Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha (Devanagari: स्वामी भूमानन्द तीर्थ Malayalam: സ്വാമി ഭൂമാനന്ദ തീര്‍ത്ഥ), is an Indian Sannyasin and social reformer. He is known for his talks and discourses on Vedanta

Vedanta

Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

, Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita

The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

, Upanishads and Srimad Bhagavatam, and their practical application in daily life. He has also organized various movements to end some unlawful rituals practiced by some Hindu temples.

Early life

Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha was born in 1933, in the village of Parlikad near Wadakkanchery in Thrissur

Thrissur

This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

 district, Kerala, India. During his professional life in Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, he met Baba Gangadhara Paramahamsa, who later became his Guru and the association eventually led to his introduction to the world of spirituality.

Jnaana Yajnas

The Jnaana Yajnas (Knowledge dissemination programs) are a major part of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha's Loka-sangraha (Welfare of the World) campaign. Since the first Jnaana Yajna held in Jamshedpur in 1964, these series of spiritual discourses are being held regularly in various parts of India, as well as in Malaysia and the U.S.A. Jnaana Yajnas are being held every year since 1964 in Jamshedpur and since 1975 in Delhi. Jnaana Yajnas are also held in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore every year.

Annual Srimad Bhaagavata Tattva Sameeksha Satram

This 2 week long series of discourses, explaining how to apply the contents and principles of Srimad Bhaagavatam in daily life, is held in Thrissur district every year in the month of December.

Gita Tattva Sameeksha

This series of talks on the Bhagavad Gita is conducted every year in Thrissur, in which Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha explains the values and message of Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita

The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

. This series began in the year 1995.

Socio-cultural reforms

Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha has conducted various movements for abolition of certain offensive and unlawful rituals and practices that were followed by some Hindu temples. Prominent among these are the practice called Thookkam at the Elavur Puthankavu Temple in Ernakulam District, and the practice of singing obscene songs during the Bharani festival at the Kodungallur temple.

The Ashram

Narayanashrama Tapovanam, the headquarters of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, is located at Venginissery village, 10 km South-West of Thrissur

Thrissur

This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

 city. The Centres for Inner Resource Development (C.I.R.D), which are remote centres of the Ashram, are located in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

 and Jamshedpur in India, Vienna - Virginia in the U.S.A and the Society for Inner Resources Development (S.I.R.D) is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Federation for Restoration of National Values

Under the inspiration and guidance of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, the Foundation for Restoration of National Values (FRNV) was set up in June 2008 to help promote national values in the Indian society. The advisory board of the FRNV consists of Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah - former Chief Justice of India, Sri Ratan N. Tata, Chairman – Tata group, Dr. E Sreedharan - MD - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Sri N. Vittal - former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Smt. Vibha Parthasarathi, educationist and former Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, and Sri. T.S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner.

Publications, books and periodicals

Vicharasetu (Path of Introspection), the English monthly journal published by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, was started in 1968. Hindi and Malayalam versions of the Journal (Vicharasetu and Vicharasarani respectively) are also being published.

Many books and CDs have been published by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha in English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali languages. Notable among them are the following.

• Brahmavidya Abhyasa (ISBN 978-81-89588-01-4)

• Quietitude of the Mind (ISBN 978-93-80695-01-3)

• Divinizing every moment (ISBN 978-81-89588-18-2)

• My Beloved Baba. (ISBN 978-93-80695-06-8)

• Essential Concepts in Bhagavad gita (ISBN 978-81-89588-08-3)

• Vedantic Way of Living. (ISBN 81-207-1666-3)

• Prabhaata Rashmih: (ISBN 978-81-89588-06-9)

• To the Householder (ISBN 978-81-89588-00-7)

• Drops of Nectar from Srimad Bhaagavatam (ISBN 978-81-89588-10-6)

• Genesis & Relevance of Temple-worship (ISBN 978-81-89588-03-8)

External links

• http://www.brahmavidya.org
• http://www.cirdna.org
• http://www.valuefoundation.in
• http://www.sirdmsia.org