ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the mythology and history of Rishikesh town and the surrounding districts, detailing something of the physical and cultural geography as well as the sequence of significant events that shaped the region. It presents an equally brief overview of the yoga tradition, providing an understanding of how the histories of Rishikesh and yoga practices have grown together. The chapter shows how the lives of Swamis Vivekananda and especially Sivananda came to be woven into the tapestry of yoga practice in Rishikesh and subsequently, exported to the wider world. Vivekananda’s presentation of yoga and the Hindu spiritual tradition depended heavily on essentializing India as “spiritually wealthy,” in contrast to the “material wealth” of the West. The ideal of jivanmukhti offers a chance to shift from the traditional ascetic practice of withdrawing from society to achieve enlightenment to a more socially engaged norm. Jivanmukhti entails achieving self-realization while participating in worldly social life.
