Bhakti Marga (organisation)

Bhakti Marga is a neo-Hindu organisation founded by Mauritian-born guru Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda. It was established on 13 June 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany. Its main headquarters is located in Heidenrod, Hesse, Germany. It views itself as being part of a new tradition founded by Vishwananda, the Hari Bhakta Sampradaya, which represents a combination of certain Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta philosophies. The followers not only adhere to multiple sets of Hindu scriptures but also predominantly on the "personality of Paramahamsa Vishwananda", similar to the Sant tradition. It is a rare example of a formally Hindu tradition exported from the diaspora - Mauritius.
Bhakti Marga means "Path of Devotion". Hari means 'God' (more specifically Vishnu), Bhakta means 'devotees' and Sampradaya means 'lineage of teachings'. The sampradaya has been viewed as a combination of the teachings of various vedantic saints, such as Mahavatar Babaji, Ramanujacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including other Hindu denominations.
Vishwananda arrived in the West in the year of 2004 and settled in a house in Steffenshof, Germany, with a small group of followers. The group held their activities at a center in the Hunsrück region (Steffenshof), but later became inadequate to contain them as the followers grew in numbers. The members then found a new place – an old conference center equipped with facilities including seminar rooms, guest rooms and swimming pool. The center was later converted into a temple. He later established the organisation on 13 June 2005 at the age of 27. He began the movement by travelling the world to give darshans, lead pilgrimages, build communities, and to initiate monks into the Bhakti Marga spiritual lineage. The first Bhakti Marga ashram, Shree Peetha Nilaya, opened to the public in 2013 in Heidenrod, Germany. Following Paramahamsa Vishwananda's lead, additional ashrams have been built by the organization's swamis around the world such as ashrams in India (Vrindavan), Latvia (Riga) and Russia (Moscow). By 2018, the movement claimed that it had between 30 and 50 centers or temples worldwide, some of which were rather small. This number soon increased, with the movement being present in over 80 countries by 2020. By the end of 2022 the organisation had around 10,000 followers. By the end of 2023, Bhakti Marga experienced an increase of up to around 50,000 followers, which included 450 initiated male and female Brahmacharis, as well as more than 50 male and female Swamis and Rishis. Bhakti Marga and its guru, Paramahamsa Vishwananda were the first non-Indian disciples allowed to join India’s official Kumbh Mela Shahi Sangam bathing procession of Sadhus and Akharas.
The first version of the logo of Bhakti Marga featured the Hindu 'Om' alongside symbols from Abrahamic traditions, including a cross, a small Islamic crescent, and the Star of David. This design has since been replaced by a logo depicting a white horse rearing from a lotus. According to Martin J. Haigh, the new symbol resonates with themes of transformation and new beginnings, and signifies the anticipated arrival of Kalki, the 10th, prophesied avatar of Sri Vishnu.
The tradition of Bhakti Marga is centered around developing a deeply personal relationship with the Divine and the guru. This relationship fosters an environment in which unconditional acceptance of oneself can flourish, allowing practitioners to experience and express pure love in all aspects of their lives. As it arises, it is intended to nurture a sense of self-confidence, empowering practitioners to integrate this love into their daily activities and interactions. It emphasizes the importance of spiritual development alongside personal growth, and tries to ensure that the love cultivated through the practice is both internal and external, benefiting the practitioner and the broader community.
Bhakti Marga incorporates nine distinct forms of bhakti which are central to its transformative power through Atma Kriya Yoga. Each of the fifteen techniques in Atma Kriya Yoga is believed to awaken a different form of bhakti, enriching the practitioner's spiritual journey. Greater awareness of the soul, combined with love and devotion to God, is said to enhance the practice.
The forms of bhakti include Shravana bhakti, which involves listening to stories and glories of the God and the saints, and chanting. Kirtana bhakti is the singing of God's pastimes, bringing joy and divine resonance to the body, mind, and spirit. Smarana bhakti focuses on the constant remembrance of the Divine, helping the mind release worries and turn to the Divine. Padaseva bhakti involves serving humanity, recognizing the divinity within all living beings.
Archana bhakti brings the external worship of the Divine, with breathing techniques that purify the body and focus the mind. Vandana bhakti, the act of bowing down, establishes humility and the acknowledgment of the Divine's greatness, transforming yoga postures into acts of devotion. Dasya bhakti is about offering service to the Divine through daily duties, seeing every act as an offering of love and gratitude. Sakhya bhakti emphasizes the personal and eternal relationship each devotee has with the Divine, which can be expressed in various ways. Atmanivedana bhakti represents the soul's natural devotion upon realizing the Divine's omnipresence, which is believed to be achievable through the grace of a saint and facilitated by Atma Kriya Yoga's Shaktipat Initiation.
