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Satyakamananda Saraswati Swami ji is a Mauritian Saint dedicated his life as a spiritual master.

He is the founder of Parameshwari Ananda Nilayam Ashram situated in Mauritius to guide people seeking for a higher dimension of life.

He is followed as one of the most popular philosopher in Mauritius and as a preacher of holy scriptures.

Since 1975, Swamiji debuted as a teacher of telugu language and further continued in his journey as a guru of Vedic holy scriptures to hindu priests in Mauritius. Swamiji is also an author of numerous holy philosophical books and a Telugu Dictionary.

His journey to promote Hinduism, the eternal way of living continues to pave its way spiritually by contributing to the Mother Earth.


 * name  = His Holiness Satyakamananda Saraswati Swami ji
 * image    = Satyakamananda saraswati.jpg
 * caption = Spiritual Master Yogic Culture
 * birth_date = 13 july 1949

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 * birth_place = Chateau Benaras near Rivière des Anguilles
 * occupation    = Philosopher
 * parents       =
 * children      =
 * parents       =
 * children      =
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Biography
His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji was born in the South of Mauritius at Chateau Benaras which is located near Rivière des Anguilles. He lost his father when he was only 45 days old. After the death of her husband, Swamiji’s mother decided to return to her parent’s place.

Swamiji’s spiritual master was Pandit Encarsamy Simadree, his grand-father (his nana) and he learnt mostly everything from him. He was a great scholar who knew different languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Telugu. It can be said that when one is born in a stream, then he will undoubtedly drink water from the stream. Similarly, as Swamiji was born in a family comprising of learned ones, he undoubtedly followed their steps.

In 1975, Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji joined the Teacher’s Training College where he began his training to become Telugu teacher. He spent 25 years of his life in the teaching field. Apart from Telugu, Swamiji is also conversant in Sanskrit, English, French, Tamil and Hindi.

He is even the author of a French to Telugu dictionary and a French to Telugu synonym book. However, due to finance issues, the dictionary could not be published. Ashram will definitrely publish the dictionary soon.

When he was at Rivière des Anguilles, many youngsters aged between 15-17 years came to see him because they wanted to learn Hinduism philosophy. They accepted him as their Guru.

Swamiji got married at the age of 20 with Shrimati Neermala, Guru Maata who was then living at Palma Quatre Bornes. He already knew Guru Maata because the family members were close acquaintances. Swamiji felt a special liking for the young lady and asked his grand-parents to talk to her family. The wedding ceremony took place at Shivopasack Shivala, Bassin Road, Quatre Bornes. After their marriage, the couple had four children, two sons and three daughters. But due to some unfortunate reasons, they lost one child.

The beginnings of the ashram

When Swamiji was still a child, he used to attend the baitka(evening school where teachings of Vedanta is dispensed) run by his grand-father. Long ago, people used to sit under trees and read the Ramayana or Bhagavad Gita. Swamiji also followed same. This was when his interest in Hinduism germinated to keep blossoming ever after.

In the 80s, Swamiji moved to Quatre-Bornes. He kept up performing pujas and other rituals. Around fifty disciples used to come to learn puja vidhis. At the same time, he negotiated with Sachitanandsing Eden Balgobin, the founder of Eden College so as to be able to use a classroom to conduct his teachings. Soon after, classes begun at Eden College Belle-Rose.

His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji is also a great musician because he grew up amidst musical instruments. He always says that music is his life. When he lived at Chateau Benaras, during the yajnas, bhajans and kirtans, if there were no musical instruments, it seemed as if tea without sugar for him. Music was a must. Members used to play different instruments like the harmonium and Swamiji in his very tender age used to sit near them and observe scrupulously. The instruments were kept in the baitka itself and whenever he had the opportunity, he discreetly opened the doors of which the key were safely kept at home and sat to play the harmonium. This was the first instrument that Swamiji learnt to play all by himself. He is himself a music incarnate justifying the exceptional talents that he is born with. Definitely he has Saraswati Maata’s blessings.

