Introduction - Swami Shivananda

The Sage – Swami Shivananda

Swami Shivananda is a name to be remembered not only for his own spiritual achievements, but also for the approach he has been advocating to stimulate the modern man’s eagerness to learn and practice the great Vedantic teachings.

– Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Shivananda was born in September 1887, as Kuppuswami Iyer, in rural Tamil Nadu. A typical southern village, it was surrounded by green rice fields and mango groves. His family had a long tradition of scholarliness and saintliness. The young Kuppu enjoyed the advantages of both a religious home and material comforts, for even though his father, Sri P.S. Vengu Iyer, was a Brahman priest, he worked for a salary as a revenue official. Mr. Iyer was respected as a saintly person, who dealt kindly and fairly with his friends, family and neighbors, as well as the gods, for he performed the rituals proscribed for Brahmans in his home daily. These religious values were to guide the son Kuppu throughout his life.

During his school years in an English medium school, funded by the local raja, he excelled in both sports and academics. Self-assured, extroverted and friendly, he was a favorite among the students and teachers alike. His passion for gymnastics was so great that he would get up as early as 3:00 a.m. After carefully arranging the bed covers so that he would not be missed, he would hurry to the empty gym so that he could use all the equipment. His scholastic achievements merited him entrance into a strict Jesuit college. There he imbibed a thorough knowledge of the Bible, and a fascination for Christ and the Christian mystics.

His outgoing personality was always turned toward others, whether helping them with schoolwork, solving personal problems or arbitrating a quarrel. Therefore, it was no surprise when he chose the service-oriented career of medicine. His medical studies began at the Tanjore Medical Institute in 1905, but were interrupted by an urgent letter. His father had died suddenly and his mother had fallen ill.

Kuppu hurried home to console and care for his mother, and to face a new problem - economic. The family finances had been dependent on the regular income of his father. Without these funds, Kuppu had to come up with a source of income to support his mother and himself. Determined to remain with his ailing mother, he came up with the solution: he would start a medical journal right there in his home. Ambrosia included results of the latest medical research as well as articles of general interest to the public. He was editor, manager, distributor and chief contributor, although he masked this fact by assigning various pseudonyms to many of the articles that he wrote, thereby making it appear as if the journal had a regular contributing staff.

He took advantage of this break from his formal scholastic studies to pursue his personal interests of philosophy and religion, both Hindu and Christian. With the required subjects at the university, he had found too little time to study these subjects in depth. Putting into practice what he read in the books, he began a daily routine of yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation, using both Hindu and Christian (Catholic) meditation techniques.

Reputed for its reliable information, Ambrosia was well accepted by the medical community; however, the distribution remained small. Finally Kuppu Iyer was forced to seek additional income and took a position at a pharmacy in Madras. Soon after, he learned of a job opportunity in British Malaya (a part of modem Malaysia) as the manager of a hospital maintained by a large rubber plantation that employed many indentured Indian workers. There he could obtain his training as an intern and complete his medical education. Overruling the protests from his family, he chose his own path for he realized that selfless service to mankind was, in his own words, "the most potent weapon to thin out the ego." He accepted the job in Malaya and boarded the ship for the journey.

After completing his internship and examinations in that country, he moved from a managerial position at the hospital to the medical staff as a full-time doctor. Dr. Iyer's attitude of helping others without thought of personal gain endeared him to all his superiors and colleagues. He was a favorite among the patients who joined this young, devout doctor as he led them in a prayer meeting each Friday. His generosity was well known to all; he personally financed the medical care of some of the poor patients and was known to distribute coins among the patients so that they could afford a book or candy. A nutritious meal was assured for anyone at his home, ­whether friend, beggar or stray dog.

After several years, Dr. Iyer moved to a larger hospital outside of Singapore, which gradually increased his fame and financial security. There he published his first medical books and continued his numerous contributions to medical journals. He was a man of tremendous energy and easily found time from his busy routine to continue his spiritual disciplines. Each day he rose by 4:00 a.m. for yoga and meditation, even when hospital duties had kept him up until midnight. Through these years, his mind was becoming calmer and purer, thus the joy of his relation to the Lord increased as he served, prayed, meditated and sang the devotional hymns that he loved so well.

His daily observations of poverty and sickness taught him an acute lesson about life. He described his feelings at that time:

“People are sick physically and mentally. To some, life is but a lingering death; to some, death is more welcome than life. Some lead a miserable life, unable to face death; some invite death by suicide, unable to face life. An aspiration began to grow within me that, if God had not made this world merely as a hell for hexed people to be thrown in to suffer, and, if there is (as I intuitively felt there should be) something other than this misery and this helpless existence, I must know and experience it.”

