Life Sketch

The Call to Sadhana

There existed a math (monastery) in Dharwad called Navakalyana-math. It was established by its founder Guru-Siddha Prabhudevaru. Guru-Siddha Prabhu devaru had left his physical body in 1915. At the mandate of Guru-Siddha Prabhu devaru Shri Kumarswamiji came to stay in Navakalyan Math in 1932 leaving Naviluteerth.

While being engaged in social service, again and again his inner voice directed him to give up the worldly pursuits and dedicate all his time to the practice of yoga. It was in 1965 that he freed himself from the tangles of social activity and affairs of the math and entered into a life of solitude.

During this year of yogic practice and solitude he had attained enormous spiritual powers and yogic achievements. According to his own words, he could experience the coolness of the moon during the day and the warmth of the sun during the night.

Vidvat Sanyas and the Life of Solitude

Devotion to God, an intense desire to serve humanity, an innate urge for the realization of God – all these attributed to his choice of life of renunciation, dedication, sacrifice and service to mankind.

Having taken Vidvat Sanyas in 1965 Shri Swamiji established a spiritual hermitage known as Tapovan, three miles away from Dharwad.

Tapovan is located at the height of 2400 feet above the sea level and it lures all with its scenic beauty and serene atmosphere. There is an occasional flow of foreign visitors for darshan and spiritual guidance.

Immediately after taking Vidvat Sanyas, Shri Swamiji withdrew into silence in the cave for observing penance (anushtana). He emerged from the cave after one year of penance and delivered a message.

Subsequently he observed penance on two more occasions, once for six months and another one for nine months after which he delivered messages pregnant with prophetic visions.

A Teacher, Philosopher and Author

Shri Kumarswamiji toured over many places of India, delivering thought provoking speeches and lectures on spiritual subjects in all the principal Universities, preaching the tenets of science, yoga and mysticism.

In his own intuitive, unique way he made the reconstruction of the human society guided by a strong belief that the cultural unity of India makes an entry into the realm of rich human values.

Shri Swamiji is the author of sixteen books in English and eleven books in Kannada, his mother tongue. Many eminent thinkers and scholars of the East and the West have immensely appreciated and admired Shri Swamiji's masterly works on yoga, mysticism, religion, philosophy, education, international peace, democracy, etc. all of which penetrate deeply in the field of modern thought.

Tapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji is also a linguist and a charming orator with a beautiful style and excellent clarity of thought, who speaks to his listeners stirring the depths of their own nature.

Shri Swamiji is one of very few learned saints of India and his achievements in the sphere of yoga are remarkable. The subtlety of his thought and the fragrance of his literary and poetic style are like a fresh rose while his spirit is solemn and yet sweet.

Shri Swamiji could intuit like a prophet, feel like a poet and think like a philosopher.

Across Universities and Spiritual Forums

Under the auspices of The All India Philosophical Congress Shri Swamiji delivered two lectures, one at the University in Madras in 1940 and the other at the Aligarh University in 1941.

He was invited to attend and preside over the World Parliament of Religions convened by His Holiness Shri Swami Shivananda Maharaj.

In December 1970 Shri Swamiji attended the World Science and Yoga Conference held in New Delhi and participated in the deliberations of different streams.

In 1954, Shri Swamiji happened to meet Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India in Delhi. On seeing Swamiji, Panditji asked, “Who is this Monk?”

Swamiji replied, “I hail from Karnataka (formerly Mysore), the land of Basava.”

Then Panditji said to Swamiji, “Oh! I have heard about your address at Rishikesh. It was indeed reminiscent of the speeches of Swami Vivekananda.”

The Message of Shiva-yoga Beyond India

His Holiness Shri Kumarswamiji, the learned Saint, visited Europe several times from 1972 to 1982. At the invitation of the French National Yoga Congress Shri Swamiji delivered lectures in France and also toured over Switzerland, Belgium, England and Italy delivering speeches on various topics.

He presided over the International Yoga Conference held in May 1972 in Grenoble, France, as well as over the Parliament of World Religions in Paris in November 1972.

It was on that occasion that the audience had the privilege to listen to the “second Vivekanand of India”.

Later in November that same year Shri Swamiji had an audience with H.H. Pope Paul at the Vatican Palace in Rome and discussed with him the tenets of Shiva-yoga, the scientific and effective yoga method which enables spiritual aspirants (sadhakas) to galvanize into activity the dormant pineal gland, which, when awakened, helps to open the third eye.

As a reputed philosopher, Shri Kumarswamiji inaugurated the International Yoga Seminar held in France in 1975 and was the chief guest of the Sixth International Festival of Yoga and Esoteric Sciences held in London in 1976.

Again in the year 1977 His Holiness Shri Kumarswamiji was invited by the French-Indian Centre de Relations Culturelles to deliver lectures on yoga, philosophy and mysticism.

Prayer, Peace and Powerful Service

Many had sought and obtained guidance in their spiritual development from Shri Kumarswamiji who discovered a simple and effective method of collective prayer known as Prarthana Yoga (Prayer-yoga) and later founded the International Prayer-Yoga Circle.

The purpose was to bring about a sense of duty, co-operation and mutual love amongst all sections of humanity through devotion to God.

The mantra || He Prabho Praseed Aum || which is the quintessence of Prayer-yoga, flashed to Shri Swamiji when he was in deep meditation. Since then it has been given to all and sundry for their self-realization.

“Today in the world there is divorce between power and peace. In the West there is power, but it is blind. In the East there is peace, but it is lame. Prayer-yoga helps us to remove this disparity and regain the peaceful power and powerful peace.”

This as well as many other messages reveals the cosmopolitan spirit of Shri Swamiji who by his selfless service to mankind has become the citizen of the world.

Twenty-Five Years of Selfless Service

On completion of 25 years of successful selfless service to mankind by H.H. Shri Kumarswamiji, Silver Jubilee of Tapovan was celebrated in December 1990, inaugurated by His Holiness Dalai Lama, a Nobel laureate.

Many scholars, thinkers and other delegates from India and abroad participated in the Science and Yoga Conference which was held on that occasion.

Knowledge of Homeopathic and Yogic Healing

Shri Kumarswamiji had a profound knowledge of homeopathic and yogic medical treatment for many human ailments.

A homeopathic medical unit is being run in Tapovan.