Short Biography – 24 August 1951 to 29 April 2021
Swami Madhavanand alias Dr. Madhav Nagarkar was one of the contemporary heirs of the Dhyanyog (meditation driven) spiritual tradition of Nath Sampradya, originating from Bhagwan Shree Adinath (Lord Shiva), further carried through many generations of saints till Sant Shree Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and later Swami Swaroopanand of Pawas. This spiritual lineage then was handed over to Swami Madhavnath of Pune region and further helmed by one his contemporary spiritual heirs, Swami Madhavanand.
Swamiji was a lichenologist doing his research from Agharkar Institute, Pune and later awarded a doctorate by University of Pune for his research work and thesis on “Studies into Indian Lichens”. In 1987-88 he received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. and further pursued research on Lichens under the guidance of Dr. Mason Hale. He later also worked in this field at British Museum of Natural History, London, and Munich Botanical Gardens, Germany and 1989 onwards pursued research in the field of “Mushroom Cultivation”.
Swamiji was deeply influenced by Swami Vivekanand and Samarth Ramdas who established a powerful confluence of patriotism and spirituality through their works, particularly amongst the youth. This divine inspiration, coupled with Swamiji’s meticulous and scientific approach to spirituality, and fueled by an ever blossoming love and dedication to ‘sadhana’, in pursuit of self-realization, has brought to fore, in simple and scientific terms, an exact and direct path towards experiencing the essence of spirituality.
The core of Swamiji’s teaching is God Realization or Self-Realization i.e. experiencing one’s True Self; and the most direct path to God is “Be with the Self, i.e. Self-Consciousness.” This path has been brought out with divine clarity through his numerous discourses and profound literature on the science of meditation or Dhyanayog.
In today’s age of science and technology, Swamiji has always focused on the need to impart this knowledge scientifically, without any mysterious connotations, to all seekers with a strong focus on youth. With this mission in mind he formed the organization called “Swaroopyog Pratishthan” in 1997, with Spirituality, Ethics and Patriotism as the fundamental pillars.
For over 20 years, the institute has been relentlessly working towards holistic personality development amongst seekers. Through Swami Madhavanand’s discourses on Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, Shrimad Dasbodh, Patanjali Yogsutra, literature of various saints and eminent national personalities, one can experience the convergence of Yog (oneness), Devotion (bhakti), and Knowledge (dnyan) with special focus on one’s duties towards his or her nation in intense patriotism. Swamiji’s teachings to the youth have always emphasized on Yuva Swadhyay – a self-study and presentation system to help develop a deeper understanding on the path of realization and patriotism.
Rev. Swamiji has created a wealth of spiritual literature ranging from an elaborative description on the chapters of Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta, literature of Shree Gajanan Maharaj, Tukaram Maharaj, Swami Swaroopanand, Shree Mukundraj and several handbooks useful for daily sadhana and recitation along with their scientific interpretation. In addition to this he has also penned books on questions that a seeker may have (Dialogue with Youth), Fundamentals of Science of Meditation and explaining in detail hymns like the Ram Raksha and Ganpati Atharvashirsha.
Swaroopyog Pratishthan also has a collection of audio recordings available at present in Swamiji’s voice in Marathi language on beautiful subjects like the “spiritual relationship between the great teacher and his disciple in Ramakrishna and Vivekananda”, “the extraordinary patriotism and divine qualities exhibited in the life of Lokmanya Tilak”, “the 9 types of divine devotional methods explained in the Dasbodh (Navavidha Bhakti)” and several others. Swaroopyog Pratishthan also publishes a quarterly magazine which reaches to thousands of people worldwide and is available in paperback as well as electronic formats.
Swamiji’s personality and literature exudes a beautiful convergence of diverse aspects of human life and motivates seekers to strive to attain the ultimate objective one can in their lives – Self-Realization via the direct path of “Be with the Self” or “Dhyanayog”! And while doing so, Swamiji’s teachings inspire one to develop the art of living their lives to the fullest potential, determined to make a positive difference to themselves, their families and above all their nation.
