Sivananda Saraswati

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Quotation

Be Good, do Good, be kind, be compassionate.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati (Template:IAST3; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963), also called Swami Sivananda, was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of modern Tamil Nadu, and was named Kuppuswami. He studied medicine and served in British Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism.

He was the founder of the Divine Life Society (DLS) in 1936, Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy (1948) and the author of over 200 books on yoga, Vedanta, and a variety of subjects. He established Sivananda Ashram, the headquarters of the DLS, on the bank of the Ganges at Muni Ki Reti, Template:Convert from Rishikesh, and lived most of his life there.

Sivananda Yoga, the yoga form propagated by his disciple Vishnudevananda, is now spread in many parts of the world through Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. These centres are not affiliated with Sivananda's ashrams, which are run by the Divine Life Society.

Biography

Early life

Swami Sivananda was born as Kuppuswami to a Brahmin family on 8 September 1887. His birth took place during the early hours of the morning as the Bharani star was rising in Pattamadai village in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. His father, P.S. Vengu Iyer, worked as a revenue officer and was a devotee of Shiva. His mother, Parvati Ammal, was also religious. Kuppuswami was the third and last child of his parents.

As a child, he was very active and promising in academics and gymnastics. He attended medical school in Tanjore, where he excelled. He ran a medical journal called Ambrosia during this period. Upon graduation, he practiced medicine and worked as a doctor in British Malaya for ten years, with a reputation for providing free treatment to poor patients. Over time, a sense that medicine was healing on a superficial level grew in Dr. Kuppuswami, urging him to look elsewhere to fill the void, and in 1923 he left Malaya and returned to India to pursue his spiritual quest.

Initiation

Upon his return to India in 1924, he went to Rishikesh where he met his guru, Vishvananda Saraswati, who initiated him into the Sannyasa order, and gave him his monastic name. The full ceremony was conducted by Vishnudevananda, the mahant (abbot) of Sri Kailas Ashram. Sivananda settled in Rishikesh, and immersed himself in intense spiritual practices. Sivānanda performed austerities for many years while continuing to nurse the sick. In 1927, with some money from an insurance policy, he ran a charitable dispensary at Lakshman Jhula.

• Krishnananda and Sivananda (right), Template:Circa 1945
  Krishnananda and Sivananda (right), Template:Circa 1945
• Sivananda and Vishnudevananda by the Ganges, Template:Circa 1950
  Sivananda and Vishnudevananda by the Ganges, Template:Circa 1950
• Sivananda on a 1986 stamp of India
  Sivananda on a 1986 stamp of India
• Murti of Swami Saraswati at the Quebec ashram
  Murti of Swami Saraswati at the Quebec ashram

Founding the Divine Life Society

Sivananda founded the Divine Life Society in 1936 on the banks of the Ganges River, distributing spiritual literature for free. Early disciples included Satyananda Saraswati, founder of Satyananda Yoga.

In 1945, he created the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy, and organised the All-world Religions Federation. He established the All-world Sadhus Federation in 1947 and the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948. He called his yoga the Yoga of Synthesis, combining the Four Yogas of Hinduism (Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Rāja Yoga), for action, devotion, knowledge, and meditation respectively.

Sivananda travelled extensively on a major tour in 1950, and set up branches of the Divine Life Society throughout India. He vigorously promoted and disseminated his vision of yoga, adopting modern techniques to such an extent that he gained the nickname 'Swami Propagandananda'. His Belgian devotee André Van Lysebeth wrote that his critics "disapproved of both his modern methods of diffusion, and his propagation of yoga on such a grand scale to the general public", explaining that Sivananda was advocating a practice that everybody could do, combining "some asanas, a little pranayama, a little meditation and bhakti; well, a little of everything".

The 9th All-India Divine Life Convention was held at Venkatagiri on March 16, 1957, which was presided by Sathya Sai Baba and attended by Satchidananda Saraswati and Swami Sadananda.

Vegetarianism

Sivananda insisted on a strict lacto-vegetarian diet for moral and spiritual reasons, arguing that "meat-eating is highly deleterious to health". Divine Life Society thus advocates a vegetarian diet.

Mahasamadhi

Swami Sivananda died, described as entering Mahasamadhi, on 14 July 1963 beside the River Ganges at his Sivananda Ashram near Muni Ki Reti.

