Ācārya Training & Initiation

An authentic teacher is committed to serving unconditionally, to working in such depth and surrender that eventually there is nothing left of themselves, and only God remains. —Nathaji

24-36 Month Program
Begins June 2025

Prerequisite: application and approval by Nathaji.

Program information:

  • There are three levels of training and initiation
    • Becoming a Meditation teacher (Dēśika)
    • Becoming an ācārya-in-training (Putraka)
    • Formally initiated as an ācārya (lineage carrier)
  • Participation requires an extensive background in the practice and completion of at least one of these year-long programs: Conscious Studentship, Journey into the Already-Awakened Heart, or Pilgrimage into the Liberated Heart.

  • Nathaji will personally approve all participants

Understanding the nature of this training:

The essence of teaching is to serve the Divine by consciously growing in the capacity to love, nourish, and support the individuals who engage in the practice and lineage that an ācārya is empowered to carry. That service is unconditional and is enabled by sacrifice and surrender. We serve not only during class, but by connecting with and aiding students in their spiritual journey and in their daily lives.

A teacher gives spiritual nourishment, love, and support unconditionally — and without attachment. Are you prepared to do that for the rest of your life?

Teaching is not a romantic short-term tour-of-duty that we sign up for. It is not a temporary engagement. It must be a lifetime of service since the role of the teacher is two-fold: to awaken the creative power of Life already present within each person, and to support that person as this power unfolds. This responsibility cannot be taken lightly. While it is a great honor to teach, it is really a life of work, sacrifice, and surrender.

A lineage is an unbroken transmission of a living spiritual force that is passed from heart to heart. It flows from one generation to the next — from a teacher to the student he wishes to initiate as a lineage carrier. Whether the initiation is an elaborate ceremony or simply the words of the teacher spoken to the heart of the person being initiated, it is the power of initiation that installs the seed of the living force in the recipient. Although this force manifests within a teacher, this living energy is greater than that which is carried within any person. A lineage carrier serves that force.

Depth Over Time: The primary criteria that Swami Khecaranatha will use in selecting those who will be accepted into the program are:

  • Commitment: Is this person truly committed to this practice and lineage as the means to their own growth?
  • Potential: Is this person prepared to make the sacrifices needed to cultivate the potential to teach?
  • Capacity: Will this person have the single focus over time required to develop the capacity to teach?
  • Surrender: Is this person capable of the depth of surrender that is required to selflessly serve

To inquire further, please email [email protected].