At that time, the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation was known as the Mauritius Broadcasting Service. He used to listen to music early in the morning at 5 a.m.

Soon after, his friends kept requesting him to play any musical instrument because they felt happy listening to him. With time, Swamiji started playing other instruments like the saxophone, violin, accordeon etc and miraculously all by himself. He had already mastered around a dozen instruments. He played the piano when he began his training as a teacher. Then, he created an orchestra called « Jai Hind » and a football team as well known as « Jai Hind » as well. Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji is a sports fan as well. He played football and volleyball.

It can be said that Swamiji is a master of all trades – writer, composer, musician, lyricist, teacher who knows several languages. He released more than a hundred CDs consisting of more than a dozen songs each. One of the recordings were even carried out at the studio of the famous singer Claudio Veeraragoo at one time. Now, the Parameshwari Ananda Nilayam Ashram possesses its own studio (Parameshwari Studio).

Swamiji’s best childhood memories

During school holidays, Swamiji and his friends had lots of fun by the river side. They used to build rafts by using bamboos and floated down the river. While floating down, if there were branches or leaves on the way, they cleaned the path and continued their way. The group also plucked fruits like ‘jean bourgeois’ or brown ananas. They made salads using ravinala leaves.

Swamiji had a good friend who had a grand-mother (nani). One day, his friend saw his grand-mother secretly keeping some money in a mattress. During those times, mattresses were made out of grass. He asked his grand-mother some money to buy a car, a ‘Morris Boeuf’. The vehicle has huge cattle drawing on it. The grand-mother gave his grandson around Rs 800. Swamiji’s friend bought a ‘Morris Minor’. They used to drive all round Mauritius in that car. It was during that time that Swamiji learnt driving.

He also had a passion for collecting stamps and always kept a daily diary. The whole collections of all his diaries (more than 50 of them) till date are available at the ashram.

Swamiji’s name

In 2012, His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji left Mauritius to proceed towards India. He visited Rishikesh once and always said that someday in life he will go to meditate and do penance (tapasya) there. Over there, he encountered another sanyasi, Swami Sivananda. It was then that he was given the name Satyakamananda Saraswati. Saraswati means teaching.

Tapasya denotes the control of the mind and senses. It means investing oneself in God. In villages or cities, it is difficult to focus because there are people around. When we mingle with people, we have the tendency to get irritated, feel angry and there are so many emotions present.

Swamiji did a hard penance in different weather conditions, cold, hot, monsoon, snow. He confronted all extremes of temperatures from the lowest to the highest even up to 50°C. He faced all the six seasons in India during his tapasya. « We need to bear with it,» he says.

Swamiji’s path towards renunciation

In Hinduism, the life of a person has four stages. The first is Brahmacharya which depicts student life (from birth till one finishes schooling). Then when one reaches 25 years, one gets married and thus enters the Grihastha ashram. The third step (Vanaprastha ashram) is when one’s children have grown up independent and one’s prepares oneself to enter the last stage. The couple in this phase lives like friends and then adopts a growing spiritual life. Both husband and wife devote their lives to God and also give advice to young couples.

The fourth stage is renunciation (sanyasa) where the person leaves his family, his home and becomes a sanyasi and prepares himself to go to God’s abode. The sanyasi prays for the welfare of people and helps humanity irrespective of religion or caste. It should be highlighted that there are different types of sanyasi. One can live in an ashram and he shares his knowledge with all. Other sanyasis live in the forest.

Swamiji always wears the orange colour. Orange symbolizes fire. A few moments before the sun sets, the sky gets painted in an orange colour. It is same just before the sun rises. Orange colour symbolizes his sacrifice for the world. His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji renounced the world for God.

Early life
In 1975, Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji joined the Teacher’s Training College where he began his training to become Telugu teacher. He spent 25 years of his life in the teaching field. Apart from Telugu, Swamiji is also conversant in Sanskrit, English, French, Tamil and Hindi.

He is even the author of a French to Telugu dictionary and a French to Telugu synonym book. However, due to finance issues, the dictionary could not be published. Ashram will definitrely publish the dictionary soon.

