Swami Avdeshanandji Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Juna Akhada, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
Juna Akhara
In the 5th century B.C., India’s greatest philosopher and commentator on sacred texts, Adi Shankara, organized the lineages of shamans, yogis and ascetics into India’s first monastic order, the Order of the Sannyasis of the Ten Names (Dasnami Sannyasi) which exists until this day.
In the 7th century A.D., 52 lineages within the Order of Sannyasis formalized their age-old network into an elite brotherhood, a society, that became known as Juna Akhara, or the “Ancient Circle”.
H.H. Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj is the Acharya Mahamandaleshwar (chief religious authority) of the Juna Akhara, appointed in 1998.
A great yogi, a scholar, and a well-recognized authority on Vedanta, Swami Avdheshanand relates equally to his two worlds, that of the Naga Sanyassis, who he initiates, and that of an international public he serves with spiritual discourses, teachings, and a number of social projects ranging from hospitals to water harvesting.
In addition to his position as Head Trustee of the Acharya Mahasabha, the organization of all of India’s traditional religious leaders, he is a member of the World Council of Religious Leaders, he has appeared at the United Nations on many occasions, and he is a close friend of the Dalai Lama.
H.H. Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj was made the Acharya or Spiritual preceptor of the prestigious and acclaimed Sri Panch Dasnaam Juna Akhara, designating him as PRIME SAINT in 1998 at the Haridwar Maha Kumbh.
Thousands of saints across India and elsewhere have been initiated by the Acharya, Mahamandaleshwar Swami Avdeshanand Giri Ji.
article courtesy..
rampuri.com/about/juna-akhara/
