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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

• 1927-1946 - Youth in California
  

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva, was born in California in 1927. While living with his family in a chalet at Fallen Leaf Lake, near Lake Tahoe, California, the young Gurudeva began having mystical experiences at an early age. One major experience occurred at the age of six, when he distinctly saw his awareness as an entity entering the total consciousness of the here and now. In his autobiography, he relates how “the totality of the power of the eternity of the moment began to become stronger and stronger within me from that time onward”. This experience formed one of the cornerstones of Gurudeva’s future teachings.

A few years later, both his parents passed away. Living with relatives at the age of eleven, Gurudeva decided to learn the art of dance. Later, he explained the mystical aspect of dance: “Through the esoteric forms of dance, you become acquainted with the movements of the currents of the physical body, the emotional body and the body of the soul. The meditating dancer, inspired by music, finds the inner currents moving first, and lastly the physical body. This releases his awareness into inner, superconscious realms of the mind in a smooth, rapid and systematic way.” One of his parents’ friends was a dancer familiar with Indian forms of dance of the Bharata Natyam, Manipuri and Kathakali schools. She became Gurudeva’s first “catalyst”, as she educated the young mystic in Hinduism through culture, music, art, drama, dance and all the protocols of Indian life. For four years, Gurudeva studied intensely. He learned the worship of Lord Siva Nataraja and was introduced into the Vedanta philosophy. He listened to lectures of Indian swamis at the Vedanta Society in San Francisco and read books. He was most inspired by the life of Swami Vivekananda and his four small volumes: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Inspired Talks. He was especially impressed by Swami Vivekananda’s masterful poem, "The Song of the Sannyasin."

At the age of fourteen and fifteen, his second and third “catalysts” patiently taught him how to center the whole being of the physical body, the emotional body and the spiritual body so that the inner light would appear. At that time, he was meditating two hours every day. Gurudeva’s strict training in classical Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga developed him into an outstanding dancer. He joined the San Francisco Ballet Company, becoming their premier danseur by age nineteen. However, he knew that he would find his guru on the island of Sri Lanka and that going there to study was his next step. At twenty years of age, he took the first ship to leave for India after World War II and celebrated his twenty-first birthday days before going ashore and walking through the grand Gateway to India in Mumbai.

• 1947-1949 - Visit to Sri Lanka
  

Before meeting his guru, on the island of Sri Lanka Gurudeva studied with his fourth “catalyst” for a year and a half. Gurudeva just wanted to meditate, but his teacher made him work to help village people with reconstructing rural areas. Assignments included seeing that a new village bridge was put up again after a flood, bringing into another village modern electric saws and carpentry equipment to replace the old tools used in building furniture, and getting a school started for Buddhist children in a village lacking a school or teachers. Gurudeva visited and lived in many Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. He was received by the monks there and saw how they lived and dressed. This experience influenced in a very strict way the monastic protocols that he later put into action in his own monastic order.

In 1949, Gurudeva’s training came to an end and he could finally go meditate in search of enlightenment. He briefly met his fifth catalyst, an old mystic, who helped him complete his training for the realization of the Self. In the caves of Jalani, Kurugala Balandha, Sri Lanka, he fasted and meditated until he burst into enlightenment. Gurudeva relates his feelings while returning to Colombo, Sri Lanka: “Returning back to the city, nothing looked the same anymore. I was in another dimension. Everything was different. I had lost something: the desire for the realization of the Self. I felt complete. I felt alone.”

Back in Colombo, Gurudeva met his final teacher before meeting his guru. Up to this point, Gurudeva had studied yoga and had a fine exposure to Buddhism in Sri Lanka, but had not been made aware of orthodox Hinduism. His sixth catalyst brought him into Hinduism from a deep, inner-plane perspective, teaching him the mysticism and then the ritual. One day, his teacher arranged a meeting between Gurudeva and his long awaited satguru, Sage Yogaswami. After a deep and inner meeting, Yogaswami gave him the name Subramuniya. Subra means "the light than emanates out from the central source." Muni means a silent teacher, and ya means restraint. Subramuniya means a self-restrained soul who remains silent or speaks out from intuition. After a few visits, Jnanaguru Yogaswami initiated Subramuniya into the holy orders of sannyasa and ordained him into his lineage with a tremendous slap on the back giving the following instructions:

This sound will be heard in America! Now go ‘round the world and roar like a lion. You will build palaces (temples) and feed thousands.

