Vishnudevananda Saraswati Biography 
Vishnudevananda Saraswati was a spiritual leader yogi, peace activist and yoga guru from Kerala who lived during the period, 31 December 1927 – 9 November 1993. A disciple of Sivananda Saraswati, he founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. He started Sivananda yoga, a non-proprietary form of traditional hatha yoga named after his guru, and was based on his teachings as well. Through International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams, he taught Sivananda yoga to numerous students across the globe. He was one of the first yoga teacher training programs in the West. The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga (1959) and Meditation and Mantras (1978) based on Hatha and Raja yoga were published by him.
He was born into a Nair Hindu family of Kerala on 31 December 1927. His father was a Brahmin named Panchanatham. During his younger days, Vishnudevananda served in Indian army. Once he happened to read a booklet named Sadhana Tattwa written by Sivananda Saraswati. Some of its wordings deeply inspired him and he took a short leave from his military service to meet Sivananda Saraswati at Rishikesh. He met Sivananda Saraswati for the second time on the bank of the Ganges to the ashram. When Sivananda Saraswati prostrated before him, this act deeply moved young Vishnudevananda and also learnt first lessons from guru.
At the age of 20 he moved to Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh and became a disciple. He was initiated to Sanyasa and also served as the first professor of hatha yoga at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy. He continued his own practice, mastering advanced hatha yoga techniques, developed his own techniques and presented it before outer world. He also taught students across the globe. He founded the first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Montreal, Canada, in 1959.
Published: January 28, 2019
Updated: January 28, 2019
