The Traditions of the Hindu Temple in Citamparam (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
Chidvilasananda, Swami (Gurumayi)
(1955– ) Shaivite teacher and head of Siddha
Yoga Dham
Swami Chidvilasananda is a prominent interna-
tional teacher, writer, and SIDDHA YOGA master. She
was chosen by Swami MUKTANANDA to be succes-
sor to his lineage.
Chidvilasananda was born on June 24, 1955,
in a village in Karnataka state, India. Follow-
ing the Indian custom, the family GURU, Swami
Muktananda, gave her her name—Malti. She met
the swami for the first time at age five when she
visited his ASHRAM with her parents. That same
year Muktananda had a senior disciple take the
young child several times to the nearby village
of Ganeshpuri for the blessing of his own guru,
Bhagawan NITYANANDA, who at that point had only
a few months left to live.
From then on Malti was educated under the
guidance of her guru. She lived with her family
in Bombay (Mumbai) and spent weekends and
school holidays in Muktananda’s ashram, chant-
ing scriptural texts, following the disciplines of
yoga, and attending to her guru. Even at a young
age, Malti possessed a longing to know God,
which fueled an intense focus on spiritual prac-
tice. When she was 13, Swami Muktananda gave
Malti SHAKTIPAT DIKSHA, the spiritual initiation that
awakens KUNDALINI energy.
Beginning in 1969, Malti traveled extensively
with Swami Muktananda in India and the West. In
1975, in Oakland, California, Muktananda asked
her to become his translator. She was 19 at the
time. Her role was to provide English translation
during Muktananda’s public lectures, which were
sometimes delivered to audiences that numbered
in the thousands, and at his private meetings with
students, dignitaries, and public officials from
East and West. Through her translation, Malti
learned to communicate the essence of Swami
Muktananda’s teachings. She was also called on
by her guru to perform a variety of other duties,
including performing administrative duties with
the newly formed Siddha Yoga Dham Association
(SYDA) Foundation, a global nonprofit orga-
nization; teaching courses; giving her own lec-
tures on KASHMIRI SHAIVISM, VEDANTA, and other
philosophies fundamental to Siddha Yoga prac-
tice; assisting with the translation of his books;
and handling his correspondence with devotees
around the globe.
In April 1982, when Malti took vows of san-
nyas, Muktananda gave her the name Swami
Chidvilasananda, “the bliss of the play of con-
sciousness.” Then he initiated and installed herGurumayi Chidvilasananda (b. 1955), a Shaivite
teacher and the head of Siddha Yoga Dham (SYDA
Foundation)K 108 Chidvilasananda, Swami