Sree Swami Tapovan Maharaj of
Uttarkasi is the master from whom Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda acquired the wealth of knowledge on Vedanta. Swami Tapovan set before himself the ideal portrayed in the Geeta by the Lord. He taught Gurudev all the virtues enumerated in the Seventeenth Chapter of Geeta constituting the three forms of Tapas - physical, verbal and mental. He was a great embodiment of the ideal Sanyasa with all the supreme renunciation, rare saintliness, austerity, deep wisdom and divine dignity and compassion that is implied by such an ideal.
Swami Tapovan Maharaj lived in sacred Uttakasi in Himalayas. There he lived a life of extreme tapas (austerity), spending his time in study, reflection and meditation. During the summer months he would leave Uttakasi for Gangotri, and even today just above Gomuk where the sacred Ganges begins, there is a small place called Tapovan. Swami Tapovan had complete mastery of the Scriptures. Sages and serious students came to study in his austere Kutir (house). He was also an eminent Sanskrit scholar and poet. He composed many hymns, commentaries and beautiful books such as, "Wandering in the Himalayas" and "Iswara Darshan". This is an autobiographical sketch, a garland of spiritual thoughts.
He lived, for 68 years, as a monumental expression of an ideal Vedantic Teacher in the ancient Rishi tradition. On 16th of January 1957, Pujya Swamiji attained his Mahasamadhi.
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Sree Swami Tapovan Maharaj