Chaitanya 1534
Chaitanya- an enlightened Indian mystic, died in 1534. He communed with the divine through singing and dancing.

Ramakrishna 1836
Ramakrishna was born in Bengal. He served as a temple priest on the banks of the Ganga near Calcutta. He developed an intense devotion to the goddess Kali at an early age. His enlightenment came after meeting a monk called Totapuri. When invited to an intellectual religious debate, Ramakrishna welcomed it with the following statement " I do not argue because I am the argument. Just let him (the proponent of the debate) come - I do not know the scriptures, I do not need to know them. I know the truth-why should I bother about borrowed knowledge? I do not have any education I do not know how to prove something or disprove something, but I do not need to know-my presence is the proof-just let him come." After his death his wife Shraddha was recognised as a mystic in her own right. The Ramkrishna Mission has centres all over India that include libraries and a daily lecture routine and other events. Ramakrishna's disciple, Vivekananda, was the first guru to visit the West. He was followed later by Paramhansa Yoganand.

Swami Vivekanand 1893
The chief disciple of Ramakrishna Parmhansa, he spoke at world parliament of religions in Chicago in 1893 and was one of the first spiritual masters to disseminate our Spiritual legacy. Swami Vivekanand gave a soul stirring talk. He authored many books on Indian esoteric thought and has been a source of inspiration to millions of admires.

Sri Aurobindo 1872-1950
A Student at Kings College Cambridge, in 1890 he passed the Indian civil services which he, declined to join. In 1893, Sri Aurobindo came back to India and became the vice-principal of the Baroda College. From 1906- 1908, Sri Aurobindo was at the forefront of the freedom struggle. In 1908, he met a Maharastrian Yogi called Vishnu Bhasker Seta who inspired hin into spiritual enquiry. Sri Aurobindo went to Pandicherry in 1910 and remained there till 1950 A Krishna devotee, Auorbindo together with Mirra Richards (mother) who he declared was (Divine Energy) Mahashakti, created an unique spiritual community where work and spiritual progress developed hand in hand. The Aurobindo Ashram is in Pondicherry near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Auroville founded by the mother a few kms north of Pondicherry is an experiment in International living. The spiritual centre of Auroville is the Matri Mandir.

Ramanna Maharishi 1879-1950
In 1896, a young schoolboy left his family and driven by an inner passion, went to Arunachala a holy mountain in south India, to be absorbed into awareness and consciousness. Soon after he had realised by direct experience that nothing existed apart from universal consciousness which was experienced in its unmanifest form as awareness and in its manifest form as the appearance of the universe. An ashram was established at Arunachala. His basic teaching was Self-inquiry - Who am I? In the beginning Ramanna Maharishi spoke little, his teachings were transmitted in the form of a silent power, which stilled the minds of those attuned and occasionally gave them the direct experience of stillness. He was and is, one of the greatest masters who lived in this age. The Ramana ashram is at Tiruvannamlai, Tamil Nadu .

Mata Amritanandmayi 1953
In the village of Parayakadavu in Kerala a girl Suddhaman was born in the family of fisherfolks. From the age of around six months Suddhemani began to sing the divine names of God, and by the time she was two she was singing prayers to Lord Krishna. Through the intensity of her devotion to Krishna, Amrit Anand Mayi as she was now known, reached a state of universal consciousness, and merging with Krishna. Her ashram is at Quiton in Kerala Krishna bhavas of Mata Amritanand Mayi are often replaced by Devi bhavas when Amritanandmayis like possessed by an ecstatic spirit. She says that all the Gods are within and a divine incarnation can manifest any of them at will. But why these manifestation? For the benefit of the devotees. The bhavas which Ma Amritanandmayi adopts, give people faith, since many people are not ready to be awakened by hearing alone, says the spiritual wisdom of the Upanishads.

Swami Shyam
Based at Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, Swami Shyam in the last 30 years has gathered about him a group of dedicated followers. At his International Meditation Institute, he appears regularly for talks and darshans. He has repeatedly stressed that "we are here to create masters not disciples." He advices us all to recite constantly the following mantra
" Amarum hum, Madhuram hum" (I am immortal, I am blissful)

Osho Rajneesh 1931 -1990
A teacher of Philosophy, he reached enlightenment at the age of 21. Thereafter he travelled extensively giving talks and meeting people.His unique system of dynamic meditation appealed to many since it was in tune with modern life. In the early 70s, his ashram at Pune attracted many visitors from the West. He has written and spoken extensively on all aspects of spirituality and his books continue to be published to this day. "Do not be bothered too much about facts there are none, all are fictions, godliness has no history and godliness has no biography, godliness only 'is', there is no 'was' and there is no 'will be'. That's why in the East, we have never been bothered by history, we have not written history at all. Instead of history, we have written myths." Rajneesh's mantra was awareness and moment to moment realisation. The Osho ashram is at Pune Maharashtra India.

Swami Ram
A master of India's ancient spiritual tradition, Swami Ram devoted his life and work to this tradition. Having reached the heights of spiritual enlightenment, he attempted to inform disciplines on how to attain perfection in this world. "To be spiritual means to be aware of the Reality, to be aware of the absolute Truth, to be aware of the Lord within you, all the time" Swami Rams Himalayan Institute is at Dehradun, in India.

Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader and head of the state of the Tibetan people, The Dalai Lama was born in 1935. He is regarded as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and as the reincarnation of the buddha compassion. Tibetans all over the world refer to him his holiness, kundan. Since 1960 he has lived in exile at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India. An embodiment of Tibetan Buddhist teaching, in 1989 he was presented with the Nobel peace prize. He often says "I am a simple Buddhist .

Sri Ravi Shankarji 1956
Founder of the Art of Living foundation, which re-introduced a yogic beathing practice "Sudarshan Kirya" to people. It contains Asanas, pranayamas and experiential processes. An enlightened master, Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji's teachings and lectures are popular the world over with 6000 centres. The main centre is the Uyakti Vikas Kendra at Bangalore, India.

Swami Niranjananda 1960
Swami Niranjananda Saraswati born in 1960 is the head of the "Bihar School of Yoga". He has authored many books on Tantra, Yoga and the Upanishads. He founded the Bihar University of Yoga at Munger in 1994.