Swami Rama

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Swami Rama (1925 – 1996) was a famous yogi of the Himalayan tradition.

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[edit] Life

Born in North India to a Brahmin (priestly class) family , Swami Rama's real name was Brij Kishore Dhasmana. He was raised in the Himalayas by his master Bengali Baba. After many years of penance in the Himalayan caves Swami Rama went to the west where he spent a long stretch of his life teaching in the USA.

He is especially notable as one of the first yogis to allow himself to be studied by Western scientists. In the 1960s he allowed himself to be examined by scientists at the Menninger Clinic who studied his ability to voluntary control bodily processes (such as heartbeat) that are normally considered to be non-voluntary (autonomous).

[edit] Swami Rama's Legacy

He was the founder of the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy which has its headquarters in Honesdale, PA and branches in the USA, Europe and India. Swami Rama also founded other teaching and service organizations, some of which are linked below.

Swami Rama authored several popular books during his life, in which he describes the path he took toward becoming a yogi and lays out the philosophy and benefits behind practises such as meditation. One of the common themes expressed in such books as Enlightenment Without God and Living with the Himalayan Masters is the ability of any person to achieve peace without the need for a structured religion. He was critical of the tendency for a yogi to use supernatural feats to demonstrate their enlightenment, arguing that these only demonstrated the ability to perform a feat.

He is survived by a son (Mohit Dhasmana) and a daughter (Devyani Mungali).

[edit] Selected bibliography

  • Enlightenment Without God (Mandukya Upanishad)
  • Living with the Himalayan Masters
  • The Science of Breath: A Practical Guide
  • Meditation and its Practise

[edit] References

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This article has been tagged since March 2007.

[edit] External links


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