Himalayan Academy - Subramuniyaswami

Most of these items are PDFs made using Acrobat to rip online texts from the website. I did no subsequent editing, so you will see all of the hyperlinks and graphics. Anyone who feels so inclined is welcome to continue polishing this -- but the information is all there.



Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001) was born Robert Hansen, in Oakland CA. He went to India in the late 1940s, and was initiated by Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka in the tradition of Saiva Siddhanta. In the 70's he started a Hindu monastery in Hawaii, and started publishing Hinduism Today (a magazine).



He was highly acclaimed and respected by the Hindu community. His tradition is very strict and orthodox, but very positive, practical and uplifting. Very sane and healthy. Saiva Siddhanta is not something that you come across everyday.



Personally, I'm not much into traditions or orthodoxies, but I do not disparage them. Traditions are naturally conservative, trying to preserve the teachings, as opposed to developing them, and aiming more towards stability than dynamism. I think it is more important to develop one's own capacity for insight than to rely upon an imperfectly grasped understanding of someone else's insight. In this regard, Kashmir Shaivism offers me a richer, how shall I say, "cartography" through which to explore my experiences -- and a richer vocabulary aw well. That is not to belittle Saiva Siddhanta or Yogaswami (who was thought of as a siddha in his own lifetime). It's just my point of view.