Milestones in the History of
Swami Satchidananda
1914: Birth
December 22, 1914
C.K. Ramaswamy (Ramu) was born in Chettipalayam, near Coimbatore, in South India. His father, Sri Kalyanasundaram, was a landowner, village leader, Tamil scholar, and acclaimed…
Read more1921: Higher Education
January 1, 1924
In 1921, seven-year-old Ramu asked his father if he could accompany him to the conference, not only to listen but to give a short talk…
Read more1934: Automobile Importer
April 11, 1934
Ramu’s uncle, Sri Krishnaswamy Gounder, owned a growing automobile business in Coimbatore and was the first importer of British cars in Madras (now Chennai). He…
Read more1937: Temple Manager
January 1, 1937
The trustees of the Perur Temple of Lord Nataraja approached Sri Kalyanasundaram with an urgent request. “Do you think Ramaswamy would take up the management…
Read more1938: Householder Life
May 14, 1938
Srimati Velammai and her husband were concerned about Ramu’s future. He was twenty-three and still a bachelor when most men were married and had children….
Read more1942: Seclusion & Study
May 1, 1942
After the loss of his wife, Ramu lived in a room in his father’s house and later in an eight-foot square hut in a field…
Read more1946: Spiritual Pilgrimage
January 14, 1946
In 1946 Ramaswamy wandered throughout South India as a mendicant. He devised this as a test period. “If there is a God, then God will…
Read more1947: Pre-monastic Vows
January 1, 1947
Ramu entered the Ramakrishna Mission at Thirupparaiturai, which was headed by Sri Swami Chidbhavanandaji Maharaj. Chidbhavanandaji was a disciple of Sri Swami Shivananda, one of…
Read more1949: Sri Ramana Maharshi
January 1, 1949
Prior to entering the Ramakrishna Mission in 1947, Ramaswamy had felt something drawing him north toward the Himalayas. He had made the decision to leave…
Read more1949: Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
April 1, 1949
Sambasiva Chaitanya’s pilgrimage resumed. In the spring of 1949 he was able to continue on his way north to Rishikesh to the ashram of H….
Read more1951 – 1952: All India Tour
February 8, 1951
In 1951, Sri Swami Sivananda decided to send Swami Satchidananda to care for a devotee facing a medical crisis. He also said, “I want you…
Read more1953: Sri Lanka
February 1, 1953
Srimati Selvanayagi was a young woman from a very wealthy Ceylonese family that owned many acres of land around Trincomalee. When Gurudev Sivanandaji traveled to…
Read more1958: Himalayan Pilgrimages
June 1, 1958
High in the Himalayan range is the majestic, glacier-capped peak of holy Mount Kailash, legendary home of Lord Siva. Along the way to the peak…
Read more1959/1961: Hong Kong and South Asia
April 1, 1959
In 1959, Swamiji accepted an invitation from Sri Vasudeva Daryanani, the secretary of the Divine Life Society, to give a series of lectures and demonstrations…
Read more1965: An Invitation to the West
November 1, 1965
Sri Lanka—known as Ceylon when Swami Satchidananda lived there—was a true paradise. With its lovely climate and beautiful scenery it held a great attraction for…
Read more1966: To Europe
April 1, 1966
On the way to Paris, in April 1966, Swami Satchidananda stopped in Cairo, Jerusalem, and Rome. Mr. Yogendra Duraiswamy, Ambassador from Ceylon to Rome, knew…
Read more1966: New York City
July 31, 1966
Swami Satchidananda arrived in New York the summer of 1966. He was hosted by artist Peter Max, along with a close friend and designer colleague…
Read more1967 – 1968: Interfaith Visionary
January 1, 1967
During the late 1960s, Swami Satchidananda continued to foster the growth of the Integral Yoga Institute in New York, as well as to send students…
Read more1969: Carnegie Hall, Woodstock, a Record Album & Integral Yoga Magazine
January 31, 1969
Over the next several years, the Integral Yoga Institute of New York expanded its activities, began training teachers to begin to take over classes from…
Read more1970: Retreats, Earth Day, World Tour & Meetings with Remarkable People
April 22, 1970
By 1970, Swami Satchidananda’s popularity was growing by leaps and bounds as interest in Yoga exploded. He was invited to give talks at numerous universities,…
Read more1972: Vogue Magazine
January 1, 1972
In 1972, Vogue magazine became one of the first major fashion magazines to do a spread on Yoga. The article featured Swami Satchidananda teaching Yoga…
Read more1972: Wellness & Yoga
May 1, 1972
Throughout 1972, Swami Satchidananda was traveling continually and speaking to a variety of audiences. Of special interest to him was sharing his teachings on disease,…
Read more1972 – 1973: Ashrams, Pre-monastics & “Yoga for the City”
June 15, 1972
On April 15, 1972, the first Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville opened in Siegler Springs, Lake County, California. For several years, Swami Satchidananda expressed his dream of having…
Read more1974: Patron of Yoga, Interfaith & World Peace Organizations
January 16, 1974
By the early 1970s, as Swami Satchidananda was becoming more well known for his Integral Yoga system, for his views on holistic health and wellness,…
Read more1975 – 1976: Integral Health Services
March 21, 1975
In March 1975, Sandra (Amrita) McLanahan, MD, (pictured above with Swamiji) opened Satchidananda Clinic in Putnam, Connecticut. The Clinic was located in the town closest…
Read more1977: Medical Schools and a Yoga School
January 1, 1977
From the early-1970s onward, Swami Satchidananda received more and more requests to speak about his ideas regarding illness vs. wellness, dis-ease, preventive and integrative medicine….
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