He was the Disciple of the Sri Sivaratna Giri Swamigal and one of the leaders (Peetathipathis) of the Jyotir Math, one of the four Mutts established by Adi Sankara.
Haridhos[1] Giri to do Namasankeerthanam and Guru Bakthi Prachara[2] Swami had a number of accomplished followers through his abnormally long tenure- Bramanamda who took samadhi at Puskar, Achutadasa of Polur.
[citation needed] Sivaratna Giri Swami accepted Subramanyan as his disciple and named him Pragnana Brahmachari.
He travelled extensively on foot, spanning the whole India and Tibet, Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka and Malaya.
His senior monastic disciple Vidyananda Giri was a profound scholar and linguist and brought out Tamil translations of Shankara's commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.
Satyananda lineage is not mentioned in the book Sadguru Gnanananda, a Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan edition written by Madras University professors.
The book is well researched in terms of what is available to know about the Swami Gnanananda He is considered as the Guru of Avudai Akkal and she mentions his name in almost all her songs.
Swami Gnanananda Giri realised that the path of Vichara and Nidhidhyasana was confined to a few philosophically advanced aspirants.
The legacy of Sathgurunathar is known by many and below is a description of the type of saint He was and continues to be, by our very own HH Jagathguru Sri Namananda Giri Swamigal:
Even when He was living and adorning the Peetam of Tapovanam, there were 'samadhis' for Gurunathar in the far off Kadirgamam in Sri Lanka and at Rajasthan in India [just to name a few].
When we have proof of His having lived during the days of Kabirdas, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Brahmananda, we realise that He is beyond the confines of times."