Divine Life Society in Rishikesh was founded by Swami Shivananda in 1936. Swami Shivananda had initiated so many world spiritual leaders of the 20th century and Swami KrishnanadaSaraswathiwas one of themSwami KrishnanadaSaraswathinever left the ashram and he served as the General Secretary from 1958 till his death in 2001.
Profile
Swami KrishnanadaSaraswathiwas born on April 25th 1922 as the eldest of six children and was named Subbarya. He was born into an orthodox Madhava family and his parents were very religious. As a young student he excelled in academics but the secular knowledge did not interest him. He began to learn Sanskrit, Amara Kosa and Bhagavad Gita. He would never eat until he had memorised few verses of the Bhagavad Gita. So in a matter of few months he had mastered the whole of Gita. He yearned to visit the Himalayas and study the scriptures. Madhva sect believed in the dualistic philosophy where the Lord and the individual were two different entities. But Subbaraya was attracted to Advaita philosophy which is monotheistic, stating the individual and the Lord are one and the same and the ultimate goal of the individual is to reach that realization. However his father persuaded him to take up a job and he worked in Government Training School in Bellary. It was a short stint and by the end of the year he left his job and went to Varanasi where he studied the Vedas. Yet he was not feeling fulfilled and then in summer of 1944 he met his guru Swami Shivananda. The moment he prostrated at his guru’s feet Swami Shivananda said, “Stay here till death; I will make kings and ministers fall at your feet.” So that it was, and he served the Divine Life Society till the end of his life on 23rd November 2011 at the age of 79.
Philosophy Propounded
Swami KrishnanadaSaraswathi was an exponent of Advaita Vedanta. He was a scholar of the Western philosophy as well. He taught Yoga too.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
Swami Shivananda had assigned Swami KrishnanadaSaraswathi the work of correspondence and editing books. Then he was asked to write books. His first book ‘The Realisation of the Absolute’ was written in 14 days and is considered the best. He went on to write many more books. He was never seen much in the public for many years. Once he became the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society he did the administrative work and took classes as well. There can be nothing greater for a disciple than receiving words of praise from the guru. Swami Shivananda had said, “Many Sankaras are rolled into one Krishnananda.”
Is KrishnanandaSaraswati still alive?
No, krishnanandaSaraswati died on 11/23/2001, 18 years ago. KrishnanandaSaraswati was 79 years old when krishnanandaSaraswati died. At Rishikesh
