Divine Life Society
Encyclopedia
The Divine Life Society is a religious organization and an ashram
, founded by Swami Sivananda
Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti
, Rishikesh, India
. Today it has branches spread across many parts of the world as well as India, also several of Swami Sivananda's disciples went on to open several independent organizations in Mauritius, US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, South America, and Europe
Its aim is to disseminate spiritual knowledge in the following ways:
. Swami Chidananda Saraswati
served as president of the society from August 1963 to 28 August 2008, while Swami Krishnananda
as the General-Secretary of the Society in Rishikesh, from 1958 until 2001.
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
, founded by Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti
Muni Ki Reti
Muni Ki Reti is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to pilgrimage town of Rishikesh, and is most known for a host of ashrams in the area, including the Shri Shivananda Ashram of Swami Sivananda, the founder of Divine Life...
, Rishikesh, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Today it has branches spread across many parts of the world as well as India, also several of Swami Sivananda's disciples went on to open several independent organizations in Mauritius, US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, South America, and Europe
Aims
- through publication of books, pamphlets and magazines on the subjects of Yoga and Vedanta
- holding and arranging spiritual conferences and discourses (SatsangSatsangSatsang in Indian philosophy means the company of the "highest truth," the company of a guru, or company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth...
) - establishing training centers for the practice of Yoga
- enabling aspirants to develop their spiritual lives via systematic training in yoga and philosophy
- establishing charitable organizations
- through the preservation of the ancient traditions and cultural practices of India
History
In 1936, after returning from a pilgrimage, Swami Sivananda took residence in an old kutir on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. Other disciples seeking to live in his company also took up residence in the surrounding area, often in less than ideal conditions. In order to better serve the growing tide of disciples, he founded The Divine Life Society Trust. A grant of land from the ruler of Tehri-Garhwal eventually helped to provide space for new buildings and the continuing growth of the new ashramAshram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
. Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Swami Chidananda Saraswati was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. He is well-known in India as a yogi, jnani and spiritual leader. He succeeded as President of the Divine Life Society in 1963, after the death of his predecessor, Swami Sivananda, who founded the Society.Swami...
served as president of the society from August 1963 to 28 August 2008, while Swami Krishnananda
Swami Krishnananda
Sri Swami Krishnananda Saraswati Maharaj was a Hindu saint. He was a foremost disciple of Swami Sivananda and served as the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, India from 1958 until 2001...
as the General-Secretary of the Society in Rishikesh, from 1958 until 2001.
Departments
- Sivananda Ashram is the headquarters of the Divine Life Society.
- Yoga-Vedanta Forest AcademyYoga-Vedanta Forest AcademyThe Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy is a school of the Divine Life Society located within Sivananda Ashram, near Rishikesh. Its aim is to train seekers in the practice of yoga as a general discipline for personal integration as well as human welfare...
trains seekers in the practice of yoga as a general discipline for personal integration as well as for human welfare. - Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press prints the cultural and spiritual books as well as the journals and other literature of the Divine Life Society.
- Sivananda Publication League is the publishing arm of the Divine Life Society.
- The Free Literature Section freely distributes books and other literature to seekers and aspirants worldwide.
- Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Works manufactures and distributes Ayurvedic medicines to the general public.
- Sivananda Charitable Hospital renders free medical service to the public and conducts periodical medical relief camps freely.
Branches
- Divine Life Society, Australia
- Divine Life Society, Canada
- Divine Life Society, Malaysia
- Divine Life Society, South Africa
Further reading
- Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: A Paradigm of the "secularism," "puritanism" and "cultural Dissimulation" of a Neo-Hindu Religious Society, by Robert John Fornaro. Published by Syracuse University, 1969.
- From man to God-man: the inspiring life-story of Swami Sivananda, by N. Ananthanarayanan. Published by Indian Publ. Trading Corp., 1970.
- Swami Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: An Illustration of Revitalization Movement, by Satish Chandra Gyan. Published by s.n, 1979.
- Swami Sivananda's books