Who is a swami? What does it mean? The word ‘swami’ means ‘one who is established in oneself’. In the scriptures a Swami’s life is described as “atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha” which one who strives for “the realization of the Self and for the benefit and good of the world”

A Swami is one who has set aside his personal, worldly pursuits, in order to devote all his effort to experience the highest spiritual realization, and to the service of others. He is a spiritual guide, who, having dedicated his life to serve the society, plays different roles at different times, which could be leading various service projects, conducting different workshops for self-development, or conducting padayatras (peace walks), blessing programs (anugrahotsav) and pujas for example.

A Swami is someone who is there for everybody. One who has made the whole world as his family. For this to happen one doesn’t have to change his cloth or grow his hair and beard – these are just a uniform, which make people identify him as a spiritual person.