Sri Raghavendra Swamiji of Malladihalli ( Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಾಡಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಘವೇಂದ್ರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ) (1890-1996), popularly known as “Malladihalli Swamiji”, was a founder of Anatha Sevashrama Trust, Malladihalli. He taught Yoga to more than 4.5 million people all over the world keeping his base as Malladihalli Chitradurga District, a tiny village in Karnataka, India, approximately 250 kilometers from Bangalore, India. Swamiji in one of the Yoga Posture(Veerasana) at Malladihalli Raghavendra Swamiji was born in Kerala.This Yoga and Ayurvedic Guru treated more than 3 million people for various diseases through his Ayurvedic medicines, and Yoga without any operations. He constructed an Ayurvedic hospital at Malladihalli and Vishwa Yoga Mandir (World Yoga Trust) and various Educational institutions, on a non-profit basis. His main concern was to educate the poor people and teach Yoga to all cross sections of the society for maintaining good health. He always says “You should not exhibit Yoga”, in other words, Yoga is not for exhibition purposes or competition purposes. Based on his 70 years of experience in Yoga and Ayurveda, and his various theories in Yoga teaching, as per him, the number of Yoga postures is equal to the number of animals and birds living in the world. Swamiji’s students in one of the Yoga Postures(Sheershasana) at Malladihalli The State Government of Karnataka and Central Government of India awarded him several awards for his outstanding achievements to the society, but he declined to accept any awards, because his aim was not awards, but to collect funds for his various projects for poor and needy. He called himself “Thiruka” (Beggar) and urged the people to donate freely to his projects, and thus succeeded in collecting funds and implementing his projects effectively during his tenure. He was an author of various Yoga and Ayurvedic books, Literature, Dramas, Bhajans etc., published in his pen name Thiruka. Some of his writings included in the text books as a syllabus for high school students in Karnataka.

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