Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha Vidya)
Swami Dayananda Saraswati | |
|---|---|
His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswati, from the private collection of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Natarajan Gopala Iyer 15 August 1930 |
| Died | 23 September 2015 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Founder of | Arsha Vidya Gurukulam AIM For Seva Swami Dayananda Educational Trust |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta |
| Website | Official website |
Swami Dayananda Saraswati (15 August 1930 – 23 September 2015) was a renunciate monk of the Hindu Saraswati order of sannyasa. He was also known as Pujya Swamiji and was a traditional teacher of Advaita Vedanta. He was the founder of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulams in Pennsylvania, USA; Rishikesh, Uttarakhand and Coimbatore Tamil Nadu, India. He was also the spiritual Guru of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, (the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India), for his service to the nation in the field of spirituality in 2016.