Swami Shivapad ji
Born into a well educated family in 1974 in the beautiful north east part of India, Shivajyoti, now Swami Shivapad, was often found sitting alone and observing the nature. Though the only son, Swami Shivapad’s mother ensured that he had his roots in the rich spiritual knowledge and also exposed him to scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Swamiji obtained his Masters in English (Hons) and through school & college days was also proficient in many different sports like shooting and cricket, winning many accolades. Photography is another passion which he loves to pursue even now.
Instead of taking up a job, Swamiji decided to follow his calling of serving the humanity. In his very first interaction with Sri Sri Ravishankar (Gurudev), the first words were “Oh, You have come”. This very first meeting transformed Swamiji’s life and it dawned on him that his calling was to be realized and he was on the path. During the thirteen years since the first meeting, which includes Swamiji’s two years in the Himalayas, he travels extensively within and outside of India, engaged in spreading the beautiful knowledge of The Art of Living enabling Celebration of Life. When not travelling, Swamiji is based at the International Art of Living campus in Bangalore.
Working towards realizing Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision of a violence-free, stress-free society, Swamiji travels the breadth and span of India giving discourses/talks across different strata and sections of Indian society. In conducting various courses as The Art of Living Part I (Sudarshan Kriya Course), DSN Course (Divya Samaj Nirman), Sri Sri Yoga Course, Pranayam Dhyan Shivir, and doing Padayatra and Blessing programs in almost 8000 villages and prisons by the grace of PP Gurudev, Swamiji works towards realizing a stress free society and emotional and physical well being of all. He has reached out diverse populations like top level government officers to the students, from the corporate sector to the remote villagers enabling them to find relief from stress, discover inner reservoirs of energy and peace and happiness in daily life. Given his ability, he has intervened and worked for conflict resolution in Nepal and West Bengal; when Maoist problem was at its peak. Post the Kargil war, the Indian army personnel stood to benefit from the course conducted by Swamiji.
Swamiji has also conducted courses at premier educational institutes of India such as the IIT; IAS and PCS trainees in different Administrative institutes; Science and Technology institutes, medical students and doctors and also in many schools and colleges. With enthusiasm and energy, Swamiji serves. To give a glimpse of his work, Swamiji through his padayatras (peace-walks) reached 700000 people in MP within a span of 90 days; through PDS (Pranayam Dhyan Shivir) he reached 38000 people in Gujarat and Maharashtra within 82 days. He has traveled southeast Asian countries to conduct Sukshma Vyayama, a unique yogic technique.