{{Short description|Hindu spiritual organization and an ashram}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox Organization |name = Divine Life Society |image = Divine Life Society, crest.jpg |image_size = 200px |caption = Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize |formation = 1936 |founder = Swami Sivananda |type = Religious organisation |status = Foundation |purpose = Educational, Philanthropic, Religious studies, Spirituality |headquarters = Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India |location = 300 Branches |region_served = Worldwide |website = {{URL|http://www.dlshq.org/}} }}

The '''Divine Life Society''' ('''DLS''') is a Hindu spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India.<ref name="Miller 1991">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Miller |first=David M. |chapter=The Divine Life Society Movement |title=Religion in modern India |year=1991 |publisher=Manohar |location=New Delhi |pages=81-112}}</ref> The Society has branches around the world, with its headquarters in Rishikesh.

== History ==

[[File:Ashrams on the banks of Ganges, Rishikesh.jpg|thumb|''Sivananda Kutir'' at Sivananda Ghat, and Sivananda Ashram above, Rishikesh ]]

[[File:Interiors of the Sivananda Temple, Divine Life Society, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Sivananda Samadhi temple, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh ]]

[[File:Ramjhula - bridge over the Ganga.jpg|thumb|''Sivananda Jhula Bridge'' across the Ganges at Muni Ki Reti, built in 1980s, close to Sivananda's kutir]]

In 1936, after returning from a pilgrimage, Swami Sivananda stayed in an old hut on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. The King of Tehri Garhwal granted him a plot of land to construct the present day Shivanandashram.<ref group=D>[http://divinelifesociety.org/graphics/information/divine_life_society/introduction.html Introduction<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026004802/http://divinelifesociety.org/graphics/information/divine_life_society/introduction.html |date=26 October 2006 }}</ref> Chidananda Saraswati served as president of the society from August 1963 to 28 August 2008, while Krishnananda Saraswati served as the General-Secretary of the Society in Rishikesh from 1958 until 2001.<ref group=D>{{cite web |title=His Holiness Sri Swami Krishnananda Saraswati Maharaj |url=https://www.dlshq.org/saints/his-holiness-sri-swami-krishnananda-saraswati-maharaj/ |publisher=The Divine Life Society}}</ref>

Sivananda's disciples have started independent organisations in Mauritius, the United States, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, South America, and Europe.<ref name="EB">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/166607/Divine-Life-Society Divine Life Society] Britannica.com</ref><ref name="McKean 1996">[https://books.google.com/books?id=zBVyeRnJ64oC&pg=RA1-PA164 Divine Life Society] ''Divine enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement'', by Lise McKean. University of Chicago Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-226-56009-0}}. Pages 164-165.</ref><ref group=D>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&pg=PA144 Swami Shivananda] ''Religion and anthropology: a critical introduction'', by Brian Morris. Cambridge University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-521-85241-2}}. Page 144.</ref>

=== Vegetarianism ===

Sivananda insisted on a strict lacto-vegetarian diet for moral and spiritual reasons, arguing that "meat-eating is highly deleterious to health".<ref>Rosen, Steven. (2011). ''Food for the Soul: Vegetarianism and Yoga Traditions''. Praeger. p. 22. {{ISBN|978-0313397035}}</ref><ref>McGonigle, Andrew; Huy, Matthew. (2022). ''The Physiology of Yoga''. Human Kinetics. p. 169. {{ISBN|978-1492599838}}</ref><ref group=D>[https://www.sivanandaonline.org//?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1210 "Meat-Eating"]. sivanandaonline.org. Retrieved 22 January 2023.</ref><ref name="vegetarianism" group=D>[https://www.dlshq.org/messages/vegetarianism/ "Vegetarianism"]. dlshq.org. Retrieved 22 January 2023.</ref> Divine Life Society thus advocates a vegetarian diet.<ref name="vegetarianism" group=D/>

