Satyananda Stokes
| Satyananda Stokes | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr. 16 August 1882 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 14 May 1946 (aged 63) Shimla, Himachal Pradesh |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Spouse(s) | Priyadevi Stokes (born Agnes) |
| Children | Pritam stokes, Lal Chand Stokes, Prem Stokes, Satyavati Stokes, Tara Stokes, Savitri Stokes |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Evans Stokes Sr., Florence Spencer |
Satyananda Stokes (16 August 1882 – 14 May 1946) was an American who settled in India and participated in the Indian Independence Movement. He is best remembered today for having introduced apple cultivation to the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where apples are today the major horticultural export crop.
Satyananda was born Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr., in an American Quaker family. His father, a very successful businessman, was the founder of the Stokes and Parish Machine Company which was a leading manufacturer of elevators in the USA. The Young Samuel did not acquire any professional skill as he was not interested in business. Nevertheless, his father made many efforts to involve him in running the business but Samuel was not interested as he believed in doing greater good in life. Since the family was wealthy, they provided for his needs.
In 1904, aged 22, Samuel came to India to work at a leper colony located at Subathu in the Shimla. His parents were opposed to this move, but he did it anyway because it was a job where he felt happy and satisfied. India was also far away from his parents and other people who looked down on him for not taking over his family business with eagerness. The lepers needed him and adored him and the other local people treated him with great respect because he was a foreign man doing a pious job. Once his parents realized that this job fulfilled some deep emotional need of their son, they supplied him with considerable money, which he used both for the leper colony and for helping local villagers in small ways, all of which further enhanced his respectability. Raised a Quaker, Samuel was drawn to the asceticism that is exalted in Indian spirituality and began living a simple, frugal life among the villagers, becoming a sort of Christian Sannyasi.
A few years later, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was visiting the Viceroy at Shimla (the summer capital of the British Raj) heard of the leper colony and was impressed. He encouraged Samuel to form an order of Franciscan Friars, an order of monkhood committed to living in poverty and aiding the diseased and dying. Samuel formed such an order, but his membership in this wandering brotherhood of monks lasted only two years.
...
Wikipedia