Your wise, approachable, modern mystic
Swami Shrihariprasad - a snippet
Meet him and you will experience the smile that can touch your heart and perhaps your soul too! Talk to him and seek help, his learning and wisdom could show you the light. Ask him how he has come to be, he will extol the virtues of gurubhakti and his tutelage under his Guru and the venerable Vishnu Mohan. Engage him on the philosophies of living and lokasangraha, you may end up discovering fresh strands to Vedanta and the Gita. All this rolled up in an approachable avatar is he.
Swami Shrihariprasad 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 - the renowned Advaithin, and Saint of Annakara, Her Holiness 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.
Learn more about him
Simple, affable and having the ability to articulate the highest of truths in easy to understand, easy to use advice is his way.
Early life, disciplehood and deeksha
Swami Shrihariprasad was born on 27th 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.
Disciplehood and deeksha
As the second disciple of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi, the thirteen year old Shrihariprasad 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 Swami Shrihariprasad 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.
Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam - a lifelong rediscovery
Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam was established by Swamiji's Guru, Her Holiness Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi. After formally embracing sanyasa, she set up the Sri Gnana Advaitha Peetam in 1976 with the mission of transforming the abstract philosophy of Advaitha into a living rhythm through the path of Saranagati.
In the year 1994 however, 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 evolve 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 pathfinder 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.
Philosophy, perceptions and initiatives
Swami Shrihariprasad imprints his talks with the teachings of his 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.
Interfaith initiatives
Engagements with multicultural and inter-religious work is a passion with Swami Shrihariprasad 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 enjoy 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.
Peace and reconciliation, the call of the hour
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 multi-disciplinary dimensions. Seven annual editions have taken place thus far. The eighth edition is scheduled to be held in December 2023.
Public interactions
Swami Shrihariprasad also took up the responsibility of integrating the teachings of Sri Sathguru Swami Gnanananda Sarasvathi by culturing 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 older people he counsels them on their changed circumstances and tells them about after life. He is happiest when addressing groups of people who are seeking progress in spiritual life along with practicing a Dharmic worldly life.
