Swamiji was born as Natarajan in Manjakkudi – Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu on 15 August 1930 to Shri. Gopala Iyer and Smt. Valambal. He was the eldest of four sons. His early schooling was done in the District Board School at Kodavasal. His father's death when he was eight, meant Natarajan had to shoulder a significant portion of family responsibility along with his education. After the completion of his education, Natarajan came to Chennai (erstwhile Madras) for earning a livelihood. Natarajan worked as a journalist for the weekly magazine Dharmika Hindu (run by T. K. Jagannathacharya) and also for erstwhile Volkart Brothers (now Voltas Limited) for some time. He also decided to be a fighter pilot at one point and joined the Indian Air Force, but left after six months as he felt suffocated by the regimentation there. In his absence his younger brother MG. Srinivasan took charge of the agricultural fields of the family household and made sure that the family had the income to survive and live peacefully off the income.

Natarajan became interested in Vedanta (Vedanta known also as Upanishad, is a positional name for the wisdom contained in the end portion of the Vedas, the most ancient body of scriptural and religious knowledge known to humankind) after listening to the public talks of Swami Chinmayananda in the year 1953. He became actively involved with the then newly formed Chinmaya Mission in various roles and he was made its Secretary within the first year of its inception. He attended the Sanskrit classes of P.S. SubramaniaIyer, a retired Professor of English. He introduced the mode of chanting the Gita verses that is still followed. Swami Chinmayananda instructed Natarajan to set up Chinmaya Mission's Madurai branch which he was able to fulfill. In 1955 Natarajan accompanied Swami Chinmayananda to Uttarakashi and helped him in the preparation of a Gita manuscript for publication. In Uttarakashi, he met Swami Chinmayananda's Guru, TapovanMaharaj, who advised him, 'You have a duty to yourself which is also important. Stay here. Do japa, meditate and study.' Natarajan could not take up that offer at that point in time. However, he promised Swami TapovanMaharaj that he would be able to come after one year and he did. Natarajan returned to Madras and took up the editorship of 'Tyagi,' a fortnightly magazine of Chinmaya Mission. Upon the advice of Swami Chinmayananda, Natarajan shifted to Bengaluru (erstwhile Bangalore) in 1956 and continued to edit Tyagi which was also moved to Bengaluru (erstwhile Bangalore). During his stay there, Natarajan joined the Sanskrit College in Chamrajpet and had the privilege of studying one on one with Prof. Veeraraghavachariar.

In 1961, with the permission of Swami Chinmayananda, Natarajan went to study under Swami Pranavananda at Gudivada (near Vijayawada) to clarify many of his doubts on Vedanta and self-enquiry. The stay with Swami Pranavananda helped Natarajan learn one thing clearly – that Vedanta is a pramana (means of knowledge) to know the truth of the Self. In Natarajan's own words: "I saw the Swami giving direct knowledge to the people he was teaching. This resolved all my conflicts. My problems with Vedanta had been my mistaken notion that it was a system." This critical shift in his vision about Vedanta impelled Natarajan to once again study the sastra with Sankara's commentaries. In 1962 he was given Sanyasa by Swami Chinmayananda and was given the name Swami Dayananda Saraswati. In 1963 he went to Mumbai, (erstwhile Bombay) to the newly inaugurated Sandeepany Sadhanalaya of Chinmaya Mission, where he undertook the responsibility of editing the magazine of the mission Tapovan Prasad. In addition, Swami Dayananda taught chanting of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads to the students of Sandeepany. In November 1963 Swami Dayananda undertook a study-pilgrimage to Rishikesh and stayed in a grass hut in Purani Jhadi now known as Dayananda Nagar. He spent three years there, studying Brahma Sutras under Swami Tarananda Giri at the Kailash Ashram.

Around 1967, due to the ill health of Swami Chinmayananda, the Mission approached Swami Dayananda to give public talks and lectures. Accordingly, between 1967 and 1970, Swami Dayananda travelled to different towns and cities in India spreading the knowledge of Gita and the Upanishads.