== Teachings ==

Sivananda outlined 20 spiritual instructions for people of any religion:<ref group=D>{{Cite book |title=20 Important Spiritual Instructions |publisher=The Divine Life Society |url=https://www.dlshq.org/teachings/20-important-spiritual-instructions/ |access-date=2023-05-28}}</ref>

# Brahmamuhurtha: Waking up early in the morning during # Asana: Sitting in an appropriate asana for half an hour to three hours # Japa: recitation of a mantra # Dietetic Discipline: Eat sattvic food # Meditation: Have a separate meditation room or area in the home # Svādhyāya: Study religious books from half an hour to an hour daily # Elevate the Mind: Recite shlokas before performing japa # Brahmacharya: preservation of the vital force # Charity # Have Satsang: "association with holy people" # Fast: Fast on Ekadashi or the appropriate days for one's religion # Japa Mala: Keep a rosary and chant at every opportunity # Observe Mouna: Be silent for a couple of hours daily # Discipline of Speech: Speak a little, what is true, and what is sweet # Be content: have mental detachment and share with others # Practice Love: control anger and serve the sick and poor # Be self-reliant # Have self-analysis: understand one's mistakes and try to correct them # Do your duty # Remember God: remember God at all times

The teachings of yoga are explained at length by Swami Sivananda. Yoga is "the process by which the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul is realised by the Yogi."<ref group=D>{{Cite web |title=Yoga |publisher=The Divine Life Society |url=https://www.dlshq.org/teachings/yoga/ |access-date=2023-04-03}}</ref>

== Departments ==

* The headquarters for Divine Life Society is Sivananda Ashram in Uttarakhand.<ref group=D>{{Cite web |title=The Divine Life Society - Member Institutions of Indian Yoga Association |url=http://www.yogaiya.in/project/the-divine-life-society/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Indian Yoga Association}}</ref> * Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy trains aspirants in yoga and provides knowledge of Indian culture to develop integrity.<ref group=D>{{Cite web |title=The Divine Life Society |publisher=The Divine Life Society |url=https://www.dlshq.org/the-divine-life-society/ |access-date=2023-03-26}}</ref> * Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press prints the cultural and spiritual books as well as the journals and other literature of the Divine Life Society. * Sivananda Publication League is the publishing arm of the Divine Life Society. * Sivananda Charitable Hospital renders free medical service to the public and conducts periodical medical relief camps freely.<ref group=D>{{Cite web |title=Sivananda Charitable Hospital |url=https://www.sivanandaonline.org/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1140 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=www.sivanandaonline.org}}</ref>

== See also ==

* Survey of Hindu organisations

== References ==

=== Primary ===

This section lists citations to the Divine Life Society for basic facts about itself.

{{reflist|group=D|30em}}

=== Secondary ===

{{reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite book |title=From man to God-man: the inspiring life-story of Swami Sivananda |first=N. |last=Ananthanarayanan |publisher=Indian Publ. Trading Corp |year=1970 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |title=Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: A Paradigm of the "secularism," "puritanism" and "cultural Dissimulation" of a Neo-Hindu Religious Society |first=Robert John |last=Fornaro |publisher=Syracuse University |year=1969 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |title=Swami Sivananda and the Divine Life Society: An Illustration of Revitalization Movement |first=Satish Chandra |last=Gyan |publisher=Temple University (PhD thesis) |year=1979 |ref=none}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html The official website of Divine Life Society] * [http://www.dlshq.org The other official website of Divine Life Society] * [http://swami-krishnananda.org Swami Krishnananda, former General Secretary of the Divine Life Society]

{{Hindu reform movements}} {{Authority control}}

Category:1936 establishments in India Category:Ashrams Category:Hindu organisations based in India Category:International Hindu organizations Category:Organisations based in Dehradun Category:Organisations based in Uttarakhand Category:Neo-Vedanta Category:Religious organizations established in 1936 Category:Rishikesh Category:Sects that require vegetarianism