When he was at Rivière des Anguilles, many youngsters aged between 15-17 years came to see him because they wanted to learn Hinduism philosophy. They accepted him as their Guru.

Swamiji got married at the age of 20 with Shrimati Neermala, Guru Maata who was then living at Palma Quatre Bornes. He already knew Guru Maata because the family members were close acquaintances. Swamiji felt a special liking for the young lady and asked his grand-parents to talk to her family. The wedding ceremony took place at Shivopasack Shivala, Bassin Road, Quatre Bornes. After their marriage, the couple had four children, two sons and three daughters. But due to some unfortunate reasons, they lost one child. [http://URL Name of page]. Page xx. Publisher: xxxx

The beginnings of the ashram
When Swamiji was still a child, he used to attend the baitka(evening school where teachings of Vedanta is dispensed) run by his grand-father. Long ago, people used to sit under trees and read the Ramayana or Bhagavad Gita. Swamiji also followed same. This was when his interest in Hinduism germinated to keep blossoming ever after.

In the 80s, Swamiji moved to Quatre-Bornes. He kept up performing pujas and other rituals. Around fifty disciples used to come to learn puja vidhis. At the same time, he negotiated with Sachitanandsing Eden Balgobin, the founder of Eden College so as to be able to use a classroom to conduct his teachings. Soon after, classes begun at Eden College Belle-Rose.

His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji is also a great musician because he grew up amidst musical instruments. He always says that music is his life. When he lived at Chateau Benaras, during the yajnas, bhajans and kirtans, if there were no musical instruments, it seemed as if tea without sugar for him. Music was a must. Members used to play different instruments like the harmonium and Swamiji in his very tender age used to sit near them and observe scrupulously. The instruments were kept in the baitka itself and whenever he had the opportunity, he discreetly opened the doors of which the key were safely kept at home and sat to play the harmonium. This was the first instrument that Swamiji learnt to play all by himself. He is himself a music incarnate justifying the exceptional talents that he is born with. Definitely he has Saraswati Maata’s blessings.

At that time, the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation was known as the Mauritius Broadcasting Service. He used to listen to music early in the morning at 5 a.m.

Soon after, his friends kept requesting him to play any musical instrument because they felt happy listening to him. With time, Swamiji started playing other instruments like the saxophone, violin, accordeon etc and miraculously all by himself. He had already mastered around a dozen instruments. He played the piano when he began his training as a teacher. Then, he created an orchestra called « Jai Hind » and a football team as well known as « Jai Hind » as well. Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji is a sports fan as well. He played football and volleyball.

It can be said that Swamiji is a master of all trades – writer, composer, musician, lyricist, teacher who knows several languages. He released more than a hundred CDs consisting of more than a dozen songs each. One of the recordings were even carried out at the studio of the famous singer Claudio Veeraragoo at one time. Now, the Parameshwari Ananda Nilayam Ashram possesses its own studio (Parameshwari Studio).

Swamiji’s best childhood memories
During school holidays, Swamiji and his friends had lots of fun by the river side. They used to build rafts by using bamboos and floated down the river. While floating down, if there were branches or leaves on the way, they cleaned the path and continued their way. The group also plucked fruits like ‘jean bourgeois’ or brown ananas. They made salads using ravinala leaves.

Swamiji had a good friend who had a grand-mother (nani). One day, his friend saw his grand-mother secretly keeping some money in a mattress. During those times, mattresses were made out of grass. He asked his grand-mother some money to buy a car, a ‘Morris Boeuf’. The vehicle has huge cattle drawing on it. The grand-mother gave his grandson around Rs 800. Swamiji’s friend bought a ‘Morris Minor’. They used to drive all round Mauritius in that car. It was during that time that Swamiji learnt driving.

He also had a passion for collecting stamps and always kept a daily diary. The whole collections of all his diaries (more than 50 of them) till date are available at the ashram.

