Abhayananda

Abhayananda (born 1842), born Marie Louise, was the first woman initiated into Vivekananda's mission. She was also the first American female and a female Westerner to have become a swami monk.

Louise was initiated by Vivekananda at Thousand Island Park in 1895. She was given the monastic name Abhayananda. She later disassociated herself from Vivekananda and preached philosophy, retaining the same name. Abhayananda claimed to be the only female swami in the entire world.

There were many other Westeners who, in the first half of the century, became Hindu disciples/sannyasis/gurus: others included the Mother (b. Mira Alfassa, Paris, 1878), perhaps the first Westener to become a guru in India; Swami Abhayananda (b. Marie Lousie) one of the only three Westeners whom Vivekananda, in 1895, initiated as sannyasis—the other two being Leon Landsberg/Swami Kripananda and Dr Street/Swami Yogananda.