Born in 1962 in Mumbai, India, Nityananda grew up with parents who were followers of Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa, a spiritual leader who studied ancient scriptures, various schools of yoga, Indian medicine, gardening and martial arts, according to Vivek Desai, a student in UD's Honors Program. Desai, a senior cellular and molecular biology and philosophy double major, with minors in biochemistry, religious studies and anthropology, helped arrange for sponsorship of Nityananda's visit to UD by the Department of Philosophy.
As a teenager, Nityananda studied Muktananda's teachings in an ashram, an Indian hermitage where sages live in peace and tranquility, Desai said. In 1981, Nityananda was chosen to carry on Muktananda's lessons, and, to mark the 100th anniversary of Muktananda's birth, Nityananda is traveling the world to speak about his guru's teachings.
For more information, visit [www.babasfootsteps.com] or e-mail Desai at [vdesai@udel.edu].
