Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, also known as Gurudeva by his followers, was a renowned spiritual leader who was born in Oakland, California, and later adopted Hinduism as his way of life. He became the 162nd head of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and was the Guru at Kauai's Hindu Monastery, which is a 382-acre (155 ha) temple-monastery complex located on Hawaii's Garden Island.
At the age of 20, in 1947, he embarked on a journey to India and Sri Lanka, where he was initiated into sannyasa by Jnanaguru Yogaswami, a well-known siddha yogi and worshiper of Lord Shiva. Subramuniyaswami went on to establish a Hindu monastery in Kauai, Hawaii in the 1970s and founded the magazine Hinduism Today. He also created the festival of Pancha Ganapati as a Hindu alternative to December holidays like Christmas, in 1985. He was one of Shaivism's Gurus and the founder and leader of the Saiva Siddhanta Church.
Subramuniyaswami's institutions are based on Jaffna-Tamil traditions, and they cater to the needs of the growing Hindu diaspora of this century. His influence was reflected in the reach of his publications, including the approximately 30 books he wrote. He oversaw more than 50 independent temples worldwide and established a seven-acre (2.8 ha) monastery in Mauritius, which includes a public Spiritual Park called "Spiritual Park- Pointe de Lascars".
Klaus Klostermaier referred to Subramuniyaswami as "the single-most advocate of Hinduism outside India," while the book Religious Leaders of America described him as "a pillar of orthodox Hinduism."
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, originally named Robert Hansen, was born in California in 1927. He had a spiritual inclination from a young age and was greatly inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, particularly his poem "The Song of the Sannyasin." Alongside his interest in spirituality, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami also had a talent for dance and was part of the San Francisco Ballet Company.
At the age of 20, he set sail for India and eventually found himself spending almost three years in Sri Lanka. During his time there, he studied with a teacher for a year and a half, who tasked him with helping rural villagers with reconstruction work. He also visited and lived in various Buddhist temples, which greatly influenced the monastic protocols he later implemented in his own order.
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami fasted and meditated in the caves of Jalani, Kurugala Balandha, Sri Lanka, until he felt he had experienced enlightenment. This experience transformed him, and he returned to Colombo feeling complete and alone, having lost the desire for the realization of the Self.
After his return from Sri Lanka, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami met his final teacher, Sage Yogaswami, who gave him the name Subramuniya and initiated him into sannyasa. Yogaswami continued to communicate with him until his death in 1964. Subramuniya spent the next seven years in America, practicing yoga and meditation. In 1956, he had a powerful spiritual experience in Denver, Colorado, where he felt that his soul and physical body merged. The following year, he founded the Himalayan Academy and opened America's first Hindu temple in San Francisco. In 1968, he wrote about Shum, a language of meditation that he believed could map out the inner areas of consciousness.
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, also known as Master Subramuniya, had a significant gap in his biographical details between 1950 and 1957. During this time, he explored various non-traditional religions, including Christian Science, Theosophy, Science of Mind, Self-Realization Fellowship, Unity, Religious Science, and Spiritualism, and blended elements of these movements with Hindu yogic and Vedanta teachings in a language that would appeal to Westerners.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Subramuniya could be placed in an American metaphysical lineage that could be traced from nineteenth-century Theosophy to the New Age Movement in the late 1970s. His early publications emphasized meditation, an advaita-based monism, and yoga, but they did not mention his Hindu religion or sectarian affiliations, nor did they advocate for temple worship, which he later became known for.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Subramuniya also combined aspects of Hinduism with Christianity, opening two centers in San Francisco, one nominally Hindu, the Subramuniya Yoga Order, and the other nominally the Christian Yoga Church. At the Christian Yoga Church, he would sing Christian hymns, read from the New Testament and the Bhagavad Gita or Upanishads, and deliver sermons related to Christian or Hindu mysticism, where he was known as Father Subramuniya.
In 1970, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami moved his ashram to Kauai and established Kauai Aadheenam, also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery, a 458-acre (185 ha) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island, on a riverbank near the foot of an extinct volcano. He published the Holy Orders of Sannyas in 1979, which defined the ideals, vows, and aspirations of Hindu monasticism. He also founded Hinduism Today magazine in the same year and focused on uniting all Hindus, regardless of nationality or sect, and inspiring and educating seekers everywhere after his world tours in the early 80s. In Sri Lanka, he formally took possession of the main building of his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy, founded in 1949.
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami continued his spiritual and community work in the 1980s and 1990s, founding a branch monastery in Mauritius in 1986 at the government's request to revive Hinduism there. In 1991, he authored the Nandinatha Sutras, a collection of 365 aphorisms that provide guidance on virtuous Hindu living. He also advocated for the fair treatment of temple priests, calling for them to receive the same respect as clergy in other religions.
In 2000, Subramuniyaswami published How to Become a Hindu, challenging the idea that one must be born into Hinduism to practice it. That same year, he launched Hindu Press International (HPI), a free daily news summary on breaking news related to Hinduism. In 2001, he completed the Master Course trilogy, which included Dancing with Siva, Living with Siva, and Merging with Siva - a collection of daily lessons on Hindu philosophy, culture, and yoga.
Unfortunately, Subramuniyaswami learned in October 2001 that he had advanced, metastasized intestinal cancer that even the most aggressive treatment regimens would not effectively treat. He declined further treatment and decided to follow the Indian yogic practice of prayopavesha, abstaining from nourishment and consuming only water. On the 32nd day of his self-declared fast, November 12, 2001, surrounded by his monastics, he peacefully left his body at 11:54 pm on Monday, Chitra nakshatra.
Iraivan Temple founder, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, was a follower of the Shaiva Siddhanta sect of Hinduism and belonged to the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara. The Shaiva Siddhanta sect is predominantly practiced in South India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.
His spiritual lineage can be traced back to Maharishi Nandinath, followed by Tirumular and a nameless Rishi from the Himalayas, Kadaitswami, Chellapaswami, and Siva Yogaswami, who preceded him as the 162nd Satguru (Spiritual Preceptor) of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami held the position of 1959th Satguru from 1970 until his passing on November 12, 2001, and was succeeded by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami as the Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam.