His Holiness Maha Tapasvi Sri Kumar Swami Ji of Dharwad, Karnataka was a great Saint. He was in Gyanganj Ashram in his previous life. His name in his previous life was Haripaada, a close friend of Bolanath, who lived in Bandul village in West Bengal. Both of them went to Gyanganj Ashram along with a Sanyasi. Bolanath adopted Sanyasi Ashram by the name Paramahamsa Vishuddhananda Ji. So also Haripaada adopted Sanyasi Ashram by the name Swami Kshemananda. His Guru in a previous life was Paramahamsa Swami Nemanabda Ji, who is no other than a Sanyasi who took them to Gyanganj Ashram. Paramahamsa Vishuddhananda Ji was his Guru Bandhu (co-disciple ) in his previous life. Paramahamsa Mahatapa was the head of Gyanganj Ashram in his previous life.
As his Sadhanas was not complete in his previous life he asked his Guru what should be the next course of action. The adepts of Gyanganj asked Kumarswami Ji (Paramahamsa Ksemananda in his previous life) to build a temple with his own money and place spiritual power in it, which he had accumulated in his fifty years long penance. At the mandate of the adepts of Gyanganj, Sri Kumar Swami ji build a divine temple (Divyadevalaya) at Tapovan near Dharwad in the year 1995. The divine temple has no image or idol or deity. It has seven mantras written on the wall which holds Sri Swamiji’s spiritual power. On the orders of Gyanganj, Paramahamsa Vishuddhanand Ji has come to stay in the divine temple at Dharwad with his subtle body. The divine temple was maintained in strict accordance with the rules laid by the Swamis of Gyanganj. Tapovan means – a garden for meditation. Sri Kumaraswamy Ji was a yogi, a philosopher, a humanist, a writer, and a social reformer.
Sri Kumara Swami Ji was born in 1909, to a pious couple called Lakshmanappa and Chinnamma at Hunasikatti village in Belgaum dist. The boy was named Gurudeva., who became an orphan at a tender age. He was adopted by one Neelamma of the same village. Young Gurudeva has spiritual interest from his childhood. He practiced Shiva yoga and attained significant spiritual development when he was at 18 years of age. He established the Navakalyana Math at Saptapur, Dharwad, and engaged in Social service activities.
In 1965 Gurudeva freed himself from social service activities and took up Sanyasi Ashram with the name Sri Kumara Swami Ji, and established a spiritual hermitage and named it Tapovan. In the year 1990, he has celebrated the Silver jubilee function to Tapovan, for which HH Dalai Lama was invited. He has also conducted a science and Yoga conference on this occasion for which many scholars and dignitaries were attended from many countries. He attained Samadhi in 1995. The birth centenary was celebrated in the year 2012, which was attended by former president Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. Swamiji had many disciples across the world. He toured many countries all over the world and attended many religious conferences. Let His soul rest in peace in Gyanganj –Siddhashram.