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.

Ramana Maharshi
1879–1950

Modern Advaita
Mooji
Living, age 72

Modern Advaita
Thich Nhat Hanh
1926–2022

Buddhist paths
Eckhart Tolle
Living, age 78

Modern Advaita
Adyashanti
Living, age 63–64

Modern Advaita

All teachers

Historical

Died before 1900

Jalal ad-Din Rumi (Mevlana)
- 1207–1273
- Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey)
- Related paths
Student of Shams-i Tabrizi Teacher of Husam al-Din Chalabi, Sultan Walad
Husam al-Din Chalabi (Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ibn Akhi Turk)
- Died 1284
- Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey)
- Related paths
Student of Jalal ad-Din Rumi Met Sultan Walad
Sultan Walad (Baha al-Din Muhammad Walad)
- 1226–1312
- Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey)
- Related paths
Student of Jalal ad-Din Rumi Met Shams-i Tabrizi, Husam al-Din Chalabi
Meister Eckhart
- Died 1328
- Location and teaching languages not checked
- Related paths
Lahiri Mahasaya
- 1828–1895
- Varanasi (Banaras), India
- Yoga traditions
Teacher of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Met Paramahansa Yogananda
Sri Ramakrishna
- 1836–1886
- Dakshineswar, Kolkata, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Teacher of Swami Vivekananda

20th century

Died in 1900 or later

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri
- 1855–1936
- Serampore, West Bengal, India
- Yoga traditions
Student of Lahiri Mahasaya Tradition traced to Adi Shankara Teacher of Paramahansa Yogananda, Paramahamsa Hariharananda
Swami Vivekananda
- 1863–1902
- Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal, India
- Classical Advaita Vedanta
Student of Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Aurobindo
- 1872–1950
- Pondicherry (Puducherry), India
- Yoga traditions
Worked with Mirra Alfassa
Mirra Alfassa (The Mother)
- 1878–1973
- Pondicherry (Puducherry), India
- Yoga traditions
Met Anandamayi Ma Worked with Sri Aurobindo
Ramana Maharshi
- 1879–1950
- Tiruvannamalai, India
- Modern Advaita
Teacher of Annamalai Swami, H. W. L. Poonja, Sri Muruganar Met Swami Ramdas, Paramahansa Yogananda, Paul Brunton, U. G. Krishnamurti, Yogi Ramsuratkumar
Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon
- 1883–1959
- Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala, India
- Modern Advaita
Met Paul Brunton
Swami Ramdas (Papa Ramdas)
- 1884–1963
- Anandashram, Kanhangad, Kerala, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Teacher of Yogi Ramsuratkumar Met Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayi Ma
Siddharameshwar Maharaj
- 1888–1936
- Sholapur and Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Modern Advaita
Teacher of Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ranjit Maharaj
Paramahansa Yogananda
- 1893–1952
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Yoga traditions
Student of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Tradition traced to Adi Shankara Teacher of Paramahamsa Hariharananda Authorised to teach Paramahamsa Hariharananda Met Lahiri Mahasaya, Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayi Ma
Meher Baba
- 1894–1969
- Meherabad, near Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), India
- Bhakti and devotion
Met Paul Brunton
J. Krishnamurti
- 1895–1986
- Ojai, California, USA
- Related paths
Met Anandamayi Ma, U. G. Krishnamurti
Anandamayi Ma
- 1896–1982
- Dehradun, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Met Mirra Alfassa, Swami Ramdas, Paramahansa Yogananda, J. Krishnamurti, Neem Karoli Baba, Swami Chinmayananda, Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj
Nisargadatta Maharaj
- 1897–1981
- Mumbai, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Siddharameshwar Maharaj Teacher of Ramesh Balsekar Met Jack Kornfield
Paul Brunton
- 1898–1981
- Switzerland
- Modern Advaita
Met Ramana Maharshi, Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, Meher Baba
Annamalai Swami
- 1906–1995
- Palakottu, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Ramana Maharshi
Paramahamsa Hariharananda
- 1907–2002
- Puri, India; later Europe and the USA
- Yoga traditions
Student of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, Paramahansa Yogananda Authorised to teach by Paramahansa Yogananda
H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji)
- 1910–1997
- Lucknow, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Ramana Maharshi Teacher of Gangaji, Ganga Mira, Mooji, Isaac Shapiro, Neelam Met Soham
Jean Klein
- 1912–1998
- Europe / USA
- Modern Advaita
Teacher of Billy Doyle, Francis Lucille, Éric Baret
Neem Karoli Baba
- Died 1973
- Kainchi Dham near Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Teacher of Ram Dass Met Anandamayi Ma
Ranjit Maharaj
- 1913–2000
- Mumbai, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Siddharameshwar Maharaj
Sri Muruganar
- Died 1973
- Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Ramana Maharshi
Swami Chinmayananda
- 1916–1993
- India
- Classical Advaita Vedanta
Teacher of Swami Dayananda Saraswati Met Anandamayi Ma
Ramesh Balsekar
- 1917–2009
- Mumbai, India
- Modern Advaita
Student of Nisargadatta Maharaj Teacher of Roger Castillo Met Karl Renz Translated or edited works of Nisargadatta Maharaj
U. G. Krishnamurti
- 1918–2007
- Related paths
Met Ramana Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti
Yogi Ramsuratkumar
- 1918–2001
- Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Student of Swami Ramdas Influenced by Sri Aurobindo Met Ramana Maharshi
Ayya Khema
- 1923–1997
- Buddha-Haus, Allgäu, Germany
- Buddhist paths
S. N. Goenka
- 1924–2013
- Mumbai, India
- Buddhist paths
Thich Nhat Hanh
- 1926–2022
- Plum Village, Thénac, France
- Buddhist paths
Met Ram Dass Friends with Tenzin Gyatso
Robert Adams
- 1928–1997
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Modern Advaita
Swami Dayananda Saraswati
- 1930–2015
- Arsha Vidya centres in Rishikesh and Anaikatti (Coimbatore), India, and Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- Classical Advaita Vedanta
Student of Swami Chinmayananda
Thiruvadi Thuli Baba
- 1930–2016
- Bhakti and devotion
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
- 1931–1990
- Pune, India
- Related paths
Teacher of Soham
Ram Dass
- 1931–2019
- Maui, Hawaii, USA
- Bhakti and devotion
Student of Neem Karoli Baba Met Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle
Sri Nannagaru
- 1934–2017
- Jinnuru, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Modern Advaita
Met Mooji
Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj
- 1935–1994
- Andhra Pradesh / Bengaluru, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Met Anandamayi Ma

