Swami Gopalanand Saraswati is a Monk
of the Order of Shankaracharya (Dandiswami) ordained at Goverdhan Math, Puri
(Orissa). Goverdhan Math is one the four holy Monasteries, established by Adi
Shankara in the year 486 BC.
As a child he was named Shyam Sunder
Pathak. Before donning the robe of Monkhood, he served in the Indian Air force.
Thereafter he joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Here he was
introduced into Yoga and had the privilege of listening to the discourses of
Swami Chinmayananda of the Chinmaya Mission. After retiring from IIT, he stayed
in Pitamah Sadan at Mandhana, Kanpur. It was here that he got introduced to the
field of Gerontology, an interest which never left him.
Finally, in April 1999, he renounced
the world, and entered into the life of a monk. He was initiated into Sanyasa
by the present Pontiff of Goverdhan Matha[vm1] , Srimad Jagat Guru
Shankaracharaya Sri Nishchalanand Saraswati Swami. He
was given the new name of ‘Gopalanand Saraswati.’
After serving the Gurusthan for about eight
years, now he has taken up his abode in an old Shiva temple
known as Jharkhandi Shiva temple, at Shahadara, Delhi.
This book captures the rich
experiences of an octogenarian who has lived a life full of hectic activity,
and has thereafter renounced the world.