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Chidananda Saraswati 〔also referred as Swami Chidananda〕 (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.〔(Biography of Swami Chidananda Saraswati ) Divine Life Society HQ website.〕 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".〔 He was elected President of the Divine Life Society in August 1963, upon the death of Sivananda.〔 Chidananda Saraswati died on 28 August 2008, at 20:11 pm.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Divine Life Society - Swami Chidananda )〕 == Early life == Sridhar Rao, (as Chidananda Saraswati was known before taking Sannyasa (embracing a life of renunciation), was born in Mangalore, to Sri Srinivasa Rao and Sarojini, on 24 September 1916, the second of five children and the eldest son. Sri Srinivasa Rao was a prosperous Zamindar, a rich landlord owning several villages, extensive lands and palatial buildings in South India. Sarojini was an ideal Indian mother, noted for her saintliness.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection§ion_id=1345 )〕 At the age of eight, Sridhar Rao's life was influenced by Sri Anantayya, a friend of his grandfather, who used to relate to him stories from the epics, Ramayana and Mahābhārata. Doing Tapas (austerities), becoming a Rishi (sage), and having a vision of the Lord became ideals which he cherished.〔 His uncle, Krishna Rao, shielded him against the influences of the materialistic world around him, and sowed in him the seeds of the ''nivritti'' life (life of renunciation) which he joyously nurtured until, as later events proved, it blossomed into sainthood.〔 His elementary education began at Mangalore. In 1932, he joined the Sir M.Ct. Muthiah Chettiar Higher Secondary School in Madras, where he distinguished himself as a brilliant student. His cheerful personality, exemplary conduct, and extraordinary traits earned for him a distinct place in the hearts of all teachers and students who came into his contact.〔 In 1936, he was admitted to Loyola College, University of Madras, whose portals admit only the most brilliant of students. In 1938, he emerged with the degree of Bachelor of Arts.〔 The family was noted for its high code of conduct and this was infused into his life. Charity and service were the glorious ingrained virtues of the members of the family. These virtues found an embodiment in Sridhar Rao. He discovered ways and means of manifesting them. No one who sought his help was sent away without assistance. He gave freely to the needy.〔 Service, especially of the sick, often brought out the fact that he had no idea of his own separate existence as an individual. It seemed as if his body clung loosely to his soul. Nor was all this service confined to human beings. Birds and animals claimed his attention as much as, if not more than, human beings. He understood their language of suffering. His service of a sick dog evoked the admiration of his Guru, Sivananda. He would raise his finger in grim admonition when he saw anyone practicing cruelty to dumb animals in his presence.〔 Quite early in life, although born in a wealthy family, he shunned the pleasures of the world to devote himself to seclusion and contemplation. In the matter of study, it was the spiritual books which had the most appeal to him, more than college books. Even while he was at college, text-books had to take second place to spiritual books. The works of Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sivananda, took precedence over all others.〔 He shared his knowledge with others, so much so that he virtually became the Guru of the household and the neighborhood, to whom he would talk of honesty, love, purity, service and devotion to God. He would exhort them to perform japa of Rama-Nama. While still in his twenties, he began initiating youngsters into this great Rama Taraka Mantra. He was an ardent admirer of Sri Ramakrishna Math at Madras and regularly participated in the Satsangs (association with the wise) there. The call of Swami Vivekananda to renounce resounded within his pure heart. He ever thirsted for the darshan (meeting/s) of Saints and Sadhus (renunciate) visiting the metropolis.〔 In June 1936, he disappeared from home. After a vigorous search by his parents, he was found in the secluded Ashram of a holy sage some miles from the sacred mountain shrine Tirupati. He returned home after some persuasion. This temporary separation was but a preparation for the final parting from the world of attachments to family and friends.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chidananda Saraswati」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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