Jesus Christ (7–2 BC – AD 30–33)

Jesus Christ brought the message of Universal Love and proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. He was a miracle worker who announced, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.” Above all, Jesus taught the importance of Love. He said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Shakyamuni Buddha (566 BCE – 485 BCE)

The word Buddha means “awakened one.” After realizing that meditation was the path to awakening, Shakyamuni discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way, a path of moderation, or the Noble Eightfold Path. At the time of his awakening, he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the “Four Noble Truths.” Through mastery of these truths a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being.

Lao Tzu (604 BC – 531 BC)

When Lao Tzu was eighty years old he set out for the western border of China, saddened and disillusioned that men were unwilling to follow the path to natural goodness. At the border, a guard asked Lao Tzu to record his teachings before he left. He then composed the Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its Power). The Taoist philosophy can be summed up as advocating a life of complete simplicity and naturalness and of non-interference with the course of natural events, in order to attain a happy existence in harmony with the Tao.

Guanyin Boddhisattva

Guanyin is the female embodiment of Compassion, whose name means “She who hears the cries of the World.” Guanyin is a beloved form of the Divine Mother and is revered throughout Asia and the entire world. It is generally accepted among East Asian adherents that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara. The Lotus Sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara as a bodhisattva who can take the form of any type of male or female, adult or child, human or non-human being, in order to teach the Dharma to sentient beings.

Mahavatar Babaji

Paramahansa Yogananda stated in “Autobiography of a Yogi” that Mahavatar Babaji is birthless and deathless and dwells forever looking after the spiritual evolution of humanity. He can appear anywhere at any time when the situation merits it. Babaji initiated Lahiri Mahasya and instructed him to teach Kriya Yoga to householders so that they could attain the same advanced states of consciousness that the Himalayan Masters have reached. This is the monumental importance of Mahavatar Babaji’s divine gift of Kriya Yoga to humanity.

Padmasambhava (eighth century C.E.)

Padmasambhava introduced the people of Tibet to the practice of Tantric Buddhism. He is regarded as the founder of the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava said: “My father is the intrinsic awareness. My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality. I belong to the caste of non-duality of the sphere of awareness. My name is the Glorious Lotus-Born. I am from the unborn sphere of all phenomena. I act in the way of the Buddhas of the three times.”

Ramalinga Swami (1823 – 1874)

Ramalinga Swami was one of the greatest saints in the history of India. He was a Mahasiddha who performed many miracles. At the age of fifty he told his disciples that he was going to leave because they weren’t practicing what he taught them. He told them to lock him in his room and after several months he dissolved his physical body into the Grace Light of God and was never seen again. Ramalinga said that the key to spiritual development is to practice Loving Kindness toward all living beings every moment of your life.

Shirdi Sai Baba (1835 – 1918)

Shirdi Sai Baba is probably the most popular Saint in India. He is beloved by both Hindus and Muslims. When he first arrived in the small village of Shirdi, the townspeople thought he was just a dirty beggar and persecuted him. It was only when he began performing miracles that they regarded him as a saint. When both Hindus and Muslims tried to claim him as their own, he replied, “I respect all religions but I’m not any one. My religion is Love.”

Hazrit Inayat Khan (1882 – 1927)

Hazard Inayat Khan was the founder of The Sufi Order in the West in 1914 (London) and teacher of Universal Sufism. His message of divine unity focused on the themes of love, harmony and beauty. He taught that blind adherence to any book rendered religion void of spirit. He said, “The solution to the problem of the day is the awakening of the consciousness of humanity to the divinity within.” Inayat Khan’s work was carried on by his son, Pir Vilayat Khan and currently by his grandson Pir Zia.

Baba Sawan Singh (1858 – 1948)

Baba Sawan Singh, also known as “The Great Master” or “Bade Maharaji” was an Indian Saint of the Sant Mat tradition. Sant Mat is an age-old, spiritual way of life that includes developing respect, trust, and love for all and discovering our full potential as true human beings. It is a lifestyle in harmony with higher values that nurtures our soul through meditation—the regular contact with the inner light and sound. This contact is made available through a living spiritual teacher.

