Anasuya Foundation

(est. 1975)

   The Anasuya Foundation (also known as the Tripura Yoga Foundation) was created in 1975. It was a response to a revelation of Lord Dattatreya that Swami Punitachariji received while meditat-ing on Mount Girnar in Gujarat state. Lord Dat-tatreya appeared as the Vedic trinity—the union of BRAHMA, VISHNU, and SHIVA. His classic form of three heads and six arms appeared as the supreme being who is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omni-scient.

   Lord Dattatreya represents the divine spark contained in true wisdom. He is a transmitter of the secrets that when known empower others to understand the universal energies and know the meaning of life. In the vision, Swami Punitachariji (also known as Bapu, a fond name for a grandfa-ther figure) saw Lord Dattatreya seated on a large rock. Legendary saints and holy people were wor-shipping him with flowers. Bapu recognized Lord Dattatreya from traditional statuary and paintings and knew that the Lord’s all-knowingness and spiritual prowess could transform ordinary exis-tence into divine life.

   Lord Dattatreya gave Bapu a mantric chant: “Hari Om Tatsat Jai Guru Datta, a mantra recited for the effects of its sound, rather than its mean-ing.” From his own training in the Hindu tradi-tion, Bapu believed that the world and everything in it were created through sound. He believed that repeated mantras of power make the invisible creative planes of existence reverberate to enrich and enhance the physical plane of the Earth. Bapu believed that repetition of the mantra of Lord Dat-tatreya sends forth the Lord’s spiritual essence to those who seek his divine wisdom. Through the union of sound, between the visible and invisible worlds, one’s spiritual teacher need not be on the physical plane sharing an earthly life. Chanting in this way allows spiritual interaction between GURU and chela (student) without time constraints. Bapu believed that Lord Dattatreya had specifically given him this insight to promote the elevated consciousness of humankind and to enhance the spirituality of the people on the planet.

   The religious beliefs of Bapu were exported to North America in the late 1970s, when Shan-tibaba, an early devotee of Bapu, who wished to share with students in other countries the mysti-cal teachings about sacred sound, immigrated to the United States. Not long afterward, teaching centers were also founded in the United Kingdom and Germany. Today there are centers located in California, New York, Colorado, and New Jersey. International headquarters are at Girnar Sadhana Ashram in Gujarat state, India. The American headquarters is the Tripura Yoga Foundation in Snowmass, Colorado.

   Further reading: Datta Mission. Available online. URL: http://www.jaiguru.com. Accessed August 15, 2005; “Mantras and Meditation,” Hinduism Today, August 1986. Anasuya Foundation 35 J

   Available online. URL: http://www.hinduism-today.com/archives/1986/08/1986-08-06.shtml. Accessed August 15, 2005; Emily Matulay and Shantibaba, Spontaneous Meditation (Basalt, Colo.: Anasuya, 1983).