Swami Sundaranand
Encyclopedia
Swami Sundaranand is a Yogi
, photographer, and mountaineer who lectures widely in India on threats to the Ganges river
and the loss of Himalayan glaciers due to global warming
.
Sundarananda was a student of the famous and reclusive yoga
master Swami Tapovan Maharaj
, (1889–1957) who wrote the classic yoga book Wanderings in the Himalayas (Himagiri Vihar) about yogic life in the Himalayas
in the late 19th and early 20th century. Sundaranand lived with Swami Tapovan in the then inaccessible area of Gangotri at the source of the Ganges river, considered one of India’s most sacred places.
Since 1946, he has lived next to the Ganges in Gangotri, at 10,400 feet, in a modest hut (Kuti) which his master Swami Tapovan bequeathed to him on his passing. Swami Sundaranand has lived there alone throughout the severest winters without any comforts or conveniences. He has witnessed up close the gradual shrinking of the Gangotri Glacier
from which the Ganges springs forth, and has chronicled his devotion to the natural beauty of the Indian Himalayas as an accomplished photographer. A museum devoted to environmental protection and spiritual guidance, containing Swami Sundaranand's Himalayan photography, is now in the planning stages. It will be located in Gangotri on the property of Sundaranand and his master.
As an ascetic, he took the brahmacharya sadhu vow over 59 years ago and now devotes his life to a rigorous daily practice of meditation and spiritual practices. He continues to be a principal advocate for the ecological preservation of the Himalayas, the Ganges and its source at Gangotri.
Over 50 years, he has taken more than 100,000 photos of the shrinking Gangotri glacier in the Indian Himalayas. He now travels India raising awareness of the Gangotri's rapid demise.
Nicknamed "the Sadhu
Who Clicks" because of his photography, he is a noted mountain climber having scaled over 25 Himalayan peaks, climbing twice with Sir Edmund Hillary
and Tenzing Norgay
. Sir Edmund Hillary
paid his respects to Swami Sundaranad in the 1980s at his Gangotri hut. Of the Gangotri glacier, Swami Sundaranand says:
Swami Sundaranand is also the subject of a feature documentary film 157 mins. produced by The Center for Healing Arts titled Personal Time with Swamiji. The film was directed and edited by Victor Demko and was shot at Sundaranand's home in Gangotri.
Swami Sundaranand is the author of the book Himalaya: Through the Lens of a Sadhu with over 425 photographs spanning 60 years of his work. He sought to capture the Eternal in Nature and to document the region as it once was with a special emphasis on planting the seeds of hope and inspiration to solve the environmental concerns of the area. A lookout point and plaque down river from Gangotri has been built and dedicated to the Swami's work and efforts. The book also contains a letter of endorsement from the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
.
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
, photographer, and mountaineer who lectures widely in India on threats to the Ganges river
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
and the loss of Himalayan glaciers due to global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
Sundarananda was a student of the famous and reclusive yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
master Swami Tapovan Maharaj
Tapovan Maharaj
Swami Tapovan Maharaj was a Hindu Sannyasi and Vedanta scholar who taught both Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of the Chinmaya Mission Movement and Swami Sundaranand....
, (1889–1957) who wrote the classic yoga book Wanderings in the Himalayas (Himagiri Vihar) about yogic life in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
in the late 19th and early 20th century. Sundaranand lived with Swami Tapovan in the then inaccessible area of Gangotri at the source of the Ganges river, considered one of India’s most sacred places.
Since 1946, he has lived next to the Ganges in Gangotri, at 10,400 feet, in a modest hut (Kuti) which his master Swami Tapovan bequeathed to him on his passing. Swami Sundaranand has lived there alone throughout the severest winters without any comforts or conveniences. He has witnessed up close the gradual shrinking of the Gangotri Glacier
Gangotri Glacier
Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering China. This glacier, source of the Ganges, is one of the largest in the Himalayas with an estimated volume of over 27 cubic kilometers. The glacier is about 30 kilometres long and 2 to 4 km wide...
from which the Ganges springs forth, and has chronicled his devotion to the natural beauty of the Indian Himalayas as an accomplished photographer. A museum devoted to environmental protection and spiritual guidance, containing Swami Sundaranand's Himalayan photography, is now in the planning stages. It will be located in Gangotri on the property of Sundaranand and his master.
As an ascetic, he took the brahmacharya sadhu vow over 59 years ago and now devotes his life to a rigorous daily practice of meditation and spiritual practices. He continues to be a principal advocate for the ecological preservation of the Himalayas, the Ganges and its source at Gangotri.
Over 50 years, he has taken more than 100,000 photos of the shrinking Gangotri glacier in the Indian Himalayas. He now travels India raising awareness of the Gangotri's rapid demise.
Nicknamed "the Sadhu
Sadhu
In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...
Who Clicks" because of his photography, he is a noted mountain climber having scaled over 25 Himalayan peaks, climbing twice with Sir Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
and Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
. Sir Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
paid his respects to Swami Sundaranad in the 1980s at his Gangotri hut. Of the Gangotri glacier, Swami Sundaranand says:
"In 1949, when I first saw the glacier, I felt as if all my sins were washed away and I had truly attained rebirth. But now, it is impossible to experience that Ganga of the past."
Swami Sundaranand is also the subject of a feature documentary film 157 mins. produced by The Center for Healing Arts titled Personal Time with Swamiji. The film was directed and edited by Victor Demko and was shot at Sundaranand's home in Gangotri.
Swami Sundaranand is the author of the book Himalaya: Through the Lens of a Sadhu with over 425 photographs spanning 60 years of his work. He sought to capture the Eternal in Nature and to document the region as it once was with a special emphasis on planting the seeds of hope and inspiration to solve the environmental concerns of the area. A lookout point and plaque down river from Gangotri has been built and dedicated to the Swami's work and efforts. The book also contains a letter of endorsement from the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
.
Filmography
- Time with Swami-ji (157 mins, film, 2008, The Center for Healing Arts)