About John

“It’s not possible to separate the Teacher from the Teachings in this instance, for John is simply the embodiment of these Teachings.” 

John Weddepohl  |  Siddharthan Dharmadheep
सिद्धार्थन् धर्मद्वीप

Imagine bumping into Adi Shankara, India’s great saint and revivalist in your local supermarket? 
Meeting his master John says was exactly like that. A PhD in English, as fluent in sanskrit the language of the vedaupanishads as English, for the next seven years John found himself glued to Swamiji as his guru passed on the timeless teaching of Brahma Vidya.  

Born in Johannesburg South Africa, John was leading the meditation and yoga classes at Kutir Niketan Alan Fingers ashram within 10 days of meeting his teacher. Meeting Alans Father and visiting saints and Swami’s John opened the first Ishta Yoga School in downtown Johannesburg. Finally making it to India in 2004, meeting his visionary master, John was initiated in Atma Vidya, Self-knowledge the Royal Knowledge of the vedaupanishads.  

Mandated by his guru to share the timeless wisdom of the vedaupanishads John has found his true vocation in life. Passionate about sharing the teaching John shares in English as much as possible and only uses sanskrit where the concept does not exist in English. 

Truth is independent of race, creed, colour, gender or religion. No matter who we are, common to us all, pending discovery as each of us is creation’s greatest gift and Grand Prize. Simply being human we carry the eternal secret and solution to life’s mystery. Already touched by the infinite, before we can even think, immortality has reached and captured all of us. No one can escape. Finding someone to point out the eternal, being common to us all, we cant help but recognise and realise life’s greatest gift. Simply being human is humanities greatest blessing. Blessed to be human 24/7, to acknowledge and recognise our gift all we need is to be introduced. Whoever can convince us, convinced by the Truth, helps overcome all burdens and obstacles. All journeys lead to and from Self. Whoever points out the destinationless, leads us to the Truth . 
Introducing us to ourselves we put Forever in our pocket. Once we see the Truth that is ever present residing and shining as each of us, the universe explodes and we never look back. Without someone to point out, unable to see what is ever present on our own (because it is ourselves!) missing the obvious we stumble around in utter darkness. Forever waiting for life’s grand prize and mystery to end, to explode our secret, all we need is to be shown. Already you bring the complete solution with you. Once we know how to recognise it, where there were once problems, all darkness and conflict disappears and we find only joy. 

‘The theme of the Vedaupanishads has always been very simple: To introduce us to Who we are. Truth is what we all carry. Already all of us, universal, because we cannot see or introduce ourselves, we need someone who can. Who knows HOW – someone who knows the methodology.
First to recognise what was there all along, we have to be prepared; present. Yoga is the preparation. Then getting introduced, as the truth ‘as though’ magically dawns – all darkness instantly vanishes.’ 
The teacher only acts as the mirror. Knowing truth like their own back yard, the teacher uses the age old methodology to wield Truth like a laser and point out Self the eternally fresh sanathana, ever available and present is ourself.
Once seen it cannot be unseen. Never looking back, the mirror no longer needed, both teacher and student role disappear.

‘Self-knowledge completes the journey and completes the puzzle. Thriving and flourishing as complete human beings brings us fully alive. By exploding the meaning of one word ‘I’, the vedaupanishads reveals us to be the meaning and truth of the universe. Knowledge of Self is our common destiny. Once recognised TRUTH instantly shines forth.’

Deciding late in his life the little fame and fortune had to offer was not good enough, hoping to catch a rare glimpse of what sages and prophets call truth, through his guru John found that there is only truth – WE just haven’t seen it yet!
 Never closer than onerself, once your eternal nature is pointed out, instantly revelling in your own completeness, you cant help but thrive.
‘To discover Self-knowledge in ones lifetime is to discover the timeless gift of the universe. Waiting to explode is the ever present jewel, the joy of completeness poornam that is all of us.’

In 1969 at nineteen, John took to yoga like a fish to water. Opening the first ISHTA yoga school for his teachers in downtown Johannesburg, located on the top floor of the city’s first flea market, the building soon became a hotbed of anti-establishment radicalism and, under South Africa’s regime was forced to shut down by the authorities. Finding himself without a job, a talented musician from the age of seven, John found success as a singer-songwriter performing with South Africa’s popular bands. After recording a number of local and international hits, he later found his niche scoring music for film and television.

Awarded internationally for his work, despite enjoying success, he found something missing. Using his spare time to explore African wilderness areas, visiting Namibia, Okavango Delta, trying to fill in the missing piece he found the flame of yoga could not be extinguished. With the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, once the cultural ban boycotting South Africans from visiting India was lifted, in 2004, John traveled across India living as a western sadhu साधु.

Meeting his guru, John’s guru pointed out that the only thing missing in his life was himself! Explaining that what we all look for we bring, hearing his words resonate, wanting to hear more, John withdrew into the seclusion of ‘Self-Knowledge Village’, his guru’s ashram. Immersed in the the words of his teacher in Tiruvanamalai, under the holy mountain of Arunachala, John got his education in Self-knowledge of the vedaupanishads in the lineage of Adi Shankara. Finding the outcome that we seek is never further than oneself; discovering peace is not the ‘Long walk to Freedom’ we imagine but oneself; ever gained, (we just have to recognise it), John’s Guru shattered all his misgivings. Revealing his blind spot to be nothing but himself,  no longer the elephant in the room, finding the missing piece to be himself, like the sun Self rose in his life exploding and destroying all his doubts,.