In 1971, Swami Dayananda agreed to conduct a long-term study program at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai and formulated a curriculum that would systematically unfold the vision of Vedanta. Between 1972 and 1979, Swami Dayananda conducted two 2 1/2 - year residential Vedanta courses in Mumbai. In his words, 'At Sandeepany the teaching is traditional and rigorous. What would take a Sadhu in the Himalayas nine years to learn, the students at Sandeepany learned in two-and-half years.'

At the request of students in the United States, in 1979 Swami Dayananda established a three-year study program at Sandeepany West in Piercy, California. In 1982, he returned to India and continued to spread the message of the Upanishads through public talks and lectures. Responding to the request of students, devotees and disciples, Swami Dayananda established the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam at Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in 1986 wherein a three-year residential course was completed in 1990.

Swami Dayananda along with his students has taught ten long term Vedanta Courses (eight in India and two in the United States) and many of his students from these programs are now teaching all over India and abroad. More than two-hundred of his Sannyasi-disciples are teaching Vedanta and Paninian grammar around the world.

As a teacher of Vedanta, Swami Dayananda has established four traditional teaching centres and many more across the globe through his students with a primary focus on teaching Vedanta, Sanskrit and related disciplines. These traditional teaching centres carry the banner 'Arsha Vidya' or 'Arsha Vijnana', i.e. Knowledge of the Rishis. The word 'Arsha' has also been used by many of Swami Dayananda's students in naming their facilities to mark their lineage. The four Arsha Vidya teaching centres that Swami Dayananda has established are: • Arsha Vidya Peetham, Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh 249137, Uttarakhand, India • Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, P.O. Box 1059, Pennsylvania 18353, USA • Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore – 641108, Tamil Nadu, India • Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam, Nagpur, Amravati Road, Maharashtra, 410 033, India These residential centres conduct long-term courses, 1–2-week camps, weekend study programs and family camps throughout the year and the subjects taught include the major Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, several secondary texts of Vedanta and the Brahma Sutras. The study includes also the Sanskrit commentary of Sankara on these texts. Along with these studies, the Sanskrit language is taught with Paninian grammar. The Gurukulas also conduct sessions of daily meditation and satsangas. Additionally camps are conducted for teaching Yoga, Indian Classical Music, Ayurveda, Jyotisha and allied disciplines.

There is one more centre that has been initiated by Swami Dayananda during his lifetime in his birthplace, Manjakkudi, Thiruvarur Dist, Tamil Nadu, under the aegis of Swami Dayananda Educational Trust. It manages a liberal arts college, 2 Higher Secondary schools and a Veda pathasala. Recently, JnanaPravaha has been inaugurated. The place has state-of-the art lecture hall with good audio-video facilities, good acoustics and ambience. It houses the Swami Dayananda Archives, a great collection of Swamiji's teachings in print and digital formats. It also houses a reading room where oks published by AshaVidya Research and Publication trust are kep and are available freely for reference to students along with other Sanskrit reference books. JnanaPravaha also has a meditation hall which has PujyaSwamiji’s shrine where regular pujas are conducted. Students of Vedanta can use the facility for serious study, conducting classes, satsangand meditation.JnanaPravaha has come to full scale operation where regular residential study programmes are conducted by the disciples of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. The teaching centres founded by Swami Dayananda offer Indians and non-Indians, Hindus and non-Hindus, men and women alike, an opportunity to study the profound knowledge of Vedanta. The teaching centres conduct outreach programs to reach out to the public at large. At present there are at least sixty centres in India and abroad that carry on the tradition of Vedantic teaching under the banner of Arsha Vidya.

The most well-known student of Swami Dayananda Saraswati is Narendra Modi, prime minister of India. Other students include Anantanand Rambachan, a professor of religion at St. Olaf College, Minnesota (USA), and Vasudevacharya, previously Dr. Michael Comans, former faculty member in the Department of Indian Studies at the University of Sydney. The sannyasi disciples of Swami Dayananda are many in number teaching Arsha Vidya and some of them are heading the Gurukulams established by Swamiji in India and abroad.

The Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust (AVR & PT) transcribes, edits, collates and publishes Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s teachings, lectures and writings with the sole objective of spreading the vision of our traditional spiritual texts and scriptures through systematic expansion of quality print and publishing media at affordable prices. Pujya Swamiji used to personally edit many of the books published by AVR&PT to ensure that the vision of Vedanta was communicated with clarity. Further, Pujya Swamiji has approved that AVR&PT shall be the single-source centre for editing and publishing his teachings. To date, AVR&PT has published more than 60 book titles under various series such as Public Talks, Essays, Moments with Oneself, Bhagavad Gita, Brahmasutra, Meditation, Exploring Vedanta, Sanskrit texts (Translated), Prakarana, Stotra and Upanishad series, with more in the offing. The Trust also houses over 5,700 hours of master transcripts of Pujya Swamiji’s teachings. AVR&PT Chennai offers books, audios, videos and e-books on the following platforms:

1) Books and pen drives containing recordings of Pujya Swamiji’s talks can be bought online through www.avrpt.com or at Spirit of the Earth (No. 4, Desika Road, Mylapore, Chennai)

2) AVR&PT’s app, ‘Teachings of Swami Dayananda’, is available for free download from Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. In addition to providing access to a selection of free e-books, audio & video, you can purchase and download more media content through the app.

3) E-books are also available for AMAZON Kindle apps and reader devices. Further, you can order paperback versions of Pujya Swamiji's books through print-on-demand facility provided by Amazon.

More information about Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust can be found at www.avrpt.com

In addition to teaching, Swami Dayananda has initiated and supported various philanthropic efforts.

The All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva) is a pan-Indian, non-profit registered charitable trust, founded by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 2000 as an initiative of the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, an apex body of Hindu religious heads of the various sampradayas which itself was convened by Swami Dayananda's coordinating efforts. Pujya Swamiji understood that the challenges of accessibility and affordability were limiting children in rural India from going to school – which he uncovered during a conversation with a tribal woman.

Thus, AIM for Seva’s journey began with the goal of enabling children from impoverished rural and tribal areas to have the same advantages as children of means and, therefore, every opportunity to develop their full potential – and of the nation. The first Chatralayam (free student hostel) was set up in 2001. Today, AIM for Seva is spread across 16 states with 136 projects that include Chatralayams, schools, a college, vocational training centres, residential facility for differently abled adults, healthcare facilities, community development initiatives and sustainable living projects.

AIM for SEVA Global Presence
Aim for Seva USA – www.aimforsevausa.org
Aim for Seva Canada – www.aimforseva.ca

Swami Dayananda Educational Trust (SDET) founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 2003, is based in Manjakkudi in Tiruvarur District, Tamil Nadu. Nestled amidst lush paddy fields, Manjakkudi (also the birth place of Swami Dayananda Saraswati) is an integrated community development project. The continuous efforts of Swami Dayananda Educational Trust has transformed this silent village into a vibrant centre of learning, nourishing young minds to explore, experiment and expand their horizon.

For more information about Swami Dayananda Educational Trust please visit www.sdet.in

Swami Dayananda has promoted several inter-religious dialogues. He has participated in Hindu-Jewish conferences facilitated by the World Council of Religious Leaders under that organizations “Religion One on One” initiative. He has also participated in two Hindu-Buddhist summits. The first one organized by the Global Peace Initiative of Women, was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2009 and the second one was organized in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2010.

Swami Dayananda has promoted the preservation of ancient cultures and religious and spiritual practices of India that have survived several millennia, yet struggle in modern times due to lack of support. He has started several Veda Pathashalas (Centers of learning of Vedas) for the preservation of Vedas and Agamas to prevent their rapid extinction due to a lack of infrastructure for learning.

Swami Dayananda also founded the Dharma Rakshana Samiti, a body to protect the Vedic heritage, to preserve the native spiritual culture of India inherited from the rishis and to raise the awareness among Hindus of their Vedic heritage.

