User:Pavani Om/sandbox

Om Swami

Om Swami (born November, 1979) in India, is a mystic. Swami is noted for his writings [1] and discourses. He offers his own perspective on emotions, religions, spirituality, relationships and human desires. He is the author of "If truth be told" [2]

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Education and early career
• 3 Renunciation
• 4 Spiritual journey
• 5 Mystic's viewpoint
• 6 Lecture tour in North America
• 7 Literary work
• 8 Books by Om Swami
• 9 References
• 10 External links

Early life

Swami was born in a Brahmin family in North India. At a very early age he showed deep inclination towards spirituality. Swami became well versed with many Sanskrit scriptures including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and the Bhagavad Gita, Smritis, treatises on alchemy and Mantra science, classical astrological texts and tantric scriptures. At the age of twelve, Swami was a professional astrologer, conducting religious ceremonies in the capacity of a Ritwik. Books were his passion and Swami was almost always found in the public library after school. He was an avid chess player and was frequently seen at chess tournaments in the local circle. Swami also participated in debates, declamation, creative writing and other contests representing his school. At the age of fifteen, Swami was working as an editor for a regional business weekly magazine writing articles on Forex and Capital markets. At sixteen, he started a software company. A few years later he moved to Australia to pursue tertiary education and later acquired Australian citizenship.

Education and early career

Swami graduated with a Bachelor of Business from University of Western Sydney.<ref name="UWS">[2 and later pursued Master of Business Administration at University of Technology Sydney.<ref name="UTS">[3] [3]. By twenty, he was inducted as an honorary member of the "International Who's Who of Professionals" club, [4]. At twenty one, he was running a software business in Australia and expanded its operations to USA, Canada, UK and India over the next six years. He served in lead and executive roles in various companies as News Corp, Deloitte, Dairy Farmers,Westfield Group and Barclays. Swami has been profiled in various technical journals, business magazines and national dailies such as E-Business Advisor, Dare Magazine, Franchise India, The Indian Express, The Economic Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan Times and often spoke at conferences on eBusiness. Swami later moved back to India and acquired a healthcare company along with a business partner. As the company advanced into a sound cash-flow position, Swami began firming up his plans of pursuing his primary goal of self-realization. He had made his intentions of renunciation clear to his business partner before the start of the business. Although Swami was engaged in business, a deep spiritual side of him was always visible. He would often sneak away in solitude to the woods and mountains for weeks to meditate. People approached him for spiritual and astrological advice and on challenges they faced in their daily lives.

Renunciation

On March 15 2010, Swami embarked on his spiritual journey, as per his goal since he was twelve years old. That day he quietly left, leaving behind notes for his loved ones. He renounced his entire shareholding and capital in the business. Before deleting his email account, he emailed friends and family and wrote , "I must verify the truth first-hand. I am going Home for a vacation- that is where I belong.”

Spiritual journey

Swami headed straight to Kashi, also known as Varanasi or Banaras. In a little village eighty kilometers away from Varanasi, he met a Nāga saint who initiated him into sannyasa, the path of renunciation. After spending four and a half months there, Swami realized this is not his place to do intense meditation and left for Himalayas. For the next one year in the Himalayan woods, Swami practiced extreme meditation and intense Sādhanā that involved complete isolation and solitude for months. Thereafter, he went to Kamakhya (Assam, Eastern India) to offer prayers to Mother Divine at a specialized Tantric peetha. He was given the highest tantric diksha by a foremost tantric yogint here. Swami did an important Sādhanā in the Eastern Himalayas before heading back to Northern Himalayas to continue his meditation. Months later, he returned to his birth place and went to do bhiksha, alms, at his parents' house. His parents immediately accepted him as their guru. Swami now lives in an ashram in Himachal Pradesh, India. Set in the mountains, there is no direct connectivity by road. Devotees from all over the world visit him and must cross the river and walk to the ashram.

Mystic's viewpoint

"Discover your own truth," he says, "that alone will set you free."[5] He believes that a state of self-realization can be achieved by anyone who is willing to put in the effort. Rather than subscribing to any philosophy, one should work towards uncovering one's true self by turning inward. He teaches how to live in peace with grace and compassion with your own version of truth. "You need not renounce your religion or faith," Swami says, "You simply need to rise above them to experience your natural state of freedom and bliss."