by Yogananda’s SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP
(SRF). After graduation from high school in 1949,
Davis went to the fellowship’s headquarters in Los
Angeles and became a student of Yogananda. He
relates that KUNDALINI was gradually awakened in
him after meeting Yogananda. He was ordained by
his guru in 1951 and appointed leader of the SRF
center in Phoenix, Arizona. He initiated students
into Yogananda’s practice of kriya yoga.
In 1953, after a stint in the U.S. Army Medi-
cal Corps at Fort Riley, Kansas, Davis became
an independent spiritual teacher and withdrew
from SRF. He founded New Life Worldwide in
St. Petersburg, Florida. In the early 1960s Davis
worked with Edwin O’Neal and the Christian
Spiritual Alliance (CSA) in Lakemont, Georgia.
He was associated with several New Thought
churches, including Unity School of Christianity
and Divine Science; joined the New Thought Alli-
ance (INTA); and developed relationships with
other teachers in the Hindu tradition, including
SWA M I RAMA, SWAMI MUKTANANDA, and SAT YA SAI
BABA. When O’Neal left CSA, Davis became both
chairman of the board and head of the publishing
house, which was renamed the Center for Spiri-
tual Awareness.
Davis’s teaching combines metaphysical Chris-
tianity and kriya yoga, and he continues to give
kriya yoga initiation. He has published over a
dozen books, primarily with CSA publishers, on
spiritual development, MEDITATION, kriya yoga,
and AYURVEDA. He is the publisher of Truth Journal
and writes monthly lessons for CSA members. He
maintains a heavy schedule of lecturing to New
Thought churches around the world.
Further reading: Roy Eugene Davis, The Book of Life
(Lakemont, Ga.: CSA Press, 2000); ———, An Easy
Guide to Ayurveda: The Natural Way to Wholeness (Lake-
mont, Ga.: CSA Press, 1999); ———, God Has Given Us
Every Good Thing (Lakemont, Ga.: CSA Press, 1986);
———, Miracle Man of Japan (Lakemont, Ga.: CSA
Press, 1970); ———, This Is Reality (Lakemont, Ga.:
CSA Press, 1962).
Daya Mata, Sri See SELF-REALIZATION
FELLOWSHIP.Dayananda Saraswati, Swami (1930– )
teacher and scholar of advaita Vedanta
Swami Dayananda Saraswati has contributed
greatly to the spread of knowledge of VEDANTA,
by training hundreds of teachers and through his
own study and teaching.
Natarajan Iyer was born on August 15, 1930,
the second son of Valambal and Gopala Iyer in the
small village of Manjakkudi in Thanjavar District
in Tamil Nadu, India. He was raised in a tradi-
tional Brahmin family who primarily made their
living selling coconuts. Described by family mem-
bers as quiet, reflective, dispassionate, yet daring,
Natarajan helped to manage his family’s small plot
of land after his father died when the boy was only
eight. An excellent student, Natarajan excelled in
all subjects related to logic, including physics and
mathematics. He was known to be a voracious
reader, harboring a large collection of books in his
small home, where he regularly read until early
morning.
Forced to grow up rapidly, and unable to
afford college, Natarajan moved to Madras (now
Chennai) to find a job that would allow him to
continue his studies. He learned stenography and
typewriting and began a career as a journalist with
a job at a weekly, Dharmika Hind. When the paper
seemed to be failing, he joined the air force as a
combatant and was posted to the Ground Train-
ing Station in Bangalore; after military service, he
returned to journalism, with an interim period as
campaign manager for an independent candidate
for state assembly, when he fine-tuned his public
speaking skills.
In 1952 he was still waiting for his promised
position with the prestigious newspaper Indian
Express, when he accidentally met Swami CHINMA-
YANANDA during a 41-day public teaching. At the
end of the teachings Natrajan volunteered to orga-
nize the feeding of the poor, which traditionallyK 122 Daya Mata, Sri