Brahma Vidya Vilas

About the Author:

Born on the 8th September, 1887, in the illustrious family of Saga Appayya Diskhita and several other renowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serve all and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind. His passion for service drew him to the medical career; and soon he gravitated to where he thought that his service was most needed. Malaya claimed him. He had earlier been editing a Health Journal and wrote extensively on health problems. He discovered that people needed right knowledge most of all; dissemination of that knowledge he espoused as his own mission. It was divine dispensation and the blessing of God upon mankind that the doctor of body and mind renounced his career and took to a life of renunciation to qualify himself for ministering to the soul of man. He settled down at Rishikesh in 1924, practiced intense austerities and shone as a great Yogi, Saint, Sage and Jivanmukta. In 1932 he started the Sivanandashram. In 1936 was born The Divine Life Society. In 1948 the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy was organized. Dissemination of spiritual knowledge and training of people in Yoga and Vedanta were their aim and object. In 1950 he undertook a lightning tour of India and Ceylon. In 1953 he convened a 'World Parliament Reliogions'. He is the author of over 300 volumes and has disciples all over the world, belonging to all nationalities, religions and creeds. To read his works is to drink at the fountain of Wisdom Supreme. On 14th July, 1963 he entered Mahasamadhi.

About the Book:

Brahma Vidya or "the Science of Sciences that enables man to know the very source of Knowledge itself" as Sri Swami Sivanandaji puts it, is the precious legacy which the sages of yore have left behind them. It is truly a divine light that enables us to see within ourselves, to direct our gaze into the darkest corners of our own inner personality, and piercing through the veil of ignorance, to realise the Light of lights that we are in truth.

Brahma Vidya enable us to lead a better and more fruitful life here, a life of harmony, love, service, peace and joy.

That Brahma Vidya Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has presented in the form of delightful Plays in this volume.

Brahma Vidya or "the Science of Sciences that enables man to know the very source of Knowledge itself' as Sri Swami Sivanandaji puts it, is the precious legacy which the sages of yore have left behind them. It is truly a divine light that enables us to see within ourselves, to direct our gaze into the darkest corners of our own inner personality, and piercing through the veil of ignorance, to realise the Light of lights that we are in truth.

Brahma Vidya enables us to lead a better and more fruitful life here, a life of harmony, love, service, peace and joy.

That Brahma Vidya Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has presented in the form of delightful Plays in this volume. Of this mode of treatment of this abstruse subject, Sri C. Rajagopalachari (then Governor-General of India) said: "It gave me great pleasure to see your book Upanishad Drama. Gold beaten into all sorts of shapes gives joy. So have you beaten the Upanishads into new and artistic shape! I am amazed at your energy."

Art appeals to the heart; and heart is the seat of the soul. An appeal to the heart through art is, therefore, at once soul-elevating. It is now well-known that Swami Sivanandaji has ever been appealing more to the man's heart than to his intellect and that, therefore, he has been able to effect a wider spiritual awakening than any saint has. so far been able to.

H.H.Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has brought not only light but life into the Quest after the truth where life had so long been regarded as a burden to be patiently and gloomily carried to its natural end, and where he who walked was asked to fix his eyes on the ground to let his mind dwell on the miseries of the world and to make his heart constantly meditate upon ways and means of getting rid of the world itself .

Swami Sivanandaji has given a complete reorientation of this Quest after Truth which is truly a Quest after Bliss every step taken taking the seeker nearer and nearer to the fountain of Bliss. The spiritual aspirant’slife is thus made a blissful song of joyous march to the goal.

The chief instrument employed by him in bringing this about are the stage.through these he effectively transcends the doubting and arguing intellect and makes a drect approach to the heart which feels and knws (realises) rather then trying to understand.

It is this novel approach to Vedanta and yoga that has earned for him the heart’s gratitude and adoration of millions all the world.

Several plays have been written by sri swami sivanandaji and it was usual on all festive occasions at anand kutir where the sage dwelt to stage one of his plays. it has been the invariable experience of those who took part in the festivities that they had learned more then what hundreds of lectures could have taught them. To read Swamiji’s plays is to get pleasure and profit together.