Teaching
Swami Dayananda taught Vedanta as a means of knowledge (pramāṇa) for the truth of oneself, unfolded by a teacher from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita with Shankara's commentaries. His publishers sum up the teaching this way: one is already free but ignorant of it, and liberation (moksha) is the removal of this ignorance. 1, 3, 5
Who it is for
For students who want a systematic, traditional study of Vedanta in English, from introductory public talks to verse-by-verse commentary with the Sanskrit text.
Life and places
- He was born Natarajan on 15 August 1930 in Manjakkudi, a village in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. 1
- After hearing Swami Chinmayananda's public talks in 1953 he worked for the Chinmaya Mission, and in 1962 Swami Chinmayananda gave him sannyasa and the name Swami Dayananda Saraswati. 1
- Between 1972 and 1979 he taught residential Vedanta courses in Mumbai; later he established four teaching centres, in Rishikesh, in Anaikatti near Coimbatore, in Nagpur and in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, where the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam was established in 1986. 1
- He died in Rishikesh on 23 September 2015. 2
Where to start
- His publication trust suggests The Value of Values as an early book and Tattvabodhah as a first traditional text. The nine-volume Bhagavad Gita Home Study Course comes later; it is an edited transcript of 363 classroom talks given at Saylorsburg between 1987 and 1990. 3, 4, 6
- His publication trust links to Jnanapravaha, the Vedanta study centre in his birth village Manjakkudi, which offers The Value of Values and all nine volumes of the Bhagavad Gita Home Study Course for free online reading. 7, 8
Public context
Works
-
Bhagavad Gītā: Home Study Course
Book · 2011 · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust, Chennai
An edited transcript of 363 classroom talks on the Bhagavad Gita given at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg between 1987 and 1990: the Sanskrit text with word-by-word meaning and his explanation based on Shankara's commentary.
-
The Value of Values
Book · 1985 · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust, Chennai
Public talks on values and why they matter to the person who lives by them, in his publication trust's Public Talks series. The 1985 edition was transcribed and edited by Barbara Thornton.
-
Tattvabodhaḥ
Book · 2012 · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust, Chennai
His explanation of Tattvabodha, a short introductory text of Vedanta that he taught at the start of all his long-term courses; it defines the main terms and topics of the Upanishads.
-
Muṇḍakopaniṣad
Book · 2006 · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust, Chennai
His commentary on the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad in two volumes, with the Sanskrit text, word-by-word meaning and quotations from Shankara's commentary.
The short summaries are ours.
In their own words
Short passages in the words of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.
-
The expression of my life is just the expression of my well-assimilated value structure. What I do is but an expression of what is valuable to me.
The Value of Values · Excerpt on the publisher's page for the AVR&PT edition; page not given · avrpt.com Recorded: Public talks; the 1985 edition names Barbara Thornton as transcriber and editor. -
Every upanisad is a word mirror which reveals that the one who is looking at it, is the only one who makes things happen, exist and resolve.
Muṇḍakopaniṣad · Quotation on the publisher's page for the book; page not given · avrpt.com Recorded: Edited from transcripts of his classroom talks by Swami Sakshatkritananda, as the book's preface says. -
A value like ahiṁsā is universal. It is so because every human being through his or her common sense knows it. Preaching a value, therefore, has no value.
The Value of Values · Preface, p. v, signed Rishikesh, 19 March 2007 (page image 6 of the online reader) · jnanapravaha.in -
Here, jñāna stands for the collection of qualities of the mind in the presence of which, in a relative measure, knowledge of the self can take place; in the substantial absence of which, self-knowledge does not take place, no matter how adequate is the teacher or how authentic is the teaching.
The Value of Values · p. 1, chapter 'Values and Vedanta', first paragraph (page image 8 of the online reader) · jnanapravaha.in Recorded: Public talks; the 1985 edition names Barbara Thornton as transcriber and editor. -
And once we have this human body, whether it be due to karma or to the natural selection inherent in evolution, we are no longer in the hands of nature. We have the free will, a rare capacity, to initiate a further process of evolution.
Bhagavad Gītā: Home Study Course · Volume 1, Introduction, first page, first paragraph (page image 13 of the online reader for volume 1; no printed page number) · jnanapravaha.in Recorded: Edited transcript of his classroom talks; his preface of 2011 names Dr. Martha Doherty as editor.
Documented teaching relationships
-
Personal teacher of Swamini Pramananda
Samvit Research describes Swamini Pramananda's three-year study with Swami Dayananda.
Self-reported · samvitresearch.org
-
Learned personally with Swami Chinmayananda
According to Swami Dayananda's publication trust, he became interested in Vedanta through Swami Chinmayananda's public talks in 1953, worked for the Chinmaya Mission, and received sannyasa and his name from Swami Chinmayananda in 1962.
Stated by an institution · avrpt.com
-
Personal teacher of Swami Tadatmananda
Arsha Bodha Center, which Swami Tadatmananda founded, names Swami Dayananda Saraswati as his guru and says that from 1981 onwards he studied under him in the United States and India.
Stated by an institution · arshabodha.org
-
Personal teacher of Swami Paramarthananda
Arsha Bodha Center calls Swami Paramarthananda a senior disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Stated by an institution · arshabodha.org
-
Personal teacher of Swami Viditatmananda
An article on the website of Arsha Vidya Center says that Swami Viditatmananda, then Sri Swaroop, was a student in the 1976 Vedanta course under Swami Dayananda.
Stated by an institution · arshavidyacenter.org
-
Invited Swami Viditatmananda to teach
After a course with him, Swami Dayananda asked him to move to Ahmedabad as a brahmachari and start teaching the local people.
Stated by an institution · arshavidyacenter.org
-
Personal teacher of Swamini Svatmavidyananda
Arsha Vidya Center calls Swamini Svatmavidyananda a senior disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Stated by an institution · arshavidyacenter.org
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- About Swami Dayananda Saraswati · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust His publication trust, which he approved as the single source for editing and publishing his teachings; detailed biography and book list accessed 13 Oct 2026
- A Brilliant Thinker · Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg The gurukulam he founded in Pennsylvania; obituary note accessed 13 Oct 2026
- How to Approach Vedanta · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust His publication trust's reading guide, presented as the sequence he suggested accessed 13 Oct 2026
- The Value of Values · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust Publisher's book page with an excerpt, ISBN and year of this edition accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Bhagavad Gita Home Study · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust Publisher's book page for the nine-volume set accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Tattvabodhah · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust Publisher's book page accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Gift of Knowledge · Arsha Vidya Research and Publication Trust His publication trust; page pointing to the free online books on the Jnanapravaha website accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Read Pujya Swamiji’s Books Online · Jnanapravaha, Manjakkudi Vedanta study centre in his birth village, linked from his publication trust; lists his books offered for free online reading accessed 13 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 13 Oct 2026.
This description is factual. It contains no recommendation, ranking or assurance. Statements about effects are those of the respective source.