Shankaracharya Swami Shantanand Saraswati
A Brief Biography & Bibliography
with mention of the Jyotirmath succession disputes
- compiled by Paul Mason 

Swami Shantanand Saraswati [1913-1997]
Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math 1953-1980

Born on 16^th July 1913 (Vikrami 1970 Ashadha 13) at Achhati village in Basti district to a brahmin family. He was 3^rd son of Lal Bihari Tiwari Tripathi. As a young man Shantanand was known as "Ram Ji". It is said that Ramji was the son of the sister of the Shankaracharya, Swami Brahmanand Saraswati.

Worked as book binder at Gita Press, Gorakhpur - allegedly worked for about 14 years in this capacity supporting a wife and child.

Student of Shri Swami Purnanand Tirth Ji Maharaj (Shri UDhiya Baba Ji Maharaj) in Vrindaban.

Shankarcharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati initiated him as sannyasi (swami) in January 1951. 

Installed as a Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math on 12^th June 1953 at Brahma Niwas, Sigra, Varanasi.

Shankaracharya Swami Shantanand appears in this video between 03:39 and 06:20.

Swami Shantanand Saraswati [1913-1997]
Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math 1953-1980

'Om Shri Jyotirmath (A brief Introduction)' .zip file scan of leaflet

Supporter of fellow-disciple Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's teaching of Transcendental Meditation -TM

Swami Shantanand, Dandi Swami Narayanand
& Brahmachari Satyanand

The following are exerpts from 'The Maharishi: the Biography of the Man who Gave Transcendental Meditation to the World", which includes several mentions of Shantanand Ji.

    “On Tuesday, 30 May 1961, eight years to the day after his master’s death, the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Swami Shantanand Saraswati graced the teacher-training course with his presence and was received with all due ceremony. Arriving at the site where the new Academy was being built, he addressed the Maharishi and the gathered meditators:
Rishikesh is a place where so many saints and sages meditated with a view to attaining Self-realisation. Every grain of sand is vibrating forth the holy influence of saints and sages who have inhabited this part of India since ages past.85
He commended the practice of the Maharishi’s meditation, describing it as a ‘master key to the knowledge of Vedanta’ and added, ‘There are other keys, but a master key is enough to open all the locks.86’”
from Page 58

“His mission to spiritually regenerate the world seemed on the surface to be going well, but in reality a divisive undercurrent was already starting to make itself felt. At least two of his prominent followers, Leon Mclaren and Dr Francis Roles, had became disaffected with the Movement and were already branching out on their own. Perhaps this had been their intention all along, for Dr Roles had been a follower of P.D. Ouspensky, who in turn had been a prominent disciple of Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, a notable thinker of his time. It is claimed that Ouspensky had instructed Dr Roles to seek out a simple method of finding inner stillness and offer it to those living ordinary lives. Roles had discovered an unlikely and very useful ally in no less a personage than Swami Shantanand. The venerable Shankaracharya had given a clue to his breadth of vision in his address to the participants of the teacher-training course the previous year, in which he had alluded to the many keys or paths to illumination. In time Roles seized his opportunity and happily found the Shankaracharya willing to offer his group the spiritual guidance it sought.”
from Page 61

Shankaracharya Shantanand Saraswati is also known as HH Shantinand Saraswati & HH Shantinanda Saraswati.

The lineage of Jyotir Math has been contested by other claimants, notably Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand, who is himself a direct disciple of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati, and allegedly a harsh critic of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the teaching of TM.

Shankaracharya Swami Swaruupanand

Dandi Swami Vishnudevanand

Dandi Swami Vishnudevanand died in 1990 and was succeeded by Dandi Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati.

Dandi Swami Vasudevanand

There is more than one claimant to the seat of Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, in fact there are reports that Swami Madhavashram is now the 'official' Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath.
Ref:- http://jjssmct.org/index.html

Swami Madhavashram

"I was very happy from the last one week because of the upcoming birthday of My Guruji Brahmrishi Shri Kumar Swami ji Maharaj. And also there was a great Programme for the celebration of 'Jyoti Diwas' as birthday of Pujya Brahmrishi Shri Kumar Swami Ji at Bhagwan Shri Lakshmi Narayan Dham, Vill. Mohri, Distt Ambala. This programme of Birthday of Guruji was continued for four days i.e. from 22.01.2010 to 25.01.2010. On this occasion, huge number of Saints, Akhara Pramukh, Chairmen of various societies & Ashrams, Mandaleshwars, Mahamandaleshwars and moreover Anant Shree Vibhushit Jyotirmathpeethadhishwar Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Madhavashram Ji Maharaj were also present there to welcome and spread the rain of their blessing to Guru ji."
http://navalarora.blogspot.com/2010/01/birthday-celebration-of-brahmrishi.html

Swami Shantanand Saraswati [1913-1997]
Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math 1953-1980

'Good Company' - His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati, Element, 1992
An Anthology of sayings, stories and answers to questions

'The Man Who Wanted to Meet God: Myths and Stories That Explain The Inexplicable' - His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati, Element, 1996

'Hamaare Gurudeva' - Dandi Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, 1983
Hindi biography of Swami Shantanand Saraswati

* Hamaare Gurudeva *
Shri Swamii Shantanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj

'The Orange Book: A Method of Self Realisation - Study Society, 1981
Question and answers with HH Shantanand Saraswati in early 1970's

'Birth and Death' - The Study Society, 1993
A compilation of the sayings of His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati

'Prayer' - The Study Society, 2001
A compilation of the sayings of His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati on prayer

'Who Am I? What is my Soul?' - Study Society, 2005
Questions and answers taken from talks by His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati

'Darshan' - Frank Papentin
Photobook which contains some shots of Swami Shantanand at Rishikesh in 1961

DARSHAN
Three Time India with
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Photos & Text by Frank Papentin
Published by Hannemann Verlag, 1986

Beautifully produced full-colour photographic hardback book containing images of HH Shankaracharya Shantanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya Vishnudevand, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Jerry Jarvis, Tat Wale Baba and Kashmiri saint Swami Lakshman-Joo. Also has bilingual notes in German and English.
Beautiful, rare and very collectable books - shrinkwrapped.
£22 (inc. FREE postage and packing)
(Optional postage upgrade for airmail to destinations outside of Europe is an extra £3)

Darshan - 3 Times India - P&P options

Including Free P&P £22.00 P&P upgrade for Airmail outside of Europe £25.00

 Link to other books available from www.paulmason.info site

All above English editions (other than 'Darshan') are available from Study Society at:-
www.studysociety.org

For Hindi books enquire at:-
Shri Shankaracharya Ashram,
Brahmanivas, 15, Alopibag,
Allahabad,
Uttar Pradesh, 211 006
India
&
Swami Vasudevanand Ashram,
Jyotir Math, Joshimath,
Uttaranchal, 246 443
India

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