Chidananda Saraswati

Chidananda Saraswati Biography

Chidananda Saraswati was a Hindu saint and spiritual leader who was a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati. He has served as the President of the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh and he succeeded the position soon after the death of his guru in 1963. He was earlier appointed as the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in 1948. He was initiated into the Sannyas order by his guru, Sivananda, on Guru Purnima day, July 10, 1949 and given the monastic name "Chidananda". Chidananda Saraswati died on August 28, 2008 aged 91. This spiritual guru has also authored several books based on yoga and spirituality.

He was born Sridhar Rao on 24 September 1916 in a prosperous Zamindar family of south India. At the age of eight, Rao was influenced by Hindu mythological stories told by his grandfather’s friend, Sri Anantayya. His uncle, Krishna Rao was against this and he tried to teach young Sridhar the life of renunciation. He studied at Muthiah Chetty School in Madras where he was a brilliant student. In 1938 he completed graduation from Loyola College. His family too was a well reputed one known for charity and noble works which influenced Sridhar a lot. Gradually he too devoted himself to seclusion and contemplation, despite having all luxuries of life.

He was attracted to spiritual books than college books, particularly the works of Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sivananda. He was an ardent admirer of Sri Ramakrishna Math at Madras and regularly participated in the Satsangs. In 1936, he left home without informing parents and reached at an ashram at shrine Tirupati. He returned to home for a short period, just to make his final preparations to detach from his family and friends. He obtained Sivananda's permission to join the Ashram and on Guru Purnima day, July 10, 1949, he was initiated into the holy order of Sannyasa by Sivananda.

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Updated: February 11, 2014