Swamiji’s name
In 2012, His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji left Mauritius to proceed towards India. He visited Rishikesh once and always said that someday in life he will go to meditate and do penance (tapasya) there. Over there, he encountered another sanyasi, Swami Sivananda. It was then that he was given the name Satyakamananda Saraswati. Saraswati means teaching.

Tapasya denotes the control of the mind and senses. It means investing oneself in God. In villages or cities, it is difficult to focus because there are people around. When we mingle with people, we have the tendency to get irritated, feel angry and there are so many emotions present.

Swamiji did a hard penance in different weather conditions, cold, hot, monsoon, snow. He confronted all extremes of temperatures from the lowest to the highest even up to 50°C. He faced all the six seasons in India during his tapasya. « We need to bear with it,» he says.

Swamiji’s path towards renunciation
In Hinduism, the life of a person has four stages. The first is Brahmacharya which depicts student life (from birth till one finishes schooling). Then when one reaches 25 years, one gets married and thus enters the Grihastha ashram. The third step (Vanaprastha ashram) is when one’s children have grown up independent and one’s prepares oneself to enter the last stage. The couple in this phase lives like friends and then adopts a growing spiritual life. Both husband and wife devote their lives to God and also give advice to young couples.

The fourth stage is renunciation (sanyasa) where the person leaves his family, his home and becomes a sanyasi and prepares himself to go to God’s abode. The sanyasi prays for the welfare of people and helps humanity irrespective of religion or caste. It should be highlighted that there are different types of sanyasi. One can live in an ashram and he shares his knowledge with all. Other sanyasis live in the forest.

Swamiji always wears the orange colour. Orange symbolizes fire. A few moments before the sun sets, the sky gets painted in an orange colour. It is same just before the sun rises. Orange colour symbolizes his sacrifice for the world. His Holiness Swami Satyakamananda Saraswati ji renounced the world for God.

