Nirmala Srivastava, also known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, was the founder and guru of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement. She claimed to have been born fully realised and spent her life working for peace by developing and promoting a simple technique through which people can achieve their self-realization.
Nirmala Srivastava
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi temple in Naddi
Nirmala Srivastava in 2011
Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition, the modern guru-follower relationship is not secretive, not exclusive, and does not necessarily involve a tradition. Many such gurus, but not all, teach a form of yoga as exercise; others teach forms which are more devotional or meditational; many teach a combination. Some have been affected by scandals of various kinds.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced The Beatles, and the West, to gurus, mantras, and meditation in the late 1960s.
The guru–shishya tradition involved a long-term, one-to-one relationship between master and pupil. Watercolour, Punjab Hills, India, 1740
Yogendra, an acknowledged pioneer of modern yoga, rejected the traditional guru role in favour of something more modern.