Meher Baba (1894 – 1969)

Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master, regarded by many as the Avatar of the Age, who said, “I am not come to establish any cult, society, or organization; nor even to establish a new religion. The religion that I shall give teaches the knowledge of the One behind the many. The book that I shall make people read is the book of the heart that holds the key to the mystery of life. I shall bring about a happy blending of the head and the heart. I shall revitalize all religions and cults, and bring them together like beads on one string.”

Hsu Yun – Empty Cloud (1840? – 1959)

Empty Cloud is credited with single-handedly preserving Zen in China. As the Red Guard were destroying the temples in China, Empty Cloud foresaw what was about to unfold and sent his disciple monks to safety outside China. When they begged him to leave with them, he said that if he went with them there would be no one left to preserve Zen in China. Empty Cloud was the most important Zen Master in modern Chinese history. We are greatly inspired and deeply guided by Empty Cloud.

Peter Deunov (1864 – 1944)

Peter Deunov was a Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher who was a representative of the Great White Brotherhood. Overall, Deunov gave approximately 3700 lectures in the three decades between 1914 and 1944. The themes of the different lecture streams were wide-ranging and encompassed, among others: religion, music, geometry, astrology, philosophy and esoteric science. Deunov taught his disciples many physical and breathing exercises for the purpose of remaining healthy and vital. He also promoted vegetarianism for ethical reasons, being against cruelty of any kind.

Swami Rama (1925–1996)

One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Born in northern India, he was raised from early childhood by the Himalayan sage, Bengali Baba. Under the guidance of his master, he traveled from monastery to monastery and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of Tibet. In addition to this intense spiritual training, Swami Rama received higher education in both India and Europe. From 1949 to 1952, he held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India. Thereafter, he returned to his master to receive further training at his cave monastery, and finally, in 1969, came to the United States, where he founded the Himalayan Institute.

Swami Satchidananda (1914–2002)

Swami Satchidananda was a spiritual teacher and founder of the Integral Yoga International. He taught that “The goal and the birthright of all individuals is to realize the spiritual unity behind the diversity throughout creation and to live harmoniously as members of “one universal family”. He is regarded by many as an apostle of peace and served as a living example of the teachings of Yoga and its goal of self-realization. Dedicated to the principle that “Truth is One, Paths are Many,” his teachings bring together people of all backgrounds and beliefs so that they may learn to respect all different paths and realize their common spirit and the universality of their spiritual goals.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918 – 2008)

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a disciple of Brahmananda Sarawati the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math. After his guru died, Maharishi went into retreat and then traveled throughout India. He began teaching a simple form of meditation that he called Transcendental Deep Meditation. This meditation technique became extremely popular around the world. Maharishi is credited with bringing meditation to Western society. He trained more than 40,000 TM teachers who taught the TM technique to over six million people around the world. Many celebrities began the practice of TM, including the Beatles. By removing religious references and emphasizing scientifically proven benefits of meditation, Maharishi succeeded in introducing meditation to the global community.

Rama (1950 – 1998)

Dr. Frederick Lenz, known as “Rama” to his students and the general public, began teaching Buddhist meditation in his early twenties. Throughout his life, his goal was to transmit the essence of Buddhism so that Western practitioners could achieve the highest state of Buddhist realization – enlightenment. In the early 1980s, he formed his own school of American Buddhism. From that time forward, he taught Buddhist principles and meditation to over 100,000 people. Working with the band Zazen, he co-wrote and produced 14 musical albums. All of the albums featured music geared towards facilitating the practice of meditation. Rama ran his student program like a college graduate program. All of his students lived in their own homes and managed their own lives. Rama believed that with a strong meditative practice, his students could live and work in the world, practice mindfulness, advance their lives, aide others and achieve spiritual and material success.

Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche

Great Perfection of Wisdom lineage holder Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche was born in Tibet, where he began training in Buddhism at the age of five at the Dzogchen Monastery. He has been recognized as the reincarnation of enlightened Tibetan master Gedun Chopel, who is the emanation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of the Buddha’s Wisdom. He received the transmissions and teachings of the Sutras, Tantras and Shastras from forty-two Buddhist masters and the complete empowerments and instruction of the Dzogchen Tantras from his root masters Khenchen Padma Tsewang, Drupchen Chatral Chochyab, and Guru Dechen Namdrol.

Yuan Miao

Yuan Miao carries a Himalayan Dakini lineage. Her great-grandfather was a high Tibetan lama who made a prophesy that a high master would incarnate in a future generation of the family. Yuan Miao was trained in Vajrayana from birth by her enlightened grandmother. She has been in communion with the Divine Mother Guanyin since early childhood. Yuan Miao is a master of mantra and mudra and teaches the Yoga of Joy, which is a dynamic, “ancient-future” system of Tibetan Vajrayana and primordial yoga. The Yoga of Joy reconnects us to our inner nature and awakens our full human potential, returning us to our primordial state of emptiness wisdom, compassion and clarity while enhancing childlike joy, playfulness and freedom.

Ron Teeguarden – Dan-O Sun Sha

Ron Teeguarden is widely recognized as the founding father of Tonic Herbalism in the United States. His approach towards health is profound yet incredibly simple to apply: putting focus on proactive promotion of glowing health (through life cultivation) versus curing of diseases. He has been a powerful translator of Eastern philosophy and health care techniques to hundreds of thousands of Westerners for over four decades. Ron’s reputation as a leading pioneer in health care is based on his experience as a practicing herbalist and on his passion for obtaining and producing the highest quality herbs and herbal products to promote glowing health. Ron was declared a Master Herbalist by Xu Guojen, Nanjing University Professor Emeritus and chief editor of the Pharmacopeia of the People’s Republic of China, in 1994. He was declared a Taoist Master in 2009 by Grandmaster Sung Jin Park, “Keeper of Rites” of Kook Sun Do Taoism, a three thousand-year-old Taoist tradition, after more than forty years of training and practice. He was given the title Dan-O Sun Sha, which translates as “Elixir of Life Master of Tao.”

Master Yu  (1951–2011)

Master Yu Tian Jian was a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the 49th lineage holder of Chinese Esoteric School of Buddhism, also known as Hanmi Esoteric School or Hanmi Mystery School

Under the instruction of Master Hui Ling, Master Yu attained enlightenment. This new consciousness revealed to him that he must undertake a most noble mission. Resolutely, he resigned all of his positions, and devoted his entire personal wealth to the great and selfless cause of expanding Buddha Dharma by teaching people how to recognize the true essence of Buddhism.

Living Buddha Dechan Jueren endured extreme hardship, traveling across many mountains and rivers throughout China, south to the Yiangzhi River and to the Yellow River, in order to spread his words of enlightenment. He brought the Hanmi lineage teachings to the west and, for the first time, made them accessible to the public when founding Dari Rulai Temple.

Siddha Rajakumar Guruji

Siddha Rajkumar Guruji was rigorously trained in spiritual practices by his guru Kagapujanda from the age of twenty-four. Armed with the knowledge that eradicating hunger and disease in mankind is both a service to the Lord and a mighty penance, Siddha Kagapujanda transformed Siddha Rajkumar into a redeemer of the Age of Vice and escorted his beloved disciple to all the caves and shrines of the Western Ghats, a mountain range of Southern India throughout which siddhas meditate in the astral form. He has access to all the caves, hills, and jungles where siddhas meditated. His knowledge about them is unparalleled by any living person. Under the guidance of his guru, he has fed millions of needy people.  In this present age, where spirituality is abused and has been transformed into a business, Siddha Raj Kumar remains true to his purpose. He hunts relentlessly for rare herbs, trekking through remote jungles to prepare life-saving herbal medicines to distribute freely to the people. He kindles the compassion in their hearts, empowering them to offer food and robes to the needy so that they may earn the grace of the siddhas.