Swami Sundarand, also known as Swami-ji, is considered a true ascetic, and thought to be one of the last authentic Gangotri Himalayan yogis of his time. He studied at the feet of Swami Tapovan Maharaj, (1889-1957), a Gangotri Himilayan yogi who lived in the Indian Himalayas in Gangotri and Uttrakashi when the area was almost inaccessable. Sundarand’s teacher, Swami Tapovan Maharaj, wrote Wanderings in the Himalayas (Himagiri vihar), a classic yoga book on yogic life in the Himalayas in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Swami Sundarand took the brahmacharia sadhu vow over 59 years ago and has devoted his life to a rigorous daily practice of meditation and spiritual practices. From 1946 until 1957, Swami-ji lived with Swami Tapovan in his master’s hut, or Kuti, in the then remote area of Gangotri, at an altitude of 10,400 feet. His master bequeathed the hut to Swami Sundarand who, now past eighty years of age, still resides there. Gangotri, the source of the Ganges river, is considered one of India’s most sacred areas.

Swami Sundarand is not only a sage and yogi, but also a naturalist and photographer. For over 50 years he has taken more than 100,000 photos of the shrinking Gangotri glacier in the Indian Himalayas. His book, Himalaya, through the lens of a Sadhu, is out of print and considered a collector’s item. It was endorsed by the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and has over 425 photographs spanning 60 years of his work. The intention of his book was also to document the region as it once was, and to plant seeds of hope and inspiration for resolving the area’s environmental concerns. In his photographic work, Swami-ji sought to capture the Eternal in Nature. He now travels India raising awareness of the Gangotri’s rapid demise as a principle advocate for the ecological preservation of the Himalayas, the Ganges and its source at Gangotri.

A lookout point and plaque has been built down river from Gangotri, dedicated to the Swami’s work and cause. A museum is planned at the location of his property at Gangotri and will be devoted to environmental protection and spiritual guidance. It will feature Swami Sundaranand’s Himalayan photography.

In this short video clip from the documentary film, “Personal Time with Swami-ji”, which was shot in Himalayas at the source of the Sacred river Ganges, Swami Sundaranand teaches about how the inner music and sound of the OM is found within, and talks about the subtle worlds your meditation takes you to and the healing you receive from the practice of pranayama and meditation.

Yoga, your inner song of the OM for realization: