Commemorative Stamp on Swami Chidananda – 21st May 2016.

Chidananda Saraswati (b. September 24, 1916 – d. August 28, 2008) was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. Chidananda's birth name was Sridhar Rao. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola College, Chennai. He took to a life of renunciation in 1936, and joined the Sivananda Ashram run by Sivananda Saraswati in Rishikesh in 1943. He was appointed General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in 1948. Swami Chidananda took over as the President of the society after Swami Sivanand’s death in 1963. Swami Chidananda is well known in India as a yogi, jnani and spiritual leader. He was also a great patriot and would always express his blessedness to be born in Bharatavarsha. Swami Chidananda served as the President of the society for 45 years and accompanied Swami Sivananda (in 1950) in his all India tour and proclaimed the glory of sublime culture of India and Vedic Sanatana Dharma through his soul-stirring lectures. In 1959, Sivananda sent him to the West as his spiritual representative. Swami Chidananda was chosen President of the delegation for the Parliament of the World’s Religions convened at Chicago in 1993 to commemorate the centenary of the epochal event of The Parliament of the World’s Religions organized at Chicago in 1893.

Commemorative Stamp on Swami Chidananda was released on the occasion of his birth centenary year at Divine Life Society (Sivanand Ashram), Rishikesh on 21st May 2016 by The Governor of Uttarakhand Dr. K K Paul in presence of Shri Udai Krishna, Chief Postmaster General, Uttarakhand, President of Divine Life Society and other dignitaries. So far three Special Covers has been released on Swami Chidananda on 24th September 2014 from Bangalore, 13th January 2015 from Chennai, 25th March 2015 from Ahmedabad respectively.