BWY London Yoga

In Memory: Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati

26 July 1923 - 6 December 2009

Swami Satyananda has been one of the most significant exponents of a very broad spectrum of yoga practices throughout the world, and not least here, in Europe.

The mere facts of his life are well-known - he was born in Almora in northern India and had many spiritual experiences during his childhood. Aged 19 Swamiji left his home in search of a guru to guide him on the path of sannyasa, and he eventually arrived in Rishikesh, where he found his way to Swami Sivananda’s ashram beside the holy Ganges river.

In his own words, “The moment I saw Swami Sivananda, my search for a guru came to an end. The person at the sight of whom the desire for love ends and shraddha, faith, finds its fulfilment is your guru.” Swami stayed and served his guru in every possible way for 12 years and then left to travel far and wide, discovering the needs of suffering humanity and how the teachings of yoga could help people.

After Swami Sivananda left his physical body in 1963 Swamiji established Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, in northern India, where the depth and excellence of its teaching attracted many students and devotees from all parts of the world. He continued Swami Sivananda’s tradition of giving knowledge and also initiation into sannyasa to all sincere seekers, regardless of gender, caste and race, which did not endear him to the more orthodox sections of Indian society at that time. Swamiji travelled to many countries from the mid-1960s until 1985, teaching, lecturing, inspiring, guiding and initiating, and he was loved and respected wherever he went, for the clarity with which he explained the deepest spiritual truths. He clearly followed his guru’s instruction to make known the teachings of yoga “from shore to shore and from door to door.” And when the time came to complete this part of his life, he left the ashram with 108 rupees in his pocket and went on a pilgrimage throughout India to discover what the Divine wanted of him next. Since 1989 he has settled in Rikhia, as ever at the service of the Divine, not teaching Yoga, as such, but definitely teaching “oneness” which is what Yoga means.

Swami Satyananda lived his life impeccably. He was his guru’s perfect disciple. He was, and will ever be, an astonishing teacher, recognising each person’s path and guiding them appropriately. He was, and ever will be, the perfect guru for so many of us - in him we can see the realisation of Yoga at the deepest level. We know he has trodden every step of the way before us, and therefore we can trust him absolutely to do what is best for our spiritual welfare. His whole life has been dedicated to helping others, on many levels, and through his grace we have access to the most ancient wisdom of Yoga. Swamiji has not only taught us asana and pranayama, but has revealed the mysteries of Kriya Yoga, Tattwa Shuddhi, Prana Vidya, Mantra, Yantra and Yagna, much of which has been hidden for centuries until the appropriate time and the appropriate person to reveal such teachings.

As impeccably as Swamiji lived his life, so he left it. Sometime before midnight on 5th December he called Swami Satsangi and told her that it was time for him to go and that she must not try and hold him back. He took one deep breath, and left his body, with a smile on his face.

Swamiji long ago left the various institutions he founded in the capable hands of Swami Niranjanananda and Swami Satsangiji, and his presence in their hearts and in the hearts of the many teachers he inspired will ensure that this beautiful system of Yoga will continue to help people everywhere realise their potential, make necessary transformations to their life and be of service.

HARI OM TAT SAT.

Sankalpa of Paramahamsa Satyananda

I am an invisible child of a thousand faces of love,
That floats over the swirling sea of life,
Surrounded by the meadows of the winged shepherds,
Where divine love and beauty,
The stillness of midnight summer’s warmth pervades .

Life often cuts at my body and mind
And though blood may be seen passing,
And a cry might be heard,
Do not be deceived that sorrow could dwell within my being
Or suffering within my soul.
There will never be a storm
That can wash the path from my feet,
The direction from my heart,
The light from my eyes,
Or the purpose from this life.

I know that I am untouchable to the forces
As long as I have a direction, an aim, a goal:
To serve, to love, and to give.

Strength lies in the magnification of the secret qualities
Of my own personality, my own character
And though I am only a messenger, I am me.

Let me decorate many hearts
And paint a thousand faces with colours of inspiration
And soft, silent sounds of value.
Let me be like a child,
Run barefoot through the forest
Of laughing and crying people,
Giving flowers of imagination and wonder,
That God gives free.
Shall I fall on bended knees,
And wait for someone to bless me
With happiness and a life of golden dreams?

No, I shall run into the desert of life with my arms open,
Sometimes falling, sometimes stumbling,
But always picking myself up,
A thousand times if necessary,
Sometimes happy.
Often life will burn me,
Often life will caress me tenderly
And many of my days will be haunted
With complications and obstacles,
And there will be moments so beautiful
That my soul will weep in ecstasy .

I shall be a witness,
But never shall I run
Or turn from life, from me.

Never shall I forsake myself
Or the timeless lessons I have taught myself,
Nor shall I let the value
Of divine inspiration and being be lost.
My rainbow-covered bubble will carry me
Further than beyond the horizon’s settings,
Forever to serve, to love, and to live As a sannyasin.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati