Dayananda Saraswati (Chinmaya Mission)

Dayananda Saraswati (Chinmaya Mission)
Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (दयानन्‍द सरस्‍वती) (born August 15, 1930)[1] is a monk of the Hindu monastic order and a renowned traditional teacher of Advaita Vedanta.

Contents

Early life

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Natarajan) was born as Natarajan in Manjakudi - Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu on August 15, 1930 to Shri. Gopal Iyer and Smt. Balambal. He was the eldest of four sons. His early schooling was done in the Thiruvarur District Board School and he finished High school at Kodavasal.[2] His father's passing away when he was eight, meant Natarajan had to shoulder a significant portion of family responsibility along with his education. After completion of education, Natarajan came to Chennai (erstwhile Madras) for livelihood. Natarajan worked as a journalist for the weekly magazine Dharmika Hindu (run by T. K. Jagannathacharya) and also for erstwhile Volkart Brothers (now Voltas Limited) for some time. He also decided to be a fighter pilot at one point and joined the Indian Air Force, but left after six months as he felt suffocated by the regimentation there.[2][3]

Chinmaya Mission phase

Beginnings

He became interested in Vedanta after listening to the public talks of Swami Chinmayananda in the year 1952-53. He became actively involved with the then newly formed Chinmaya Mission in various roles and was made its Secretary within the first year of its inception. He learnt Sanskrit lessons from P.S. Subramania Iyer, a retired Professor of English. It was Iyer who introduced the mode of chanting the Gita verses (or for that matter, Sanskrit verses that follow the same metre as the Gita verses) that is still followed by Chinmaya Mission, Arsha Vidya Centres and others as well.[4][5][6] Swami Chinmayananda instructed Natarajan to set up Chinmaya Mission's Madurai branch which Natarajan was able to fulfill. Natarajan also assisted Swami Chinmayananda in editing and bringing out a Bhagavad Gita manuscript for publication. He had an opportunity to meet Swami Tapovanam, Chinmayananda's Guru during this time (1954–55). Tapovanam advised to Natarajan, You have a duty to yourself which is also important. Stay here. Do japa, meditate and study. But Natarajan could not take up that offer at that point in time. During this time, Natarajan also studied Sanskrit and the bhashya of the Upanishads with Professor Vijayaraghavachariar. Natarajan also took up the mantle of the editor of Tyagi, Chinmaya Mission's new fortnightly magazine and shifted to Bangalore in March 1956 for this purpose.[2]

Swami Chinmayananda sent Natarajan to study under Sw. Pranavananda in Gudivada (near Vijayawada) to clarify many of his doubts on Vedanta and self-enquiry. It was here during his studies with Pranavananda that Natarajan crystallised the following notion: Vedanta is a pramana (means of knowledge). I saw the Swami giving direct knowledge to the people he was teaching. This resolved all my conflicts. My problems with Vedanta had been my mistaken notion that it was a system.[2]

Sanyasa

He was given sanyasa deeksha by Swami Chinmayananda on the auspicious Sivarathri day, in 1962 [3] and was given the deeksha name Swami Dayananda Saraswathi. He became involved with Sandheepany sadhanalay right from its inception in 1963. He moved to Mumbai, (erstwhile Bombay) and edited the Tapovan Prasad, the new monthly magazine of the mission. Subsequently in 1965, he undertook a study pilgrimage to Rishikesh and stayed in a grass hut near Purani Jhaadi. He spent three years here, studying vedic texts such as the Brahma Sutras under Swami Tarananda Giri.

On his return to Bombay from Rishikesh in 1968, Sw. Dayananda was asked to start the new Brahmachari/ni training programme in Sandheepany. The first course, as designed by Sw. Dayananda started in 1972. In a later interview, Sw. Dayananda summed up the new courses' design as follows: What would take a sadhu in the Himalayas nine years to learn, the brahmacharis at Sandeepany learned in two and a half years..[2][3]

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (Post-Chinmaya Mission phase)

Teaching

Swami Dayananda has been teaching Vedanta in India for more than four decades, and around the world since 1976. His depth of understanding and nuanced appreciation of Western culture makes him a rare teacher who can communicate the vision of non-duality to modern listeners.

