PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS. Abhedananda organized
the celebration in Calcutta of the swami’s American
success, and three years later Vivekananda called
him to assist his work in the West. Abhedananda
remained in London for a year speaking and build-
ing a following for the Vedanta Society.
In 1897, Abhedananda began a 25-year stay
in New York City. He succeeded in organizing a
Vedanta Society (Vivekananda had failed to do
so), and built it into a relatively strong organi-
zation. He moved in the intellectual circles of
his day and was invited to speak at a number of
colleges and universities. He also made some 17
lecture tours in Europe. All his teachings and lec-
turing consistently reflected the ADVAITA VEDANTA
perspective of Ramakrishna; together with his
learned colleagues he argued for the unity of
Truth and the confluence of science and religion.
In 1921, Abhedananda returned to India,
where he was received as a celebrity. He went on
to establish two Ramakrishna centers, in Darjeel-
ing (1923) and Calcutta (1929). Among his last
duties was presiding at the 1937 Parliament of
Religions in Calcutta, organized to celebrate the
Ramakrishna Centennial. Abhedananda died two
years later in 1939.
See also VEDANTA SOCIETIES/RAMAKRISHNA MAT H
AND MISSION; UNITED STATES.
Further reading: Swami Abhedananda, Doctrine of
Karma: A Study in the Philosophy and Practice of Work
(Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1965); ———,
The Religion of the Twentieth Century (Calcutta: Ramak-
rishna Vedanta Math, 1984); ———, Spiritual Teachings
of Swami Abhedananda. Translated by P. Sheshadri Aiyer
(Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math 1962); ———,
Swami Vivekananda and His Work (Calcutta: Ramak-
rishna Vedanta Math, 1968); Ashutosh Ghosh, Swami
Abhedananda, the Patriot Saint (Calcutta: Ramakrishna
Vedanta Math, 1967).
Abhidhyan Yoga Institute (est. 1991)
The Abhidhyan Yoga Institute, also called Mod-
ern Seers, headquartered at Swarthmore, Penn-
sylvania, is a training center for All Embracing
(Abhidhyan) Yoga, a somewhat rare form of
TANTRA that has survived within several lesser-
known Hindu and Buddhist sects. All Embracing
Yoga incorporates the four major yoga paths:
JNANA YOGA, the path of study; BHAKTI YOGA, the
path of devotion to the Divine; KARMA YOGA,
the path of action; and RAJA YOGA, the path that
unites mind, heart, and body in pursuit of the
Divine.
The revival of All Embracing Yoga, and its
spread from India to the United States and several
other countries is attributed to Sri Acharya Abhid-
hyanananda Avadhuta (Anatole Ruslanov) (b.
May 5, 1965), a Russian computer scientist who
apprenticed in BENARES (Varanasi) India, with Sri
ANANDAMURTI (1921–90), founder of the ANANDA
MARGA YOGA SOCIETY. As a monastic student of
the guru, Anatole became a vital transmitter and
spiritual master of this largely overlooked form of
tantric practice.
A year after the death of Sri Anandamurti
(1990), Anatole established the Abhidhyanan-
anda Yoga Institute with its headquarters in
the United States. He added his own teaching
methods to those of his teacher, synthesized
what he had learned during his monastic life in
India, and refined his tantric abilities. In 1998,
Anatole revealed to his students that he had had
a transformational experience that had lifted his
religious and practical focus to a higher level, thus
requiring a revision of the discipline required of
practitioners.
Students of All Embracing Yoga engage in
regular meditation, follow strict moral codes, and
practice postures (ASANAS) and breathing tech-
niques (PRANAYAMA). Abhidhyanananda recom-
mends solitary spiritual work for a year prior to
entering this specific yoga path.
The institute publishes a periodical, The Tan-
trik Path, at its headquarters in Nevada City,
California. No publications in book form are used
at the institute. Rather, all teachings are found
online on the Internet.K 2 Abhidhyan Yoga Institute