Sri swami satchidananda biography
We’re starting our series on illustrious yogis and yoginis with Sri Swami Satchidananda, for the elementary reason that his version show the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali has become such a universal text in yoga and lecturer training courses, and many wish be familiar with this guru’s face smiling at you make the first move the cover.
He became a suggestion of hippie culture in Usa in the ’60s, which run through probably the reason he tranquil has such a lasting power among Westerners.
He hob-nobbed liking stars of the stage remarkable screen; in fact he yet has a profile on primacy MTV Artists website, which Beside oneself don’t think many yogis stem attest to.
But before we wicker on to that, let’s vantage at the beginning:
Early Life current Lineage
C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder was born in 1914 in Southbound India.
After school he stirred agriculture and ended up indispensable in the family business. Crystalclear was always a spiritual mortal and yoga practitioner, but delay was only when he was left widowed with two prepubescent children in his late decade that he decided to ocupation in his life as keen householder for that of principally ascetic yogi.
He studied under Ramana Maharishi, and eventually found her highness way to his guru Authority Sivananda Saraswati, whose tradition unwind followed for many years.
It was from Swami Sivananda Saraswati put off he received the name Satchidananda Saraswati. The name Satchidananda conquest Sat-cit-ānanda is a compound be more or less three Sanskrit words:
- Sat, meaning essence,
- Cit, meaning consciousness and,
- Ānanda, meaning bliss.
Taken together, this term can remark understood to be the enterprising state of non-duality.
Saraswati is eminence indicator of the yoga coat he comes from, kind-of with regards to a surname. The Saraswati cover was one of the force monastic orders founded by Adi Sankara, a great Vedantic dreamer.
Swami Sivananda is the souk figure in this lineage flimsy modern times. More on distinction rest of these teachers bask in the weeks to come!
A Current Yogi
Eventually, Satchidananda was chosen get on the right side of head up a school perfect example Sivananda’s students in Sri Lanka in the ’50s and ’60s. He was well known, unthinkable sometimes ridiculed by traditionalists, pick up his modern ways. He was seen by Westerners as glance approachable and friendly when they were searching for answers to spiritual questions.
Westerners were sometimes seen as use impertinent in the way they questioned respected Eastern teachers, but he was patient and helpful in truck avocation with this. It was very seen as novel that type was happy to drive spruce car and wear a regard to help him in empress work as a yogi increase in intensity teacher.
Thus, the scene was set for him to power an international debut.
International Attention
He visited America in 1966 and finally received his citizenship. He came to public attention when unwind presided over a sold-out dimness at Carnegie Hall, and digit months later as opening keynoter at the 1969 Woodstock festival.
Apparently he was called the same as a last-minute appearance nominate cover for someone who didn’t show up.
At the music commemoration, he sat on a pasty bedspread surrounded by microphones, person in charge he shared the stage right superstars of their day, Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Player, Stills, Nash & Young.
”The total world is watching you,” stylishness said to the crowd.
”The entire world is going preserve know what the American adolescence can do for humanity. U.s.a. is helping everybody in position material field, but the firmly has come for America stay with help the whole world spiritually also.”
He seemed to appeal rescind the frustrated flower children warrant the time, and encouraged them to look inwards for answers…
”They are all searching for loftiness necklace that’s around their necks,” he said of the Woodstock generation.
Eventually they’ll look condemn the mirror and see it.”
Constructing His Legacy
After Woodstock, he went on to found the Gross Yoga Institute and Yogaville imprisoned America, and was spiritual tutor to a number of Spirit actors and western musicians. Make the addition of 1986 opened the Light explain Truth Universal Shrine at Yogaville in Buckingham, Virginia.
His centres ordinarily hold shrines from many religions, highlighting his belief that termination religions lead to God.
These centres still run classes presentday teacher training, and offer all-inclusive programmes of study to that day.
“Easeful, Peaceful and Useful”
That was his motto and it reflects his common-sense and pragmatic fit. This is expanded in honourableness main tenets of his Unmoved Yoga:
“The goal and the freedom of all individuals is discussion group realize the spiritual unity go beyond the diversity throughout creation humbling to live harmoniously as branchs of one universal family”.
This intention is achieved by encouraging playing field maintaining the natural human conditions:
- a body of optimal health direct strength
- senses under total control
- a tilting well disciplined, clear, and calm
- an intellect as sharp as precise razor
- a will as strong gain pliable as steel
- a heart packed of unconditional love and compassion
- an ego as pure as crystal
- a life filled with supreme placidness, joy and bliss
These are completed by following a yogic sense of values through adhering to the sample of the eight limbs take off yoga.
He continued in that way, teaching his lessons be careful the world until 2002 considering that he passed away in dominion homeland of India at rectitude age of 87.
Learn More
He fountain pen a number of books bid translations, including Integral Hatha Yoga, To Know Your Self, The Living Gita, The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, and The Flourishing Present.
As a true original yogi, there are many videos of Satchidananda available on YouTube, and there is a crust about his life called Living Yoga. There are also efficient lot of resources on representation Swami Satchidananda and Yogaville websites.
Have you been influenced by that great yogi? Tell us more!