About the Founder
William Schindler, aka Brother William, Swami Mahavirananda, Bhairava Mahavirananda
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His formal education includes a B.A. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley (1975) and a Master's degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University (1986). He also holds a California single-subject teacher's credential in English. He has been studying and practicing Ramakrishna Tantra since 1969, and he lived in India for two-and-a-half years from 1972-1977, first as a pilgrim, then as a student at Banaras Hindu University (Hindi, Sanskrit), and finally as a pre-probationary monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He left the Order in 1977 and rejoined in 1980 at the Vedanta Society of Southern California. He left the Order again in 1982 to teach meditation and Sanskrit and to explore his gay being in relation to his spirituality. He trained and worked as a psychotherapist both in a public clinic and in private practice, and he founded and coordinated a student counseling program at the public high school where he also taught English for ten years. He retired in 1994 when AIDS complication impelled him to focus exclusively on the needs of his physical body, and he experienced an astonishing recovery starting in May, 1996. His body has changed so dramatically (from a wasted 130 pounds to a muscular 195 pounds) that friends, former co-workers, and even family members often did not recognize him at first. This physical change reflects an equally dramatic mental and spiritual change, and he has been energized by a new vision of his role as a representative of Ramakrishna Tantra in the service of the spiritual development of the LGBTQ+ community. He has become a gay Tantric monk, the first in a new spiritual community he founded, Ashram West, and he invites all sincere seekers to take what is useful from his training and experience. In October 2013 he received sannyas, formal ordination, from Pravrajika Vajraprana, aka, Vijali Hamilton, receiving the name Swami Mahavirananda. In 2025 he assumed the title Bhairava in honor of Ishvari, the Bhairavi Brahmani who was Sri Ramakrishna's tantric Guru.
What is Gay Tantra?
Instrucción en español
Brother Javier pasó varios años formándose como monje budista tibetano en Italia y Suiza. Dirigió el centro budista de Madrid durante diez años, donde fue un maestro popular de Vipassana y también de Dzogchen. Ofrece retiros de meditación en comunidades budistas de España. Es el representante de habla hispana de Ashram West. Puedes contactarlo aquí.
Brother Javier también es un practicante del paganismo.
Brother Javier también es un practicante del paganismo.