SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA - Swami Satchidananda (Columbia – G 30477) USA Mono 1971 gatefold 2LP-Set | vinyl: NM (near mint) | cover: NM (near mint) gatefold

Indian-American yoga and spiritual teacher, inventor of the "Integral Yoga" system widely popularized in the West (22 December 1914, Chettipalayam, Tamil Nadu — 19 August 2002, Madras, South India). Satchidananda Saraswati (born C.K. Ramaswamy Gounder), known as Sri Swami Satchidananda, established the Integral Yoga Institute and an international network of yoga centers headquartered at Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville in Buckingham, Virginia. Alice Coltrane dedicated her critically-acclaimed fourth solo album Journey In Satchidananda in February 1971, recorded in collaboration with Pharoah Sanders, to Sri Swami; Coltrane was his close disciple. The guru's name Saccidānanda is a compound of three Sanskrit words, "sat" (essence), "cit" (consciousness) and "ānanda" (bliss).

Following a sold-out public lecture at Carnegie Hall in January 1969, Satchidananda gave a speech at the Woodstock Festival's opening in August. He landed directly on the stage in a helicopter, dressed in orange robes; this pompous appearance solidified his popularity among hippies and the New Age movement. In 1970, Satchidananda purchased a large building in NYC's West Village, expanding the Integral Yoga Institute. He also opened a San Francisco branch the same year. In 1973, Columbia released a self-titled Swami Satchidananda 2xLP featuring talks and excerpts from his lectures. Swami also produced numerous audiobook tapes via the Integral Yoga Publications and Integral Yoga Communications imprints. In 1976, Satchidananda naturalized as a US citizen.