranath, Shri Gurudev (1990). The Scrolls of Mahendranath. Seattle: International Nath Order.