Swami Sivananda was a man of learning, he was a scholar, he had written more than three hundred books on yoga, on tantra, on every spiritual subject, but his main thing was absolute faith in God. That was his greatness. I have never come across any man like him in my life so far. I've seen the greatest intellectuals and read their books. I have met many people in East and West who are dedicated, sincere, honest. But faith is something else. It is not knowledge.
If anybody went to him with difficulties, Swami Sivananda always said, “It will be all right.” He had so much faith. That was one thing I saw in him for twelve years. He was so intelligent, had so much learning, he was a doctor himself, yet so much faith did he have. He used to tell me many times, “Ay, why do you rack your brain so much? You just pray to God and it will happen.’’
Swami Sivananda led a life of completeness and homogeneity, and possessed what could be rightly called an integrated personality. To this day the whole world is obliged to him for the great knowledge of the path he has shown to millions of seekers in every part of the globe.
To talk about saints is not an easy matter. They are like icebergs – one can only see a small part of them above the water, the rest is hidden. Therefore, it is definitely not possible for me to make an accurate assessment of the personality of Swami Sivananda, with whom I lived for only a short period of time, but who was responsible for changing the whole current and concept of my life.