Inspirers

The mind is responsible for the feelings of pleasure and pain. Control of the mind is the highest Yoga.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati in his book, Development of Satyananda Yoga states that Swami Sivananda developed yoga as a therapy, he said that yoga is not just a science; rather it is a sadhana to realize the divinity within you…..you follow the philosophy to alter your mentality and you adapt yoga as a sadhana to enable you to reach into the depths of your mind. When you are able to reach into the deeper layers of your mind and recognize this process as a sadhana, then you will be able to get rid of the negative qualities of your personality and make space for divinity. He said: Make your life divine, Divinity is your birthright.

Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati, was a great spiritual master of the 20th century who inspired thousands of people all around the world to practice yoga and lead a divine life. Born on 8 September, 1887 in Pattamadai, India, he grew up in an orthodox Brahmin family. After studying medicine, he went on to work as a medical doctor in Malaya. A decade later, he renounced his lucrative practice to search for his guru in the foothills of the Himalayas. On reaching the sacred valley of Rishikesh, he met Swami Vishwananda Saraswati who initiated him into the Dashnami Sannyasa tradition in 1924.

During his wondering monk life (parivrajaka), he travelled all over India meeting other luminaries, giving lectures, and uplifting thousands of people who came into contact with him. Apart from the hundreds of books and articles on yoga and spirituality which he wrote, it was his eightfold path- serve, love, give, purify, be good, do good, meditate, realize- which became the foundations for spiritual aspirants worldwide.

In 1936, he founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh which grew into a world-wide society whose goal has been to disseminate spiritual knowledge and promote selfless service to humanity. Other important institutions founded by Sri Swami Sivananda were the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy in 1945, the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948 and the Sivananda Eye Hospital in 1957. Sri Swami Sivananda attained Maha Samadhi on 14th July 1963.

Show Contribution

The foundations of the Divine Life ashram

Having worked as a successful doctor in Malaya, Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati renounced the world in 1923 and traveled back to India where he began a pilgrimage visiting many enlightened souls (Mahatmas) and holy places. On reaching Rishikesh, he encountered Swami Vishwananda Saraswati, and immediately recognised him as his guru. After a brief exchange of words, Sri Swami Sivananda was initiated into Dashnami sannyasa tradition of Adi Shankaracharya by Swami Vishwananda Saraswati in 1924.

In 1936, after rigorous sadhana, intense tapas, fasting and periods of silence, Sri Swami Sivananda went to live in a crumbling little cowshed on the banks of the Ganga. Although he never intended to start an ashram, nor did he intend to have disciples and become a guru, spiritual aspirants began to flock around him, attracted by his luminosity, his selfless nature and his genuine love for one and all. It was at this time that the foundations of the Divine Life Society were sown, whose aim was the dissemination of spiritual knowledge worldwide and service to humankind. From his small kutir on the banks of the Ganga, Sri Swami Sivananda’s influence spread throughout the entire world.

He never came to the West and he never went to the East but today he is everywhere. Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga practices revealed to the modern world

Sri Swami Sivananda was a visionary. He recognised that the practices of yoga were necessary for the modern world as they would mitigate the imbalances and distress that people were confronting. Traditionally, the deepest spiritual truths were not accessible to all as the scriptures were written in Sanskrit, usually known only by the Brahmin caste, to which he belonged. His profound knowledge of Sanskrit enabled him to devise simple yoga practices from the ancient texts making them available to both Indians and people from all over the world. Yoga was no longer shrouded in mysticism, but became a daily practice for every single human being regardless of cast, creed, religion or race. Integral Yoga.

Sri Swami Sivananda taught a synthesis of practical Vedanta and integrated yoga, as a means to cultivate virtues, develop one’s personality and self, and obtain excellence in life. Yoga was presented as a set of practical tools for the practitioner to use to develop and expand the faculties of “head, heart and hands” – the faculties of the mind and intellect; emotions, feelings and sentiments; and action, performance and creative expression.

Sri Swami Sivananda’s yoga of synthesis or integral yoga combined the four principal paths of yoga: karma yoga (the path of action) bhakti yoga (the path of devotion) raja yoga (the path of psychic control) and jnana yoga (the path of self-analysis and knowledge).He taught that for real spiritual evolution to take place these four categories of yoga sadhana had to be integrated into one’s daily life.

Practise karma yoga for purification of mind and heart, hatha yoga to keep up good health and strength and purify the prana and steady the mind, raja yoga to destroy the samskaras and induce concentration in meditation, and jnana yoga to remove the veil of ignorance and ultimately rest in one’s own satchidananda swarupa. Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The eight-fold path was taught and lived by Sri Swami Sivananda: serve, love, give, purify, be good, do good, meditate, realize. This is the real expression of yoga. It is a unique road-map for all spiritual seekers, which continues beyond the personal attainments of raja yoga. When one applies the ashtanga yoga of Sri Swami Sivananda, one moves into the positive, creative expression of yoga in external life improving and uplifting the family, society and the environment.

Call to Divine Life

Yoga is complete life. It is a method which overhauls every aspect of the human nature. Yoga shows you the way. Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Sivananda showed people that God-realization was the true and real purpose for human birth, and the yogic path was the way to achieve that. By embracing the Divine Life, the practitioner brings spirituality into their everyday life. Sri Swami Sivananda advocated spiritualizing daily activities so that the whole of one’s life becomes divine. He taught this most powerfully through his own example. He saw God in every being and treated the poor, the sick, the suffering and the needy with the sincerity of worship. To serve others and share whatever he had was his true nature.

Sri Swami Sivananda initiated many aspirants into the Dashnami tradition. He trained and created sannyasins of an extraordinary calibre, some of whom became great luminaries in their own right. Twelve of his sannyasin disciples were given mandates whose mission it was to propagate different aspects of yogic and Vedantic culture in different parts of India and the world. One of these was Sri Swami Satyananda, to whom Sri Swami Sivananda entrusted the mission to “spread yoga from door to door and shore to shore”.

Just thinking of Swami Sivananda is yoga. Swami Satyanannda Saraswati

Yoga will emerge as a mighty world power; it is the need of today and the culture of tomorrow, and will change the course of world events.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born in the mountainous district of Almora, (Uttaranchal) in 1923. From the age of six, he began to have intense spiritual experiences, and during his early childhood he was blessed by many saints and sadhus, including Anandamayi Ma, all of whom recognised a very developed awareness in a child so young. As he was growing up into a young man, he met a tantric bhairavi , Sukhman Giri, who taught him tantric practices, and instructed him to find a guru so as to stabilize his spiritual experiences. Upon this advice, he left his home in 1943, in search of a guru, which ultimately led him to Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati at Rishikesh. There, he was initiated into the Dashnam Order of Sannyasa on 12th September 1947.

For twelve years, Sri Swami Satyananda threw himself into guru seva . He worked long hours, doing many laborious tasks as the ashram in Rishikesh at the time was in its early stages, and lacked even the basic amenities. But he describes this period of his life as total communion and surrender to the guru tattwa. He diligently followed the instructions of his guru, “Work hard and you will be purified. You do not have to search for the light; the light will unfold from within you.”

It was through his relentless seva and devotion to his guru that the secrets of spiritual life unfolded and were revealed to him. He became an adept at Yoga, Tantra, Vedanta and Samkhya and kundalini yoga.

It was in 1956 when Sri Swami Sivananda called Sri Swami Satyanada to his kutir, and taught him kriya yoga, that he gave him the mandate and mission to “spread yoga from door to door and shore to shore”.

Sri Swamiji (Sri Swami Satyananda) then left Rishikesh and travelled extensively throughout India and the entire Asian subcontinent as a wandering sannyasin (parivrajaka). These travels brought him into contact with people from all walks of life, and it was at this time that he began to formulate and perfect the yogic techniques that he would later teach and propagate.

In 1963, his mission became apparent to him while he was on the banks of the Ganga in Munger, and it is here where he built the Bihar School of Yoga, an internationally reputed and authentic center for learning yoga and the spiritual sciences.

From 1963 to 1982, Sri Swamiji, brought the ancient systems of yoga and tantra to contemporary societies introducing them to the four corners of the world and inspiring hundreds of thousands of seekers in different countries regardless of their religion or nationality. As a visionary, he was able to establish yoga as part of mainstream society by presenting asana, pranayama, mudra and bandha, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana in a precise, comprehensible and simple manner. He authored many books on yoga, bringing to light the knowledge of Tantra, Vedanta, the Upanishads and Puranas, as well as revealing and explaining practices from the ancient scriptures which were up until then unknown.

At the peak of his accomplishment in 1988, Sri Swamiji departed from Munger to begin a new phase in his life as a sannyasin leaving Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati as his spiritual successor to continue the work.

On 23rd September, 1989, the day of the vernal equinox, Sri Swamiji arrived at Rikhia, lit a fire which he called the Mahakal Chita Dhuni, and began intensive spiritual practice, entering the lifestyle of paramahamsas . Two years later he received a divine mandate: “Take care of your neighbours as I have taken care of you.” This new inspiration guided him to embark on serving and improving the living conditions of the impoverished and destitute tribal people who lived in the thousands of villages surrounding Rikhia.

In 1994, Sri Swamiji revealed, in a month-long darshan in Rikhia, that the purpose of human life is to realize God through love, and to serve God by assisting humanity. Hatha yoga and raja yoga had been the panacea of the twentieth century, but he prophesied that it was devotion to God and bhakti yoga that would be the panacea of the twenty-first.

In 2007, Sri Swamiji announced the formation of Rikhiapeeth, which would be the ashram where the three primary teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda - serve, love and give - were to be practiced. Two years later, in 2009, during the Sat Chandi Mahayajna and Yoga Poornima, Sri Swamiji inspired those present to lead the righteous life and later that night, on the 5th December at midnight, he entered into Mahasamadhi and merged into Shiva consciousness.

