Rishi Thondunathan

Rishi Thondunathan was born and raised in Kopay, Jaffna.  At age 17 he founded the Saiva Siruvar Kalagam and was known for his piousness and community welfare spirit. This attracted the attention of the late Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami during his visit to Jaffna.  Consequently, Gurudeva took Thondunathan into his inner circle of discipleship.

Under the guidance of Gurudeva, Thondunathan increased the services of Saiva Siruvar Kalagam, now known as Sri Subramuniya Kottam, providing religious, cultural and secular education for the youth of the villages surrounding Kopay, arranging pilgrimages to temples around Jaffna for the young and elderly, as well as founding and running the Sri Shanti Lingam Temple in Kopay.

In 1986 he was sent to the island of Mauritius to serve at Gurudeva's new Aadheenam. In 1989, Gurudeva brought Thondunathan to his international headquarters and monastery, Kauai Aadheenam, to live, serve and train directly under Gurudeva's guidance.

Thus began Thondunathan's active service to the diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamil people around the world.  He traveled extensively with Gurudeva visiting virtually every Tamil community in the world and translating Gurudeva's English talks into exacting Tamil, thus inspiring thousands. He also accompanied Gurudeva in radio and television appearances.

After Gurudeva's Mahasamadhi (death) in November of 2001 and with the blessings of his brother monks at Kauai Aadheenam,  Thondunathan left the Aadheenam and returned to Jaffna to see to the needs of his aging parents and further expand the services of the Sri Subramuniya Kottam.

Rishi Thondunathan is currently living in Florida and travels around North America to serve the Sri Lankan Tamil community by teaching religious and cultural concepts at summer camps and retreats for children, and comforting the elderly and needy in their homes, as well as hospitals and care facilities.

Thondunathan also continues to travel to Sri Lanka periodically to supervise innovations to the Kottam's services as well as visiting and providing services to various orphanages and schools in Sri Lanka.