Swami Dayananda had appointed 35 oduvars in ancient Siva temples and paid them monthly allowance to sing the Panniru Tirumurai, songs explaining Saiva Siddhanta philosophy.

Swami Dayananda was instrumental in building five chariots for Sri Mahalingaswamy Temple at Tiruvidaimarudur near Kumbakonam in 2010.

Sri DayanandaSaraswati brought various monks and matathipatis across India under one umbrella called Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha. The Sabha was a conclave of sannyasins belonging to various sampradayas i.e. traditions. It was the first time ever that such a large number of Sannyasis were brought under one umbrella.

Sri Dayananda Saraswati filed a Writ Petition (W.P. 476/2012) before the Supreme Court of India challenging the Constitutional validity of various provisions of the Hindu Religious Endowments and Institutions Acts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry. This matter is now pending before the Supreme Court. He was instrumental in getting Dr. Subramanian Swamy defend and protect Ram Sethu when the Union Government wanted to create a channel breaking it. He was also instrumental in getting Dr. Subramanian Swamy implead in the Chidambaram Temple Case in the year 2009. Though the Podu Dikshitars and Dr. Subramanian Swamy lost their case in the Chidambaram Temple matter before the Madras High Court in 2009, their appeals were allowed by the Supreme Court which by its judgment dated 06-Jan-2014 threw the Government out of the Chidambaram Sri Natarajar Temple by setting aside the judgments passed by the Madras High Court in the year 2009. The Supreme Court's Judgment in the Chidambaram Temple Case came as a big boost for retrieving Hindu temples from Government control.

Swami Dayananda's Bhagavad Gita Home Study Course is an edited transcript of classroom talks of Pujya Swamiji. It is a unique set of 9 books of over 4000 pages which goes comprehensively through all the chapters and verses of the Gita with a word to word translation in English from Sanskrit and an elaborate explanation of Swami Dayananda based on Sankara's commentary. Each verse is unfolded with clarity in such detail as to make the reader feel he/she is sitting in the class room.

The Bhagavad Gita Home Study programme is also available in Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and partly in Hindi.

PUBLIC TALKS SERIES:
1. Living Intelligently
2. Successful Living
3. Need for Cognitive Change
4. Discovering Love
5. The Value of Values
6. Vedic View and Way of Life
7. Sādhana & Sādhya
8. Talks & Essays Vol 1 (with Part 1 & 2)
9. Talks & Essays Vol 3 (with Part 1 & 2)

UPANIṢAD SERIES:
1. Muṇḍakopaniṣad (Vol 1 & 2)
2. Kenopaniṣad
3. Taittirīya Upaniṣad (Vol 1 & 2)
3. Māṇḍūkya with Kārikā (Vol 1, 2, 3 & 4)

PRAKARAṆA SERIES:
1. Tattvabodhaḥ
2. Sādhana Pañcakam

TEXT TRANSLATION SERIES:
1. Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā (Text with roman transliteration and English translation)
2. Śri Rudram (Text in Sanskrit with transliteration, word-to-word and verse meaning along with an elaborate commentary in English)

STOTRA SERIES:
1. Dīpārādhanā
2. Prayer Guide (with explanation of several Mantras, Stotras, Kirtans and Religious Festivals)

MOMENTS WITH ONESELF SERIES:
1. Freedom from Helplessness
2. Living vs Getting On
3. Insights
4. Action and Reaction
5. Fundamental Problem
6. Problem is You Solution is You
7. Purpose of Prayer
8. Vedanta 24x7
9. Freedom
10. Crisis Management
11. Surrender and Freedom
12. The Need for Personal Reorganisation
13. Freedom in Relationship
14. Stress-free Living
15. Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
16.Yoga of Objectivity
17. Īśvara in One’s Life
18. Purnamadah Purnamidam

BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ:
1. Bhagavad Gītā Home Study Course (Hardbound - 9 Volumes)
2. Vision of the Gita - In ten Essential Verses