The main aim of the organisation and its sampradaya is to re-establish harmonious relationship with God, characterized by unconditional love and devotion.
Bhakti Marga followers follow Sadhana or 'spiritual practice', which can be carried out in any form or sequence. However, the main practices are japa, the reciting of the holy names, meditation with Atma Kriya Yoga, daily prayer in worship through puja and yajna. Encouragement is also made to take up at least one verse of the Bhagavad Gita daily. Devotional arts are also seen as ways to express bhakti towards Hari, such as painting, Sri Yantra composition, singing, dancing and theatre plays.
A Bhakti Marga follower's initiation into the sampradaya to become a devotee would need to adhere to its religious rules for a minimum of 2 years.
Bhakti Marga monks/nouns are all initiated followers who take additional vows of celibacy and voluntarily take part in all the organization's activities.
Bhakti Marga members wear long, colored robes as part of their traditional attire, which reflect their roles within the community. Swamis, who are spiritual leaders responsible for spreading the teachings and guiding communities, wear orange robes. Those who are in the process of studying and deepening their understanding of the teachings, such as brahmacharis and brahmacharinis, wear yellow. The organization's rishis/rishikas wear red and carry out the mission of disseminating the organization's teachings and are regarded as "swamis-in-training." Both groups receive their initiation directly from Paramahamsa Vishwananda. Their clothing is usually in the form of kurtas, dhotis, and saris.
The mark on their forehead represents Vaishnavism—a branch of Hinduism. It’s similar to the red dot (bindi) commonly used in India, but this is for a different tradition. All are initiated followers who take additional vows of celibacy and voluntarily take part in all the organization's activities.
Some monks and nuns reside in ashramas, where they are supported by the community, allowing them to dedicate themselves in assisting Paramahamsa Vishwananda and advancing the Bhakti Marga mission. Others balance their spiritual responsibilities with their household lives, known as grihasta, while supporting local sanghas in their respective countries.
Every Bhakti Marga ashram has at least one temple, which in turn often contains several idols representing deities. In addition to various Hindu deities, Vaishnava and non-vaishnava, Babaji and Ramanuja are worshipped as gurus in the main temple in Springen. The main deities in Sri Vaishnava are Narayana and Lakshmi, who are also worshiped in the Bhakti Marga temples. However, many other deities are also worshiped, some of which belong to the Vaishnava pantheon (Radha and Krishna), but some of them do not. This worship of non-vaishnava gurus and deities, like Shiva and Durga, distinguishes Bhakti Marga from other Vaishnava traditions, such as Shri Vaishnava, or Gaudiya Vaishnava, which is known in western countries mainly through the Hare Krishna movement. Bhakti Marga initially incorporated a syncretistic system of Hinduism with Christianity in their temples, including having crosses, icons, and the figure of Jesus. However, in recent years, the organization has distanced itself from Christian philosophy. Bhakti Marga displays classically diasporic features, such as a willingness to absorb aspects of Christianity and to recruit non-ethnic PIO disciples. According to the Mauritius website (Bhakti Marga Mauritius 2013, p. 1), Sri Swami Vishwananda “teaches to go beyond the boundaries of religions and to experience the Divine reality beyond the conceptual differences."
The movement claims to have between 30 and 50 centres or temples worldwide, some of them rather small, which soon increased to being present in over 80 countries in 2020.
In November 2020 it became known that Bhakti Marga in Kirchheim in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district of Hesse wants to set up its Hindu Germany center in the area of the Seepark Kirchheim holiday complex, which includes its own lake.
In January 2022 Bhakti Marga purchased a former Catholic Church in West Elmira, New York, the former Our Lady of Lourdes parish, to become its first ashram and temple in America. According to Swami Tulsidas, Bhakti Marga's representative in North America, the main deity in the new ashram will be that of Narasimha. On October 22, 2023, In the small town of Elmira, New York, Swami Paramahamsa Vishwananda completed the inauguration of the Paranitya Narasimha Temple and ashram on September 3, 2023. It was the culmination of a massive undertaking by the organization's American followers and monks. Hundreds of people from around the world made the pilgrimage to attend. Followers from Russia, Brazil, Canada, India and Africa gathered in Elmira to volunteer and help in the event.
The Saints Of India Museum, located in Shree Nilaya Peetha in Germany, has a collection of over 1,300 Hindu relics, sacred texts, and artefacts belonging to more than 1000 Indian saints who have played major roles in Indian religious traditions. According to Paramahamsa Vishwananda, it was set up to appreciate and honour the saints through their individual relics. The Swamis and Swaminis of the organisation help to collect such relics.