His longing to learn more of the true purpose of life brought a poor, very ill, swami to his door one day. The holy man was impressed by the capacity for caring and devotion of Dr. Iyer. The young man took advantage of the opportunity to discuss spiritual themes as soon as the patient's health returned. Observing the seeker's ardent desire for true knowledge, the swami gave him his one possession, a text of Vedanta, a philosophical treatise on the nature of Life. Reading the truths in this book, Dr. Iyer began to feel an overwhelming desire to devote himself totally to spiritual pursuits. "The positive aspects of this earthly life and the real purpose of this life were made apparent-this drew me from Malaya to Himalaya," Dr. Iyer disclosed.

Thus in 1923 after ten years of service in the two hospitals, the decision was made. He left no task unfinished; his life in the world was complete. He packed up the barest necessities and returned to his homeland. Back in India, his pilgrimage began in Varanasi, long revered as holy ground both as a residence and meeting place of many holy men through the centuries. Although today Varanasi remains a center for scholarly scriptural study, the bustle of commerce has sent the present-day saints to higher altitudes. However, in 1923 it was still possible to meet holy men and learned swamis passing along the banks of the Ganga. From Varanasi, Dr. Iyer traveled to other noted places of spiritual pilgrimage. He lived a life of complete renunciation, which meant having only one set of clothes, taking a daily bath in the Ganga and eating only begged food, a difficult practice for one accustomed to doing all the giving.

Slowly, he made his way to Rishikesh, where he received the formal renunciation vows from Swami Vishnudevananda, the head of the esteemed Kailasa Ashram. The new swami was given the name Swami Shivananda Sarasvati and a set of saffron clothes. Although his daily life changed little, for he continued to live a simple life, so that he could spend all of his waking hours in constant contemplation on the truths of the scriptures. The essence in them was gradually transformed from the precepts of intellectual knowledge into his own personal experience of direct knowledge during these years of his wanderings.

By 1930 the depth of his realization was apparent by his blissful countenance, serene composure and divine utterances. His love and compassion for mankind compelled him to begin teaching others. Soon a group of disciples gathered around him to reap the benefits of hearing the Eternal Truth (Sanatana Dharma) from one who knew it firsthand. "I have begun to roar like a lion of Vedanta," he confided to a friend, for the depth of his words surprised even him. Around 1934, he and a few followers established a small ashram, Ananda Kutir (Cottage of Bliss), on the banks of the Ganga at Rishikesh. They also started a small charity hospital to serve the poor and to provide medical service to the many itinerant swamis. In his wanderings, Swami Shivananda had been caring for any sick, ailing swami whom he happened to meet. Their sufferings from malnutrition, fever and dysentery had been unbearable for him, yet he could do little to aid them with his limited resources. At Ananda Kutir the swamis would have a free hospital so they could receive proper care.

As years passed the ashram and its operations expanded, a non­profit trust organization was founded and named, Divine Life Society. A herbal-medicine pharmacy, a printing press, cottages for new disciples and visitors-year by year new structures were added to accommodate the expansion of the charitable work. The Divine Life magazine was published; funds came for a free kitchen for the swamis in the area; the hospital was expanded. People from the plains of India were generously supporting the activities at the "Cottage of Bliss."

Swami Shivananda felt that practices such as devotional singing and meditation speed up spiritual evolution. Not only did he lead the daily services at Ananda Kutir, but, during the 1930s, he traveled throughout the northern regions from Kashmir to Calcutta giving lectures and singing bhqjans (devotional songs). Wherever he traveled he organized centers to perpetuate spiritual practice in the area.

In his autobiography, he declared, "I want my disciples to be like myself in applying themselves in an all-round manner to the propagation of the Lord's message, the development of divine qualities in themselves and their inculcation in others." In preparing for the task, he advised one of them:

“Wherever you go, give, distribute, and disseminate your ideas, mottos and ideals. Broadcast your spiritual feelings. Share with others. Always give, give, give. Give all. Ask nothing. The present work you do is a greater Yoga than the impotent, so-called meditation-sleeping and building of [dream] castles combined - done by Vedantins of the present day. This work is a great yagna or sacrifice. Work like a lion. Roar like a lion.”

In 1950 the dynamic teacher completed a tour of India and Ceylon to disperse the spiritual values of Hinduism. He visited all the important cities where he gave talks on spiritual practices and led singing of bhqjans. After listening to his melodious, devotion-filled voice, many in the audience were filled with such joy that they joined with him in dancing in ecstasy.

(Complied from information in the Autobiography of Swami Shivananda and other sources published by the Divine Life Society, Yoga-Vedanta Forest Press, P.O. Shivanandanagar, Dt. Teri-Garhwal, D.P., Himalayas, India.)

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