NEW YORK: MahaMandleshwar Maa Yoga Shakti of Haridwar, India conferred the title of Parvatyacharya to MahaMandleshwar GuruMaa Jyotishanand Saraswati, known to her devotees as GuruMaa of the Hanuman Mandir in Long Island, New York.

The title was conferred upon her at the Conference of Scholars, Saints and Sages at Sri Ma Yogashakti Divyadham Trust at Haridwar in the State of Uttarakhand between Jan 11 and 15. The President of India Pratibha Patil attended this historic occasion. GuruMaa is the first woman in the entire history of India and Sanathana Dharma to be conferred this title, which is purported to be equal to that of Shankaracharya.

The award of Parvatyacharya was declared in the 1998 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. However, there was widespread opposition in India. GuruMaa then said that she was not interested in the title anymore to stop to controversy. She accepted it now only because one more glass ceiling will be broken in India and the status of women in India will be elevated further.

The Hindu Sanathana Dharma places women at a very high level - even higher than man. 'Maa' is highly respected in our scriptures. For every Shiva, there is Shakti, and Hindus worship Sita-Ram, Radha-Krishna, Laxmi-Narayana - where the Divine Mother's name always comes before the name of the Lord. GuruMaa's life has been a great example of a woman who pursued her spiritual goal despite being born in wealth and married into a conservative, wealthy family.

She arrived alone in US almost 30 years ago with less than $30 and has single-handedly built a great Ashram in Long Island, and centers all over US. She developed an even bigger dream for an Ashram in Lonavala and is in process of implementing her vision. She did not care for title or the hierarchical order in the organization of Sanathana Dharma. She even dropped the title of MahaMandleshwar after the controversy.

She challenged all the leaders when she was selected for this great post, and then very easily, walked away from it a decade ago. She is the first individual in over three thousand years to write a Purana, and that to on Hanumanji. She was born in a Jain family, and become a Sanyasin in Sanathana Dharma.