Since 2015, Bhakti Marga has held a large, multi-day festival in Germany every year, the Just Love Festival, which attracts up to 3,000 visitors. The duration of the festival varies between three and ten days. During the festival, various spiritual music bands from different countries play, mainly bhajans and kirtans, but these can be interpreted differently, such that Sanskrit hymns could also be rapped. The event is usually in the summer, the focus of the festival is Guru Purnima, a Hindu festival held every year in honor of the guru, spiritual or academic, on a full moon day. As a supporting program there are exhibitions of arts and crafts, a bazaar, a vegan restaurant, and various teaching lectures and workshops by Bhakti Marga initiated members. "Just Love" is also the slogan of Bhakti Marga. It is meant to express the ideal of the movement, which places love at the center of life, love for God, but also love for the guru or the community.
In 2001, the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger reported that two former members of Bhakti Marga stole relics from 25 churches and monasteries in Switzerland during a tour. Such relics include the remains of bones believed to be of Mother Mary and Saint Brother Klaus. The case was held in 2003, after one of the culprits voluntarily reported herself to the police. The case was brought before the Baselland Criminal Court in Liestal. Swami Vishwananda did not appear at the hearing due to a tour in America and sent apologise for his absence. The two ex-disciples who were at the court spoke about their "psychological dependence and the manipulative skills of the guru". They also claimed that it was Vishwananda's order to collect and save as many relics as possible "from being destroyed by an imminent relic war and the end of the world by black magic", and had convinced them that the theft was by "God's will".
The court sentenced the main defendant to four months' suspended prison sentence for damage to property and disruption of religious freedom. The 48-year-old woman from Berne received a suspended fine of 3,500 francs, and the 29-year-old woman from Zurich received a fine of 400 francs. Swami Vishwananda received a suspended sentence and a temporary ban from entering Switzerland. Most of the relics, which were in Mauritius and in a French monastery, were taken over to the diocese of Basel, and returned to the places of origin.
On December 10, 2016, Bhakti Marga carried out a group chanting at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. It was met with varied responses, from critics accusing Bhakti Marga of exploitation and relativization of the holocaust while others encouraged the activity that the organisation held as a form of respect to the victims.
On March 17, 2018, Bhakti Marga carried out a group chanting at the Buchenwald concentration camp, which led to protests. The head of the Jewish community in Thuringia state, Germany, Reinhard Schramm, stated that he faced no issue when meeting the organization and even referred to them as 'partners' in the fight against ethnic and religious racism and xenophobia. In Austria, the interior ministry responsible for memorial sites stated that the monuments are open to anyone who respects “the dignity of the place.” Willi Mernyi, the chairman of the Mauthausen Committee who oversees the memorial, said that he saw the procession as an act of respect and wanted to not criticise the organisation for it. Rikola-Gunnar Lüttgenau, a spokesman for the Buchenwald memorial, stated that Protestant, Catholic and Jewish groups were allowed to pray at the memorial, and therefore did not bar the organisation from doing its activity in the premises. An investigation was carried out by the memorial's management, and saw no violation made by the organisation against its rules.
Bhakti Marga's activities at its main ashram in the village of Springen have received mixed reactions from residents. The community has been accused of causing noise pollution due to loud chanting through the village and contributing to traffic congestion during festivals, with visitors parking cars on the street. Concerns have also been raised about the community purchasing properties, which has led to fears about the availability of housing for local residents. However, some locals and local authorities have acknowledged the group's politeness and contributions to the local economy. Bhakti Marga actively participates in village life, supports environmental initiatives like "My Village Stays Clean," and maintains close collaboration with the municipality. Bhakti Marga has also been noted for providing shelter to Ukrainian refugees.
In January 2022, Hessischer Rundfunk, a regional broadcast arm of German state broadcaster ARD, released a TV documentary in which Vishwananda was accused of sexual coercion and power abuse. The law firm acting on behalf of Paramahamsa Vishwananda sought injunctions at the regional court of Hamburg citing "numerous offences against principles of permissable reporting, untrue statements and blatant rights offences". The court judged that there was 'a lack of evidence' to broadcast suspicions of sexual misconduct and ruled in favour of Paramahamsa Vishwananda, issuing seven injunctions against the TV show which resulted in its removal from the ARD Mediathek platform. However, according to Focus, the reporting of him seeking devotion and sexual contacts with young men, as well as allegations of power abuse and 'totalitarian structures' inside Bhakti Marga were considered legitimate. Hessischer Rundfunk's serious journalistic failings were further highlighted after they alleged an identifiable follower of Paramahamsa Vishwananda had tried to commit suicide after suffering sexual abuse, without checking with the alleged victim if the allegation was actually true. The follower in question denied any such abuse or suicide attempt ever occurred. The follower took legal action against HR, obtaining injunctions about the misreporting about him and HR admitted their journalistic failure to take simple steps to verify the allegations. To comply with the court ruling, Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) retracted many of the allegations from its investigative reporting which was based on suspicion. Criminal investigations initiated based on the HR reporting were dropped at its early stage for lack of evidence.