medicine at Banares Hindu University. In 1955, he
left India to study medicine in the United States
and served as a resident in neurosurgery at Bel-
levue Hospital in New York City.
In 1964, he founded Ananda Ashram in Mon-
roe, New York, where figures such as Timothy
Leary and RAM DASS visited and taught. The ASH-
RAM continues to function as a year-round retreat
for spiritual practice.
In 1966, Mishra resigned from his medical
career to devote himself to spiritual discipline
and the teaching of raja yoga, with a focus on the
question, Who am I? Convinced that the cause
of suffering is not in the body or the mind, but
rather in ignorance of the true Self, he began to
teach and explore the path to discovery of the “I
AM” consciousness that he believed to be eternal
and ever present.
In 1984 he was initiated into the vow of san-
nyas (renunciation) by Swami Gangeshvarananda
and was given the name Brahmananda Saraswati.
He was a prolific writer who published texts on
yoga, meditation, raja yoga, Ayurveda, and com-
mentaries on Sanskrit texts. He died on September
19, 1993.
Further reading: Ramamurti S. Mishra, Fundamentals
of Yoga (Monroe, N.Y.: Baba Bhagavandas Publication
Trust, 1996); ———, Self Analysis and Self Knowl-
edge (Monroe, N.Y.: Baba Bhagavandas Publication
Trust, 1997); ———, The Textbook of Yoga Psychology
(Monroe, N.Y.: Baba Bhagavandas Publication Trust,
1997).
Mishra, Vachaspati (c. 840 C.E.) Hindu
scholar and commentator
Vachaspati Mishra was a philosopher particularly
celebrated for his Bhamati, a subcommentary on
SHANKARA’S commentary on the VEDANTA SUTRA.
He was a prolific scholar and writer whose name
is attached to commentaries on NYAYA (logic),
SAMKHYA, YOGA, and other subjects. Another of
his well-known works was a subcommentary on
the Veda Vyasa’s authoritative commentary to the
YOGA SUTRA of PATANJALI.Further reading: S. N. Dasgupta, History of Indian Phi-
losophy, 5 vols. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975).Mitra
Mitra is a minor deity often mentioned in the
Vedic hymns, especially in association with VAR-
UNA. Many hymns and offerings are given to the
pair Mitra-Varuna in the Vedic rituals. Some
believe that Mitra was a form of Sun god who
lost his ancient character. The Iranian Avesta has
a prominent god named Mithra, who is clearly
related historically to the Mitra of the VEDAS.Further reading: Gonda, Jan. The Vedic God Mitra (Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1972).Mohenjodaro (Mohenjo Daro) See INDUS
VALLEY CIVILIZATION.Mohini
The enchantress Mohini was a form that VISHNU
took during the churning of the MILK OCEAN. The
demons and gods had cooperated in churning
the ocean to produce the nectar of immortality
(AMRITA). Knowing that the demons would want to
seize the nectar for themselves, Vishnu assumed
the form of MOHINI, mesmerizing the demons with
her beauty while she served the nectar to the gods
alone. As only the gods were now immortal, when
the demons attacked they were routed, and the
world was once again in the hands of the gods.Further reading: Guruseva Dasi, Churning the Milk
Ocean: A Young Reader’s Edition of the Classic Story from the
Puranas of Ancient India (LaCrosse, Fla: Bhavani Books,
2002); Cornelia Dimitt, and J. A. van Buitenen, eds. and
trans., Classical Hindu Mythology A Reader in the Sanskrit
Puranas (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978).Mohini 291 J