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Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 - 2001), affectionately known as Gurudeva by his followers, was born in Oakland, California on January 5 1927. In the 1970s he established a Hindu monastery in Kauai, Hawaii and founded the magazine Hinduism Today. The author of many books on Hinduism and metaphysics, Subramuniyaswami was one of the most prominent faces of Hinduism during the last two decades of the 20th century. He was one of Saivism's most orthodox and revered Gurus, the founder and leader of the Saiva Siddhanta Church, the world's first Hindu church. Professor Klaus Klostermaier, one of the world's leading specialists on Hindu studies, said in his A Survey of Hinduism:

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ... did much to propagate a kind of reformed Saivism through his books. As founder-editor of Hinduism Today, an illustrated monthly, he became the single-most advocate of Hinduism outside India. His Himalayan Academy trains Indian and Western Hindu monks and his Hindu Heritage endowment provides a source of income especially for priests belonging to the Saiva Siddhanta sampradaya worldwide. Subramuniya was honored and recognized by Hindu leaders in India and abroad.

Biography

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was born in California in 1927. As a young man of 20, he journeyed to India and Sri Lanka in search of his guru. Two years later was initiated into sannyasa by a siddha yogi and worshiper of Siva named Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Sri Lanka. In the line of successorship, he was considered the 162nd Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam (also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery), a 458 acre (1.9 km²) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island.

For over five decades Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva by followers, taught Hinduism to Hindus and seekers from all faiths. In Kauai, Gurudeva established his ashram Kauai Aadheenam on a riverbank near the foot of an extinct volcano. Gurudeva authored more than 30 books, while he and his monastics followed a contemplative and joyous existence, building a jewel-like white granite Siva temple (main article: Iraivan temple), meditating together in the hours before dawn, then working to promote the Sanatana Dharma together, through four areas of service as listed below. Gurudeva's mission, received from his satguru, was to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion as expressed through its three pillars: temples, satgurus and scripture. That mission is now carried forward by his monastic and family communities.

He traveled extensively from 1969 to 2001, addressing hundreds of thousands of Hindus, especially followers of Siva in Sri Lanka and India. He was an ardent supporter of Hindu temples and priests, and an articulate spokesperson for Hinduism in the West. He was, perhaps, the first authentic Western guru initiated into Hinduism and acknowledged as a spiritual leader by the broader Hindu community. He helped found 37 temples around the world, including two at his monastery in Hawaii.

• In April of 1999 Gurudeva led 45 spiritual aspirants on a weeklong “Innersearch” program from Vancouver to Anchorage, Alaska. On their ship, the MS Noordam, the aspirants studied meditation and the mystical life together, explored the glaciers and redefined the cruise experience along the way. In Anchorage, Gurudeva founded the first Hindu temple in that state, calling together the native American Indian leaders to participate in the event. He also initiated a powerful series of book signings in California, Washington and Alaska, introducing his newest book, Merging with Siva, to thousands of seekers.

• In August 1999 he traveled to Malaysia and Mauritius, where he met with the nation's leaders on several family-related topics, opened his Spiritual Park for 3,000 special guests, spent time with his Church members and continued the dynamic book signings, this time adding his newest book, Weaver's Wisdom, to the list.

• In March and April of 2000 he led another Innersearch Travel-Study program to the Caribbean, visiting six nations with 53 of his devotees and meeting the Hindu leadership in that remote part of the world, with special events among 4,500 Hindus who came to honor him in Trinidad.

• In August of 2001 Gurudeva took 72 devotees on a journey through Northern Europe, founding new Hindu temples along the way and visiting the Tamil communities in a dozen nations. Just before departing for the European Innersearch, he completed his last book, Living with Siva. Only weeks after returning from that dynamic odyssey, he died.

Gurudeva was known to the end for spending personal time with new members, island visitors who pilgrimaged to his sacred home on Kauai and new young monks who have come to the monastery to give their life in selfless service and the search for God within man. All of his work and mission, his vision and projects now go forward under the guidance of his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.

