Mark Griffin was an American spiritual teacher in the lineage of Swami Muktananda as well as a practicing artist and musician. Born on August 28th, 1954 in the Pacific Northwest, Mark would go on to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1976-1979) and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco during the same period.

In 1976, Mark met his Guru, Swami Muktananda, the disciple of Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. After seven years of full-time immersion in the study of meditation, mostly at Muktananda’s Oakland Ashram in California, Mark encountered a milestone of extreme spiritual significance – entrance into the advanced state of consciousness known as Nirvikalpa Samadhi. After Muktananda left his body in 1982, Mark spent the following six years studying meditation with with the Tibetan Master Kalu Rinpoche.

In 1989, after attracting several interested students, Mark began to teach meditation. After initially spending time in the Denver area, he and his students relocated to Los Angeles and started the Hard Light Center of Awakening, an association dedicated to the art and science of awareness of the Self.

Around 2015, Mark began to encounter accelerating health issues, and he dropped his body on October 24th, 2018. He leaves behind a profound body of work, and the mission of the Hard Light Center continues.