Swami Vishnu-devananda
Encyclopedia
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres
The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is a non-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda and founded by his disciple Swami Vishnu-devananda...
. Considered by followers an authority on Hatha
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
and Raja yoga
Raja Yoga
Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.Raja yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.In the context of Hindu...
, he is the author of The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga
The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga
The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga is a 1959 publication by Swami Vishnu-devananda, the founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. It is considered a seminal western introduction to yoga and its practices, describing the yoga of Patanjali and the classical Hatha...
.
Early life
A close disciple of Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnudevananda, a NairNair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
, was born in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, South India on December 31, 1927. After a short career in the army, he coincidentally found interest in the teachings of Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
through a copy of Sadhana Tattwa (Spiritual Instructions). Its introduction read, “An ounce of practice is worth tons of theory. Practice yoga, religion and philosophy in daily life and attain Self-realization
Self-realization
Self-realization is a self-awakening.Self-realization may also refer to:* Self-Realization Fellowship, worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda...
”. Impressed, he travelled to Rishikesh to meet the author and the meeting, taking place on the stairs of the ashram leading to the Ganges, would change his life. Swami Sivananda was walking up the stairs and according to the custom, people were prostrating
Prostration
Prostration is the placement of the body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Major world religions employ prostration either as a means of embodying reverence for a noble person, persons or doctrine, or as an act of submissiveness to a supreme being or beings...
. The young army officer did not want to bow his head to anyone and hid in a doorway out of sight. A moment later, Swami Sivananda appeared unexpectedly, and prostrated to the arrogant young man. This lesson in humility was the first given to Swami Vishnudevananda by his guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
.
Training
Swami Vishnudevananda entered the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh in 1947 at the age of twenty. He took sannyas (became a monk) and was appointed the first professor of hatha yoga at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy, and eventually trained scores of Indian and western students. At the same time he continued his own practice, mastering advanced hatha yoga techniques. When asked how he perfected these ancient practices, some of which had become obscure in modern times, Swami Vishnudevananda answered, “My master touched me and opened my eye of intuition. All this knowledge returned to me from past lives”. For ten years, he lived and worked under the direct guidance of his master.According to stories, in 1957, Swami Sivananda placed 10 rupees in Swami Vishnudevananda's palm, and urged him to take all he had learned and bring to the people of western culture, with the words “People are waiting”.
Ashrams
Swami Vishnudevananda travelled throughout North America, teaching yoga and observing the western life style. His mobility then and later in life would earn him the nickname "The Flying Swami". He would eventually decide to create several settlements, choosing to begin this process in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with the first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The first Yoga camp, in 1961, was at the summer home of some students, who opted to surrender material comforts, to sleep on the floor and take cold showers.
- In February 1962, Swami Vishnu-devananda saw the present site of the Yoga Camp in Val Morin, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and intuitively chose to settle in the dense forest area near the Laurentian MountainsLaurentian mountainsThe Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
. By summer the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp had opened. From the modest beginning of a few small cottages and tents,there has been considerable expansion. It consists of several temples, a yoga hall, guest lodges and offices, swimming pool and sauna.
- In 1967, Swami Vishnudevananda went on to establish the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in Bahamas. Situated on four tropical acres on Paradise Island, a short boat ride away from NassauNassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
.
In the mid-1970s a west coast Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre operated in Vancouver, B.C. Swami Vishnu visited the downtown Ashram in the Summer of 1976 for a talk and Satsang.
- In the foothills of California’s Sierra MountainsSierra mountainsSierra is a Spanish word meaning "saw". The corresponding word in Portuguese and Latin is serra. This name is used for various mountain ranges in Spanish-speaking and other countries ....
, Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm was established on an 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) area.
- A fourth ashram, located in Woodbourne, New YorkWoodbourne, New YorkWoodbourne is a hamlet in the town of Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York, United States.Woodbourne is bordered by the town of Neversink, the hamlet of Grahamsville, the hamlet of Loch Sheldrake, the hamlet of Old Falls, and the hamlet of Hasbrouck. The major thoroughfares of Woodbourne are New...
, a 77 acres (311,608.2 m²) plot near the Catskill MountainsCatskill MountainsThe Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
. Swami Vishnu-devananda named it the Sivananda Yoga Ranch Colony, hoping it would grow into a colony of families in a yogic environment.
- In February 1978, Swami Vishnudevananda inaugurated the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhawanthari Ashram in Neyyar Dam, near ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
in Kerala. The ashram is set on 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) in the foothills of the Sahyadri MountainsWestern GhatsThe Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
.
- A small Himalayan ashram, known as Sivananda Kutir, was established in Netala, just outside of Uttar Kashi. It is situated on the banks of the Ganges and was to become the site of Swami Vishnudevananda’s jala-samadhi (sacred drowning).
Legacy
In reaction to a vision (seeing people running in terror from a giant ball of fire) conceived during meditation at the Nassau ashram, Swami Vishnudevanand was prompted to found the T.W.O. (True World Order), aimed at promoting world peaceWorld peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
and understanding. Feeling the need to train future leaders and responsible citizens of the world in the yogic disciplines, he founded the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
The Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course provides training in Sivananda Yoga based on the yoga of Swami Sivananda. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969...
in 1969, intent to create a chain of students who turn into teachers perpetually.
Swami Vishnudevananda died on November 9, 1993. His body was then placed into the Ganges at the Sivananda Kutir, and the rite named jalasamadhi was performed, merging the abandoned body with the water. His motto was, "Health is Wealth. Peace of Mind is Happiness. Yoga Shows the Way."
Selected bibliography
- The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga
- Meditation and Mantras
- Commentary to Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Classic guide for the Advanced Practice of Hatha Yoga)
- Karma and Disease
See also
- Swami SivanandaSwami SivanandaSwami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
- Sivananda YogaSivananda YogaSivananda Yoga, after teachings of Swami Sivananda, is a non-proprietary form of hatha yoga in which the training focuses on preserving the health and wellness of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga teachers are all graduates of the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course, and students widely range in...
- Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training CourseSivananda Yoga Teacher Training CourseThe Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course provides training in Sivananda Yoga based on the yoga of Swami Sivananda. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969...
- The Complete Illustrated Book of YogaThe Complete Illustrated Book of YogaThe Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga is a 1959 publication by Swami Vishnu-devananda, the founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. It is considered a seminal western introduction to yoga and its practices, describing the yoga of Patanjali and the classical Hatha...