Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), known as Rudi or Swami Rudrananda, was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.

[4] Rudolph began his first job at age 12 in a handbag factory, due to a labor shortage during World War II.

He soon opened "Rudi Oriental Arts" in the Seventh Avenue space, with just a few hundred dollars and some of the sculptures he had collected.

In the next years, Rudi established an international network of Asian art suppliers, collectors, and distributors in several countries.

[2] Rudi joined the Subud organization, studying with its founder, Pak Subuh, and helping to establish the group in New York.

In 1958, Rudi met Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha, Shankaracharya of Puri, during his first visit to the United States, and lived with him in New York for 4 months.

[1][2] At age 30, Rudi was at a turning point in his life when a friend took him to meet Bhagavan Nityananda at his ashram in Ganeshpuri.

Rudi later wrote, "My first meeting, in India in 1958, with the great Indian saint Bhagavan Nityananda was of such depth that it changed the course of my life."

Rudi’s method was to sit opposite a student and gaze intently into their eyes for perhaps five to ten minutes, said to allow him to transmit shaktipat energy.

[2] In 1960, Rudi began to hold classes in his apartment, which consisted of an open-eyed meditation where he "transmitted shaktipat energy" in a group setting, followed by a lecture.

Occasionally after classes, Rudi would invite the students up to his living room to play poker, or he would take them to dinner in Chinatown.

Chakrapani Ullal agreed with Rudi and persuaded Muktananda to give him the title, 'Swami Rudrananda',[1] thereby initiating him into the Sarasvati branch[7] of the Dashanami Sampradaya, established by Shankara in the 8th century.

The new location was five times larger, and in attendance at the gala opening was Japanese Zen master Eido Tai Shimano.

Muktananda arrived with his entourage on Labor Day weekend in New York, and traveled with Rudi to Big Indian to stay for two months.

[4][13] Rudi taught an eclectic blend of techniques he called "Kundalini yoga" (though with no formal relation to the Indian tradition by that name).