Within the Siddha Yoga tradition, Bhagwan Nityananda is regarded as the founding or primordial guru of the modern lineage, a mahāsiddha whose authority rests on direct realization rather than on a clearly documented chain of human teachers. Accounts agree that the identity of any formal guru for Nityananda is uncertain or not historically confirmed, and he is often described as self‑realized, not dependent on a conventional guru–disciple succession. This sense of being svayambhū, or self‑established in realization, shapes how his place in the lineage is understood: he stands as the originating source from which the present Siddha Yoga stream visibly flows. Thus, rather than being one link among many in a long recorded chain, he is honored as the root from which the contemporary line emerges.

From this root, the living lineage is traced in a clear and widely acknowledged sequence. Nityananda’s principal disciple and recognized successor was Swami Muktananda, who carried his guru’s teachings forward and gave them an organized form as Siddha Yoga. Through Muktananda, the lineage then continues to Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, named as his successor and regarded as the present holder of this transmission. In many Siddha Yoga presentations, therefore, the lineage is simply and explicitly expressed as Nityananda → Muktananda → Gurumayi, with Nityananda revered as the primal guru whose realization and grace animate the entire tradition.