Gurudeva later fulfilled his mission by building two temples of his own, giving blessings to dozens of groups to build temples in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and elsewhere, gifting deity images to 36 temples to begin the worship, and establishing his Hindu Heritage Endowment to support Hindus in need worldwide. Until his death, Yogaswami communicated with Gurudeva, year after year, through a common friend. In the line of successorship, Subramuniya was considered the 162nd Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara.

• 1949-1970 – San Francisco
  

In late 1949 Subramuniya sailed back to America and embarked on seven years of ardent, solitary yoga and meditation. He had been given instructions not to do any teaching until he became thirty years of age. Until then he was to observe, have experiences and learn. Cognizantability, a collection of profound aphorisms and commentary on the states of mind and esoteric laws of life, began to unfold from within him in these years (now published as an appendix of his book “Merging with Siva”). In 1956, he had a tremendous spiritual experience in Denver, Colorado, where “the soul body would finally fully inhabit the physical body”.

Back in San Francisco after that experience, in 1957 Subramuniya founded what is now Himalayan Academy and opened America's first Hindu temple. He formed his monastic order in 1960. Later the inspired talk The Self God was given to the first group of students, setting the pace of advaita philosophy for the West. The Master Course was issued, and he began doing his part as a helper on the path. In Switzerland, 1968, he revealed Shum, a mystical language of meditation that names and maps inner areas of consciousness. In 1969, Gurudeva’s desire to return to Sri Lanka took him over. The first India Odyssey Travel/Study program was formed and Gurudeva traveled to Sri Lanka with sixty-five students. He traveled extensively from 1969 to 2001, addressing hundreds of thousands of Hindus, especially followers of Siva in Sri Lanka and India.

• 1970-2001 - Kauai
  

In 1970, Gurudeva established his ashram in Kauai Kauai Aadheenam, on a riverbank near the foot of an extinct volcano. Kauai Aadheenam (also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery), is a 458 acre (1.9 km²) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island. In 1975 he conceived the San Marga Iraivan Temple on Kauai as the first all-granite temple established outside of India (see main article, Iraivan Temple). In 1977 he intensified requirements for his Western devotees to sever all prior religious, philosophical loyalties, legalize their Hindu name and formally enter Hinduism through the name-giving rite. In 1979 he published the Holy Orders of Sannyas, defining the ideals, vows and aspirations of Hindu monasticism with unprecedented clarity. In 1979 he founded the Hinduism Today Magazine, and in the early 80s, after his world tours, focused his magazine on uniting all Hindus, regardless of nationality or sect, and inspiring and educating seekers everywhere. His international Hindu renaissance tours in the 1980s brought him face to face with hundreds of thousands of Hindus, most notably in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and Mauritius, to whom he spread a powerful message of courage and pride of heritage. In the early 1980s he established the antiquity and legitimacy of monistic Saiva Siddhanta at international conferences among pundits who insisted that Siddhanta is solely pluralistic. In 1986 he founded a branch monastery in Mauritius, whose government had invited him there to revive a languishing Hindu faith. In 1991 he produced the Nandinatha Sutras, 365 aphorisms that outline the entire gamut of virtuous Hindu living. Especially in the early 90s he campaigned for fair treatment of temple priests, namely for them to receive the same respect enjoyed by the clergy of other religions. In 1998 Gurudeva began an ardent campaign for the right of children to not be beaten by their parents or their teachers, and helping parents raise children with love through Positive Discipline classes taught by his family devotees as their primary community service. In 2000 he published How to Become a Hindu, showing the way for seekers to formally enter the faith, confuting the notion that "You must be born a Hindu to be a Hindu." In November, 2000, he launched Hindu Press International (HPI) a free daily news summary for breaking news sent via e-mail and posted on the web. In 1999, 2000 and 2001 he conducted three Innersearch journeys, consecrating new temples in Alaska, Trinidad and Denmark. In 2001 he completed his golden legacy, the 3,000-page Master Course trilogy of Dancing, Living and Merging with Siva - volumes of daily lessons on Hindu philosophy, culture and yoga, respectively. On November 12, 2001, he attained mahasamadhi surrounded by his monastics.

