A living reference atlas

Atlas of Religious and Esoteric Lineages

Five thousand religious, mystical, Indigenous and esoteric lineages from around the world — what they are, where they came from, and where to read more.

Source-linked and transparently qualified. Editorial standards and correction criteria are public.

Created and maintained by Ayara and Kyle Jonathan B@KJB_and_AYARA

Entries
5,000
Candidate geography relations
7,326
Candidate country vocabulary
162

One index · three ways in

Explore the index

Search five thousand distinct lineages

Entry data: effective Atlas view
Geography: candidate layer pending adjudication

377 lineages in the selected candidate country

Page 4 of 16

Atlas 1232Open / public

Digambara Bīsapantha Jain tradition

South Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early modern period–present
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1233Scholarly / historical only

Yāpanīya Jain tradition

South Asian Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
c. 5th–14th centuries
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1236Varies by lineage

Śrīmad Rājcandra spiritual tradition

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Late 19th century–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1237Community-bound / restricted

Nāmadhārī Sikh tradition

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Mid-19th century–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1238Initiatory

Nihang Sikh warrior-ascetic tradition

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early modern Sikh history–present
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1239Institution-specific

Damdami Taksal

South Asian Traditions Order / organization

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Modern institution with earlier lineage claims–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1240Community-bound / restricted

Nanaksar Sikh movement

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography
India
Period / origin
20th century–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1242Scholarly / historical only

Sarvāstivāda early Buddhist school

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
c. 1st century BCE–late first millennium CE
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1243Initiatory

Mūlasarvāstivāda monastic tradition

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Late first millennium BCE or early first millennium CE–present through Vinaya transmission
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1244Initiatory

Dharmaguptaka early Buddhist school

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
c. 2nd century BCE–late first millennium CE; living Vinaya transmission
Evidence status
Cluster-level source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1246Scholarly / historical only

Kāśyapīya early Buddhist school

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early centuries BCE–first millennium CE
Evidence status
Cluster-level source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1248Scholarly / historical only

Sautrāntika scholastic current

Buddhist Traditions Philosophical / theological school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early centuries CE–late first millennium CE
Evidence status
Classification contested

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1249Scholarly / historical only

Lokottaravāda Mahāsāṃghika school

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early centuries BCE–first millennium CE
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1251Scholarly / historical only

Caitika and Śaila schools

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Early centuries BCE–first millennium CE
Evidence status
Composite record

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1258Institution-specific

S. N. Goenka vipassanā movement

Buddhist Traditions Lineage / school

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Late 20th century–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1272Initiatory

Nipponzan Myōhōji Buddhist Order

Buddhist Traditions Order / organization

Public geography
India, Japan
Period / origin
Founded 1917–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia, Japan

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Atlas 1285Initiatory

Triratna Buddhist Community

Buddhist Traditions New religious movement

Public geography
United Kingdom, India
Period / origin
Founded 1967; renamed 2010–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesUnited Kingdom, India

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Atlas 1288Institution-specific

Bön monastic Geshe curriculum

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Practice / discipline

Public geography
India, Nepal
Period / origin
20th-century exile institutionalization with earlier scholastic precedents–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia, Nepal

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Atlas 1300Community-bound / restricted

Ladakhi lha-mo and lha-pa oracle-healer tradition

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Practice / discipline

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Long-standing regional traditions; living
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1496Institution-specific

Osho / Rajneesh movement

Modern Spiritual Movements New religious movement

Public geography
United States, India
Period / origin
Developed from the 1960s; institutional transformations after 1990; living
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesUnited States, India

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Atlas 1497Institution-specific

Prem Rawat movement and Divine Light Mission lineage

Modern Spiritual Movements New religious movement

Public geography
United Kingdom, India, United States
Period / origin
International expansion from 1971; successive organizational restructurings; active
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesUnited Kingdom, India, United States

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Atlas 1551Institution-specific

Theosophical Society headquartered at Adyar

Western Esotericism & Initiatory Order / organization

Public geography
India
Period / origin
Founded 1875; headquarters at Adyar from 1882; active
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia

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Atlas 1647Community-bound / restricted

Nevshāhiyya Qādirī branch

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Lineage / school

Public geography
India, Pakistan
Period / origin
Late 16th–17th centuries–present communities and shrines
Evidence status
Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIndia, Pakistan

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Atlas 1668Community-bound / restricted

Matua Mahāsaṅgha devotional movement

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography
Bangladesh, India
Period / origin
19th century–present
Evidence status
Directly cited

Candidate countriesBangladesh, India

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