Works

Sivananda wrote over 200 books on yoga. Many of the books are available free on the Divine Life Society's website.

• Yogic Home Exercises. Easy Course of Physical Culture for Men & Women, Bombay, Taraporevala Sons & Co, 1944.
• Life and Works of Swami Sivananda, by Sivānanda, Divine Life Society (W.A.). Fremantle Branch. Published by Divine Life Society, Fremantle Branch, 1985. Template:ISBN
• All About Hinduism
• Amrita Gita
• Bhagavad Gita (transliterated and translated by Sivananda, with chapter summaries)
• Brahma Sutras, 1949
• Conquest of Anger
• Conquest of Fear
• Easy Steps to Yoga
• Essence of Yoga
• God Exists
• A Great Guru and His Ideal Disciple (letters from Sivananda to Prananvananda)
• Guru-Bhakti Yoga
• Guru Tattva
• Gyana Jyoti, Wisdom Light, 1950
• Hindu Fasts & Festivals
• How to Become Rich, 1950
• How to Get Vairagya (Dispassion)
• Ideal of Married Life
• Karmas and Diseases
• Kingly Science Kingly Secret
• Life and Teachings of Lord Jesus
• Life and Teachings of Swami Sivananda, 1964
• Light, Power and Wisdom
• Lord Krishna, His Lilas and Teachings
• The Master Said... (1954 speech)
• May I Answer That?
• Mind, its Mysteries and Control, 1946
• Parables of Sivananda, 1955
• The Philosophy and Significance of Idol Worship
• Philosophy of Dreams
• Practical Ayurveda.
• Practical Lessons in Yoga
• Radio Talks, 1951
• Saints and Sages, 1951
• Satsanga and Svadhyaya
• Sayings of Swami Sivananda, 1947
• Self-Knowledge
• Sivananda Upanishad. A universal scripture in the Sage's own handwriting, (Vishnudevananda (ed.)) 1955
• Sixty-Three Nayanar Saints
• Swami Sivananda. His Life, Mission and Message, in pictures, 1953
• Temples in India
• Thought Power
• Thus Awakens Swami Sivananda
• Thus Inspires Swami Sivananda, 1962
• Thus Spake Sivananda
• Vedanta for Beginners
• Waves of Bliss, 1949
• What Becomes of the Soul After Death, 1950
• Yoga in Daily Life
• Yoga: Your Home Practice Companion. DK Publishing, 2018

Disciples

Sivananda's two chief acting organizational disciples were Chidananda Saraswati and Krishnananda Saraswati. Chidananda Saraswati was appointed president of the DLS by Sivananda in 1963 and served in this capacity until his death in 2008. Krishnananda Saraswati was appointed General Secretary by Sivananda in 1958 and served in this capacity until his death in 2001.

Disciples who went on to grow new organisations include:

• Chinmayananda Saraswati, founder of the Chinmaya Mission
• Jyotirmayananda Saraswati, founder of Yoga Research Foundation, Miami, Florida, USA
• Karunananda Saraswati, founder of The Valley of Peace yoga ashram in the Moonbi Ranges north of Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia
• Sahajananda Saraswati, Spiritual Head of Divine Life Society of South Africa
• Satchidananda Saraswati, founder of the Integral Yoga Institutes, around the world
• Satyananda Saraswati, founder of Bihar School of Yoga
• Shantananda Saraswati, founder of Temple of Fine Arts (Malaysia & Singapore)
• Sivananda Radha Saraswati, founder of Yasodhara Ashram, British Columbia, Canada
• Venkatesananda Saraswati, inspirer of Ananda Kutir Ashrama in South Africa and Sivananda Ashram in Fremantle, Australia
• Vishnudevananda Saraswati, founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, HQ Canada

Further reading

• Fornaro, Robert John (1969) Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: A Paradigm of the "secularism," "puritanism" and "cultural Dissimulation" of a Neo-Hindu Religious Society. Syracuse University.
• Ananthanarayanan, N. (1970) From Man to God-man: the inspiring life-story of Swami Sivananda, Indian Publ. Trading Corp.
• Gyan, Satish Chandra (1979) Swami Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: An Illustration of Revitalization Movement.
• Swami Venkatesānanda (1985) Sivananda: Biography of a Modern Sage Template:Webarchive, Divine Life Society. Template:ISBN

External links

• Template:Internet Archive author
• Biography and spiritual instructions