Home > Roxanne Gupta Biography
Spiritual Lineage
“Parampara”
Kriya
Initiated into kriya yoga by her Guru Ganesh Baba (Sri Ganeshanand Saraswathi), Roxanne’s path is a testimony to her guru’s own sadhana of spiritual and scientific synthesis.
Hatha
In the 1980’s she studied hatha yoga and Surya Namaskars with Sri Apa Pant, son of the Maharaja of Oundh (creator of Surya Namaskar in the early 20th century) and traveled with him in his home state of Maharasthra to practice the world’s most famous yoga exercise.
Sri Vidya Tantra
She is also a disciple of Guru Amritananda Saraswathi of Vizag, South India. In 1985, she was initiated into Sri Vidya by him and was honored to dance at the opening ceremonies of the Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple he built at Devipuram.
Aghoreshwara tantra
Roxanne is a devotee of the late Sri Avadhut Bhagwan Ram, recognized in his lifetime as an Aghoreshwar, one who has attained to the highest state through the path of the Aghori, one who has transcended the opposites. This guru’s extraordinary life was the subject of her dissertation The Kina Rami Aghoris of Banaras: Kina Ram and the Politics of Heterodoxy.
“Parampara”
Kriya
Initiated into kriya yoga by her Guru Ganesh Baba (Sri Ganeshanand Saraswathi), Roxanne’s path is a testimony to her guru’s own sadhana of spiritual and scientific synthesis.
Hatha
In the 1980’s she studied hatha yoga and Surya Namaskars with Sri Apa Pant, son of the Maharaja of Oundh (creator of Surya Namaskar in the early 20th century) and traveled with him in his home state of Maharasthra to practice the world’s most famous yoga exercise.
Sri Vidya Tantra
She is also a disciple of Guru Amritananda Saraswathi of Vizag, South India. In 1985, she was initiated into Sri Vidya by him and was honored to dance at the opening ceremonies of the Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple he built at Devipuram.
Aghoreshwara tantra
Roxanne is a devotee of the late Sri Avadhut Bhagwan Ram, recognized in his lifetime as an Aghoreshwar, one who has attained to the highest state through the path of the Aghori, one who has transcended the opposites. This guru’s extraordinary life was the subject of her dissertation The Kina Rami Aghoris of Banaras: Kina Ram and the Politics of Heterodoxy.
About Roxanne Kamayani Gupta
A Spiritual Pioneer
Roxanne has been a pioneer in the East-West Holistic Health and Spirituality revolution since 1972. the year she first traveled to India to study Indian classical dance. While there, she was initiated into kriya yoga and literally married into the culture after meeting her former husband Jayant Gupta in the holy city of Banaras. After she graduated from Syracuse University in 1974, Roxanne began teaching yoga and continued to travel to India for further dance studies. In 1979 she and her husband opened The New Delhi in Geneva, NY, one of the first vegetarian restaurants in the Finger Lakes, and together founded the Finger Lakes Branch of Friends of the Earth to support local environmental activism.
Roxanne later received her PhD in Eastern Religions and Anthropology from Syracuse University and continued her research in dance, yoga and philosophy under distinguished gurus and teachers in India and America. (See inset “Parampara” on left.) She taught for several years at various North American undergraduate institutions and led study abroad programs in India. Dr. Gupta has performed Indian classical dance on three continents for more than 30 years and continues to offer yoga classes at her studio in Romulus, NY.
Roxanne has been a pioneer in the East-West Holistic Health and Spirituality revolution since 1972. the year she first traveled to India to study Indian classical dance. While there, she was initiated into kriya yoga and literally married into the culture after meeting her former husband Jayant Gupta in the holy city of Banaras. After she graduated from Syracuse University in 1974, Roxanne began teaching yoga and continued to travel to India for further dance studies. In 1979 she and her husband opened The New Delhi in Geneva, NY, one of the first vegetarian restaurants in the Finger Lakes, and together founded the Finger Lakes Branch of Friends of the Earth to support local environmental activism.
Roxanne later received her PhD in Eastern Religions and Anthropology from Syracuse University and continued her research in dance, yoga and philosophy under distinguished gurus and teachers in India and America. (See inset “Parampara” on left.) She taught for several years at various North American undergraduate institutions and led study abroad programs in India. Dr. Gupta has performed Indian classical dance on three continents for more than 30 years and continues to offer yoga classes at her studio in Romulus, NY.
Dance
In India, dance is a spiritual discipline. Roxanne first studied Indian Temple Dance in the 1970’s under Sri Natraj Ramakrishna of Hyderabad and the respected devadasi Sri Annabathula Buli Vekataratnama. In 1978 she was awarded the title “Natya Kala Kamudi” or “Moonlight of Indian Dance” by her guru. In the 1980’s she studied Kuchipudi under Sri Vempati Chinnasatyam of Madras. But her lifelong beloved guru of dance since 1985 is Sri Chinnasatyam’s most accomplished disciple Smt. Bala Kondalarao. Roxanne writes about her early experiences in India and the philosophy of Indian Classical Dance in her book The Yoga of Indian Classical Dance: The Yogini’s Mirror (Inner Traditions 2000).
