Teachers of non-dual paths
What each teaching is about, who it is meant for, where one can start, and the sources that document it.
A first selection
Chosen by the editors as a place to begin, not a ranking. Everyone also appears in the full list below.
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Ramana Maharshi
1879–1950
Modern Advaita
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Mooji
Living, age 72
Modern Advaita
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Thich Nhat Hanh
1926–2022
Buddhist paths
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Eckhart Tolle
Living, age 78
Modern Advaita
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Adyashanti
Living, age 63–64
Modern Advaita
All teachers
Only teachers documented as living; whoever has no documented dates stays under “Everyone”.
Modern Advaita
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Gangaji
- Living, age 83–84
- Ashland, Oregon, USA
For people who want to connect non-duality with emotional honesty and questions of relationship.
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Ganga Mira
- Living, age 78–79
- Near Aljezur, Algarve, Portugal
For people drawn to direct self-enquiry in the Papaji line who like short, plain answers and informal meetings.
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Eckhart Tolle
- Living, age 78
- Vancouver, Canada
For readers who want an easily readable approach to presence and to everyday conflicts, without ties to a tradition.
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Karl Renz
- Living, age 72–73
For people familiar with non-dual ideas who are at ease with a blunt, humorous and paradoxical style and are not looking for a practice.
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Mooji
- Living, age 72
- Monte Sahaja, Alentejo, Portugal
For people looking for an accessible, conversational entry into self-inquiry in the tradition of Ramana Maharshi and Papaji, who are at ease with devotional language.
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Rupert Spira
- Living, age 66
- Devon, United Kingdom
For people who want a calm, carefully argued way into non-dual understanding through their own experience and meditation, and who are at ease with long, reflective talks.
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Adyashanti
- Living, age 63–64
- Retired
- Eastern Sierra, California, USA
For readers who want a short written guide to meditation and inquiry that also asks for honesty and responsibility in everyday life.
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Roger Castillo
- Living, age 52–53
- Perth, Western Australia
For people who want to examine nonduality through clear concepts and concrete questions about everyday life.
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Billy Doyle
- Living
- London, United Kingdom
For people who practise yoga and are interested in non-dual self-enquiry. His online classes ask for some earlier experience of yoga or of this approach.
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Francis Lucille
- Living
- Temecula, California, USA
For people who enjoy careful, reasoned dialogue about awareness and happiness, and who are interested in Jean Klein's direct path, including its work with the body.
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Isaac Shapiro
- Living
- Byron Shire, New South Wales, Australia
For people who want to look closely at their own bodily experience and resistance, in quiet meetings and retreats rather than through doctrine.
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Mukti
- Living
- California, USA
For people who want to combine silent meditation with self-inquiry and an approach through the body.
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Neelam
- Living
- Near Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
For people drawn to self-enquiry in the line of Ramana Maharshi and Papaji who want to include the body and difficult experience in that enquiry.
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Éric Baret
- Living
For people drawn to a bodily, listening approach to non-duality. His website advises people with a psychiatric history or in psychological treatment against this practice.
Bhakti and devotion
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Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma)
- Living, age 72–73
- Amritapuri, Kerala, India
For people who want devotion and practical service together and do not mind large gatherings. Her words mostly reach English readers in translation from Malayalam.
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Mother Meera
- Living, age 65
- Schaumburg, Balduinstein, Germany
For people drawn to silent devotion and a personal blessing, whatever their faith. There are no talks or courses; Darshan requires registration.
Buddhist paths
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Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)
- Living, age 91
- Dharamsala, India
For people who want to explore compassion and Buddhist philosophy. This approach belongs to Tibetan Buddhism.
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Jack Kornfield
- Living, age 81
- Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, California, USA
For readers and meditators who want an introduction in plain language to Buddhist mindfulness practice and its teachings on the heart, with a view to daily life. He is a Buddhist teacher, not an Advaita teacher.
Related paths
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Byron Katie
- Living
- Ojai, California, USA
For people who want a simple written method to question their own stressful thoughts.
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Keith Kavanagh
- Living
- Ireland
For people who study A Course in Miracles, or want to begin, and want to apply its forgiveness practice in daily life.
Someone missing? Suggest a teacher.
Lineage map
Every teacher described here as a circle, with the documented lines between them: teachers and students, meetings and influences.
Open the lineage map