A revered Hindu master responsible for the creation of temples in Concord, Livermore and San Francisco died Monday at his Hawaii ashram.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was 74. He learned in early October that he had advanced intestinal cancer that had metastasized.
He decided against aggressive medical treatment and chose to follow the Indian yogic practice, called Prayopavesa in Sanskrit scripture. Subramuniyaswami abstained from food, drinking only water. A spokesman for the ashram in Kauai, said Subramuniyaswami died on the 32nd day of his fast.
He died surrounded by his 23 monastics.
Subramuniyaswami was considered one of Hinduism's foremost spiritual teachers and was revered as a living saint. The 6-foot, 2-inch man with white hair and hazel eyes also ventured beyond the spiritual realm to found a monthly magazine, Hinduism Today, and endorse the use of computers by his monks.
The Hindu master was born Jan. 5, 1927, in Oakland and raised near Lake Tahoe. He was orphaned at age 11 and raised by a family with deep ties to India.
According to his biography, Subramuniyaswami was trained in classical Eastern and Western dances and in the disciplines of yoga. He became the premier danseur of the San Francisco Ballet at age 19.
But he was drawn to the spiritual life and in 1947 left the ballet and traveled to India and Sri Lanka. In 1948, while living in the mountain caves of Jalani in Central Sri Lanka, he began to fast and meditate, achieving what is known as full enlightenment.
Only 21, he was initiated into the holy order of sannyas by his satguru, Sage Yogaswami. The 72-year-old Saivite Hindu guru gave Subramuniyaswami his Hindu name, Subramuniya, and encouraged him to make a difference.
According to Subramuniyaswami's biography, Yogaswami slapped his young disciple on the back with a tremendous impact and said, "This will be heard in America! Now go 'round the world and roar like a lion."
Subramuniyaswami came to San Francisco and founded the Saiva Siddhanta Church, the first Hindu temple in the United States. As his congregation expanded -- and as the cost of property in San Francisco escalated -- he relocated the Saiva Siddhanta Church to Second Street in Concord.
He also established the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order and began teaching his first novice monks. Hinduism Today began in 1975 as the house organ of the Saiva Siddhanta Church, but he and his monks saw the possibilities.
Subramuniyaswami was impressed with Macintosh computers and brought several into the order. By using computers, telephones and faxes, Hinduism Today grew into a worldwide publication. A few years ago, he moved the temple and the magazine from Concord to Kauai. The temple in Concord is now the Shiva Murugan Temple.
A spokesman for the ashram said the body was cremated Tuesday and his ashes were interred Wednesday in a meditation crypt behind the sanctum sanctorum of the ashram's Siva Nataraja temple.
Following Hindu traditions involving the death of a saint, there will be no Hindu rituals of mourning. According to a statement from the ashram, the release of the mortal coil is met with gratitude for his life and not sorrow for his passing.
Sita Ram Goel, an influential Hindu writer, praised Subramuniyaswami in a written statement.
"He has done great work for Hinduism," Goel said, "and the recent reawakening of the Hindu mind carries his stamp."
Subramuniyaswami was honored in 1986 by the World Religious Parliament in New Delhi, which named him one of only five Hindu spiritual leaders outside of India who had actively promoted Hinduism for 25 years. He also received the U Thant Peace Award during the Millennium Peace Summit of World Religious and Spiritual Leaders.