Divine Life Society

Divine Life Society

Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize
Formation 1936
Founder Swami Sivananda
Type Religious organisation
Legal status Foundation
Purpose Educational, Philanthropic, Religious studies, Spirituality
Headquarters Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
Location
  • 300 Branches
Area served
Worldwide
Website www.dlshq.org

The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. Today it has branches across the world, the headquarters being situated in Rishikesh. Also, many disciples of Swami Sivananda have started independent organisations in Mauritius, the US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, South America, and Europe.[1][2][3]

Aims

Sivananda Kutir at Sivananda Ghat, and Sivananda Ashram above, Rishikesh

Its aim is to disseminate spiritual knowledge in the following ways:

History

In 1936, after returning from a pilgrimage, Swami Sivananda stayed in an old hut on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. Other disciples desirous of his company stayed with him in difficult circumstances. Eventually, he started the Divine Life Society to serve mankind. The King of Tehri Garhwal granted him a plot of land to construct the present day Shivanandashram.[4] Chidananda Saraswati served as president of the society from August 1963 to 28 August 2008, while Krishnananda Saraswati served as the General-Secretary of the Society in Rishikesh from 1958 until 2001.

Departments

Interiors of the Sivananda Samadhi temple, Divine Life Society, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh
Sivananda Jhula Bridge across the Ganges at Muni Ki Reti, built in 1980s, close to the Kutir of Swami Sivananda

Branches

Branches are found in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago

See also

References

  1. ↑ Divine Life Society Britannica.com
  2. ↑ Divine Life Society Divine enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement, by Lise McKean. University of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 0-226-56009-0. Page 164=165.
  3. ↑ Swami Shivananda Religion and anthropology: a critical introduction, by Brian Morris. Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-521-85241-2. Page 144.
  4. ↑ Introduction

Further reading

Related links

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