Kavi Yogi Maharishi Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati (11 May 1897 – 7 March 1990) was an Indian philosopher and poet. His teachings are focused mainly on the search for God in

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...

, through the Sama Yoga practice he created.

Biography

Bharati was born in Sivaganga in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

, and attained Jeeva Samadhi in nearby Sholapuram. He spent 25 years in silence in

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

from 1925 to 1950, in the Ashram of

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined t ...

and the Mother

Mirra Alfassa Mirra Alfassa (21 February 1878 – 17 November 1973), known to her followers as The Mother, was a spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and c ...

. From the early 1950s to the 1970s, he lived beside the

IIT The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are central government owned public technical institutes located across India. They are under the ownership of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. They are governed by the Institu ...

near

Adyar, Chennai Adyar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by the Tharamani in the West, Thiruvanmiyur to the South, Besant Nagar in the East, Kotturpuram in th ...

. Bharati always lived alone, without an Ashram. He founded

Shuddhananda Bharati Desiya Vidyalayam High School Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishna ...

in 1979. Several of Bharati's disciples contributed to the construction of the main building of the school at Sholapuram in 1992.

Works

Bharati wrote over 250 published works: 173 in Tamil, fifty in English, ten in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, four in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

and three in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

. He was also conversational in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. He is the first translator to have done both verse and prose renderings of the ''

Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The tex ...

'' into English. He also translated the novels of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, the plays of Moliere and Racine, and

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'' into Tamil. In his magnum opus ''Bharata Shakti'', Bharati describes his ideal of "One humanity living in communion with a single God in a world transformed". The full work includes epic texts, lyrical dramas, operas, comedies, pastoral novels, news, biographies, comments on illustrated works, essays, poems in French corrected directly by the Mother, Sacred Odes, walks, Rondels and triplets. For this work, Bharati received the Raja Rajan Award from the Tamil University in

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the G ...

in 1984, conferring upon him the title of

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

. His autobiography, ''The Pilgrim Soul'' includes encounters with well-known personalities of the past century, including

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human ...

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...

, Shirdi Sai Baba, V. V. S. Aiyar,

Sringeri Sharada Peetham Dakṣināmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Śri Śringeri Maṭha (, ; sa, मठ, ) is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the ''peetham'' or ''matha'' is said to have been established by acharya ...

Ramana Maharshi Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and '' jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, ...

, C. V. Raman,

Subramanya Bharathi C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...

Sivananda Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivananda; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963) was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He ...

Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production an ...

, Jean Herbert and others.

In English

* ''Our Religion'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 171 pages, * ''Yoga for All'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 152 pages, * ''The Divine Master'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 162 pages, * ''The Secrets of Sadhana'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 95 pages, * ''Guiding Lights'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 130 pages, * ''Gospel of Perfect Life'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 226 pages, * ''Cosmic Riddles'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 144 pages, * ''Mystic Treasure'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 230 pages, * ''Pilgrim Soul'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 503 pages, * ''Mahatma Ramalingam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 164 pages, * ''Sama Yoga'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 172 pages, * ''Secrets of Sama Yoga'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 183 pages, * ''Tamil Sentiment'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 202 pages, * ''Poet Nightingale Bharathiyar'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 213 pages, * ''Sri Krishna and His Gospel'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 171 pages, * ''Silambu Selvam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 369 pages, * ''Secrets of Yoga'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 236 pages, * ''Alvar Saint'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 165 pages, * ''Thirukkural'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 185 pages, * ''The Soul sings'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 157 pages, * ''The Yoga Master'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 189 pages, * ''The Revelation of Saint Meikandar'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 103 pages, * ''The Magic Weapon of Shiva'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 145 pages, * ''The Delightful Tamil Garden'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 120 pages, * ''Art Temple'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 296 pages, * ''Letters of Kavi Yogi, Volume 1'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 191 pages, * ''Letters of Kavi Yogi, Volume 2'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 174 pages, * ''Adi Shankara Bhagavan'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 193 pages, * ''Bharata Shakti, Canto one, Emanation of the Pure One'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 285 pages, * ''Bharata Shakti, Canto two, Gowri Kandam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 430 pages, * ''Bharata Shakti, Canto three, Sadhana Kandam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 471 pages, * ''Bharata Shakti, Canto four, Satyan at Danavam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 371 pages, * ''Bharata Shakti, Canto five, Victory of Shuddha Shakti'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 313 pages, * ''Arrival of Mira, Love story between Bhojan and Mira'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 133 pages, * ''The Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, Live in Yoga with the Divine, a Life Divine !'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 113 pages, * ''The Secrets of Shiva'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 119 pages, * ''His sixtieh birthday celebration'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 131 pages, * ''Illumination Hymn and Conference'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 133 pages, * ''Voice of Tayumanar'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 205 pages, * ''Poet's Forum, Kavi Arangam'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 144 pages, * ''The Arrival of Buddha'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 101 pages, * ''Fasting and Divinity'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 104 pages, * ''The Grand Epic of Saivism'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 257 pages, * ''Songs for Children'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 100 pages, * ''Essence of Religion'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 127 pages, * ''William Blake'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 104 pages, * ''Francis Thompson'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 97 pages, * ''Kama Thilagan and Vanarasu'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 137 pages, * ''Chariot of Life'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 207 pages, * ''Vivekanandam and The Story of our Independence'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 137 pages, * ''Fire of Tamil, Thamizhkanal'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 207 pages, * Sadasiva Brahman, the Silent Sage

Biographies and sources

* Sri Dewan Bahadur. ''A Study of all the works of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati'', L'Auberson, Éditions ASSA, 224 pages, * The best known biography of Maharishi Yogi Kavi Dr. Bharati Shuddhananda is that written in his hand in his book ''Pilgrim Soul'
Extracts of Pilgrim Soul
Editions ASSA, L'Auberson, Christian Piaget, . * ''Dancing with Shiva'', Published by Himalayan Academy India,

References

External links

"The path to spiritual communism"
Profile of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati, ''Indian Express'', Chennai, 14 April 1990
Coverage of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati's visit to South Africa

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharati, Shuddhananda 1897 births 1990 deaths Indian spiritual teachers 20th-century Indian philosophers People from Sivaganga district Tamil writers Tamil epic poems Carnatic composers 20th-century Indian composers Tamil–English translators 20th-century translators Translators of the Tirukkural into English Tirukkural translators