The Heart of Sivananda

Swami Sivananda SaraswatiI consider it a great honour and a unique privilege to have been asked to write a Preface to the book ‘The Heart of Sivananda’, the English translation of Param Pujya Kaviyogi Maharshi Dr.?Shuddhananda Bharatiji Maharaj’s Tamil work entitled ‘Sivananda Vijayam’.Param Pujya Kaviyogi Maharshi Dr.?Shuddhananda Bharati, a world-renowned sage and Yogi was an intimate friend of Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj.Revered Maharshi also had close association with The Divine Life Society and its activities. This multi-linguist poet and philosopher graced many All India Divine Life Society Conferences and blessed the devotees with his enlightening talks.Pujya Maharshi’s ‘Sivananda Vijayam’, a classic literary work in Tamil language, presents beautiful biography of Sri Gurudev blending poetry and prose in his inimitable style. Here, revered Kaviyogiji portrays a vivid picture of Swami Sivananda’s glorious life and work and also shares the Divine reminiscences of his close association with him.Each language has got its distinctive beauty and specialty. Tamil, being the oldest language, has rich literature. It is not easy to translate such a classic work into any other language and reproduce the exact nuance of words and retain the beauty and charm of the original work. However, revered Smt. Savitriji has put in her best efforts to translate this great work. Her painstaking efforts are indeed commendable.I do hope that the book ‘The Heart of Sivananda’ will be a great boon for the English knowing devotees of Sri Gurudev as they will get the blessed opportunity to read this beautiful biography penned by Param Pujya Kaviyogi Maharshi Dr.?Shuddhananda Bhartiji Maharaj.Swami PadmanabhanandaSivananda AshramThe Divine Life SocietyShivanandanagar, Rishikesh, IndiaDate: 24-2-2018