Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887-1963), as he is known under his monastic name, was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai , Tamil Nadu, India. He is a well-known proponent of Hinduism in its yoga and vedanta forms. Due to his status as a major guru, he is usually addressed with the respectful title of Swami (master).
He went to medical school in Tanjore and worked as a doctor in Malaya.
In 1923 he left Malaya for India on an extensive pilgrimage. At Banaras, he had the darshan (vision) of Lord Vishvanath. Dr. Kuppuswami next went to Rishikesh where he became a disciple of Swami Vishvananda Saraswati . The guru gave him the name Swami Sivananda Saraswati.
Sivananda performed austerities for many years but he also continued to help the sick. With some money from his insurance policy that had matured, he started a charitable dispensary at Lakshmanjhula in 1927. He later created the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy in 1945.
Sivananda travelled the whole length and breadth of India during his Parivrajaka (wandering monk) life. He visited important places of pilgrimage in the south, including Rameshvaram. He conducted sankirtan and delivered lectures. He visited the Aurobindo ashram and met Maharishi Suddhananda Bharati. At the Raman ashram, he had the darshan of Raman Maharshi on Maharshi’s birthday. He sang bhajans and danced in ecstasy with Maharshi’s bhaktas. He also went on pilgrimages to Kailas-Manasarovar and Badri.
He returned to Rishikesh and in 1936 founded the new religious movement the Divine Life Society on the bank of the holy Ganges River. The free distribution of spiritual literature drew a steady flow of disciples to the Swami.
Swami Sivananda organized the All-world Religions Federation in 1945 and established the All-world Sadhus Federation in 1947. He called his yoga the Yoga of Synthesis.