Drawing water from many different ghats (springs, watering holes), from traditional healers (sangomas)in Africa, to living Guru’s on ashrams in Orissa, Nepal, Rishikesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, John’s teaching reflects these different lineages and ancient streams of knowledge. 
Traditional without being traditionalist John’s students love his quick wit, sense of humour and down to earth practical approach.

Meeting and marrying Rachel Zinman, John and Rachel spend their time sharing इष्टम् ISHTAM at festivals teacher trainings and workshops around the world.  Sharing their love of music John and Rachel sing devotional Kirtan wherever possible.

Spending the majority of their time abroad, John and Rachel’s dream is developing ‘Sundaram Ashram’ online, a centre for higher learning and living.
John and Rachel currently live in Byron Bay, NSW. Australia.

one word unlocks the human code

Carrying creations only secret, and life’s biggest mystery and grand prize with us, to resolve our mystery, and collect the grand prize we just need someone to point it out. Long before we go searching for the truth, Truth has already found and captured all of us. Already shining as ourselves, the Sun of the Self never sets. Covered by a cloud of ignorance, to remove the cloud, all we have to do is show up, and make ourselves available. Having lived with the truth our whole lives, bringing nothing but the truth with us we cant hide or miss it. Ignorance separates us. One word understood correctly reveals the eternal. ‘I’ already holds our eternal secret. ‘I’ not only reveals the Truth, ‘I’ is the Truth. Wielding the word ‘I’ like a laser the teacher who knows how, explodes the mystery. For truth to be revealed, just one thought needs to be resolved. Obliterating the darkness, recognising Self removes the blackness. Once pointed out the vacuum of ignorance like a black hole the size of the universe instantly disappears. No longer bound, having always lived in the shadow of Truth recognising the limitless Self removes all fear, uncertainty and doubt. Like the sun rising in the morning destroys all darkness, Self-knowledge removes the darkness of ignorance instantaneously. Once recognised, revelling in the light of the Self that is brighter than a thousand suns, the Truth that was always shining becomes apparent. Recognising what has always been, complete in the knowledge, finding out the eternal destination and outcome is oneself, the weight of endless pain and suffering the size of the universe instantly lifts off your shoulders. 

From Our Students

“I don’t believe there is anything I could do on this planet more valuable than gaining this teaching. What an extraordinary blessing and privilege to have the deepest and most ancient revelatory wisdom not only available but given by a living teacher in a timeless lineage of living teachers. This knowledge can only be given by one who has already realised the truth of themselves. John’s realisation, his complete humility, his love and his deep, deep knowledge are a delight and a living access to Self-Knowledge. – Dale Rhodes

-Dale Rhodes

“Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity! If everyone listened & participated in these teachings the world would become a better place for all of us to live in. ‘They’ say the best way to heal the planet is to heal ourselves and these teachings provide that level of insight & opportunity for anyone willing to take the leap. “ Thank you John

Alka Franco

“I loved the simplicity of the teachings. The step by step approach over seven weeks gave me ample time to digest the content of each session. It deepened my understanding of the nature of happiness, the nature of my thoughts and ideas/beliefs, as well as the nature of consciousness. Practically speaking, it helped me get better at slowing myself down when I catch my mind racing away. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s even remotely curious about Self Knowledge.” 

– Aris Athanasopoulos

John Weddepohl taught philosophy on my Yoga Teacher Training course in Goa. The students loved him and I’m impressed by his kindness and humility. He teaches in a way that dusts off the old manuscripts and brings the Gita to life off the page. As a lecturer, he brilliantly takes difficult concepts like Advaita Vedanta and renders them simple and comprehensible. He is a brilliant teacher of Self Knowledge and shares his knowledge in a way that inspires others. John’s Kirtan performances are filled with beauty and bhakti. He teaches with humour and compassion – a truly great soul.

-Heather Elton

Brunch at Brenners with Rachel & John was great. And most of all John’s lecture at AIRYOGA was very very inspiring – after class I tried to push every thought away and just be me – it was most relaxing (even in a terrible traffic jam I was smiling) and to be not caught up in a thought:) Thank you so much John. Can’t wait to have you back at AIRYOGA next year!

-Dagmar Stuhr

We had the good fortune of experiencing John’s wonderful energy and colourful teaching style during a YTT 200 course. His shining baby blue eyes and radiant smile tell the tale of his joyous approach to teaching…and life. John has the ability to speak about the burning questions to life with a childlike wonder and fascination. By breaking down complicated philosophical teachings through the use of real world examples and stories, the lessons became easier to grasp. The stories also provided as much entertainment as learning value…we will never see ice-cream the same again! Our only complaint was not having more time to sit and learn from such a generous soul. We thoroughly enjoyed every moment with John and will take advantage of any opportunity to study with him in the future!

-Simon and Lyndsay Pacey