1) Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati
(September 8, 1887 – July 14, 1963)
Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati was born in Pattamadai, (Tamil Nadu) in 1887. After serving as a medical doctor in Malaya, he renounced his practice to search for his Guru in the foothills of the Himalayas. He settled in the sacred valley of Rishikesh and was initiated into the Dashnami Sannyasa tradition in 1924 by Swami Vishwananda Saraswati.
In subsequent years he wrote hundreds of books and articles on yoga and spirituality to maintain and introduce yogic values in the minds of the general public. His emphasis was on breaking down the barriers which separated the needy from the teachings that could help them, whether this took the form of yoga for health, peace of mind or spiritual aspiration. To this end Sri Swamiji toured India extensively, inspiring people to practice yoga and lead a divine life.
He founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh in 1936, the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy in 1945, the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948 and the Sivananda Eye Hospital in 1957 and attained Maha Samadhi on July 14th, 1963.
As a major spiritual voice of his time, Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati guided thousands of spiritual seekers, disciples and aspirants all over the world.
2) Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati
(December 24, 1923 – December 5, 2009)
Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born 1923 in Almora (Uttar Pradesh) into a family of farmers. In 1943, at the age of 20, he renounced his home and went in search of a guru. This search led him to Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati at Rishikesh, who initiated him into the Dashnam Order of Sannyasa on 12th September 1947 on the banks of the Ganges and gave him the name of Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
1955 he left the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh and went on wanderings through India and many other countries. He founded the International Yoga Fellowship Movement (IYFM) in 1956, Bihar School of Yoga in 1963 and Sivananda Math
(a charitable institution for rural community members) in 1987. Sri Swamiji has brought to light ancient yogic teachings from sacred scriptures and lost traditions. He has framed them in a modern language which incorporates both traditional and scientific understandings.
He attained Maha Samadhi on December 5th, 2009.
“If the head, the heart and the hands do not function in harmony, there is restlessness in life. This restlessness may be on the mental, emotional, physical or spiritual level. Though its manifestation is legion, it always results in the shattering of inner peace.”
3) Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
(February 14, 1960 – Present)
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati was born in Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh) in 1960. He was named 'Niranjan' (the Untainted One) by his guru Swami Satyananda. Guided by his guru at the age of four he came to live with him at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger where he received training in yogic and spiritual sciences through Yoga Nidra.
From 1971 for eleven years he lived overseas, mastering skills in various areas, acquiring an understanding of different cultures and helping establish Satyananda Yoga ashrams and centers in Europe, Australia, North and South America.
At the behest of his guru, he returned to India in 1983 to guide the activities of Bihar School of Yoga, Sivananda Math and the Yoga Research Foundation at Ganga Darshan Ashram.
He established Bihar Yoga Bharati, the first university of yoga, in 1994 and the Yoga Publications Trust in 2000 in Munger. He also initiated a children’s yoga movement, Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal, in 1995. In 2013, he organized the 4th World Yoga Convention on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the sannyasa of his guru. At present he is the Paramacharya of Bihar Yoga Bharati (Institute for Advanced Studies in the Yogic Sciences) in Munger, Bihar.
Author of many classic books on yoga, tantra and the upanishads, Swami Niranjan is a magnetic source of wisdom on all aspects of yogic philosophy, practice and lifestyle. He ably combines tradition with modernity as he continues to nurture and spread his guru’s mission from his base at Munger.
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