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Swami Sivananda (1887 - 1963)

“Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Meditate. Realise.” - Swami Sivananda

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Swami Sivananda was born in 1887 in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, South India. His natural selfless spirit led him to a career in the medical field. In the early 1900s, he travelled to Malaya (now known as Malaysia) to work as a doctor, and eventually had the responsibility of running a hospital.

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As a doctor, Swami Sivananda was saddened by the physical and mental distress he saw in his patients. He longed to help people on a more profound level. Through the study of yoga and Vedanta, it became his innermost desire to help people not only heal in their physical bodies but also in their minds.

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Upon returning to India, Swami Sivananda went further in his search of spiritual growth and enlightenment in the Himalayas. He took on a monk's vow of renunciation and began to practice yoga and meditation intensely.

 

The Divine Life Society (previously Sivananda Ashram) in Rishikesh was set up in 1936, and Swamiji continued to serve humanity until the end of his life.

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For more information on Swami Sivananda, click here.

For more information on The Divine Life Society, click here.

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927 - 1993)

“Health is wealth, peace of mind is happiness, yoga shows the way.”

- Swami Vishnudevananda

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Swami Vishnudevananda was a close disciple of Swami Sivananda and was the Professor for Hatha Yoga at The Divine Life Society.

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In 1957, Swami Sivananda gave Swami Vishnudevananda ten rupees and asked him to go to the West to spread the teachings of yoga. Swami Sivananda's famous words to him were, "People are waiting."

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With ten rupees in his pocket and not having stepped out of India before, Swami Vishnudevananda began his lifetime work of spreading the word of yoga, fulfilling the instruction of his master. The first International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre was set up in Montreal, Canada in 1959. Since then, there are now 70 Sivananda Centres (ashrams, affliated centres) worldwide.

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Swami Vishnudevananda made the teachings of yoga accessible to all by crystallising them into five points: Proper Exercise (Asanas), Proper Breathing (Pranayama), Proper Relaxation (Savasana), Proper Diet (vegetarian), Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana).

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Swami Vishnudevananda was convinced that outer peace cannot exist without inner peace. He became the first yoga master in the West to develop a comprehensive training programme for yoga teachers, who would then inspire countless numbers of people in turn.

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For more information on Swami Vishnudevananda, click here.

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A picture of Swami Vishnudevananda doing a yoga pose along the Ganges River, Rishikesh, and Swami Sivananda looking on.

Photo source: The Divine Life Society

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