Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
A short biography by Marie Louise Frenette

Quote from the book "The Mysteries of Light" by Georg Feuerstein

 There are rare moments in our life when the discovery of a particular book, teaching, or piece of wisdom stuns us and leaves us breathlessly filled with awe, gratitude, and joy. We recognize immediately that we have come upon a great treasure. As we stand in it's presence and yield to it's brilliance, we can sense immediately that it has begun to change us. That has been my response to encountering the work of the remarkable Bulgarian teacher Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov" Larry Dossey

The Master Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (1900-1986) was born in Bulgaria and received French citizenship just before his death. At the age of 17 he became Peter Deunov’s disciple and stayed with him until 1937. It was at this time that Peter Deunov, founder of the White Brotherhood, asked him to leave Bulgaria for France in order to spread the teaching.

Although his presence in the Brotherhood was always discreet and unassuming, he had a profound spiritual and human influence on his fellow members. In 1937, with the approach of World War II, Peter Deunov foresaw that political unrest would lead to a ban on all spiritual associations in Bulgaria and sent his disciple Mikhaël Aïvanhov to France, where he was to preserve, develop and disseminate his teaching.

From 1938 until his death on the 25/12/1986, Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov worked tirelessly giving nearly 5000 lectures and receiving people individually, firstly in France in Paris, Lyon, and a few years later at the Bonfin, near Fréjus on the Mediterranean coast and also in Switzerland, Canada, the United States, India, Sweden and Norway.

Due to his followers, centres were established in many countries. These centres currently welcome hundreds of people interested in his Teaching and wanting to participate in the fraternal life.

During his life on earth, he was a ‘bearer of light’, a being who was life-giving and loving, enthusiastic and accessible, who worked tirelessly for the wellbeing of everyone. He was an example, demonstrating perfect consistency of thought, word and action. Deeply anchored in unity, in the Self, and receptive to the subtle worlds, at the same time he turned towards others, working at the heart of everyday life for humanity, the whole earth and the universe.

The name “Omraam”

The name “Omraam” was bestowed upon him by the legendary immortal yogi and guru Mahavatar Babaji, while he was travelling in India in 1959/1960. In "The Mystery of Light", Georg Feuerstein explains that the name ‘Omraam’ is formed of two mantras, om and ram, which are well-known in India. He states that:

• om is the most sacred mantra of the Hindus, representing the Absolute or the Divine,

• and the syllable ram, which was written ‘raam’ in French to assist with the correct pronunciation, is the mantra denoting the fire element.

The Teaching

The Teaching of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov is based on a deep knowledge of the human being and his or her place in the universe, with an emphasis on the intuition of the heart and simplicity over superficial intellectual knowledge. Aware of the demands of working on oneself, he never stopped encouraging his disciples, inciting them to continue along the spiritual path leading to inner unity. What mattered to him was what has been lived and experienced personally. He liked to say with regard to this that we can only know all aspects of an orange by tasting it, not by analysing it.

His Teaching is universal, and the many methods he gave are increasingly relevant to the problems posed by the conditions of modern life. His constant preoccupation was always to be useful, to help people find in themselves the forces placed there by the Creator and so be able to participate in the realization of a united global family, where each person is a citizen of the universe, a son or daughter of the same cosmic principle. In this way, the Teaching invites all human beings throughout the whole world, regardless of skin colour, nationality, religion or race, to achieve a life of contribution to the world for the good of all and of each individual.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov described the emergence of a new consciousness as being like the image of the sun, which distributes its light, warmth and life to all beings. A central theme found in his Teaching is the desire to help us rediscover our own spiritual dimension while, at the same time, fulfilling our role in the world.


For more information about his life:

• A Living Book, Autobiographical Reflections 1 
• Life with the Master Peter Deunov, Autobiographical Reflections 2

Although he approaches the multiple aspects of spirituality (Initiatic Science in his own words), he specifies:

"The questions that we will always face will always be the same: understanding the beings that we are, discovering the meaning of our earthly existence and overcoming the obstacles that stand in our way. So, don't ask me to talk to you about anything else, I will always come back to these same subjects: our perfection, the path to follow and the methods to follow it."