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Born as the eldest son of a family of six children, on the 25th of April
1922, he was named Subbaraya. He was born in a highly religious and orthodox
Brahmin family. He was well versed in the Sanskrit language, and its influence
was very profound on the young boy. He had his high school education in
Puttur (South Kanara Dist., Karnataka State) and stood first in the class
in all the subjects. Not being satisfied with what was taught in the classroom,
he took to an earnest study of Sanskrit on his own with the aid of the
Amara-Kosa and other scriptural texts. He studied and learned by heart
the entire Bhagavad Gita when he was still a boy.
He had a simple way of doing it: he would not eat his
breakfast, or even lunch, unless he had memorised a prescribed number
of verses. Thus, within months he memorised the whole of the Gita and
recited it in full every day. Such was his eagerness to study and learn
scripture. Reading from the Srimad Bhagavata that Lord Narayana lives
in the sacred Badrinath Dham, the young boy believed it literally and
had a secret pious wish to go to the Himalayas, where Badrinath is located,
and see the Lord there.
By the study of Sanskrit works like the Gita, the Upanishads,
and others, he was attracted more and more to the Advaita philosophy of
Shankaracharya, although his family belonged to the traditional Madhva
sect, which follows the dualistic philosophy. His inner longing for Advaitic
experience and renunciation were growing stronger every day. In 1943,
Subbaraya took up Government service at Hospet in Bellary District, but
his work there did not last long. Before the end of the same year, he
left for Varanasi, and while there he studied the Vedas and other scriptures.
But the longing for seclusion and the unknown call from
the Master pulled him to Rishikesh, where he arrived in the summer of
1944. When he met Swami Sivananda and fell prostrate before him, the saint
said: "Stay here till death; I will make kings and ministers fall
at your feet." The young man who wondered within himself how could
this ever happen at all, realised the prophecy of the saint's statement.
Swami Sivananda initiated this young Subbaraya into the holy order of
sannyasa on the sacred day of Makara-Sankranti, the 14th of January 1946
and gave him the name Swami Krishnananda.
Sri Gurudev found the young disciple was well suited
to correspondence, general writing tasks, the compiling and editing of
books, or any other literary sort of engagement. Later on he was given
the work of putting into typewritten form the hand-written manuscripts
of Sri Gurudev that were brought to him daily. For instance, Swami Krishnananda
typewrote the two volumes of hand-written manuscripts of the Brahma Sutras
of Sri Gurudev. He confined himself mostly to his work and study at the
beginning and did not have much contact with visitors, so that many people
who came from outside never even knew he existed in the Ashram. It was
in the year 1948 that Gurudev asked him to do more serious scholarly work,
along the lines of writing books in philosophy and religion, which he
took up in earnest. It could be safely said that from that year onwards,
he was more absorbed in writing and conducting classes, holding lectures,
etc., as per instruction of Sri Gurudev. His first book, The Realisation
of the Absolute, he wrote in a mere 14 days at the young age of 22.
When it became necessary for the Ashram to get assistance
from members gifted with management skills, Swami Krishnananda was asked
to collaborate with the Working Committee, which was formed in the year
1957. He was given the position of Secretary, and was especially concerned
with the management of the Ashram finances, which he continued till about
the year 1961. Due to the absence for a protracted period of Swami Chidananda,
Gurudev nominated him as General Secretary of the Divine Life Society-a
position he held until his resignation due to poor health in 2001. It
can very safely be said that in the history of the Divine Life Society
none ever held, nor is likely to hold, the responsible and taxing position
of General Secretary for such a lengthy period of time.
Swami Krishnananda was a master of scriptures, and he
expounded practically all the major works of Vedanta in the Yoga-Vedanta
Forest Academy of the Society, in early morning sessions, afternoon classes
and in regular three-month courses. Many of these talks have been brought
out in book-form-authentic commentaries covering the philosophy, psychology
and practice of the various disciplines of Yoga. He is thus the author
of over forty works, each one a masterpiece in itself. Only a genius of
the highest caliber could accomplish this feat, coming as it did in the
midst of the enormous day-to-day volume of work as the General Secretary
of a vast institution. He was a rare blend of karma and jnana yogas, a
living example of the teachings of the Gita.
Such was his literary skill and understanding of the
entire gamut of the works of Sivananda (numbering about three hundred
titles), that Sri Gurudev himself made him the President of the Sivananda
Literature Research Institute, when the Institute was formed on 8th September
1958. Swami Krishnananda was appointed the President of the Sivananda
Literature Dissemination Committee, which was formed to bring out translations
of Sri Gurudev's works in the major Indian languages. When Swami Shivapremananda
was sent to the United States, Swami Krishnananda was made the Editor
of the Society's official monthly organ, 'The Divine Life' beginning in
September 1961-a position that he did efficiently for nearly two decades.
He was a master of practically every system of Indian
thought and Western philosophy. "Many Sankaras are rolled into one
Krishnananda," said Sri Gurudev, in a statement of high praise, which
he himself has amplified in his article 'I Marvel at Krishnanandaji'.
Swami Krishnananda continued his service to the Ashram for the next forty
years as it grew from a relatively small society into a spiritual institution
widely known and respected throughout the world. Swamiji as General Secretary
skillfully dealt with all the administrative matters of the Ashram with
consummate expertise and grace. As he carried on this crushing load of
work, he also dealt with the needs of the devotees who came to him from
all over India and the world. Each morning he would carry on the business
of running the Ashram, but at the same time rendering loving advice to
those who came seeking help, and answering the spiritual questions posed
by people who sincerely trusted in his wisdom. Despite failing health
in his later years, he continued to serve the Ashram and the many visitors
who flocked to him.
Swami Krishnananda attained Mahasamadhi on 23 November,
2001 after a lengthy illness. On the morning of his passing, Swamiji had
told his personal assistant that the previous night he had dreamed that
he would die the following day. Swamiji had a severe asthma attack on
the 23rd and attempts to revive him by Dr. Babu, the Ashram doctor, were
unsuccessful. Residents of the Ashram were allowed to pay their respects
over the next two days, and on Sunday, November 25 senior swamis from
the Ashram performed the last rites. Many devotees and local people came
to pay their last respects, and thousands of people were present. Swamiji's
body was carried in a sitting position in a palanquin covered in garlands
of flowers.
The devotees in the procession chanted holy mantras
as the body was carried to various key places in the Sivananda Ashram,
such as the Samadhi Shrine, the Viswanath Mandir, and the Bhajan Hall.
The procession then continued along the main road to the Sivananda Arch
and later on to the Sivananda Ghat, where worship was performed. As Swamiji's
mortal remains were being taken in a boat to be immersed in the Ganga,
a large flock of birds appeared suddenly in the sky flying in a "V"
formation. They were headed in the direction of Badrinath, the abode of
Lord Narayana, offering as it were a symbolic gesture of farewell.
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