Living

Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)
- Living, age 91
- Dharamsala, India
- Buddhist paths
Friends with Thich Nhat Hanh
Gangaji
- Living, age 83–84
- Ashland, Oregon, USA
- Modern Advaita
Student of H. W. L. Poonja Met Soham
Jack Kornfield
- Living, age 81
- Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, California, USA
- Buddhist paths
Met Nisargadatta Maharaj
Ganga Mira
- Living, age 78–79
- Near Aljezur, Algarve, Portugal
- Modern Advaita
Student of H. W. L. Poonja
Eckhart Tolle
- Living, age 78
- Vancouver, Canada
- Modern Advaita
Met Ram Dass Acknowledges a work by Gangaji
Karl Renz
- Living, age 72–73
- Modern Advaita
Met Ramesh Balsekar
Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma)
- Living, age 72–73
- Amritapuri, Kerala, India
- Bhakti and devotion
Mooji
- Living, age 72
- Monte Sahaja, Alentejo, Portugal
- Modern Advaita
Student of H. W. L. Poonja Met Sri Nannagaru
Mother Meera
- Living, age 65
- Schaumburg, Balduinstein, Germany
- Bhakti and devotion
Influenced by Sri Aurobindo, Mirra Alfassa
Rupert Spira
- Living, age 66
- Devon, United Kingdom
- Modern Advaita
Student of Francis Lucille Influenced by Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, Robert Adams
Adyashanti
- Living, age 63–64
- Retired
- Eastern Sierra, California, USA
- Modern Advaita
Teacher of Mukti Authorised to teach Mukti
Roger Castillo
- Living, age 52–53
- Perth, Western Australia
- Modern Advaita
Student of Ramesh Balsekar Influenced by Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj
Billy Doyle
- Living
- London, United Kingdom
- Modern Advaita
Student of Jean Klein Translated or edited works of Jean Klein
Byron Katie
- Living
- Ojai, California, USA
- Related paths
Francis Lucille
- Living
- Temecula, California, USA
- Modern Advaita
Student of Jean Klein Teacher of Rupert Spira
Isaac Shapiro
- Living
- Byron Shire, New South Wales, Australia
- Modern Advaita
Student of H. W. L. Poonja Influenced by Byron Katie
Keith Kavanagh
- Living
- Ireland
- Related paths
Mukti
- Living
- California, USA
- Modern Advaita
Student of Adyashanti Authorised to teach by Adyashanti Influenced by Paramahansa Yogananda
Neelam
- Living
- Near Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
- Modern Advaita
Student of H. W. L. Poonja Influenced by Ramana Maharshi
Éric Baret
- Living
- Modern Advaita
Student of Jean Klein

Dates not documented

No documented year of death

Adi Shankara
- Deceased
- India
- Classical Advaita Vedanta
Shams-i Tabrizi (Shams al-Din of Tabriz)
- Deceased
- Konya, Anatolia (Rumi's circle)
- Related paths
Teacher of Jalal ad-Din Rumi Met Sultan Walad
Shivkrupanand Swami (Swamiji)
- Modern Advaita
Teacher of Soham
Soham (formerly Samarpan)
- Madhubhan, near Worms, Germany
- Modern Advaita
Student of Shivkrupanand Swami, Osho Met H. W. L. Poonja, Gangaji
A. H. Almaas
- California, USA
- Related paths

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