Swami Shambhavananda (beekeeping)

Swami Shambhavananda (beekeeping) Biography

Swami Shambhavananda was a Hindu monk from Kodagu associated with Ramakrishna Mission, best known for pioneering beekeeping. He pioneered modern beekeeping in Kodagu in 1928, which improved the economic strength of local people. Kodugu was best suited for beekeeping, and Shambhavananda explored the potentials to make it a business in large scale to help local people. Shambhavananda founded Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala in Mysore, a residential school for boys. His effort to eradicate malaria in rural areas of Kodagu in the 1930s and 1940s is worth mentioning. He was a good educator and good administrator too. He passed away in 1972.

Swami Shambhavananda was born in Halugunda village of Kodagu, Karnataka in 1892. His birth name is Chengappa. He joined the Ramakrishna Order at its Bangalore centre in 1917, and since then he lived the life of monk by setting examples to others. Apart from religious activities, he got involved with social activities like creating awareness about diseases in rural areas and providing good source of income to poor people through proper and scientific agriculture methods.

He was also an educationalist who established a residential school for boys and also Vedanta College or the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education. With the vision of Swami Vivekananda, he established Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala in Mysore for boys in 1953. Today the institution is spread to 69 acres of land in the heart of the city.

He served as the first president of the Ramakrishna Saradashramain Ponnampet, Kodagu. He also served as the president of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore. He used to sing solle paata ("song of the mosquito") in Kodava Takk local language to educate local people about the bad effects of malaria, and how to eradicate it.

Published: February 03, 2019

Updated: February 03, 2019