The ascetic..

Swami Shivananda was basically a doctor. He was interested in philosophy. So he settled at Rishikesh after he was initiated by his Guru who gave him Sanyas. He founded the Divine life society and started writing. The speciality of his writings is their practicality. Shivananda (b. 1887 Tamil Nadu) attained Mahasamadhi in 1963. He wrote many books that carry the torch of spiritual wisdom.

Balakrishna Menon joined Shivananda’s ashram in 1949. He became an ascetic. He took the name Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati meant ‘the one who revels in the bliss of pure Consciousness.’