Swami Tyagananda

Swami Tyagananda, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order since 1976, is the head of the Vedanta Society in Boston, and is the Hindu Chaplain both at MIT and Harvard; Prior to coming to the United States, Swami was for eleven years the editor of the English language journal Vedanta Kesari based in Chennai, India. He has written, translated and edited ten books, including Monasticism: Ideals and Traditions (1991), Values: The Key to a Meaningful Life (1996), The Essence of the Gita (2000), Interpreting Ramakrishna (2011), Walking the Walk: A Karma Yoga Manual (2013), Knowing the Knower: A Jnana Yoga Manual (2017), and Vivekachudamani: A Vedanta Manual (2021).

Swami Tyagananda has presented papers at academic conferences and he gives lectures and classes at the Vedanta Society as well as at MIT, Harvard and, on invitation, other colleges and religious groups in North America; He shares the insights of his tradition on the campus, collaborating with the Hindu Students’ Council (HSC-MIT). The weekly meetings at the Vedanta Society consist of prayer, guided meditation, study of spiritual texts, and informal discussions; Swami makes himself available for personal interviews, meditation instruction, and spiritual guidance, and can be reached via e-mail or phone.