ASHRAM HISTORY
His Holiness Swami SatyakamanandaSaraswati jihad always dreamt of constructing an ashram. The process of materialising this dream began first of all, with the search of a piece of land. After pondering, Swamiji thought that an ashram in the city centre would be best because it would be easier for people’s accessibility. However, acquiring a piece of land in town would cost a lot and Swamiji and his disciples would need a minimum of 1 acre of land for the construction of an ashram. Then one day,a kind person, Chengadooasked them to go atVallée des Prêtres because there was a good piece of land over there. But the issue was that the couple to whom the land belonged to had some legal complications. The couple had five to six children and there was an inheritance issue. Afterwards, another family was contacted at Rose-Hill where an old couple owned around 12 acres of land. The couple had two children who were settled in the United States of America and did not have the intention of returning to Mauritius. The father said that he needed to seek advice from his children first, if they agreed then Swamiji could go forward with the construction of the ashram. However, soon after his wife passed away and due to numerous troubles, the idea of land acquisition there was never discussed. Another family in Palma was contacted. The couple had no kids and they had 20 acres piece of land. The couple initially welcomed the idea of donating the land for the construction of an ashram but ultimatelyconfirmed that the property would be passed on as inheritance to a nephew. Swamiji and his disciples then approached the executive of a branch of the Mauritius Andhra Maha Sabha at Eau-Coulée. The organisation was a bit neglected and was not operational. No mandiram but merely a hall could be seen there. The management agreed that the ashram be set up over there. Swamiji and his team stayed for about a year on site and work towards the creation of an ashram over there was in progress. But, when the management of the branch of the Mauritius Andhra Maha Sabha noticed the rapid developments being carried out, they made up their mind to continue working on the site themselves. When the executive team came back and started to take over the work progressively on the site, Swamiji and his team just simply decided to step back. Then Swamijithought that it was not essential to construct an ashram in the city. It would instead be best to erect one in a secluded place. It was only then that, Pandit Satya Yencadoo, one of Swamiji’s disciples proposed that his elder brother possessed around five acres of land at Beau-Climat. His brother did not mind to sell a piece of land to them. Even if the land was in a forested area, Swamiji loved the place. The owner sold 1,7 acres with payment facilities to the Shri Venkateshwara BhaktulaSangham. The only option available to acquire the land was through donations. His Holiness Swami SatyakamanandaSaraswati ji started making a list of 200 potential contributors. Naayina(a title Swamiji has always used to address aged people by respect) AppanahRamayah’sname was on top of the list because Swamiji had known him since he was living at Rivière des Anguilles. NaayinaAppanahRamayahdecided to help and he magnanimously offered Rs 2000 and insisted that he will help again in the future. With the help of other generous souls, more that Rs 100 000 were collected and the land was acquired. From there on begun a new journey. Once Swamiji and his followers started their daily meditations over there. Then came the idea of setting up a tapovanam which depicts tapasya(penance),at the banks of the river flowing near the ashram.The ashram was then namedParameshwariAnanda Nilayam Ashram. A kutiram was built by usingvetiverleaves and the little sacred closed space consisted of an area of only10 x 12ft. Kirtans and bhajans were regularly conducted.Every Sunday, at 14.00 pm the puja, archana, kirtan, pravachanam were performed. The first photos of Shri Gayatri Devi andSri RajarajeshwariDevi were respectfully placed on the altar as there were no murthisyet. Soon after, Swamiji noticed that there was more space and decided to cater for a larger place. The kutiram was then built with wooden pillars and a roof in straw. Ever since the kutiram was constructed, the very first puja that was performed was theSahasra DeepaAlankaraSeva, that is the lighting of 1000diyas(lamps) for Lord Venkateshwara.Thispuja is still being performed annually till date. A kind heartedsoul who lived at Tyack brought some woodand a 32x 16 ftkutiramwas built. The place could then accommodate around 45-50 persons. A board sign on which was written « ParameshwariAnanda Nilayam Ashram,Satsang every Sunday between 14h and 15h, The public is invited» was placed at the main road entrance (where presently is located the petrol pump). Many people dropped in only to have a glimpse of the ashram. Some were from La Flora, others from Nouvelle-France. At that time, if there were thirty members, all those members informed their families about the ashram. The family members in turn told their friends and acquaintances. At that point in time, people starting flocking in and other festivals were also celebrated, Shivaratri, Sankranti,Ugadi, Ram Nawmiamong others. With the blessings of MaataRajarajeshwari and Shri Gayatri Devi, the ashram was never to be found in short of food. Whenever someone came and felt hungry, he could always find a morsel of food. Devotees have also a great part to play because they always donated food items, whether be rice, pulses, vegetables or fruits. Little by little, the ashram members started to cultivate the land and started growing fruits and vegetables like pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber etc. The land was somewhat blessed because there were little or no rocks at all in the soil. While in other places, people need to clean the soil and remove rocks before planting. For Swamiji and the rest, this was a blessing. When the kutiramwas built, meals were cooked in Swamiji and