Honors and Awards

• 1986 - New Delhi's World Religious Parliament named Gurudeva one of five modern-day Jagadacharyas, world teachers, for his international efforts in promoting and chronicling a Hindu renaissance.
• 1988 - Oxford, England: Hindu representative at the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival. Gurudeva joined hundreds of religious, political and scientific leaders from all countries to discuss privately, for the first time, the future of human life on this planet.
• 1990 - Moscow: Hindu representative at the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival.
• 1992 - Rio de Janeiro: Hindu representative at the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival.
• 1993 - Chicago: at the centenary Parliament of the World's Religions, Gurudeva was elected one of three presidents, along with Swami Chidananda Saraswati of the Rishikesh-based Divine Life Society and Kerala's Mata Amritanandamayi, to represent Hinduism at the prestigious Presidents' Assembly, a core group of 25 men and women voicing the needs of world faiths.
• 1997 - Gurudeva responded to the US President's call for religious opinions on the ethics of cloning from the Hindu point of view.
• 1997 - Gurudeva spearheaded the 125th anniversary of Satguru Yogaswami and his golden icon's diaspora pilgrimage through many of the over 75 Sri Lanka temples and societies around the globe.
• 1998 - The Vishva Hindu Parishad of Kerala sent an envoy to Kauai to honor and recognize Gurudeva as the "Hindu Voice of the Century."
• until 2001 - Gurudeva was a key member of Vision Kauai 2020, a small group of community leaders that includes the Mayor, former Mayor and County Council members. They met on a monthly basis to fashion the island's future for twenty years ahead, based on moral and spiritual values.

Books

Gurudeva was author of more than 30 books unfolding unique and practical insights on Hindu metaphysics, Saivism, mysticism, yoga, and meditation. His works are highly regarded by many contemporary Hindu leaders.

His Master Course is Gurudeva's most monumental work, a comprehensive treatise on every aspect of Saivism in three books and more than 3,000 pages, composed in what he called "talkanese" - a flowing version of written English that resembles the spoken language and evokes ancient Hindu oral traditions. Gurudeva’s Master Course lessons on Saivism, written for children and taught in many schools, are preserving the teachings among thousands of youths.

Four Areas of Service

The four areas of service established by Gurudeva and now carried out by his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, and monastics, are: Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy, Hindu Heritage Endowment, and the 'Hinduism Today' international quarterly magazine.

Saiva Siddhanta Church

The congregation of Saiva Siddhanta Church is a disciplined, global fellowship of family initiates, monastics and students who follow the sadhana marga, the path of inner effort, yogic striving and personal transformation. Gurudeva was the hereditary guru of 2.5 million Sri Lankan Hindus. His various institutions form a Jaffna-Tamil-based organization which has branched out from his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy to meet the needs of the growing Hindu diaspora of this century. He also established a seven acre (28,000 m²) monastery in Mauritius, which includes a public Spiritual Park. Missionaries and teachers within the family membership provide counseling and classes in Saivism for children, youth and adults.

Himalayan Academy

Gurudeva's academy serves, personally and through its magazine, books, courses and travel/study programs, serious seekers and Hindus of all denominations.

Hindu Heritage Endowment

Hindu Heritage Endowment is a public service trust founded by Gurudeva in 1995. Currently holding $8 million in permanent funds, it seeks to establish and maintain permanent sources of income for Hindu institutions worldwide.

Hinduism Today

'Hinduism Today' is an international quarterly magazine founded by Gurudeva in 1979. It is a public service of his monastic order, created to strengthen all Hindu traditions by uplifting and informing followers of the Sanatana Dharma everywhere. In 1996 Gurudeva upgraded the newspaper 'Hinduism Today' to a magazine, a leap that placed it on newsstands everywhere, alongside Newsweek, Time and India Today. The magazine is currently distributed in 60 nations.

Photo Gallery

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• File:Sivaya Subramuniyaswami batik.jpg

References

1. A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd. edition, page 251
2. A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd. edition, page 452
3. External reviews of Dancing with Siva
4. Dancing with Siva ISBN 0945497970; Living with Siva ISBN 0945497989; Merging with Siva ISBN 0945497954

• 1927 births
• 2001 deaths
• Hindu gurus
• Saivite religious figures
• American Hindus
• Converts to Hinduism