Adi Shankaracharya

adi shankaracharyaBorn in 788 AD in a village called Kaladi in Kerala Adi Shankaracharya was a philosopher of the greatest renown because he brought new life to the Vedas and restored them to their ancient glory. He revived Vedanta at a time when Vedanta philosophy was going through a period of darkness due to the excesses of ritualistic practice. His correct interpretations saw a revival in the status of the Vedas and so he was able to successfully advocate Advaita Vedanta. He founded the Dashanami monastic order and believed in worship of the Shanmata tradition. He established four Adi Shankaracharya Peeths and devoted one of the Vedas to each:

  1. South – Sarada Peetha, Sringeri
  2. East – Govardhana Peetha, Jagannath Puri
  3. West – Kalika Peetha, Dwaraka
  4. North – Jyothir Peetha, Badrinath
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Swami Satyananda

swami_satyananda

Born in 1923 at Almora, Uttarakhand Swami Satyananda showed a spiritual tendency and heightened awareness right from the age of 6 years. In 1943 he left home and came in contact with Swami Sivananda at Rishikesh and the Swami initiated him into the Dashnami Sannyas. Satyananda performed such intense nishkam seva that he was able to realize the secrets of spirituality. He studied yoga, tantra and Vedanta and kundalini yoga in such a through fashion that he founded the new Bihar School of Yoga in 1963 and became the pioneer of this yoga practice.…

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Swami Sivananda

swami sivanandaBorn in 1887 at Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, India in 1887 Swami Sivananda was a Doctor in Malaysia but he renounced his medical practice in 1924 when Swami Vishwananda Saraswati initiated him into Dashnami Sannyasa. He practiced intense sadhana, yoga and learnt the scriptures. He became a wondering monk and toured the length and breadth of India. Wherever Sivananda went he tried to awaken the moral and spiritual consciousness of people. In 1936 he founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh with the main aim of spreading spiritual knowledge and serving mankind. Being a doctor he started the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy in 1945.…

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