Mark Griffin (August 28, 1954 - October 24, 2018) was an American spiritual teacher in the lineage of

Bhagawan Nityananda Bhagawan Nityananda (November/December, 1897 – 8 August 1961) was an Indian guru. His teachings are published in the "Chidakash Gita". Nityananda was born in Koyilandy (Pandalayini), Madras Presidency, British India (now in Kozhikode di ...

. Griffin was an author on the philosophy and practice of Yoga

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

. He emphasizes spiritual practice ( sadhana), especially

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. He was the founder and director of Hard Light Center of Awakening, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based spiritual school that, according to its literature, offers intensive training in meditation and other practical techniques of

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. He was also an artist.

Biography

Born Mark Edson Griffin, son of engineer Jack Griffin and Barbara Griffin. Griffin attended the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

from 1976 to 1979, and the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. S ...

in San Francisco, and has made art continuously ever since. In 1976, at the age of 21 he met his Guru, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa, the disciple of

of Ganeshpuri. He spent 7 years studying meditation with Muktananda, mostly in his

Oakland Ashram The Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland (or Oakland Ashram) is a Siddha Yoga retreat site in the Golden Gate neighborhood of Oakland, California, on the east side of San Francisco Bay. It was the second ashram established by the Indian meditation maste ...

, in California. He subsequently spent 6 years studying meditation with

Kalu Rinpoche Kalu Rinpoche (1905 – May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist lama, meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. Early life and teachers Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Woo ...

. In 1989 he founded the Hard Light School of Awakening of Los Angeles, California.

Teachings and Philosophy

Shaktipat Guru

Griffin said that within every person lies the dormant power of

kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

shakti, the evolutionary power of the Universe. This potential can be awakened by means of the grace of the Guru and through spiritual practice or

shaktipat Shaktipat or Śaktipāta (Sanskrit, from ''shakti'' "(psychic) energy" and ''pāta'', "to fall")''Abhinavagupta : the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka'', John R. Dupuche, 2003, page 155 refers in Hinduism to the transmi ...

Yoga Tantra

Griffin’s spiritual training techniques included: flexibility of attention, breath, insight, mind-training involving concentration, discrimination, mantra and meditation. Griffin also taught that the human form consists of not one, but four interlinked bodies: the physical body of flesh, the

subtle body A subtle body is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. This contrasts with the mind–body dualism that has dominated We ...

of energy, the

causal body The Causal body - originally ''Karana-Sarira'' - is a Yogic and Vedantic concept that was adopted and modified by Theosophy and from the latter made its way into the general New Age movement and contemporary western esotericism. It generally refer ...

of mind, and the supra-causal body of Universal Consciousness.

Sadhana

Sadhana refers to everything an aspirant does on the spiritual path in furtherance of reaching Liberation. The sadhana practices that Griffin teaches include meditation, repetition of the lineage

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

(

Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya (Devanagari: ; IAST: Om Namaḥ Śivāya) is one of the most popular Hindu mantras and the most important mantra in Shaivism. Namah Shivaya means "O salutations to the auspicious one!", or “adoration to Lord Shiva". It is cal ...

or So-Ham), service, study, darshan,

satsang A satsanga (), also rendered satsang, refers to the practice of gathering in the company of good people for the performance of devotional activities. It also refers to an audience with a Satguru for yogic instruction. Satsangas are group events, o ...

, and recitation of the

Guru Gita The Guru Gita (Song of the Guru) is a Hindu scripture that is said to have been authored by the sage Vyasa. The verses of this scripture may also be chanted. The text is part of the larger ''Skanda Purana''. There are several versions of the Guru ...

Service

In 2005, Griffin formed a non-profit called Third Millennium Awakening (TMA), with a sister charity in India, Shree Nityananda Education Trust (SNET). The mission of TMA and SNET is to further charitable work in Maharashtra, India. TMA and SNET have been making bio-sand water filters that are distributed free of charge to needy families in the area surrounding the Fire Mountain Retreat Center in Nimboli. The eventual goal is to provide clean drinking water to everyone who lacks it in all of Maharashtra state.

Art

In 2005, Griffin raised a sculpture at

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

called ''Ladder'', a functional aluminum and steel ladder 108 feet tall, that was described as "staggering" by author Jessica Bruder in her book "Burning Book, A Visual History of Burning Man". In 2009 Griffin was invited by Kirsha Kaechele to exhibit the ''Ladder'' sculpture at the

Voodoo Experience The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (formerly The Voodoo Music Experience), commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Voodoo Experience has hosted more t ...

in New Orleans. In 2008 Griffin was invited by Lydia Takeshita of LA Artcore, to show his large scale photographic works in both Thailand and Japan. In 2011 Lydia Takeshita staged a one-man exhibition of Mark's work, entitled: Dream Red Body, at the LA Artcore Union Center for the Arts. The city of

Songkhla Songkhla ( th, สงขลา, ), also known as Singgora or Singora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of Ba ...

, Thailand commissioned Griffin to do a large-scale sculpture, and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum purchased one of his works for its permanent collection.

Bibliography

Mark Griffin is the author of the following books: * "Eat, Pray, Love: Adaption of Literary Source
/ref>" * * * *''Samadhi Kunda'' *

Books About Griffin

*Sangha Speaks

References

External links

Hard Light Center of Awakening Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Mark 1954 births 2018 deaths American spiritual teachers American spiritual writers San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni American sculptors Writers from Tacoma, Washington