Swami Rama was born in 1925 and was raised from early childhood by a great yogi and saint of Bengal (Bengali Baba) who lived in the foothills of the Himalayas.
In his early years, he practiced various disciplines of Yoga and Philosophy in the monasteries of the Himalayas. He was also mentored by many adepts, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, and Rabindranath Tagore. Later he received his higher education at Bangalore, Prayaga, Varanasi, and Oxford University, England.
At an early age of 24 he was anointed to the high spiritual position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in Central India. Few years later, he left behind the dignity and prestige of this high office to return to the Himalayas to intensify his practices. After completing an intense practice, he emerged with the determination to serve humanity, by bringing the teachings of the East to the West.
At the Meninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, Swami Rama demonstrated, under controlled laboratory conditions, his exquisite control of involuntary physiological states and functions. These experiments were reported in many leading scientific journals and set the stage for the recognition of the psychosomatic origins of most of diseases, the development of bio-feedback and holistic paradigms of health.
Swami Rama established the Himalayan Institute of Yoga, Science and Philosophy of the U.S.A. in the early 1970s and in his 23 years in the U.S., he became recognized as a yogi, teacher, philosopher, author, poet, humanist and philanthropist. He returned to India in 1989 to establish the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust at Jolly Grant, Dehradun.
Swami Rama is a freethinker, inspired by his profound inner wisdom and direct experiences, he always advocated his students to follow the path of practice and direct experience. Thousands of students, teachers and organizations are still being guided by him to continue his work.