About five decades ago, Sadguru Gnanananda Giri Maharaj, (Life of the Guru) a Himalayan sage chose a quiet spot on the northern bank of the river, South Pennar near Thirkoilur in Tamil Nadu in South India to be his Abode.

Sri Gnanananda was a Himalayan sage and great yogi. He was a monument of a man, a legend in his own lifetime. He had conquered the aging process of his body and kept all people guessing about his age. He would parry all questions about it, as many were curious to know the secret of his longevity. He would exhort them to inquire about the Immortal Spirit within and not about the mortal perishable body, Its vehicle. Nor would he speak about the past, his sadhana, spiritual attainments, which were obviously extraordinary. He considered that all achievements belong to the realm of the ego. Nor would he talk about the disciples who would have come to him in the past years for his guidance. He lived from moment to moment, in the Eternal Now, with no thoughts of a dead yesterday and unborn tomorrow.

It is believed that he was born in the early years of the last century in a village near Mangalore on the west coast of South India. Even as a boy, he experienced a Descent of Grace, saktinipata, which took him to Pandharpur, a great center of Maharashtra mysticism.

Fr. Henri Le Saux, a Benedictine monk from the monastery of Kergonan in France. He, together with Fr. Jules Monchanin, founded a Christian ashram at Shantivanam, Kulitalai, near Trichy in Tamil Nadu. He was already acquainted with the teachings of Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Sage of Arunachala and of the Upanishads, and was attracted to the caves of Arunachala at Tiruvannamalai. Sri Gnanananda also made a very deep impression on him.

He had infinite compassion, a compassion born of strength, Atmabala, strength of Bliss. In one of the most ancient Upanishads, there is a description of the one who has realized the Divine Self. He is Atmakridha, one who sports with the Self, Atmamithunah, one who has the Self for his companion, Atmananda, one whose delight is in the Selfwhenever he looks at a child, a plant, a flower, or an animal, he sees only the Self. He lives and joys in the Self, Atmaratih. Sri Gnanananda is such a one who has stepped out of the pages of the Upanishads.