Swami Sundaranand

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Swami Sundaranand (born 1926 India) is a photographer, mountaineer and Yoga Master.

Swami-ji was a student of the famous and reclusive yoga master Swami Tapovan Maharaj, ( 1889-1957) who wrote the classic yoga book Wanderings in the Himalayas (Himagiri Vihar)[1] about yogic life in the Himalayas in the late 19th and early 20th century. Swami-ji lived with Swami Tapovan in the then inaccessible area of Gangotri at the source of the Ganges river, considered one of India’s most sacred places.

Swami Sundaranand has lived since 1946, steps away from the Ganges in Gangotri, 10,400feet, in a modest hut (Kuti) which his master Swami Tapovan bequeathed to him on his passing. Swami Sundaranand lived there alone throughtout the severest winters with out any conforts or conveniences[2]. He has witnessed up close the gradual shrinking of the glacier, the Gangotri Glacier from which the Ganges springs forth, and has chronicled his devotion to the natural beauty of the Indian Himalayas as a photographer of serious accomplishment. A museum of Swami Sundaranand's Himalayan photography that is devoted to environmental protection and spiritual guidance is now in the planning stages. It will be located in Gangotri on the property of Swami-ji and his master.

As an ascetic, Swami-ji took the brahmacharia sadhu vow over 55 years ago and now devotes his life to a rigorous daily practice of meditation. He continues to be an advocate for the ecological preservation of India while being one of the last authentic, hardcore Himalayan yogis.

Swami Sundaranand, has, over 50 years, taken more than 100,000 photos of the shrinking Gangotri galcier in the Indian Himalayas. He now travells India raising awareness of the Gangotri's rapid demise.[3].

Swami Sundaranand is a noted mountain cliber having scaled over 25 Himalayan peaks from the 1950s-90s. Sir Edmund Hillary paid his respects to Swami Sundaranad in the 1980's[4] at Swami-ji's Gangotri hut.

Swami Sundaranand is also the subject of a feature documentary film 157 mins. produced by The Center for Healing Arts titled Personal Time with Swami-ji. The film was directed and edited by Victor Demko and was shot at Swami-ji's home of Gangotri at the historic source of the Ganges River. The film is a rare look into the practice of one of the last of the real Himalayan Yogis.

Swami Sundaranand is the authour of the book Himalaya: Through the Lens of a Sudu spanning 60 years of his photographic work. Swami-ji sought to capture the Eternal in Nature and to document the region as it once was with a special emphasis on planting the seeds of hope and inspiration to solve the environmental concerns of the area. A lookout point and plaque down river from Gangotri has been build and dedicated to the Swami's work and efforts.

[edit] Bibliography


[edit] Filmography

  • Personal Time with Swami-ji (157 mins, film, 2008, The Center for Healing Arts[5])

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wanderings in the Himalayas, English Edition, Pulished by Chinmaya Publication Trust, Madras-3, 1960, translated by T.N. Kesava Pillai, M.A.
  2. ^ Elixr Magagine, Spring 2006, page 87
  3. ^ United Nations, May 2007, Our Planet magazine
  4. ^ Personal Time with Swami-ji, 157 mins Film, The Center for Healing Arts
  5. ^ Directed and Edited by Victor Demko, Film Synopsis, The Center for Healing Arts [1]