Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Personal
Born	Robert Hansen (1927-01-05)5 January 1927 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	12 November 2001(2001-11-12) (aged 74) Kapaa, Hawaii, U.S.
Religion	Hinduism
Sect	Shaivism Shaiva Siddhanta Nath (Nandinatha Sampradaya)
Religious career
Guru	Jnanaguru Yogaswami
Predecessor	Jnanaguru Yogaswami
Successor	Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Initiated	Sannyasa
Initiation	1949 Jaffna, Ceylon by Jnanaguru Yogaswami

Part of a series on
Hindu philosophy
Orthodox
Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Vaisheshika Mīmāṃsā Vedanta
Heterodox
Charvaka Ājīvika Buddhism Jainism Ajñana
Sub-schools Smartist Advaita Vaishnavite Bhedabheda Vishishtadvaita Dvaita Shuddhadvaita Achintya Bheda Abheda Dvaitadvaita Mahanubhava Ekasarana Dharma Akshar Purushottam Darshan Shaivite Shaiva Siddhanta Pratyabhijna Panchartika Pramanavada Shakti Vishishtadvaita Shiva Bhedabeda Shiva Advaita Neo-Vedanta Integral yoga
Teachers (Acharyas) Nyaya Akṣapāda Gotama Jayanta Bhatta Raghunatha Siromani Mīmāṃsā Jaimini Kumārila Bhaṭṭa Prabhākara Advaita (Mayavada) Gaudapada Vāchaspati Misra Adi Shankara Vishishtadvaita Ramanuja Vedanta Desika Dvaita (Tattvavada) Madhvacharya Jayatirtha Vyasatirtha Shuddhadvaita Vallabha Achintya Bheda Abheda Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Dvaitadvaita Nimbarka Mahanubhava Chakradhara Ekasarana Dharma Sankardev Akshar Purushottam Darshan Swaminarayan Tantra Shakta Abhinavagupta Nigamananda Paramahansa Ramprasad Sen Bamakhepa Kamalakanta Bhattacharya Anandamayi Ma Neo-Vedanta Vivekananda Aurobindo Radhakrishnan Others Samkhya Kapila Yoga Patanjali Vaisheshika Kaṇāda, Prashastapada Secular Valluvar
Major texts Śruti Smriti Vedas Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda Atharvaveda Upanishads Principal Upanishads Minor Upanishads Other scriptures Bhagavad Gita Agama (Hinduism) Vachanamrut Shastras and Sutras Brahma Sutras Samkhya Sutras Mimamsa Sutras Nyāya Sūtras Vaiśeṣika Sūtra Yoga Sutras Pramana Sutras Puranas Dharmaśāstra Arthashastra Kama Sutra Naalayira Divya Prabandham Tirumurai Shiva Samhita Secular ethics Kural
Hinduism Other Indian philosophies
v t e

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (born Robert Hansen; January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001) was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young man. He was the 162nd head of the self claimed Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and Guru at Kauai's Hindu Monastery which is a 382-acre (155 ha) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island.^[1]

In 1947, at the age of 20, he journeyed to India and Sri Lanka and in 1949, was initiated into sannyasa^[2] by the renowned siddha yogi and worshiper of Lord Shiva, Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka who was regarded as one of the 20th century's remarkable mystics. In the 1970s he established a Hindu monastery in Kauai, Hawaii and founded the magazine Hinduism Today.^[3] In 1985, he created the festival of Pancha Ganapati as a Hindu alternative to December holidays like Christmas.^[4][5] He was one of Shaivism's Gurus, the founder and leader of the Saiva Siddhanta Church.

He is part of the guru lineage of the Sri Lankan Alaveddy Hindus. His various institutions form a Jaffna-Tamil-based organization which has branched out from his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy to meet the needs of the growing Hindu diaspora of this century. He also established a seven-acre (2.8 ha) monastery in Mauritius, which includes a public Spiritual Park called "Spiritual Park- Pointe de Lascars". He oversaw more than 50 independent temples worldwide.^[6]

His influence reflected the reach of his publications, including the approximately 30 books he wrote. Subramuniyaswami was described by Klaus Klostermaier as "the single-most advocate of Hinduism outside India".^[7] The book Religious Leaders of America explained Subramuniyaswami's role as "a pillar of orthodox Hinduism."^[8]