योऽन्त:सुखोऽन्तरारामस्तथान्तज्र्योतिरेव य: ।
स योगी ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं ब्रह्मभूतोऽधिगच्छति ।। 24।।
yo ‘ntaḥ-sukho ‘ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ brahma-bhūto ‘dhigachchhati ।। 24।। b.g
Those who are happy within themselves, enjoying the delight of the God within, and illumined by the inner light, such yogis unite with the Lord and liberated from material existence.
Meet 126-year-old living legend Yoga Guru Swami Sivananda, born on 8th August 1896 at Sylhet district of undivided India. He was born in a Bengali Brahman Goswami family. His parental fore-father Thakur Bani was a great saint of Sylhet and his father was Srinath Goswami and Bhagabati Devi was his mother.
Baba’s parents begged from door- to-door for their livelihood. They used to offer the food so collected to Lord Narayana first and then thrived on the Prasad which was never sufficient to satisfy their hunger. The little child Sivananda faced the unbearable pains of hunger in His early childhood.
His parents handed over their 4-year old son to Omkarananda Goswami, A Vaisnava saint and ‘Sadguru’ (true spiritual master), residing at Nabadwip, for His Physical, Mental and Spiritual development.
2-years later Baba’s Guru sent him to Sylhet in order to meet his parents. On reaching home, Sivananda came to know that his elder sister and playmate had already died of hunger and starvation. After a few days, his mother passed away before sunrise and his father also passed away only 2 hours later after sunrise by the law of destiny. After performing their last rites, Sivananda returned to Guru’s Ashram – his only resort in this world along with the ‘Salagram Sila’ worshiped by his father and the ‘Sivalinga’ worshiped by his mother. He was a born yogi, so he was able to bear this unbearable pain.
Sivananda had his ‘Mantra Diksha’ (spiritual initiation) from Omkarananda Baba Who arranged both for his worldly education and spiritual training. By virtue of ‘Gurukripa’ (Divine blessings of Guru), intense meditation and sheer perseverance, Sivananda realized and proclaimed “The World is my home. Its people are my fathers and mothers. To love and serve them is my religion”. Then he devoted his entire life for the well-being of all beings, to the pleasure of God’s name and to the services of the Vaishnavas.
In December 1959, Swami Sivananda’s Spiritual Guru Omkarananda Goswami gave up his mortal body. Though it was a great shock to him, He gradually consoled himself and started his mission of selfless service to the people of various regions of India, afflicted with physical, mental and spiritual sufferings. To fulfill the purpose, a few years Baba also lived in Vrindavan, but finally he settled in Varanasi (Kashi-Basa).
Sadhguru Sivananda Baba concealed himself for a long time, but ultimately people came to know Him as a Sadguru who can control the pressures of words, mind, anger, tongue, stomach, private organs and wealth. Baba is a true follower of path of devotion and is free from all kinds of lust and desires. His very special attractive quality is that He does not think of or hanker after money, mundane name, fame and happiness. Baba is unwilling to accept any kind of donation except a ‘Haritaki’ (Myrobalan). Baba is always in a state of very indifference with regard to his everyday provisions and the necessaries of life. He is at all times living in his own spiritual world with an undivided self-surrender to God.
If we talk about his Dincharya (daily routine) and diet, he gets up regularly from bed around 3 AM. He is almost all day long devoted to religious duties, prayers, Divine Name, thinking good of all, money-giving to the poor etc. and go to bed at 9 PM. His daily menu is rice with boiled vegetables. He never takes sweets and oil-fried food, always takes oil free food.
The Sanskrit word Dinacharya means ‘to follow the knowledge of the day’. Our daily routines and rituals are key to help us stay balanced, vital and to prevent imbalances from occurring. A Dinacharya is typically practiced in the morning alongside our yoga practice and helps to prepare our body and mind for the day. The balanced Dinacharya is helpful to our yoga and meditation practice, observing how we are nourishing our bodies and making our daily schedules more supportive. Baba loves helping others selflessly.
Sivananda Baba is a born Saint (Mahapurusha), decorated with fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in the Yoga of knowledge, charity, self-control, sacrifice, Study of the Vedas, austerity, uprightness, non-injury, truthfulness, absence of anger, self-sacrifice, tranquillity, freedom from slander, kindness to beings, no covetousness, gentleness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of conceit which are 26 characteristics belong to one, who is born with divine wealth as said by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita. Like Brahma, He continued His ‘Tapasya’ (Penance) right from His boyhood only for the welfare of mankind. He bows down to all human beings irrespective of age since He can perceive the presence of living Narayana (God) in all. “Vasudevah Sarvamiti sa mahatma sudurlava”. Sivananda Baba is a man of very transparent character and His life is based on practical religion. He is leading a disease-free and tension-free life with joyful mind. Recently in 2022, the Indian government awards Swami Sivananda Baba with Padma Shri Awards.
Swami Vivekananda well said that “for the salvation of his own soul, and for the good and happiness of the many, the Sanyasin is born in the world”. Swami Sivanada Baba is the living example of it.
(From the editor’s desk)
– Beenu Rajpoot
