Shri
Swami Tapovan Maharaj Without a thread there is no garland
of flowers; without God there is no universe. Without
Swami Tapovan Maharaj, there would not have been Swami
Chinmayananda.
A rare jewel in the crown of the Himalayan peaks, Swami
Tapovan was revered and exclaimed as the greatest of
Jnanis and a man of total perfection. When Swami Chinmayananda
was asked about his Guru, he became silent; what words
could express the infinite? Even now, to mention his
name in the solitude of the Himalayas is to awaken a
deep reverence, so famous was this great Master. |
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Swami
Tapovan was born in an aristocratic family in the
Palghat District and from a very tender age was not
attracted to the materialistic life. He was drawn
in temperament naturally to a life of renunciation,
austerity, and study.
When his worldly commitments were fulfilled, Swami
Tapovan embraced the renunciates life and took to
the secluded forest and higher elevations of the Himalayas,
living in sacred Uttakasi. There he lived a life of
extreme tapas (austerity), spending his time in study,
reflection and meditation. During the summer months
he would leave Uttakasi for Gangotri, and even today
just above Gomuk where the sacred Ganges begins, there
is a small place called Tapovan.
Swami Tapovan had complete mastery of the Scriptures.
Sages and serious students came to study in his austere
Kutir (house). He was also an eminent Sanskrit scholar
and poet. He composed many hymns, commentaries and
beautiful books such as, "Wandering in the Himalayas"
and "Iswara Darshan".
These books give a glimpse of how a man of Divine
Vision beholds Truth everywhere, playing in and through
every form.
He had many seekers who came to study under him, but
only a few could endure the rigorous life and completed
their studies. One of these students was none other
than Swami Chinmayananda. He taught Gurudev all the
virtues enumerated in the Seventeenth Chapter of Geeta
constituting the three forms of Tapas - physical,
verbal and mental.
On
the 16th of January 1957, on the Full-Moon day, at
4:30 A.M., in the Brahmamuhurtha, Swamiji gained his
Mahasamadhi.
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