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Shrihariprasad Swami is a contemporary mystic and spiritual healer from the state of Kerala, India. He has taken over as Administrator of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam from His Guru renown Advaithin, Saint of Anakara Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi.

Striving to harness interdisciplinary approaches to rediscover, formulate and create pathways to transform lives, Swami Shrihariprasad founded the Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation, Chennai in 2008 as a non-profit research foundation.  The Foundation is acclaimed for research and exploration into secular philosophy and comparative studies in the teachings of Sri Krishna and Her Holiness Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi. It also hosts the prestigious Annual Conference on Peace and Reconciliation, which brings together intelligentsia from across the globe to explore the dynamics of peace from a multi-disciplined dimension.

Background and Early Life

Shrihariprasad Swami was born on 27^th September 1961 as the fourth child of Sri Paliath Divakaran Achan and Sri Sarasvathi Achan of the prestigious Paliam lineage of Central Cochin, Kerala. The Paliath Achans were hereditary prime ministers to the Maharajah of Kingdom of Cochin (Kerala) from 1632 to 1809 and second only to the Maharajah in power and wealth in the central Cochin area during that period.

Early childhood was a marked phase of spiritual growth and Sadhana under the tutelage of His Mother and Guru. The guidance of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi and Her first disciple Sri Vishnu Mohan, and the spiritually charged environment set the course for the future. It is in these spaces and mindscapes that the young Shrihariprasad found relevance which brought to Him insights and erudition in a life-changing manner.

Disciple-hood and Deeksha

As the second disciple of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi, the thirteen year old Shrihariprasad Swami soon imbibed practical Vedanta through service to Guru and comprehended the philosophy of self-transformation, vitality of living a good clean life, understanding the highest of truths in the simplest way, jnana with humility and also got a direction to acculturate diverse peoples to the uni-dimensional philosophy of surrender or Saranagati.

From His thirteenth year Shrihariprasad Swami unswervingly served His Guru and spent his teenage years practicing practical Vedanta at Her feet, doing meditation for over 10 hours a day in seclusion and devotion. Establishment of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam in His fifteenth year opened new vistas for service of His Guru in the Ashram and for accompanying devotees on a trajectory to finding God using the self-transforming philosophy of Sri Krishna as taught to Him by His Guru.

Work of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam

In the year 1994, the so-far uninterrupted and serene ambience of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam was overcast with the demise of Sri Vishnu Mohan following a prolonged illness, through which Swami Shrihariprasad had unstintingly offered Him care and support, receiving in return perceptions on contemporary philosophy, world history, the nature of karma, impact of war and most importantly the divine nature of the Being in Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi. The passing of Sri Vishnu Mohan placed on Swami Shrihariprasad greater responsibilities and also opened the plan to initiate an interface for regular secular exchanges and dynamic wisdom confabulations, together with furthering the Vedantic dimensions of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam, established by Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi.

The next fifteen years saw Swami Shrihariprasad clone Himself as an adherent of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi focused on Her care and fulfilling duties as a humble disciple, scheduling and accompanying Her on yatras, a path finder for devotees on their spiritual journey, an administrator for Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam, a spokesman for the highest philosophy of Saranagati, an in-house editor for various publications of the Peetam, and consolidating the future work at Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam, which conducts traditional Dharmic activities like supporting scholars and students, organizing annadhanam every year in more than 108 temples all across the country – from Vaishnodevi to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Assam, during the month of Sri Krishna’s birth (Sri Krishna Janma Masam), Sadhu Bhojan at Mathura, Rishikesh and Kurukshetra and making contributions to the feeding at a mosque during Ramzan.

Public Interactions

Swami Shrihariprasad also took up the responsibility of integrating the teachings of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi by whisking the unadulterated principles of Saranagati with contemporary precepts of realignment of destiny, mind and direction and gave charged talks on these subjects at places like the Indian Institute of Technology, University of Madras, Madras Sanskrit College, Loyola College, Indian Women’s Association, Kartik Fine Arts in Chennai, the Dharma-Dhamma Conference in Indore, the International Gita Conference at Kuruksketra, Seminar on Multiculturalism in Kuala Lumpur, to name a few. He has given talks on the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Gita, the Mahabharata and especially on the life and teachings of Sri Krishna. In addition to scriptural talks, He has also spoken on intriguing subjects like – ‘Where was your mind when you saw it last?’, ‘Realign your destiny’, ‘Is your journey really necessary?’ and to elder people He counsels them on their changed circumstances and tells them about afterlife. He is happiest when addressing groups of people who are seeking progress in spiritual life along with practicing a Dharmic worldly life.

