Shri Gurudev Mahendranath: International Nath Order Founder
Shri Gurudev Mahendranath (April 29, 1911–August 30, 1991) was a Nath guru, tantric guru, sadhu, sannyasin, writer, poet, and Avadhut.
Born Lawrence Miles in London, England, on April 29, 1911, his interests in spiritual investigation and the Pagan way of life began at an unusually early age. During his childhood he had a number of unique experiences that began the course of his inner development and later led to his spiritual attainment and recognition by the public.
As a young man, Shri Mahendranath met and exchanged ideas with the advanced thinker and mystic Aleister Crowley. Personal experiences and the Crowley’s advice suggested that he might gain valuable insight through deeper study of meditation and the I Ching with Indian and other Asian Masters. After some years, Lawrence Miles arrived in India.
Initiations and Travels in the East
In 1953 he was given initiation as a sannyasin into the Adi-Nath Sampradaya by Shri Sadguru Lokanath and receive the initiation name Mahendranath. In 1963 he was given Tantric initiation by Shri Pagala Baba of Ranchi into the Uttara Kaula sect of Northern Tantrics and became his successor.
During his life as a sannyasin, Shri Mahendranath traveled to Ceylon, Thailand, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. He also received initiation as a Bhutanese Lama, was regarded as a meditation master in Soto Zen and Taoism, and held initiations in both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.
Founding the INO
He founded the International Nath Order (originally Western Nath Order) to present and promote his own synthesis of the tantric teachings of the Adinath and Uttara Kaula lines as a spiritual path for the Western householder. Initiates of the International Nath Order are known as Naths or Devis.
Writings and Legacy
Shri Mahendranath wrote numerous articles and essays on tantra and the spiritual life, including the Twilight Yoga Trilogy, Levogyrate Tantra, and The Londinium Temple Strain, later collected under the title The Scrolls of Mahendranath. These works present the essentials of spiritual life and the tantric path in a humorous, non-dogmatic, and non-sectarian manner.
Mahasamadhi
Shri Gurudev Mahendranath left his body and entered mahasamadhi on August 30, 1991. His last residence was his hermitage, Shambhala Tapovan, near the Vatrak river in Mehmadabad, Gujarat, India. He was the last guru of both the Adinath and Uttara Kaula lineages, which became defunct with his passing.