In India, dance is a spiritual discipline. Roxanne first studied Indian Temple Dance in the 1970’s under Sri Natraj Ramakrishna of Hyderabad and the respected devadasi Sri Annabathula Buli Vekataratnama. In 1978 she was awarded the title “Natya Kala Kamudi” or “Moonlight of Indian Dance” by her guru. In the 1980’s she studied Kuchipudi under Sri Vempati Chinnasatyam of Madras. But her lifelong beloved guru of dance since 1985 is Sri Chinnasatyam’s most accomplished disciple Smt. Bala Kondalarao. Roxanne writes about her early experiences in India and the philosophy of Indian Classical Dance in her book The Yoga of Indian Classical Dance: The Yogini’s Mirror (Inner Traditions 2000).
Academics
Roxanne has studied under some of the leading scholars in the field. Her dissertation advisor was Dr. Agehananda Bharati, the first European to become a Hindu dasnami monk in the 20th century and the father of Tantric Studies in the west. She studied comparative religions with Dr. Huston Smith as both an undergraduate and graduate student, and anthropology of religion with Dr. Charles Long. She also counts among her most beloved teachers the respected Hindi Scholar, Dr. Shukdev Singh, translator (with Linda Hess) of the Bijak of Kabir, and Dr. Mark Dyczkowski, musician and author of the Doctrine of Vibration (among many books and articles), the world’s leading translator and commentator on classical tantric texts.
In her own career as an educator, Roxanne has extensive experience teaching religious studies and South Asian anthroplogy, as well as living, traveling and leading study abroad programs in India. Among the courses she has taught are Yoga, Philosophy and Practice, Goddesses East-West, and Anthropology of Dance. She is the author of A Yoga of Indian Classical Dance (Inner Traditions 2000) as well as many articles in scholarly volumes.
Roxanne has studied under some of the leading scholars in the field. Her dissertation advisor was Dr. Agehananda Bharati, the first European to become a Hindu dasnami monk in the 20th century and the father of Tantric Studies in the west. She studied comparative religions with Dr. Huston Smith as both an undergraduate and graduate student, and anthropology of religion with Dr. Charles Long. She also counts among her most beloved teachers the respected Hindi Scholar, Dr. Shukdev Singh, translator (with Linda Hess) of the Bijak of Kabir, and Dr. Mark Dyczkowski, musician and author of the Doctrine of Vibration (among many books and articles), the world’s leading translator and commentator on classical tantric texts.
In her own career as an educator, Roxanne has extensive experience teaching religious studies and South Asian anthroplogy, as well as living, traveling and leading study abroad programs in India. Among the courses she has taught are Yoga, Philosophy and Practice, Goddesses East-West, and Anthropology of Dance. She is the author of A Yoga of Indian Classical Dance (Inner Traditions 2000) as well as many articles in scholarly volumes.
Cayuga Sunrise
A strong believer in the healing power of nature, Roxanne, with the support of her partner David Borisoff, decided to turn their 80 acre country home in central New York into Cayuga Sunrise, a Yoga bed and breakfast retreat. Towards that end, In 2008 she completed a health education certification at Hippocrates Institute, W. Palm Beach, Florida, where she studied with Brian and Anna Marie Clement as well as Raw food guru Viktoras Kulvinskas, co-founder with Ann Wigmore of the Hippocrates Institute, and famed author of Survival In the 20th Century. At Cayuga Sunrise guests can learn more from Roxanne about the latest discoveries in alternative medicine and a plant-based diet, ionized water, and other holistic modalities. Guests can explore her extensive library of spiritual, philosophical and self-help books and tapes, attend yoga classes, schedule a spiritual consultation or other activities offered by Roxanne.
A strong believer in the healing power of nature, Roxanne, with the support of her partner David Borisoff, decided to turn their 80 acre country home in central New York into Cayuga Sunrise, a Yoga bed and breakfast retreat. Towards that end, In 2008 she completed a health education certification at Hippocrates Institute, W. Palm Beach, Florida, where she studied with Brian and Anna Marie Clement as well as Raw food guru Viktoras Kulvinskas, co-founder with Ann Wigmore of the Hippocrates Institute, and famed author of Survival In the 20th Century. At Cayuga Sunrise guests can learn more from Roxanne about the latest discoveries in alternative medicine and a plant-based diet, ionized water, and other holistic modalities. Guests can explore her extensive library of spiritual, philosophical and self-help books and tapes, attend yoga classes, schedule a spiritual consultation or other activities offered by Roxanne.