amaste! Nityananda Institute Nepal was founded to further the work of The Movement Center in Asia, particularly in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The mission of Nityananda Institute Nepal is to investigate, document, and help to preserve traditional Asian culture including religion, art, and healing methodologies.

Nityananda Institute Nepal’s retreat center is located in Budhanilkantha, in the northeast section of the Kathmandu Valley. The Kathmandu Valley has a rich cultural and spiritual heritage. It has been a crossroads for the two primary spiritual traditions of south Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism, which have intermingled with older indigenous traditions into a unique blend.

The main interest of Nityananda Institute Nepal is exploring the tantric traditions of spiritual practice in Asia, particularly the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, which originated in northern India and made its way to Nepal. For the past thirty years, under the leadership of Swami Chetanananda, The Movement Center has supported scholarly research on the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism and has worked with practitioners and scholars on translations of important philosophical and ritual texts. Many prominent scholars of Shaivism have lectured at The Movement Center's programs, and its publishing division, Rudra Press, has published books on the philosophy of Shaivism.

Nepal holds a unique place in the history of tantrism. It is a place where spiritual practices pervade all aspects of life, and both the Hindu and Buddhist strains of tantrism have co-existed. Authentic tantric practice has survived into the 21st century in the hands of a few highly accomplished practitioners, but its continued existence is in doubt.

The Kathmandu Valley is in the midst of unprecedented political, cultural and environmental changes which threaten the traditional culture that has characterized Nepal for centuries. Nityananda Institute Nepal has been actively searching in the Kathmandu Valley to identify tantric masters, many of whose lineages are in danger of dying out. As part of this effort, Swami Chetanananda has studied with masters of several different traditions, including the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, the karmacharyas of Bhaktapur, and Shaiva tantric healers.