Establishment of Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation

In the year 2008, Swami Shrihariprasad, propelled by an anxiety to keep alive interfaith dialogues and to set a living agenda for Advaitha or Oneness of the human race, established the Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation under the aegis of Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam. In its secular outreach programs and culturally diverse calendar, Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation hosts weekly talks by acclaimed spiritual masters, intellectual exploration of high philosophy, Vedic mathematics, sustainable development, multidimensional peace, teaching methodologies of philosophy, interpretation of texts, facets of Indian tradition and culture, ritualistic patterns of living, exploration of heritage, understanding of diverse faiths, ruminations of devotional poetry and music besides annual cultural fests like the Jayadeva Festival, Sri Krishna Utsavam and Chidagni – The Fire of Consciousness festival.

Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation came onto its own under Swami Shrihariprasad’s nurturing hands and drew wide diasporas of intelligentsia, wisdom seekers, professors, philosophers, aspirants, students, disciples who engaged with the Foundation as speakers, contributors of knowledge, participants and performers or otherwise simply as disciples of Swami Shrihariprasad in a personal niche drawing from Him guidance and spiritual strength to face existential travails.

Philosophy and Perceptions

Swami Shrihariprasad imprints His talks with the teachings of His brahmanishta Guru Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi, who attained Samadhi in October 2016. Guidance on seclusion and Samadhi were drawn from the practices of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi, who spent most of Her time in contemplation and tapas and at times would not even see people for years on end staying just in one room and not coming out even for meals. Many recollections and memoirs of the 60 years during which She taught people, She showered them with Her love and affection, affectionately correcting mistakes and making them stick to the path of knowledge and devotion are recollected by Swami Shrihariprasad in His discourses, conversations filled with knowledge and even casual statements showing an easy way to reach God.

Publications

‘Voice Divine’ originally conceived by Sri Vishnu Mohan and journal ‘Jnanagni’ - a compilation of essays on the four tenets of Sathyam, Dharma, Ahimsa and Saucham, have come to life under the editorial board constituted by Swami Shrihariprasad. His personal publications include Awakenings, Tasmai Sri Guruve Namaha and a compilation of essays on Aapath Dharma.

Interfaith Initiatives

Engagements with multicultural and inter-religious work is a passion with Shrihariprasad Swami leading Him to accept close association with the Indian Philosophical Congress, Indian Council of Philosophical Research - Delhi, IDCR of Loyola College, Kadavumbagam Synagogue of Cochin and enjoys the exchanges with like-minded thinkers like Prof. SR Bhatt, Sri Moosa Raza, Haji Syed Salman Chishty, Father Vincent Sekhar, Prof. Syed Ali Mohammed Naqvi, Prof. Dr. Sreekala Nair of Sri Shankaracharya University, Kalady and many others.

Swami Shrihariprasad is committed to the twin ideals of Vasudaiva Kudumbakam and Loka Sangraha and while regularly taking part in interfaith dialogues, in the year 2016, He initiated the Annual International Peace and Reconciliation Conference, exploring dynamics of peace from the multi-disciplined dimension. The Peace and Reconciliation Conference in its third year in 2018, hosted speakers from various diasporas and expanses including Lord Bhikhu Parekh of the House of Lords, educationist and Sufi scholar Sri Moosa Raza, Dr. Prof. Aruna Gopinath from Malaysia, Prof. Geo Lyong Lee of South Korea, Raja of Mahmudabad, and many other eminent personalities.

Recognition

Swami Shrihariprasad’s sincerity and devotion to interfaith work has attracted to Him many friends and compatriots besides awards and accolades. He was recently feted at the International Sufi Conference at Makanpur and has been conferred with the Humanitarian Award by B’nai B’rith International, Washington DC.

Swami Shrihariprasad’s online presence is impactful and His talks on existential needs and explanation of His Guru’s teachings of the Shastras in a simple practical way show that it is possible to walk down life’s difficult road happily and joyfully holding on to the hand of God and Guru. His spiritual camps and retreats held at Chennai and Guruvayur create spaces for expansion of consciousness.

Agenda

His plans for the future include starting of a center for treatment of liver diseases, youth hostels for young people who leave the small towns and come to the big cities, an institution to support the children of convicts, and continuing the ongoing work of Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation to achieve social transformation through personal transformation.

He says, “You take tea breaks. You take breaks from the world and go for holidays. Every day during your work, during anything you do, you can withdraw your mind from the world and take some time to think of God. That is a God break. These God breaks even if they are for a minute or so, will empower you spiritually, morally, mentally to face life with all its joys and sorrows.”