His Holiness Swami Vishnu Devananda

His Holiness Sri Swami Vishnu-Devananda was one of the first siksha gurus, or "instructing spiritual masters", in the life of Swami Ramakrishnananda. He was the founder of the International Sivananda centers for Yoga Vedanta. He was a world authority in hatha and raja-yoga. Swamiji was also much known for the different missions of peace he accomplished around the world.

 

Swamiji was born in Kerala, South India, in 1927. As an adolescent, without the means to finance studies at a university, he enlisted in the army in order to receive the scientific education he so desired. During that time, while searching the paper bin for something he had lost, his eyes fell on a pamphlet entitled "20 spiritual instructions" by Swami Sivananda. It began with the words, "a gram of practice is better than tons of theories". The practical character and the inherent power of these simple words led Swamiji to embark on a 36-hour trip across India to meet Swami Sivananda in the remote town of Rishikesh, in the Himalayas. This brief visit left such an impression on his young mind that he decided to return as soon as possible.

 

On his second visit, the young disciple received two powerful lessons from Swami Sivananda. The first lesson came when Swami Vishnu-Devananda felt too shy and a bit too arrogant to bow down before his Guru, Swami Sivananda. At this, the Master Swami Sivananda prostrated completely before the young student, giving him a lesson in humbleness. The second lesson was during an arati (worship ceremony) of the Ganga (the Ganges River). Swamiji was perplexed and doubtful, and was questioning how intelligent people could worship something that is scientifically nothing but H2O. Then, the Master smiled subtly and looked at Swamiji, who immediately saw the entire river as a vast, brilliant cosmic light. Swami Sivananda then invited the young man to stay at the ashram to study and become a Yogi. Swami Vishnu-Devananda automatically replied, "Yes".

 

For the next ten years, Swami Vishnu-Devananda stayed at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh and was trained by Swami Sivananda in all the aspects of yoga.

 

Swami Vishnu-Devananda rapidly become an exceptional practitioner on the path of hatha-yoga and was furthermore a very enthusiastic and tireless karma-yogi. One day Swami Sivananda gave Swamiji a 10-rupee bill (less than one dollar!) and his blessings to travel to the West and preach the teachings of Vedanta. "The people are waiting for you" were the words of the Master.

The limitless energy of Swamiji and his profound inspiration led him to found and direct the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta centers, of which today exist over 80 centers and 7 ashrams, plus many affiliated centers and teachers.

Swami created the first yoga teachers training course, which has since trained over 15,000 certified teachers in the fields of yoga and spirituality.

One of his most brilliant ideas was to summarize these ancient and vast teachings into five principles of yoga, which are easy to understand and convenient to incorporate into daily practice.

 

Throughout his life, Swamiji was profoundly concerned with the well-being of the world and the continual tragedy of war. That led him to learn aviation and then to personally fly a small aircraft above many zones of conflict in the world. Not only did he manage to initiate discussion and gain media attention, but he also "bombarded" these devastated zones with flowers and pamphlets of peace while chanting the mantra for peace: Om Namo Narayanaya.

 

Swami Vishnu-Devananda personally initiated Swami Ramakrishnananda in the maha-mantra, giving him the spiritual name of Ramakrishna. Later, Swami Ramakrishnananda received from the hands of Swami Vishnu the title of “Yoga Acharya” or “Master of Yoga” and the very special diploma of "Krishna Bhakta" or "Devotee of Lord Krishna".

 

The relationship between Gurudev and His Holiness Swami Vishnu was always very intimate and full of respect and devotion. His Holiness Swami Vishnu-Devananda Maharaja holds a place of utmost importance in the life of Swami Ramakrishnananda.