For over five decades, Subramuniyaswami taught Hinduism to Hindus and seekers from all faiths. He was an ardent supporter of Hindu temples and priests, and an articulate spokesperson for Hinduism in the West. Meanwhile he and his monastics followed a contemplative and joyous existence, building a white granite Siva temple (Iraivan temple), meditating together in the hours before dawn, then working to promote the Sanatana Dharma through four areas of service (listed below). Gurudeva's mission, received from his satguru Yogaswami, was to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion as expressed through its three pillars: temples, satgurus and scripture. All his work and mission, 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.
• 1995 - Delhi, the World Religious Parliament bestowed on Gurudeva the title Dharmachakra for his remarkable publications.
• 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."
• 2000 - On August 25, he received the prestigious United Nations U Thant Peace Award in New York (previously bestowed on the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa). He addressed 1,200 spiritual leaders gathered for the UN Millennium Peace Summit, with the message, “For peace in the world, stop the war in the home.” Upon his return to Kauai, 350 citizens and county and state officials gathered to herald his accomplishments on the island and beyond.
• 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.

Principles and philosophy

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami belonged to the ancient monistic school of Saiva Siddhanta. This theology is called monistic theism, as it possesses a rare synthesis of devotional theism and uncompromising nondualism. It equally promotes temple worship and yogic revelation. It teaches that God is both within and outside of man, being the Creator and the creation, immanent and transcendent. In Gurudeva’s own words: “God Siva is everywhere. There is no place where Siva is not. He is in you. He is in the temple. He is in the trees. He is in the sky, in the clouds, in the planets. He is the galaxies swirling in space and the space between galaxies, too. He is the universe. His cosmic dance of creation, preservation and dissolution is happening this very moment in every atom of the universe.”

At the core of Gurudeva’s philosophy is his absolute perspective that man’s soul is already in nondual union with God in His two perfections of Parasiva (Transcendent Reality) and Satchidananda (Immanent Love). These are not aspects of the evolving soul, but the nucleus of the soul, which does not change or evolve. The primary goal of Gurudeva’s monistic Saivism is realizing one’s identity with God Siva, in perfect union and nondifferentiation (Parasiva). “We are That. We don’t become That.” This is termed Self Realization (enlightenment), and may grant moksha, permanent liberation from the cycles of birth and death. A secondary goal is the realization of Satchidananda, a unitive experience within superconsciousness in which perfect Truth, knowledge and bliss are known. A brilliant teacher and orator, Subramuniyaswami spoke eloquently about virtually every aspect of life—from ultimate reality to household harmony, kundalini yoga to adolescent angst.

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

From 1977 to 2001 Gurudeva nurtured a staunchly Hindu, highly disciplined, global fellowship of family initiates, monastics and students who follow the sadhana marga, the path of inner effort, yogic striving and personal transformation. With this competent team and a sophisticated infrastructure, his Saiva Siddhanta Church nurtures its membership and local missions on five continents and serves, personally and through publications and the Internet, the community of Hindus of all sects. 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. It gently oversees some 40 temples worldwide. 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

The Himalayan 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 $10 million in permanent funds, it seeks to establish and maintain permanent sources of income for Hindu institutions worldwide.

Hinduism Today

(main article: Hinduism Today Magazine)
'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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References

1. A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd. edition, page 251
2. A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd. edition, page 452
3. Hinduism Today, 2002, April, May, June issue
4. Hinduism Today, 2002, April, May, June issue
5. Hinduism Today, 2002, April, May, June issue
6. Merging with Siva ISBN 0945497954, page 909
7. Hinduism Today, 2002, April, May, June issue
8. All about Kauai’s Hindu Monastery page 30
9. All about Kauai’s Hindu Monastery page 31
10. External reviews of Dancing with Siva
11. 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