8/3/2019 Legacy of a Guru- Swami Ytidharmanand

1/3

november 2008l i f e p o s i t i v e10

T R I B U T E

THE LEGACYOF A

Abeacon of light and a living exam-ple of the simplicity that lies at theheart of Indian spiritual practice,Swami

Chidananda Saraswati, the spiritual head

of the Divine Life Society, was the

embodiment of the teaching of his

revered master, Swami Sivananda:Serve,

love, give, purify, meditate, realise.

He succeeded Swami Sivananda as

the president and spiritual head of the

Divine Life Society in 1963.

His mahasamadhi on August 28,

2008, has left thousands of disciples and

admirers bereft.

Swami Chidananda was born as

Sridhar Rao in Mangalore, South India,

on September 24,1916.Devotional songs

and stories from the scriptures, as well

as the lives and teachings of modern saints

such as Sri Ramakrishna, Swami

Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi and

Swami Ramdas, awakened in him a fiery

aspiration for the spiritual life. He gradu-

ated in 1938 from Loyola College,Madras.

the legacy of swami chidananda lives on in his teachings and his sublime effect

on the lives of the millions that he touched. a disciple pays tribute to swami chidananda

saraswati, the spiritual head of the divine life society, who passed away recently

by Swami Yatidharmananda

8/3/2019 Legacy of a Guru- Swami Ytidharmanand

2/3

november 2008l i f e p o s i t i v e12

In 1943, he joined the Himalayan

ashram of Swami Sivananda, founder of

the Divine Life Society, whose dynam-

ic spiritual writings had long attracted

him. On Guru Purnima, 1949, he wasinitiated into the holy order of sanyasa.

A simple monkAlthough the spiritual head of a glob-

al institution, at heart he remained a

simple monk, whose aim in life was

to do as much good for as many peo-

ple as possible. His life became one of

endless service and the dissemination

of spiritual knowledge.

Swami Chidananda set the example

of employing discipline and self-con-trol, together with the help of dedicat-

ed practice in meditation and yoga, to

go beyond the senses. In his words I

am not this body, not this mind,

Immortal Self I am. He inspired all to

emulate him, and addressed all as

Radiant Immortal Atman to

remind us to live, in thought,word and

deed, as the divine beings we truly are.

The legacy of Swami Chidananda lives

on in his teachings and his sublime effect

on the lives of the millions that hetouched. His messages were, as he him-

self said, from the universal to the uni-

versal. People of all religions, races and

ideologies gravitated towards him,for he

taught that which could be practised,no

matter who you are and where you live.

Moving tributesSpiritual teacher Andrew Cohen wrote:

I remember being instantly struck by his

countenance upon seeing him for the first

time. He exuded a natural air of dignitythat was commanding and made me sit

up straight.He also radiated a rare qual-

ity that I had never seen before in any

human being purity.In the presence of

such a being,one becomes instantly aware

of ones own lack of development and

of how far there is to go.One understands

Guruji's sayings

We are not born in order to die, we are born in order to know that we have

neither birth nor death, neither beginning nor end.

It is not what we do that matters, but with what attitude it is done that counts.

Let every act be a beautiful blossom reverentially laid at the feet of the Divine,

manifest as Humanity.

Be absolutely fearless knowing that you have infinite strength within.The world

cannot overcome you if you have courage.

Your senses cannot overcome you if you know that you are strong. Nothing

in this universe has the power to attract, ensnare or enslave you, if you are

fearless in the knowledge of your own divine strength.

Faith, Hope and Charity, never let go of these.Always let them be enshrined

within you faith in the Supreme, hope for yourself and charity towards all.

Control the self, conquer the mind and its desires and be established in con-

centration and inner meditation.There is no guru seva, no guru bhakti,and no

guru dakshina higher than this. This is the highest way of paying reverence

to the guru.

You are the being through whom the guru lives.This is an honour.This is a priv-

ilege. This is a great good fortune. It is also a responsibility; it is a duty.

Even 100 gurus cannot help, unless the disciple has a great desire for libera-

tion, and is seeking to get rid of all that stands in the way.

8/3/2019 Legacy of a Guru- Swami Ytidharmanand

3/3

november 2008l i f e p o s i t i v e 13

for the first time what unselfish love, spir-

itual freedom,and pure motivation look

like.He was gentle yet strong,and in every

word he spoke and every gesture he made

he seemed to be bearing witness to thepresence of a higher and deeper dimen-

sion of reality that he was constantly refer-

ring to as the Divine. It was impossible

not to take him seriously and difficult not

to be deeply moved by his powerful trans-

parency and authenticity.Its only in the

presence of such a being that the very

notion of shadow, of human darkness,

disappears as a reference point, inspiring

a quality that is generally unknown in

post-modernity humility.