MEDITATION SERIES:
1. Morning Meditation Prayer
2. What is Meditation

ESSAYS:
1. Do all Religions have the same goal?
2. Conversion is Violence
3. Gurupurnima
4. Dānam
5. Japa
6. Can We?
7. Moments with Kṛṣṇa
10. The True Teacher
11. Hinduism ... its uniqueness

EXPLORING VEDANTA SERIES: (vākyavicāra)
1. śraddha bhakti dhyāna yogād avaihi ātmānaṁ ced vijānīyāt

BRAHMA SŪTRA
1. Brahmasūtra Catussūtri

OTHERS, ENGLISH
Teaching Tradition of Advaita Vedanta
Compositions of Swami Dayananda

BIOGRAPHY
Swami Dayananda Sarawati - Contributions & Writings (Hardbound Regular)
(Smt. Sheela Balaji)

Swami Dayananda Sarawati - Contributions & Writings (Hardbound Small)
(Smt. Sheela Balaji)

Swami Dayananda Saraswati - Teacher of Teachers (60th Birthday Book)
(Smt. Padma Narasimhan)

PUBLIC TALKS:
1. Rishikesh Retreats 2013 - 4 Vedanta Retreats - [Audio+Video]
2. The Spiritual Heritage of India - AVG Anaikatti 2003 - [Audio+Video]
3. Collection of Public Talks - From 1984 to 2013

UPANISAD:
1. KENA Bhashyam 2011 & CHANDOGYA 6th Chapter 1991 - [Audio]
2. MUNDAKA Bhashyam 2011 & MANDUKYA Karika 2012 - [Audio]
3. MANDUKYA Karika 1992/93 - [Audio]
4. KAIVALYA 2011 & TAITTIRIYA Bhashyam 2012 - [Audio]
5. KATHA Bhashyam 2011 - [Audio]
6. TEACHING OF UPANISAD by PujyaSwamiji 1990-99 - [Audio]
7. MAKAVAKYA VICARA 2012 - [Audio+Video]

MEDITATION:
1. Talks on Meditation & Guided Meditations - [Audio]
• CONTEMPLATION OF ISHVARA (30 Guided Meditations)
• BEING AT HOME WITH ONESELF (49 Guided Meditations)
• DISCOVERING THE BASIC PERSON (7 Guided Meditations)
• TALKS ON MEDITATION & MEDITATIVE LIFE (13 Talks)

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA:
1. INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA - Selected Series to Prepare Oneself for the Study of Vedanta - [Audio]
• Preparedness for Self-Knowledge (ADHIKARITVAM) - 9 Classes, AVG Anaikatti 2010
• Means of Knowledge (PRAMANAM) - 10 Classes, AVG Anaikatti 2010
• INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA - 11 Classes, AVG Anaikatti 1995
• TATTVABODHA - 29 Classes, AVG Anaikatti 1990

PRAKARANA GRANTHA:
1. PRAKARANA GRANTHA - Selected Series of Talks based on PrakaranaGrantha books - [Audio]
• TATTVABODHAH - 29 Classes - 1990
• NAISHKARMYASIDDHI - 68 Classes - 1993
• ADVAITA MAKARANDA - 15 Classes - 1995
• DRG-DRSYA VIVEKA - 33 Classes - 2011

BHAGAVAD GITA:
1. BHAGAVAD GITA Bundle- Selected Classes & Talks of PujyaSwamiji's teaching of the Bhagavad Gita - [Audio]
• 10 ESSENTIAL VERSES OF THE BHAGAVADGITA - 7 Talks - 1984
• VALUES - (based on BG Ch.13 vs. 7-11) - 17 Classes - 1990
• BHAGAVADGITA - 18 Chapters - 193 Classes - 2010
• PUJYA SWAMIJI CHANTS THE BHAGAVADGITA - Intro, Gita Dhyanam& 18 Chapters

2. BHAGAVADGITA with SHANKARA BHASHAM - AVG Anaikatti, 4th Course / 2011-2013 - [Audio]