Swami Sivananda

Swami Sivananda was born in 1887 in what was then the Indian Empire. As a child he was naturally athletic, and carried this fitness through to medical school. After graduation, he served as a doctor in Malaya for ten years before returning to India in 1924. After his return, he found his Guru, and then his spiritual center. By 1927 he was combining his spiritual awakening with his medical skills. He spent several years in pilgrimage before turning founding the Divine Life Society in 1936. By 1948 he had founded the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy, and was focused on what he called the Yoga of Synthesis, which combined elements of all the paths. He died in 1963.