Devotee Abha Suchak recalls an inci-dent that highlights the essence of

Swamiji.It was Swamijis 75th birthday

and thousands had gathered in the

ashram to wish him. He asked,Will you

be generous enough to give me something

if I ask today? Give me a promise to put

an effort toward these five actions:

I will always be 100 per cent truthful

come what may.

I will practice total non-injury in

thought, word and deed.

I will bring discipline into all aspectsof my life and do daily sadhana.

I will love all life and living beings

and I will serve everyone around me.

I will stay cheerful.

Can you give me these gifts? Not all

today, but at least start cultivating these

qualities and someday they will become

a habit.Always be watchful. I got seri-

ously thinking. Slowly I realised he had

set us off on a path that was tough but

also attainable at the same time.

Another devotee,Mayu Chulani,writes:I am in darkness; he lights a lamp:

Radiant Immortal Atman,you are! I hes-

itate; he pushes me forward: Do it now!

Do it now! I am lost; he shows me the

way:Take the path to liberation! I reach

for dross; he gives me gold:The real treas-

ure is the bliss Divine! I sleep; he ends the

dream: Arise, awake, having reached the

wise become enlightened! I am aban-

doned; he comforts me: I am with you,

I am forever here!I tread the path towards

the goal,knowing my beloved and revered

guru is ever at my side.

In Aparajita Sigmans experience;

Swamiji called my parents, en routefrom Delhi to Ahmedabad, asking if he

could stay the night with us. Swamiji was

known to the family, but he wasnt my

guru yet. This was his first visit to our

home. I was two years old and sick with

high fever.After he retired to his room at

night, my fever steadily rose to 107

degrees, until I slipped into a coma.

Despite all medical treatments there was

no improvement.My parents had lost all

hope. At 5.30 am, before leaving for the

airport, Swamiji unceremoniouslyentered the room, laid his hands on my

forehead and blessed me. Something

happened in that instant.Within seconds

my eyes opened to see Him before me.

There was no trace of sickness; I was as

fresh as a daisy. The first words out of my

mouth were Hi, Swamiji! Ever since

then, my guru consumes my being with

the deepest love and brightest light.

Summing it all up perfectly, devotee

Moo Briddell shares her feelings about

Gurudev: What a great privilege to haveknown such an exquisite being, who

turned so many lives towards God, yet

once said a spiritual life should be like

the flight of a bird at night, so that no

one would know you had ever been

there.Always wanting to be nobody, he

changed the world. In his light and love,

his example of how to live on this earth

is forever etched in my soul. He was an

emissary sent from God, to support,

inspire and protect sincere seeking souls

and to challenge them to take to the spir-itual path and never, ever give up.

Immortal foreverSuch was the effect of Swami

Chidananda. He was intimately con-

nected with every single devotee. He

answered before the question was

asked, gave before the need arose, loved

before he was loved back. His presence

made all our hearts sing with joy, his

cheerful disposition uplifted one out of

any darkness. He laughed and loved

without restraint. His boundless being

took so many into his care and show-

ered unconditional love upon all equal-ly, affecting each one profoundly.

Someone once asked Swami

Chinmayananda,the founder of Chinmaya

Mission:Is the ideal jivanmukta of the

Bhagvad Gita a mere scriptural represen-

tation or a living reality? Is there anybody

today who may fittingly be called a sthi-

taprajna?He answered, Yes. There are

such great ones.One is Ma Ananadamayee

and the other is Swami Chidananda. One

should behold them and get sanctified.

The late Swami Venkateshananda, thebrother disciple of Swami Chidananda,

once said, Who is Chidananda? I will

tell you the truth. Chidananda is

Dont try to describe him you will fail.

Silence is Gods name.

Most significantly, his own guru,

Swami Sivananda, lauded him unstint-

ingly: Chidananda is a jeevanmukta, a

great saint,an ideal yogi,a param bhak-

ta and a great sage. Swami Chidananda

is much more. Chidanandajis lectures

are the outpourings of his saintly heart,the revelations of his intuitive wisdom.

His lectures must be printed in gold.

As devotees,children and students of

this great master each one of us will miss

being graced with his physical presence.

However, Swamiji taught us well that the

the guru never dies; he lives on in his

teachings and through his disciples. We

do not grieve for him for we know that

He is Immortal and is all around us,

inside us: He is us, we are Him for all

is one.Through us,his disciples, SwamiChidananda lives forever.

Our gratitude for having Swamiji as

our guru can never be fully expressed.He

is always here,and,through his words of

immense wisdom, his divine presence,

spiritual insight and guidance, humility,

wit and sense of humour, continues to

guide us toward self-realisation.

We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article.

Mail us at editor@lifepositive.net