Satchidananda Saraswati (; 22 December 1914 – 19 August 2002), born C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder and usually known as Swami Satchidananda, was an Indian yoga guru and religious teacher, who gained fame and following in the West. He founded his own brand of Integral Yoga, and its spacious Yogaville headquarters in Virginia. He was the author of philosophical and spiritual books and had a core of founding disciples who compiled his translations and updated commentaries on traditional handbooks of yoga such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita for modern readers. In 1991, multiple female members of staff made allegations of sexual manipulation and abuse, more coming forwards after an initial protest. No legal complaints were filed, and Satchidananda denied all accusations. Early life and education Satchidananda Saraswati was born C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder on 22 December 1914, in Chettipalayam, a suburb of Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu, India, on December 22, 1914, "to a family of wealthy landowners". According to his authorized biography (published by his eventual U.S. organization, Integral Yoga), his father, Sri Kalyanasundaram was a landowner and poet; his mother, Srimati Velammai was deeply spiritual. It further states that his parents affectionately called him Ramu, that their home was a meeting place for poets, musicians, and philosophers, that wandering ascetics and holy men received free food and lodging at their home, and that their presence deeply influenced Satchidananda. He studied at an agricultural college. Early career pursuits and marriage Satchidananda began working in his family's automobile import business, learning how to weld. At age 23 he became a manager at India's National Electric Works. He was a temporary manager of Perur Temple, and met his wife there. He married and had two sons; his wife died suddenly 5 years into his marriage. Spiritual pursuits After the death of his wife, Ramaswamy travelled throughout India, meditating at shrines and studying with spiritual teachers including a brief period with Sri Aurobindo. He was initiated into pre-sannyasa in the Ramakrishna Thapovanam and given the name Sambasiva Chaitanya. While at the ashram, he cared for orphaned young boys and studied along with Ramana Maharshi. He left the Sri Ramana Ashram when he could not bear the suffering of Ramana's arm cancer and treatment procedures. He travelled to Rishikesh, a holy town in the foothills of the Himalayas on the banks of the Ganges. There, he discovered his guru,