Swami Sivananda

“If India in bondage needed a Gandhi to lead her to freedom, resurgent India needs a Sivananda to make her conscious of her prestigious heritage and resume her spiritual mission” 

Swami Sivananda (1887–1963), born in Tamil Nadu came from a family of philosophers and saints, thus deep-rooting a spiritual inclination at a very young age. After completing his degree in Medicine and working as a doctor in India, he went to Malaysia to help cure thousands of Indian workers contaminated with diseases through difficult living conditions. Derived from his great passion for humanity, he would treat the poor for free and also send them home with enough money to make up for their lost earnings while they were sick. 

For Sivanandaji, truth, love and purity was the basis of all real religion. After seeing so much suffering, he realised the world is full of pain and that true happiness would not be gathered by wealth. It became his innermost desire to follow the path of the sages and to help people –at a deep spiritual level. The selfless service purified his heart and opened his eyes to a new vision. In 1923, he cast off the life of comfort and money-making taking to the path of total renunciation and headed to the Himalayas.

Swami Tapovan Maharaj, the sage who gives Uttarkashi its glory because of his mere presence, saw Swami Sivananda as a truly pure-hearted spirit , who had a saintly vision which saw God in all. "When I remember Swami Sivanandaji," he said in a birthday tribute, "this quality of that great saint comes to my remembrance more readily than his learning, authorship, religious leadership and all the other uncommon qualities and activities. He delighted in doing personal service. If anybody came to him in the hot sun, he often fanned him, sometimes he hastened to hold the umbrella over the head of a sick or aged person; at other times he hurried to untie the bootlaces of stout or aged people when they found it difficult to bend down. To him no service was menial; all was sacred.”

He wasn’t just any ordinary Guru, teaching the masses by reading from the scriptures; because of his sincere love for mankind, he catered to every disciple’s need and interest. Instead of making his disciples spend a decade on the scripture, they spent a few minutes making a copy of the article and learnt the scriptures this way. “I closely observed their faces to see if they liked the work and then carefully selected matter suited to their taste and temperament and entrusted them with the work. Sometimes I had to do the whole work. I love the students. Unasked, I attended to their needs.” He recalled.

When Swamiji spoke, his vibrant, sweet and powerful voice made the world listen. However, more importantly he ensured his disciples were as able to eloquently spread the message of divinity. His methods only showed his care and love for his disciples to make them fiery orators. He once suddenly called Menon (Swami Chinmayananda) during an evening service to speak a few words on a topic of his choice. Menon stood tongue-tied. “You will have to lecture at least for 5 minutes in English and Hindi and sing & dance to a bhajan whether your body is willing to bend and move or refuses to move. If there is difficulty in lecturing, kindly cram a few lines from my books. If cramming also is difficult, read from a piece of paper. If you show or exhibit your foolish obstinacy like a child, there is no other course for me than to carry you and put you on the platform. Don’t give room for this extreme manoeuvres in these cold days.” Soon after, through Swami Shivananda’s encouragement, he began to give small speeches using his own original ideas. Such was Swami Sivananda’s power to train his disciples. 

Swami Shivananda was one rare Master who had in Him the power to create a whole line of realised Masters. Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Chidananda, Swami Vishnudevananda, Swami Jyotirmayananda, Swmai Krishnananda, Swami Lalitananda, Swami Omkarananda, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Swami Shantananda, Swami Sivananda Radha are all prominent disciples of Swami Sivananda, and it is incredible how he managed to totally tranform so many lives in one single lifetime. 

Service and love were the weapons he used to conquer the hearts of men. Swami Sivananda did not found a new religion, nor did he develop any new rules of ethics and morality. Instead, he helped the Hindu become a better Hindu, the Christian a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim. There was an enduring power in Swami Sivananda – in his thoughts, his words and his deeds. He was the divine power of truth, purity, love and service.

Divine Life Society