Swami Omkarananda

About Swami Omkarananda

H.D. Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati is a God-realized Saint, Mystic, Sage, Philosopher and Writer.

Already at the age of thirteen and fourteen his life was flooded with numerous spiritual experiences of the omnipresent and omniscient God. Under the dictates of these experiences, he left his home city in South India for the Himalayas, where the world-renowned Sage Sri Swami Sivananda recognized in him an embodiment of the high spirit of renunciation, profound divine wisdom, touching purity of heart, made him known as Bala Yogi, Bala Jnani, titled him as Adhyatma Kavita-Bhaskara and crowned him with Sannyasa-Diksha at the age of seventeen.

The activities of Sage and Philosopher Swami Omkarananda embrace spiritual, cultural, educational, scientific and social fields. One of the significant achievements in these fields is the unique work he has done for the upliftment of the backward regions in the hills of the Himalayan Garhwal area. In recognition of his extraordinary services he has received several prestigious honours like Mother India Award, Bharat Nirman Award and Hind Rattan Award.

The Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas at Rishi­kesh, set on one of the foot-hills of the Himalayas, is one of the main branches of his international Institution. It aims at the realization of educational, social, cultural and spiritual projects. Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas carries on its activities through its registered Trusts - Swami Omkarananda Dharma Samsthan, Swami Omkarananda Saraswati Charitable Trust, Omkarananda Educational Society, Omkarananda Saraswati Natya Kala Academy and other educational and cultural Institutions.

Swami Omkarananda has established 74 Institutions, among them 56 Basic- and Junior-High-Schools, Degree- and Inter-Colleges, an Institute for Management and Technology, an Institute for Indian Classical Dance and Music, several Public Libraries, etc. in the beautiful hilly regions of the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand, where education was needed most.

Many beautiful Temples have been established by Shri Swami Omkarananda Saraswati in the Garhwal area, out of which the "Omkarananda-Kamakshi-Devi Mandir", in typical South-Indian style, is absolutely outstanding in its beauty and purity and constitutes a landmark in whole Uttarakhand. This Temple and other lovely Temples of Omkarananda Ashram, situated in Omkarananda Nagar, Muni-ki-Reti, Rishikesh, and other places, are a center of attraction.

Swami Omkarananda is Author of many books on the subjects of Philosophy, Spirituality and Science, and his books are available in many languages, all over the world.