Swami Dayananda designed and taught six resident in-depth Vedanta courses, each spanning 30 to 36 months. Four were conducted in India, and two in the United States. Each course graduated about 60 qualified acharyas, teachers, who are now teaching around the world. More than one hundred are now swamis and are highly respected as scholars and teachers throughout India and abroad.

Institutions

Under Swami Dayananda’s guidance, numerous centers for Vedic teaching have been founded around the world. The two main centers in India are the Arsha Vidya Ashram in Rishikesh and the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Coimbatore (est. 1990). In the U.S., the main center is the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam at Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania (est. 1985). At present there are at least sixty centers in India and abroad that carry on the same tradition of Vedantic teaching.

In 1986, Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, a Gurukula that has branches in India and the United States. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is an institute for the traditional study of Advaita Vedanta, Yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotish, Sanskrit and other classical Hindu studies. The word Arsha means that which is from the Rishis - the great seers of ancient India. The word Vidya means knowledge. Thus, Arsha Vidya means the knowledge flowing from the Rishis. The word Gurukulam, means "family of the teacher", referring to a residential center for learning with the Teacher. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam offers Indians and non-Indians, Hindus and non-Hindus alike an opportunity to study the profound spiritual knowledge of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahma sutras, and other classical Vedanta texts.

In addition to teaching, Swami Dayananda has initiated and supported various philanthropic efforts. The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, inaugurated in November, 2000, brings medical, educational, nutritional and infrastructure assistance to villagers in the remote areas of India. This movement enjoys the blessing of all traditional Hindu spiritual leaders who have united as a single body, the Acarya Sabha, through the coordinating efforts of Swami Dayananda. In November 2001, Swami Dayananda convened the first World Congress for the Preservation of Religious Diversity in Delhi, inaugurated by the Dalai Lama and the then Prime Minister Mr.A.B.Vajpayee. An important outcome of the Congress is the formation of a Global Commission for the Preservation of Religious Diversity, spearheaded by Swami Dayananda. The Commission had its inaugural meeting in Bangkok in June, 2002. Swami Dayananda was active in forming and participating in the Women’s Global Peace Initiative, which convened at the United Nations in Geneva in October 2002. He has also participated in the Millennium Peace Summit organized by the United Nations. Swamiji also started the Dharma Rakshana Samithi for prserving the Dharma and the culture of Bharath.Swamiji is the President of this organisation.

Books

Many of Swami Dayananda Saraswati's lectures, talks and discourses have been published in the form of books. These books deal with Vedantic teachings and its applicability to various situations in life. A non-exhaustive list of his books include:

  1. The Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita
  2. Introduction to Vedanta
  3. Dialogues with Swami Dayananda
  4. Vivekacudamani (Talks on 108 Selected Verses)
  5. Visnusahasranama with translation & commentary
  6. Talks on Sri Rudram
  7. Taittiriya Upanishad As Taught by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
  8. Mundaka Upanishad; Bhashya and Tika unfolded
  9. Value of Values
  10. Kena Upanishad
  11. Prayer Guide
  12. Satyam and Mithya


To get the books from Chennai contact:

Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust
32/4 Srinidhi Apts
Desika Road, Mylpaore, Chennai 600 004
Tel: 044-2499 7131/ 2499 7023

To get the books from Coimbatore contact:

Address: Arsha Vidya Gurukulam,
Anaikatti Post,
Coimbatore - 641 108
Ph: 0422 265 7001
Mobile: 94422 42600

References

  1. ^ Dialogues with Swami Dayananda, Sri Gangadhareswar Trust, 1988
  2. ^ a b c d e Swami Dayananda Saraswati: His Life and Work. Arsha Vidya Newsletter, pp. 13-16, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore. August 2009 [1].
  3. ^ a b c Glimpses of Swami Dayananda Saraswati's life. Arsha Adhyayan Kendra, Bhuj, Gujarat, INDIA. Video commemorating Swami Dayananda's 7th December 2008 visit to Bhuj
  4. ^ Gita Chanting by Swami Brahmananda
  5. ^ Gita Chanting by Swami Paramarthananda
  6. ^ Swami Sandeep Chaitanya's Gita Yagnam

External links (List of Swami's ashrams and some of his disciples)


Yoga

Sanskrit

AIM for Seva


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