Swami Gitananda Giri : his Life

The son of a Sindhi father and an Irish mother, he went to England at
the age of sixteen and spent most of his professional life as a
physician in the West, holding many posts with the World Health
Organization.
Upon returning to India in 1968, he founded Ananda Ashram in
Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, which now has seventy-five centers around the
world.
Apart from training thousands of Western Yoga students, he was also a
leading cultural figure in South India. The Kambliswamy Yoga and
Cultural Arts Program launched by him has provided training in Yoga
and classical dance and music for over 20,000 village children. Swami
Gitananda Giri also wrote twenty-five books and published the monthly
magazine "Yoga Life" for a quarter of a century.
(Excerpted from Pg 105-106, The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga by
Georg Feuerstein, Ph. D., published from Boston, Massachussetts, USA,
1997)

Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj had spent most of
his eighty-seven years in the propagation of Classical Rishiculture
Ashtanga Yoga. The Paramparai (tradition) that he inherited is a
fusion of Classical Ashtanga Yoga Promulgated by Yogamaharishi Swami
Kanakananda Brighu of Bengal, and the South Indian Siddha Yoga
tradition as exemplified by the Shakti, life and teachings of the
great South Indian Siddha-Yogi, Srila Sri Kambali Gnananda Desiga
Swamigal of Pondicherry.

Swami Gitananda:his Teachings

Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri was a medical doctor. He
combined his scientific background with the ancient techniques of
classical Yoga that he studied in his youth with his Master, the
Bengali saint Sri Swami Kanakananda. The result is what Swami
Gitananda called "Rishi Culture Ashtanga Yoga" and is now known as
"Gitananda Yoga Tradition".
The beauty of Gitananda Yoga lies in its step-by-step approach towards
Yoga that is also beautifully outlined in the correspondence course
"Yoga step-by-step".
Based on moral and ethical values (Yama and Niyama) Swami Gitananda taught.
Asanas (Body Postures)
Pranayamas (Breath Controls)
Kriyas (Controlled Movements of Mind or Body)
Mudras (Gestures)
Taken to their full potential the values and techniques Swami
Gitananda taught can lead the student to the experience of Yoga
(unity).
To the benefit of the student, Swami Gitananda implemented the concept
of the Guru Kula to instruct (structure) his students.
Guru Kula literally means the womb of the Guru. The student is
nourished spiritually within the protective ambience of his Guru's
presence, until he is strong enough to stand on his own two feet in
the world.
Life in the "Guru Kula" in India has always been disciplined, simple
and natural with an austere dignity. The student, called a "Chela",
was expected to possess many qualities, including discipline, sensual
control, purity of body, mind and emotions, willingness to learn,
humility, intelligence and respect for the teachings and the teacher.
The Guru Kula was also the home of the Guru and the teachings were
taught in an intimate, family relationship. In such a setting the Guru
could closely observe the student and understand his weaknesses and
his strengths.
The Guru Kula installed at ICYER was the last place where Dr. Swami
Gitananda taught (in physical presence) before leaving his body in
1993. The ICYER is located five kilometers north of Pondicherry, South
India at the Bay of Bengal. There Dr. Swami Gitananda gave his Six
Month Residential Yoga Teacher Training Course as he had done ever
since 1968. Today his son Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani and
his wife Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani continue the work of
Swami Gitananda at the ICYER