H.H. Sri Swami Rama

Swami Rama was born in northern India, raised by his spiritual master and trained in the tradition of the cave monasteries of the Himalayas. He taught the Upanishads and Buddhist scriptures in his youth and also studied Tibetan mysticism. In 1949 he held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham which he renounced in 1952 to return to the Himalayas to intensify his meditative practices. He later studied western psychology and philosophy in universities in Europe and England. In the late 60s he came to the United States to participate in studies being conducted by the Menninger Institute on the voluntary control of involuntary states. There he demonstrated, under strict laboratory conditions, voluntary control of the autonomic functioning of his body and revolutionized scientists’ understanding of the body-mind relationship.

Swami Rama founded the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust and Medical College in India, and many centers throughout the world. During his life he created a bridge between the ancient teachings of the East and modern science and played a major role in bringing the teachings of yoga to the attention of the western medical community. He was a scientist, philosopher, humanitarian, mystic poet, author of numerous books and an expert in homeopathy and Ayurvedic medicine.

Most importantly, Swami Rama was a fully enlightened master and the representative of an ancient lineage of yogis who confer in their high initiations direct experience into the mysteries of consciousness: they are the founders and custodians of the science of meditation. Swami Rama left his body in November 1996.