Tapovan Maharaj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tapovan Maharaj (1889–1957) was a Hindu Sannyasi and Vedanta scholar who taught both Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of the Chinmaya Mission Movement and Swami Sundaranand.

Sri Swami Tapovan Maharaj is one of the most renowned saints of the 19th century. He was a contemporary of Swami Sivananda Maharaj and was the Guru of Swami Chinmayananda Maharaj. Swami Tapovan Maharaj was born in 1889 on the auspicious Suklapaksha Ekadasi day of Margaseersha month. His mother, Kunchamma belonged to an ancient aristocratic Nair family in Palghat Taluk of Kerala. His father, Achutan Nair, belonged to Kotuvayur in Kerala. Even as a little boy, Swami Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a marked partiality for spiritual life. He delighted in worshipping idols fashioned with his own hands. He was admitted to the local English school, but not liking the thoroughly materialistic education, he decided to quit the school and continued his studies in English, Malayalam and Sanskrit with still greater vigor by himself. Under competent teachers he mastered poems, dramas, grammar and logic. He read all available religious literature in Malayalam, Tamil, English and Sanskrit. He also engaged in spiritual exercises.

Born in Palakkad, Kerala as Subramanian Nair,[citation needed] Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a thirst for spiritual knowledge and self-realisation, also being an accomplished public speaker.[citation needed] He left the modern education system early and dedicated himself to the study of Sanskrit and the Vedanta.[citation needed] After his brother became employed as a lawyer, he entered the order of Sannyasi.[citation needed]

Tapovan Maharaj did not believe in the system of "ashrams", and was known for his strict solitary lifestyle in the Himalayan region of Uttarkashi.

He authored two books on his travels through the Himalayas: "Wanderings in the Himalayas" (Himagiri Viharam)[1] and "Kailasa Yatra." Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a deep love for nature and his accounts of his travels demonstrate such.[citation needed] His autobiography, written in Sanskrit is titled "Ishvara Darshana". He died in 1957.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chinmaya Publication Trust 1960, Madras-3, India - Translator T.N. Kesava Pillai

External links

Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.