Guru Maata’s residence at Quatre-Bornes and brought to the ashram to be served as MahaPrasaadam. Water was also brought from Quatre-Bornes and members also fetched water from La Flora and the nearby river.One day, ShrimanRajen Appadoo, a good-hearted soul, asked if the dektiwas enough to prepare meals and he brought in bigger kitchen utensils. Plastic plates were washed in the small stream behind the ashram. Small stairs were constructed so as to have easy access to the stream. Over time, Swamiji and Guru Maata thought that it would be best to prepare the meals at the ashram itself rather than carrying from Quatre-Bornes to Beau-Climat. ShrimanVishwanandSunnassee’smother donated a big carayeto the ashram and requested to prepare the meals in that particular utensil. In those times food was cooked on woodfire. One day, a lady came in while canjeewas being prepared. While helping out, she said that she had been at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Rose-Belle and the doctor said that she needed to get admitted. The lady said that as she did not have any clothes and there was no means to inform her children, so she will return home and come back again to get admitted. She said that she did not know how she landed at the ashram and even confessed that it had been around two weeks that she had not eaten a grain of rice. The lady acknowledged that she ate the canjeeto her full and this acted like a medicine. She no longer felt the need to go to the hospital and preferred instead to return home, satisfied. The lady still comes to the ashram. The ashram’s first meals were prepared in an open small space woodfire, set up on gravels. In fact, meals were always cooked on woodfire and it was only until the past few years that wood was swapped to oven. It was always the wood which was brought from Chemin-Grenier that was used. Even if, there was no oven during those days, MahaPrasadamwas always cooked with the same joy and contentment. At the beginning since as there were very few utensils, theYajmaanswere requested to cook their meals from home and bring to the ashram. With time, it was deemed better to prepare the meals at the ashram itself because it was not okay to carry meals such a long distance. Besides, food cooked at the ashram is better rather than asking someone else to cook at his place. The frequency of satsang, puja, kirtan & bhajan kept increasing and the ashram started receiving loads of devotees from all corners of the island daily. A fulltime member was appointed for daily puja at theashram. It can be noted that at that time, the river water was used to take bath, to do puja and also to prepare mahaprasaadam (offering for the Deity). It was then that an idea cropped up: to construct a MahaShivalingam, Maha Nandi and Parvati Devi at the riverside. Since then the whole site which has the unique purpose of providing a sacred space to do tapasya (meditation and penance), was named Tapovanam. Other temples also came gradually. Further development at the riverside continued with the help of many devotees out of which the contribution of two families will remain remarkable. They contributed till the full completion works: Shrimati&Shrimaan Vinod Seegoolam for the Santoshi Maatamandiram and Shrimati&Shrimaan Subhash Ramchurn for the Ganesha&Kartiye (Muruga) mandirams. Kutiram activities were ongoing and devotees kept flocking in. Swamiji had the chance to meet a person called BarenTheeruvengadum who gifted a small office of area 12 x 12ft which was the first concrete building in the ashram. In the meantime, since Swamiji was in good terms with ShrimaanAppanahPydiah, an inhabitant of CheminGrenier, he happily donated funds for the erection of a small VrushaantiGruham (rest house)- a two roomed building. Other devotees like ShrimaanRamdassEllayah proposed to approach his father in law. It was then that the funds to construct our BhojanaShaala (dining hall) was gracefully obtained. Time to construct a traditional Sri Rajarajeshwari temple was ripe because theKutiram was in the form of a small hut during more than ten years. Donations poured in but especially by Shrimaan Vasudev Ramanah who contributed a lot for this mandiram. A few years later, the Nadaswaram team which consisted of Shri Satyanarain& Shankar Rao was welcomed to our ashram from India. Later Sri Satyanarain’s wife also joined. Years flew by until a good friend of Swamiji called Shrimati Shanti Adnath, a former Head Mistress came to meet him. What was remarkable with this kind lady was that she used to always ask the spiritual master about hisupcoming project in the ashram. It was only then that she donated a sum of Rs11 000 for the construction of Shri Gayatri Devi mandiram. She even precised that she will talk to one friend of hers who consequently also gifted Rs10000 for this same project. Construction works were started right away. At last the Shri Gayatri Devi mandiram was fully completed with the help of many other devotees also. Since then the Sahasra Kalasha Ganga JalaAbhishekam is fervently organised yearly. Ashram development gradually progressed over the years. One sweet morning, Amma Neermala who is the Ashram Gurumaata, shared a dream to his dear enlightened husband. She had the clear vision of a lady dressed in white asking her the permission to take a bath at a spot in the ashram yard. It is precisely at that location only that the Navagraha Devata and Nag Devata Sthalams were successfully completed. With the coming years, the Yajna Shaala was gifted by ShrimaanRajen Appadoo & family. Ameditation hall was additionally constructed on the first floor of the bhojanashaala from the kind donations of late Kumari GyanawateeBheemah. In February 2013, following histapasyain India, when the Swamiji came to reside permanently at ashram, a Gowshala was built using donated iron sheets. Narmada and Ganga were the first Gowmaatas at ashram. Later many more joined in. We can say that other smaller or rather bigger projects will definitely find their way at the ashram by the divine grace of the above.