Quotes Shree Swami Chidananda Saraswati

Chidananda Saraswati (24 September 1916 – 28 August 2008) was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. He is well known in India as a yogi, jnani and spiritual leader. He succeeded as President of the Divine Life Society in 1963, after the death of his predecessor, Sivananda Saraswati, who founded the Society.

Chidananda’s birth name was Sridhar Rao. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola College, Chennai. He took to a life of renunciation in 1936, and joined the Sivananda Ashram run by Sivananda Saraswati in Rishikesh in 1943.

He was appointed General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in 1948. He was initiated into the Sannyas order by his guru, Sivananda, on Guru Purnima day, 10 July 1949. It was then that he received his monastic name “Chidananda”, which means “one who is consciousness and bliss”.

The power of divine love cannot be fathomed, it cannot be described. It will follow you wherever you go, whatever you are, whatever you have done. Even if you go to hell, it will reach out for you there and break hell to pieces and redeem you.

The intelligent student, after studying vedic texts, is solely intent on acquiring wisdom and realization.

You know why you are doing something. And if it is against your life, your principles and ideals it is bothersome. And no one wants to be bothered. So you conveniently try to curtain it off, turn a blind eye, and put it out of sight so that it won’t bother you. This is what the Mind does.

Success in all undertakings is attained as a result of effort; effort put forth in the firm conviction that sincere and earnest human endeavor never goes unfulfilled. Success is not achieved by never encountering failure. Failure is often a part of success.

You are related to the Cosmic Divinity. You have come here to attain that Divinity.