"Those who followed the path of wisdom never built monasteries, never lectured, never published books, and never had disciples, but in spite of this they had amazing power over other people's minds. Those who contemplate in a Himalayan cave and work to cleanse themselves also cleanse the world and help the world with their spiritual vibrations. No one can prevent their pure thoughts from going out into the world and reaching those who really need them." 

Swami Sivananda from Rishikesh

Who is Swami Gyaneshwarpuri

Swami Gyaneshwarpuri is a devoted disciple of His Holiness Vishvaguru Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga Master and Teacher of the Spiritual Path from India, who he has been a follower of since 1996. During that time, he has undergone a tumultuous spiritual transformation as a result of Kundalini awakening, which, at the age of 53, resulted in his ordination – Sanyas Diksha – as a Hindu and yogic monk at the Maháprabhudíp ashram in Střílky on 23 July 2021. Becoming a swami was a longtime wish and goal of his life. Therefore, he observed the fast and went to the mountains and the forest to meditate. Until his wish literally miraculously came true by the Swamiji's Grace. Since then he has remained in santosha – contentment, all of his worldly desires dissipated, and he is returning to the Spiritual Home from which we came. Swami Gyaneshwarpuri stays as a lonely, silent hermit in the caves of the Moravian Karst. He was lucky enough to have been born near this most sacred place in the Czech Republic, a magical and mystical space, inhabited in the past by shamans and hermits, which he decided to follow. He is not a yoga teacher and does not preach Hinduism. He has the right to use the spiritual title of swami (master of the self) and to wear the orange robe, the dress of Indian yogis and sadhus. He has thus obtained this highest initiation of the Swamiji. He is of a cosmopolitan supra-religious mindset and inner disposition, hence he also worships the Christianity of Jesus, Buddhism, Taoism and other world religions. He is historically the first Hindu monk ordained in the Czech Republic. He writes professional publications in the field of speleology, sacral history and archaeology and, last but not least, his own original mysticism and philosophy, poems, spiritual stories and fairy tales with spiritual lessons. He pursues the Power of Love in all things and walks the Path of Knowledge (jnana yoga) as implied by his spiritual name Gyaneshwarpuri (gyana = jnana), which translates as "He who has understood". He is therefore an inner jnani, which corresponds to his hermit's philosophy of life, incomprehensible at first sight. He has been liberated since birth, but he has not yet realized the highest state of moksha consciousness, when the individual "self" becomes the whole Universe. However, he has his own inner guidance and connection to God, the Divine Self. To realize God and attain Enlightenment is his highest and only Goal in this incarnation to which he dedicates his spiritual yoga sadhana, meditation in retreat, mantra japa, repetition of God's name, prayers, yoga asanas, kriyas, etc. according to Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda's System of Yoga in Daily Life. At present, he often stays in lonely and desolate places in the mountains and forests. He has studied the Bible on his own since childhood, but he has never claimed to be a Christian. Later, he also read the Bhagavad Gita and other Indian scriptures. He also read some Buddhist and Taoist scriptures. However, what appealed to him most was the wisdom of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Hanshan, Bhagwan Sri Dip Narayan Mahaprabhuji and of course Swami Maheshwarananda, in whom he recognized the essence of his spiritual insight into Truth from his meditation caves and mountain hermitages. He also venerates the ideal of the Himalayan yogis of India and St. Francis of Assisi. He does not teach yoga publicly, and as a true jnana, a man of knowledge, he accepts neither yoga students nor personal disciples. Currently, on Swami's recommendation, he lives with his mother in a small ashram in Brno – Bosonohy. The hermit Gyaneshwarpuri is someone who, above all, will not be spoken of, for he combines the boundless humility of Francis' rule with the boundless rigour of Sri Devpuriji against the demons of egoism. This, my friends, is Himalayan yoga in the Czech Republic.

