Swami Dharmananda Saraswati Maharaj was renowned for being both an inspirational teacher and one of the most practical people in her field.  She was born in Southampton in 1926 and was the founder of the Dharma Centre, which was formed in 1980 as a centre for the development of spiritual awareness through Yoga. Swamiji practised and taught different aspects of Yoga for nearly fifty years.

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Unknowingly, Swamiji first came into contact with some integral breathing exercises of Yoga at the age of thirty, when being taught breath control whilst learning to sing. She was also introduced at an early age to the beneficial effects of ankle and wrist exercises because of inherent weaknesses in these areas. It was only later, when her spiritual search led her to investigate the richness of Indian religions, that she discovered these practices were part of the Yogic tradition.

 

Swamiji became associated with the Bihar School of Yoga in Northern India in 1973 and was later initiated as a Poorna Sanyas of the Saraswati Dasnami by Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati. She was given the task of spreading the wisdom of Yoga to lay people in the West and integrate modern living with spiritual practices.

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Swamiji’s spiritual teacher was Trivadi Ramachandra (‘Ramji’). They shared a close working relationship, and he was a major influence on her work. She also worked with Indra Devi, who she described as her 'spiritual mother'. She had a keen interest in different forms of healing, and Tantric master Shri Jammu Maharaj helped her to explore new possibilities in her work and formally gave her the title of ‘Maharaj’.

 

When Swamiji set out on the Yogic path, many of the exercises that are now popular had to be sought out and investigated independently. Her enthusiasm for the ancient practices of both India & China drew her to a variety of teachings, including some that were not extensively taught or were deliberately hidden within the sacred text. Among numerous sources of reference there have been some ancient classics, such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, to which Swamiji repeatedly returned and drew upon for guidance and inspiration.

  

Her knowledge of Yoga and spiritual development was very much the product of a continuing search. Her broad outlook and understanding of fundamental practices were achieved through dedication and hard work. She consistently kept up-to-date with new developments, whilst expanding and adapting early discoveries. She constantly enjoyed healthy dialogue with friends and peers from a variety of related disciplines.

 

After twenty years of successfully supporting and training teachers at the Potter Street centre in Harlow, the Dharma Centre began to deliver in-depth courses including residential programmes of study. These courses became the core of the centre’s work underpinned by Swamji’s practical, thorough and precise teachings. 

 

Swamiji constantly sought to bring her students to the deeper aspects of Yoga, and its practical application for living in the modern world, reminding them that every practice has a spiritual purpose. Students at the centre learnt that Yoga is a journey of discovery and an ongoing process of refining and extending the consciousness. She was zealous in promoting a wide view of development that aimed to work with all levels of being and achieve balance between everyday life and spiritual living, by seeing all life as sacred and every aspect of the self as being part of a spiritual whole.

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The centre always attracted members from diverse spiritual backgrounds who were drawn to the teachings which emanated from Swamiji’s lifetime of dedicated practice, study and were suffused with divine consciousness. The science and practice of healing was of particular interest to centre members and it was through their Guru that they began to know Yoga as a spiritual practice for understanding the whole self.

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It was in the spirit of selfless service that the centre continued to move forward. Many members contributed in the spirit and discipline of Karma Yoga, ensuring that work was given freely to continue the teachings of Swamiji and her lineage.

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