Lineage
H.H. Swami Rama of the Himalayas (1925-1996) 
A disciple of the Himalayan adept, Sri Bengali Baba, Swami Rama (1925-1996) was born and raised in the legendary Himalayan mountain caves where countless generations of yogis have been trained and initiated into the deepest mysteries of yoga. Throughout his childhood and adolescence he lived and travelled with many saints and yogis. At the young age of 24 years he succeeded the great spiritual leader Dr. Kurtkoti as Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham.
He renounced the dignity and prestige of this high office to return to the Himalayas to intensify his meditative practices. After completing an intense, eleven-month meditation practice in isolation, he emerged with the determination to serve humanity, particularly to bring the teachings of the East to the West, and directed his life toward the unification of science and spirituality. He began his synthesis of eastern and western traditions with his research work at the Menninger Foundation in the United States and helped to revolutionize scientific thinking about the relationship between body and mind.
He founded the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy with branches throughout the world, and the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, a 350 million dollar health and rural development project located near Dehradun in Garhwal, designed to serve this region’s population of millions of people in great medical, economic and social need. From a small outpatient clinic started in 1989, the Trust has grown into a huge medical city that incorporates an ultra modern SOD-bed hospital, medical college, school of nursing, Rural Development Institute and holistic centre.
Through his life and teachings, Swami Rama sought to combine the ancient teachings of the East with modern approaches of the West. He was a great yogi, scientist, philosopher, humanitarian, and mystic poet, all rolled into one. Having reached the heights of spiritual enlightenment, he always strove with seemingly endless energy to attain perfection in his actions in the external world. His life and teachings are the inspiration behind AHYMSIN and Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG).
Recent Articles
Mantra is the means. Meditation is the method. – Remember
The mantra helps one to go beyond this process, creating a new groove in the mind, and the mind then begins to spontaneously flow into the groove created by the mantra.
Only Way to Freedom is to Learn to Give – Serve
Do the following experiment for just a day or two: Use that great power that is your inherent power—the power called love. Learn to express yourself in such a way that you don’t hurt, injure, or harm others. Learn to give. Often you hurt others merely for the sake of your own selfish ego.
Selfless Love
Love is learning to maintain respect for others. Love is not that spontaneous thing you feel for someone that is merely sensual. That feeling is not love; it dies in only a few days’ time. Love is understanding; it is giving.
Art of Concentration – Remember
In most great meditative traditions of the world, the breath is the center for focusing the mind. Only those teachers who do not have direct experience with the path of meditation and who have lost the sensitivity for the well being of their students prescribe a gross object as a focal point. With the breath as an object, the student is first led toward concentration, which gradually becomes more subtle. Following this fine thread of breath, he attains inwardness. The mind then acquires the capacity of subtlety, and one develops a penetrating sense of internal observation.
Serving All Selflessly – Serve
Seeking happiness in the external world is like chasing a mirage: no matter how fast one may rush toward it, he never finds anything even when he reaches the place where he thought his goal lay. It is impossible to attain happiness in the external world, for happiness is only found deep in the innermost chamber of one’s being. The Self is the center of happiness. Those who are realized are always filled with the happiness of the Self, and they alone find real peace in their hearts. With the light of knowledge, such illumined beings are able to remove all doubts from the mind. When the doubts are removed there is clarity of mind, and then one is able to see things as they are. This happens only when the knowledge of Atman is attained. That knowledge is all-encompassing, eternal, and everlasting. But those who become a victim of sense pleasures have no clarity of mind, are full of doubts, and are unable to see things in perspective. Their sufferings are countless, and they constantly create obstacles for themselves instead of removing them.
Characteristics of the Best of Devotees – Love
These verses explain the characteristics of the best of devotees. Such a one hates none and loves all, is kind to all and treats everyone alike. For him there is no attachment to any particular person. He has no pride, regards misery and pleasure alike, forgives all, and practices spiritual sadhana regularly. Through his spiritual discipline he is able to control his senses. It is important to control the senses, for they distract and dissipate the mind. Without control over the mind and senses, sadhana is not possible. One who is not motivated by desire for sense enjoyment, who performs his duty with full determination, and who dedicates his skills to the Lord’s work is dear to the Lord. He who does not despise anyone and whom no one despises is not affected by success or failure, anger or fear. He who is single-mindedly devoted to his duty and remains equally non-attached to gain and loss is dear to the Lord. One who is able to attain the state of tranquility, not caring for honor or dishonor, who is free from the pairs of opposites, who maintains silence, does not have any home for himself, whose mind is always one-pointed, and whose heart is full of faith regards the Lord as his own Self. Such a one who has secured the highest of knowledge is a blessed one.