My Spiritual Journey

I was born as Marek Šenkyřík (7 May 1968) into a traditional Christian family where everyone went to church on Sundays as far back as memory goes. I attained the sacrament of Christian adulthood, Confirmation, in the Catholic Church in 1986. On 23 July 2021, I was ordained a Hindu monk. I became the first ever swami ordained in the Czech Republic. I live a hermit's life in the Moravian Karst. I use many of the caves there for meditation purposes. However, I have also meditated at the source of the Ganges and above Rishikesh in the Indian Himalayan Region, in the Chey Pass in the Romanian Carpathians, in Monte Subasio above Assisi, on Stará hora in the Giant Mountains and in the Slovak Paradise. I continued to look for that one place where I could be alone and meditate undisturbed. I have spent thousands of days and nights in the solitude of meditation caves and mountain hermitages. So I know something for sure. That is my qualification. I act primarily through Love and Knowledge (bhakti and jnana). The power of Love – that is what I believe in. I am a hermit, not a spiritual teacher. I have the heart of Devpuriji. Enlightened Master of Yoga endowed with miraculous powers, the hermit Sri Devpuriji lived in the Himalayas at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and then settled in Rajasthan in central India. By the force of his will, he demolished the ashram and expelled the bhaktas, his disciples, and sent snakes upon them. People thought that the saint had gone mad. The motives for his actions were beyond human comprehension. From then on, he spoke only to those who were deeply and seriously interested in Knowledge. In this Kali Yuga, he preferred the company of animals to the company of people. On the Path of Yoga, I consider myself a follower of this saint. I have known that God has guided me from my birth. My God is Shiva, the eternal Master of all yogis, ascetics and prayers. He is the most compassionate and kindest God in the entire Hindu pantheon. A devotee who meditates upon Shiva will quickly attain final Liberation (moksha). Therefore, being a yogi and a Hindu, I know for a fact that I am not of Christian birth, though I have been close to Jesus in my heart since childhood. I will not be a Christian monk in this lifetime (or ever again) because they usually do not uphold the important rule of vegetarianism, which I consider a very serious transgression of the Catholic faith. I am very clear on this and I am a vegetarian in accordance with my conscience. So I return home to India. My current incarnation in the Czech Republic and Europe was only temporary. It's not just meat, I don't consume alcohol, tobacco or drugs. I detest these. I have come to know that the Spiritual Journey is the purification of all evil inclinations to attain only pure (sattvic) qualities. So I seek the company of spiritual and wise people (satsanga), for example in our ashram in Střílky. In addition, it is with joy and equanimity that I am practising monastic celibacy (brahmacharya) and
recommend it to everyone ready for greater well-being, harmony and inner understanding and insight into the mystical science of the saints (anubhava). I found everything I was ever looking for in a comprehensive form as concentrated knowledge in Yoga in Daily Life. It is undoubtedly one of the world's purest teachings. No wonder, for this is the teaching of one of the greatest living saints on Earth, whose spiritual titles indicate that he is a fully Enlightened Soul and Master of the Universe. This yoga teaching best suits my inner knowing from the mountain caves. I am therefore a devoted disciple (bhakta) of Swamiji. I would like to pass on this teaching, which liberates from all suffering, but so far I am doing so only in a meditative way, following the example of the Himalayan Masters, because my knowledge is still insufficient despite all my efforts. I still consider myself basically an experienced beginner in inner yoga. May I be forgiven by all those who are already beginning to turn to me. I want to uphold the vow of silence (mauna), the quiet and solitude in the outdoors. Therefore, I intend to live alone in the seclusion of the hermitage. I believe that this will give me the inner gifts that I will one day be able to give out in public. And that's what God demands. That is why Jesus was in the desert, going up into the mountain alone – to clarify his spiritual circumstances and calling. I want to fulfil it following the example of the old Masters in a romantic way. I believe in the mysterious power of God's name, my mantra, Silence and solitude with God. But it all depends on whether conservationists and foresters are sympathetic. So far, I have mostly faced misunderstandings. Who will let a hermit live in the forest? Who will offer me a forest with a spring of fresh water? A place where I could build my little hermitage and be alone and observed? Just as St. Francis of Assisi was given the abandoned Mount Alverna by a generous donor for his prayer and meditation… I rely on and believe in this Universal Principle. "LORD… who may live on your holy mountain?" (Psalm 15:1).

Should I leave for India or stay in the Moravian Karst?

There was a discussion that I should go to Jadan (an ashram in India) and live near the Master. I do not think so, however, and I am deliberately pursuing my vision of a relatively independent life as a hermit in the Czech Republic. I just feel it in my Heart and this Journey has my heart. I am close to God wherever I think of Him. A quiet and peaceful place in a cave in the Moravian Karst will help me concentrate on the Divine Principle better than a crowded monastery. Although I have great respect for all the karma yogis and bhakti yogis who are helping Swami to build the colossal Om Ashram, I am staying at a distance here in the Czech Republic. I think it has a deep meaning, among other things because I have been instructed by the Master to take care of my mother. So I cannot travel anywhere. And so I want to pursue it in accordance with God's will. "It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even though they may be faulty, than another's duties. For to follow another's path is dangerous." Bhagavad Gita (3.35). It is pure jnana: I will probably not live in an ashram or a monastery, but separately in an anonymous hermitage. Because in our ashram, as I had the opportunity to find out, it is unfortunately not possible to live a purely contemplative hermit life.