By Yoga Guru Rajeshji
Swami Satyananda was a spiritual Chhatrapati (King). His bearing was no less than a Samrat, although he lived the life of a sanyassin.
Seeing, hearing and & knowing him has been a turning point in my life and a luminescence which will guide me forever.
For the modern world he systematized the practice of yoga. He brought Yoga from the mysterious caves of the Himalayas to the five star hotels of modern world. He encrypted the secrets and mysticism of yoga, spirituality, Tantra, Kundalini into comprehensible books written in his lucid style.
I remember with utmost gratitude my wonderful fate when as a young boy destiny brought me within his all powerful, charged circuit.
As a boy of 28, I was in conflict with my family, career, and totally confused about my future. I had just finished my High Grades in Botony from Bhagalpur University.
In this state of loss, some friends told me that a Swamiji was doing his Panchagni Tapasya in Rikhia, which was close to my place Deoghar in former Bihar, now Jharkhand.
Something drew me to him and I went to hear his satsang.
I was tuned to seeing a Swami or a Sadhu. But, my first sight of him shook me. He was sitting on a jhulla(swing) like a Chakravarty, a Samrat, in a langot,(loin cloth), a chhadar on his lap, bare bodied, his jatta gathered in a knot on top of his head.
He sat, spoke and had an aura of a Spiritual Samrat. His words still ring in my ears. It changed me, my direction in life forever.
Looking piercingly at the audience he said, “What is the difference between man & animal? Both eat, sleep, have babies. But, animal have no compassion, they cannot create, or be visionaries to transform the world. But, you can. It’s up to you to choose to be a human or an animal.”
His hard hitting, incisive talk on how giving and doing for others is what distinguished man from animals unhinged me from my rigmarole thinking of pursuing the worldly path of career, marriage, children etc.
Six days of everyday being drawn to hear this great spiritual soul found me writing a postcard to him asking for personal interview and guidance. To my delight I got a reply from his secretary giving time & date for my appointment with him.
Like all great souls, he emanated love and I felt like I was meeting a family member. In a relaxed informal manner he discussed Botany with me. When I said I wanted to dedicate my life to yoga, he said, go to Munger and meet Swami Niranjananda and start your ashram life.
I took his advice. In the two years that I was in Munger Ashram, there were many occasions to meet & hear Swamiji.
Serve, love, give, purify ,be good, do good, meditate & realize. This was his recurring message.
One day in typical challenging, questioning mode he threw the question at the audience. “What after you have achieved Samadhi? You have seen Brahma in yourself , then what do you do after that?” To the silence from the audience he answered, “Now see Brahman in others. Come to the social level and uplift and do for others.”
When someone asked what is the future of yoga, he said, “I have brought this ancient mystic knowledge of India from the Himalayas and jungles to the five star hotels and on the ramps of fashion shows. (He would gaffaw after such statements). Today models are doing it to have inner glow & beauty. In the furture there will be yogi in every home, was his confident declaration.
Yoga will be the culture of tomorrow.” He proclaimed in the 60’s. Today we can see his words coming true.
He reduced his high power knowledge with easy communication to a simple practical everyday life. He did not make things tough. So he said, don’t bother about the negative and the problems. Does not matter if you do hotelbazi, bottlebazi or totalbazi (laughter), just do your yoga practice and the rest will follow.
Serve, love and give. This was his final mantra.
On justice , he said, “ Hamare desh mein nyay milta hai. Der juror lagti hai. Par abadi bhi to kitni hai. Aur koi desh hai jismain itni abadi aur phir bhi nyay.” (In our country we get justice,. It is delayed. But then look at our population. Is there any other country which has so much population and yet justice?)
He performed Rajsuiya yajna. This yajna only a king can perform. He said I have conquered the world not with a sword but through yoga. He was amongst the first to visit Iran for yoga. He regaled he audience with the similarities between Quran and yoga. Even today the Centres he established there are alive. The people of Iran donated generously for Yoga.
He loved animals. He had two beautiful alsatians, Bhola and Bhairavi.
Where ever he went curious people questioned him on the esoteric practice of Kundalini. He shot back at them, “ you people can’t sit for a few hours continuously during satsang. People are getting up to go to 1no. 2no 3no.4no.etc...and my dog Bholenath and Bhairavi sit quietly for longer time. Now you decide who is eligible for awakening kundalini?”.
He has written over 80 books on Yoga and Tantra. Yoga Nidra was Swamiji’s interpretation of Tantric system of nyasa.
In 1956, his Guru Swami Sivananda, with whom he spend 12 years in his ashram in Rishikesh, taught him Kriya Yoga and told him to go and “spread Yoga from door to door and shore to shore.”
When he was wondering as a parivrajaka (mendicant). He travelled extensively throught out Asian sub continent on foot, or what ever mode without any money or other means. He met all strata of people and did some intensive thinking on how to disseminate yoga, although his spiritual education was in Vedanth. It was in Munger, Bhiar, that his mission was revealed to him. He established the International Yoga Fellowship Movement and the Bihar School of Yoga.
He took Mahasamadhi on December 6, 2009 at midnight.
Shushrut Desai, Lawyer in his right in his early twenties, has been visiting Rikhia and Munger since childhood. He said, “ Oh, Swamiji was amazing. He was childlike and had an amazing sense of humour.”
Recalling an incident at one of Swamiji’s satsang, he said, “ A lady with her two sons in tow asked Swami how she should discipline her sons as they obeyed only when beaten or shouted at.”
“ Swamji looked at his dog Poorna sitting at his feet and said to the lady, you know when he was a puppy I too tried to train him by scolding & beating him, but it did not work. Then looking at her sons, he said, “but they are not even dogs. Or are they?” he looked at the lady with a twinkle in his eyes.( laughter from everybody).
Another day a portly, powerful politican of the State came turning many heads amongst the audience and a buzz going around. An unfazed Swamiji said, “ Come, come. And what is this ( indicating his pot-belly). Yoga-voga kutch karna hai ki nahi?”, much to embaraasment and chagrin of the self important politician.
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