Swami Veda Bharati (1933-2015)
Mahamandaleshwar Sri Swami Veda Bharati (1933- July 14, 2015), former President of Sadhana Mandir Trust, was a rare Sanskrit scholar of our time, unsurpassed in his profound depth of knowledge, philosophy and practice of Meditation. He was born in a Sanskrit-speaking family and raised in the centuries old Vedic tradition. He taught the Patañjali’s Yoga-sūtras for the first time at the early age of 9 and the Vedas from age 11. Having never attended any school, he received his M.A. from the University of London and a D.Litt. from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
From 1952-1967, he spread the Yogic and Vedic teachings in many parts of the world, including Africa and the West Indies. In 1969, he received the highest initiations into the mysteries of Meditation from his Guru Swami Rama of the Himalayas who linked him to the sacred lineage of the Himalayan Yogis. Thereafter he established and guided Meditation groups and centers in all parts of the world. He had access to 17 languages and taught Meditation in all of the major languages of the world and to followers of all religions.
In continuation with the oral tradition of the living lineage of the Himalayan Sages, Swami Veda taught: “योगः समाधिः | yogaḥ samādhiḥ | Yoga = samadhi | Yoga [is] samadhi. He proposed that the entire yoga science must be studied and practiced on the basis of this definition of yoga. All other definitions are subservient to it. He revealed the authentic teachings of Classical Yoga through his 1500 page commentaries on the (first two chapters) Yoga-Sutras. This commentary has been hailed among scholars and practitioners both as the most authentic and authoritative. He has recorded more than 3,500 hours of courses on all aspects of meditation, its texts, and philosophical systems apart from teaching the ancient texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita in an experiential context for meditation. Following on the footsteps of his Guru, he maintained a keen interest in the scientific studies of yoga mediation and subjected himself to a number of researches in the field of Neurophysiology of the Meditative states.
Swami Veda Bharati emphasized the universality of yoga as a science, which transcends chronological time, geographical boundaries, religious discrimination, and manmade sectarianism. Although he always liked to keep a low profile, he was well known for his teaching in different communities and cultures all over the world and for his expertise in instructing students in accordance with their own religion-philosophical background. During his lifetime, he participated in numerous interfaith dialogues, activities, and conferences with an aim of improving understanding among various religions. He found the experience of meditation to be the common ground among all religions. Prepared on the occasion of the United Nations 2000 World Peace Summit of Leaders in Religion and Spirituality, his short work, “Unifying Streams in Religions,” provides a fresh perspective for bringing the different faiths closer together.
In 2002, he founded Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in Rishikesh, which houses the headquarters of the Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International (AHYMSIN) and serves as the centre for his global network among nearly 100 groups in 26 different countries; spreading the teachings of the Himalayan Tradition. We can best repay his extra-ordinary efforts by availing ourselves of the fruits of his experiential teachings to further our own yogic practice for our own enlightenment and the welfare of all.
Recent Articles
Getting Rid of Negative Influences
What I have observed, and I’ve come to observe this well because my own family lives in two worlds, is the influence of modern society on our ability to be defenceless. My children live at home in a world which is my world of philosophy, scholarship, thinking gentle thoughts, meditation, and peaceful feelings. Then my children go to school and in response to peer group pressure, they have to build defences and cultivate aggressiveness to stay alive and survive, because gentleness and quietness does not work.
Guided Meditation on Christ-Spirit
Gather the most beautiful flowers of this earth, filling your hands with white, red, yellow, and blue flowers and place them at the Lord's feet with both hands cupped.
Two Blood Cells
“Fellow cells, harken! I must share with you a great vision I have been granted. We are not all apart, each cell having a separate life of its own. There is a great omnipresent being whose life force we share, from whom we are born, in whom we dwell, and into whom we each finally dissolve."
