Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

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Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 - 2001), affectionately known as Gurudeva by his followers, was born in Oakland, California on January 5, 1927. 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, world's first Hindu church.

[edit] Biography

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was born in California in 1927, as a young man of 20, in 1947, 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.

For over five decades Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva by followers, taught Hinduism to Hindus and seekers from all faiths. 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. From this verdant Polynesian ashram on a river bank near the foot of an extinct volcano, Gurudeva's successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, and the monastics live their cherished vision, following a contemplative and joyous existence, building a jewel-like white granite Siva temple, meditating together in the hours before dawn, then working to promote the Sanatana Dharma together through four areas of service: 'Saiva Siddhanta Church', 'Himalayan Academy', Hindu Heritage Endowment and the 'Hinduism Today' international monthly magazine.

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

'Hinduism Today' is an international monthly 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. Gurudeva was author of more than 30 books unfolding unique and practical insights on Hindu metaphysics, mysticism and yoga. His Master Course lessons on Saivism, taught in many schools, are preserving the teachings among thousands of youths. Hindu Heritage Endowment is a public service trust founded by Gurudeva in 1995. It seeks to establish and maintain permanent sources of income for Hindu institutions worldwide. In 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.

The Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival chose Subramuniyaswami as a Hindu representative at its conferences. Thus, at Oxford, England, in 1988, Moscow in 1990 and Rio de Janiero in 1992, he 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. At Chicago's centenary Parliament of the World's Religions in September, 1993, 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.

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. In 1997 he responded to the US President's call for religious opinions on the ethics of cloning from the Hindu point of view. Later that year, he 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. In 1998, the Vishva Hindu Parishad of Kerala sent an envoy to Kauai to honor and recognize Gurudeva as the "Hindu Voice of the Century."

In the last few years of his life 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.

In April of 1999 Gurudeva led 45 spiritual aspirants on an Innersearch from Vancouver to Anchorage, Alaska. Their ship, the MS Noordam, journeyed for 7 days and nights as they 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 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.

[edit] Books

Gurudeva has written several books on Hinduism, Saivism, 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.