EARLY LIFE

SWAMIJI QUOTES​

Swamiji was born on 22 December 1914 to Sri Kalyanasundaram and Srimathi Velammai in the village of Chettipalayam, a suburb of the city of Coimbatore located on the western side of Tamil Nadu, the southern most state in India. He was named Ramaswamy after his maternal grandfather. Even as a child he realized that all are equal, no one is in any way less than anybody else and all are God’s children. Ramaswamy’s generosity clearly foretold his future life. Ramaswamy completed secondary school at the Sarvajana High School in Coimbatore and was 19 years-old when he entered Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to study dairy farming, crop rotation and animal husbandry. Ramaswamy was also very interested in motor industries and learned how to operate the engineering equipment and gained experience as well as technical knowledge.
If you believe in God, you know that God gives you everything that you need and takes away everything that you don't need.
A yogi is like a surfer who knows how to balance on his board. He welcomes even a big rolling wave because he knows how to enjoy it without getting caught in it.
Keep the mind clean, the body clean, the life well disciplined, the heart dedicated. This is Yoga.
Discipline makes your mind stronger and one-pointed. It should ultimately help you make your mind your slave.
Knowing the meaning of the mantram is not even necessary. The faith behind it is more important.
By repetition of a mantram alone, many hundreds of great saints have experienced Divine Consciousness.
Even when you are physically doing something, your aim can be meditation. Focusing your entire mind on what you are doing is meditation.
Spend a few minutes each day in meditation. These are the most important minutes you can spend. You will be able to send out nice, peaceful vibrations, and these vibrations will go around the globe.
If you have total faith in a Higher Will - a Higher Energy - you will be able to tune in to that and receive all the strength and energy to recharge your system.
To become a good instrument of the Divine, maintain your health - have an easeful body, a peaceful mind and a useful life.
Everything and everybody is looking for happiness. But it is not something that has to be brought in from outside. Happiness is already within Us and is to be experienced.
If you want God to come in, make room.
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When Ramaswamy was 22 years-old, in order to develop his scientific knowledge, he went to Sri Lanka to join a British company for training, and upon his return to India, he was the first expert welder in the state of Tamil Nadu. Soon after, he was persuaded by local temple authorities to accept an appointment as manager of the large Thiru Perur Pattiswaraswami Temple, as the previous manager had left. Ramasamy agreed to do so on a temporary basis until a new permanent manager was found. Here his spiritual thirst was quenched by the rare opportunity he had to decorate his beloved Lord Nataraja every night after the devotees left, following the final prayers…there Ramasamy would spend the entire nights in deep meditation. He availed himself of every opportunity to visit holy places like Ilanji, Thiruchendur, Nadukkuppam, Thiruvannamalai, Palani. At these holy places, he received blessings from Spiritual Masters like Paper Baba, Bala Gangadhara Swamigal, Raja yogi Yoganandar, Sivaraja Yogi, Saravanandaji, Ramana Maharishi and Sadhu Swamigal. Ramaswamy had already set his mind on God and nothing else. In Thirupparaithurai Ramaswamy received his first spiritual initiation from Swami Chidbhavanandaji, who blessed him with the spiritual name Sambasiva Chaitanya.
His wish to meet Swami Sivananda became intense; he finally reached Rishikesh in April 1949. He took Sivananda Maharaj as his Guru on the auspicious day of Guru Purnima, 10 July 1949 and Brahmachari Sri Sambasiva Chaitanya became Swami Satchidananda. On 7 November 1953, with the kind blessings of the great Master Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, Swami Satchidananda opened the first branch of the Divine Life Society in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka. Swami Satchidananda introduced a new method of Guru Purnima celebration, in which Spiritual Masters of all faiths would participate. He converted the Guru Purnima day into All Prophets Day, so that everyone’s Spiritual Master, regardless of their faith, would be represented. It was then that his motto became “Truth Is One; Paths Are Many”.
Swamiji was born on 22 December 1914 to Sri Kalyanasundaram and Srimathi Velammai in the village of Chettipalayam, a suburb of the city of Coimbatore located on the western side of Tamil Nadu, the southern most state in India. He was named Ramaswamy after his maternal grandfather. Even as a child he realized that all are equal, no one is in any way less than anybody else and all are God’s children. Ramaswamy’s generosity clearly foretold his future life. Ramaswamy completed secondary school at the Sarvajana High School in Coimbatore and was 19 years-old when he entered Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to study dairy farming, crop rotation and animal husbandry. Ramaswamy was also very interested in motor industries and learned how to operate the engineering equipment and gained experience as well as technical knowledge.
Life in the West
In 1966, after serving the people of Sri Lanka for thirteen years, Sri Swami Satchidananda was invited to the West. Invited to come to the United States in 1966 by artist Peter Max and film-maker Conrad Rooks, Swami Satchidananda was quickly embraced by young Americans called “hippies” who looking for lasting peace during the turbulent 1960’s. In 1969, he opened the Woodstock Festival with the words: “the whole world is watching you. The entire world is going to know what the American youth can do for humanity. America is helping everybody in the material field, but the time has come for America to help the whole world with spirituality also.” Even though the hippie crowd numbered 750,000, the peaceful atmosphere that prevailed throughout the event was often attributed to his blessings and message.

For more than forty-five years, He sponsored interfaith worship services which came to be known as YES – Yoga Ecumenical Services, where all people could come to realize their essential Oneness. After serving many years in the north-eastern area of America, he established the 1,000 acre Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville near Charlottesville, Virginia. The community is founded on his teachings, which include the principles of non-violence and universal harmony. The focal point of Yogaville is the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS), which was dedicated in 1986. This unique interfaith Shrine honors the Spirit that unites all the world religions, while celebrating their diversity. People from all faiths and backgrounds, from all over the world, come there not only to meditate and pray, but also to learn what Gurudev meant when he said “Truth Is One; Paths Are Many”, which is demonstrated in the various display cabinets of the All Faiths Hall. It is here where one can learn about Unity in Diversity.
Swami Satchidananda served on the advisory boards of the Temple of Understanding, the Interfaith Center of New York, the Center for International Dialogue, and numerous other world peace and interfaith organizations.
In August 2002, Sri Gurudev entered Mahasamadhi (a God-realized soul’s final exit from the body). Chidambaram, his Mahasamadhi Shrine in Yogaville is open for prayer and meditation.
Sri Swamiji dedicated himself to serving humanity. Tirelessly, with unconditional love and by personal example, he taught thousands of people around the world how to use the teachings and practices of Yoga to develop physical and emotional well-being; how to achieve the yogic goal of living a peaceful, easeful, and useful life; and how to experience unity in diversity. Through his spiritual presence and eternal teachings, he continues to grace and guide countless spiritual seekers throughout the world.