Shri Brahamananda Sarasvati was the founder and spiritual director of Ananda Ashram (1964) in Monroe, NY and of the Yoga Society of New York (1958) and the Yoga Society of San Francisco(1972). His previous name was Dr. Ramamurti Mishra M.D., and he was an Ayurvedic physician, as well as an M.D. specializing in neurosurgery and psychology. Lovingly referred to as Guruji, he left his body in 1993.

Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati was one of the first Indian teachers to come to the U.S. and teach yoga and meditation.  He was and still is regarded as a spiritual teacher for thousands all over the world. In addition to being a physician, he was an accomplished scholar of the Sanskrit language, which he viewed as a vehicle on the path to experiencing oneness with universal consciousness. Many curious seekers would come to sit with Guruji at the ashram, only to find themselves reciting Sanskrit grammar until the wee hours of the night.  Guruji explained that even if you didn't know what you were actually saying, the transformative powers of the Sanskrit syllables were still having their profound effects.

Guruji was also an expert in yoga psychology based in the ancient Vedanta tradition of India. His book, The Textbook of Yoga Psychology, is a definitive commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that blends traditional philosophy with modern psychology.  He is the author of Fundamentals of Yoga, Self-Analysis and Self-Knowledge, and many other essays devoted to meditation and self-realization.

Shri Brahamananda Sarasvati was a unique spiritual teacher who successfully merged Eastern and Western science and philosophy into a language Westerners could understand. His message lives on in the writings and recordings he left behind, in the meditation centers he founded, and in the hearts of everyone who experienced his grace and love.