Mantra – What and Why
Mantra is a word or a series of words; it is a thought; it is a prayer, but not in the sense in which the word “prayer” is used ordinarily, but rather a linkage of our lower consciousness with the higher consciousness, which we call the Divine Consciousness, or the Divine Life-Force. A mantra is a sound-unit, a thought-unit. It is a sound or a series of sounds given to a Yoga student or disciple to remember constantly for a specific spiritual purpose. In our interior map of the web of consciousness, the energy of consciousness takes two forms: sound and light. At a certain stage the sound and the light energy are entwined or unified. At the present stage of our development, they are experienced differently from each other, so we begin with the sound of a mantra. The initiation into light comes a little later.
Kalyana Mitra
A kalyana mitra is who? I have intentionally not used the word TEACHER. Some people say: I am not interested in being a teacher. Others say, oh, I have already done my teacher training!! A brother is a kalyana mitra, a neighbor, parents, children, school teacher.
Holi Wishes 2012
I wish you a colours-lit whole year and all of the times beyond.
Swami Ritavan Bharati
Present Ashram Pramukha and Spiritual Guide:
Swami Ritavan Bharati has lived a life dedicated to serving Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati since 1970. After having been initiated at the age of 20, he transited through all the three Ashrams of Vedic life (Brahmacharya, Grihastha, and Vanaprastha) under the direct guidance of Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati. He was then initiated into Sanyasa in 2007.
He holds master’s degrees in Management, Education, Holistic Philosophy, and Eastern Studies. A highly experienced yoga meditation practitioner, he has conducted and guided numerous silence and meditation retreats throughout the world and has been instrumental in guiding the international Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP). He is also a Mantra Initiator within the Tradition of the Himalayan Masters. Swami Veda Bharati chose Swami Ritavan Bharati as his successor; as the Ashram Pramukha and Spiritual Guide of SRSG and the AHYMSIN community, before he took Mahasamadhi in 2015.
A man of few words, his primary focus is on the inner life.
Recent Articles
Inspirations from the Life of Pope Francis
The events surrounding the departure of Pope Francis are not merely a time to look back with remorse, but to look forward, embracing the teachings we have received from the life of Pope Francis. We now have a sacred opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the sacred journey emblematic in his life. This reverie of his life is an invitation for us to journey together, bringing together all faith traditions, and drawing ever closer to the ultimate truth and joy that our beloved form of Divinity has illuminated as the path for us all.
Swami Rama’s Birth Centenary Celebrations – 2025
With overflowing joy and profound gratitude, we extend a heartfelt invitation to all members of the Guru’s family to unite in celebration, honouring the birth centenary of our revered Gurudeva, His Holiness Swami Rama. A beacon of ancient wisdom, he seamlessly wove the ancient teachings of yoga meditation from the Himalayan Masters into our lives. As we celebrate and commemorate the centenary of his earthly presence, we bow in loving reverence.
Meditate
Meditate silently and meditate lovingly, where love and silence are one and the same. The secret of love is revealed through meditation in silence. When you quiet the noises of the mind that is silence. When you pacify destructive emotions that is love. The two are one and the same. May your commitment to your spirituality and your commitment to loving become the commitment you make in thoughts, speech and actions toward others through expanding your capacity to love.
Sangha Blessings
We have gathered here, in solemn remembrance and joyous celebration, as we recall the teachings of our Himalayan lineage through our Master Gurudev Swami Rama and the life of our beloved saint, Swami Veda Bharati, and through so many others to whom we give gratitude in appreciation.
Finding a Spiritual Home in the Mind of a Sage-Saint
By continual practice (abhyasa) and dispassion (vairagya), the aspirant concentrates on the progressively subtle and subtler relationship with the Guru. Thus, the dispassionate mind-field of the Guru, becomes the supportive factor in the aspirant’s meditation.
Yoga is Samadhi
Yoga Meditation is the song of your soul, the sweetness of being. The music of your mind is the melody of feelings, and the music of your heart is the rhythm of emotions. The music of your soul is bhava and the subtlest is mantra. When your thoughts settle, when your emotions calm, when the entire mind is pure, the soul sings in the most inaudible, pleasant, and loving manner. A quietness that is so sweet, a savoring that attracts your attention within to experience your essence. This unified experience of aliveness-of being - this bhava is your most natural state, your mind in samadhi.