Show Contribution

Satyananda Yoga System

The Satyananda Yoga System, otherwise known as Bihar Yoga, was established by Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923-2009). Having been given a mandate by his guru, Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh, (1887-1963), to ‘spread yoga from door to door and from shore to shore’, he took the ‘yoga of synthesis’ and combined it with practices of Vedanta and Tantra along with ancient yogic techniques simplifying them for ordinary people to apply in their modern lives in a safe and effective way.

Satyananda Yoga integrates many branches of yoga in a systematic way, which enables the practitioner to achieve balance and wholeness. Hatha yoga, raja yoga, kriya yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga lay the foundations for developing the faculties of head, heart and hands, which is part of the ancient tantric tradition. Kundalini yoga, mantra yoga, nada yoga, laya yoga, among others, are also included in Satyananda Yoga.

The Propagation of Yoga Worldwide

In 1956, Sri Swami Sivananda called his disciple, Sri Swami Satyananda, and gave him the mandate to propagate yoga worldwide. This became Sri Swami Satyananda’s mission, and during the years from 1963 until the mid-1980’s he taught the science of yoga, inspiring millions of people the world over and making yoga a household name.

International Yoga Fellowship Movement

In 1956, Sri Swami Satyananda founded the International Yoga Fellowship Movement (I.Y.F.M) with the aim of creating a global fraternity of yoga. Since then, hundreds of yoga centres have been set up in India and abroad. Publications of books with comprehensive yoga practices, guidance on yogic sadhana and lifestyle have been translated into dozens of languages. In 1963, the first publication of a yoga magazine that could be read in both English (Yoga) and Hindi (yogamag) was printed. Today these issues, as well as the entire publication of books, are accessible online, https://www.yogamag.net/

The Bihar School of Yoga

The Bihar School of Yoga (BSY) was established by Sri Swami Satyananda in the city of Munger, in the Indian state of Bihar in 1963. People from all over the world and from all walks of life have been going there to practice and experience yoga to this day. It is here where Sri Swamiji revived a great number of unknown practices and principles of the ancient yogic and tantric traditions, modifying and systematizing them; a veritable yogic renaissance. As a result, practitioners today are provided with a vast array of significant yogic tools ranging from asanas, pranayama, mudras and bandhas, to pratyahara, dharana and dhyana techniques.

He also stressed the importance of having an aim, a philosophy and a sadhana in life to assist in removing the limitations of one’s personality, awaken dormant potential and cultivate spiritual awareness, and that one’s philosophy, should be such, that it enables one to face the vicissitudes of life with equanimity and balance. Below is a small sample of the contributions that Sri Swamiji has offered to the science of yoga.

To Sri Swami Satyananda goes the credit for the the pawanmuktasana series: • Pawanmuktasana Part 1 (anti-rheumatic) • Pawanmuktasana Part 2 (anti-gastric) • Pawanmuktasana Part 3 (shakti bandhas)

The series of pawanmuktasana can be performed by all ages, and when practiced regularly, give a profound and transformative experience.

The sequence in which the practices of pranayama are taught today by the majority of yoga schools was also given by him. The practice of mudras and the physiological and psychological effects of the bandhas are other different aspects of the yogic techniques which he systematized so that they could be easily understood and experienced.

As a tantric master and perfected yogi, he brought to light concepts from the tantric and vedic traditions to aid human growth and evolution. One of the greatest contributions is Satyananda Yoga Nidra, a steady and systematic method of deep relaxation and inner transformation. Sri Swami Satyananda incorporated components of tantric nyasa into the yogic system in the form of a pratyahara technique , in which the distractions of the mind are contained, and as a result the mind relaxes.

Satyananda Yoga Nidra has had a major impact on the world of yoga for over the last 60 years, transforming the lives of many practitioners. It was trademarked as Satyananda Yoga Nidra to differentiate between the different types of yoga nidra that appeared thereafter, which used the original technique developed by Sri Swamiji as a base.

Other techniques of pratyahara accredited to him include antar mouna and ajapa japa. Antar mouna deals with the activities of the conscious mind. In this practice there are various stages where first there is awareness of thoughts, and in later stages one creates, transforms and finally gains control over the thought process. Ajapa japa combines breath and mantra with psychic passages to enable one to further transform and gain control of the mind.

Ajapa Japa: An effective method of meditation and a complete sadhana in itself. This practice combines pranayama and continuous mantra repetition. The mantra may be the personal mantra given by a guru or the universal mantra of the breath, So Ham whose spontaneous repetition is the core of Ajapa Japa. Gradually one starts to explore the more subtle regions of the psychic body- the psychic centers (chakras) and the psychic passages.

Antar Mouna: This practice exhausts the mind’s interest in external stimuli received through the senses, which allows one’s awareness to internalize and observe one’s thoughts and counter thoughts and finally gain control over what is happening in the mind and finally gaining control over the thought processes, and mental activities. It is designed to bring one to a state of inner silence. It has six stages. Each stage is a separate technique. Through Antar Mouna, one learn to deepen one’s awareness and to remove deep rooted tensions, painful memories, fears and phobias from the mind. The practice enhances memory and decision making and re-shapes the personality, and one learns to accept and be-friend the mind.

Another contribution has been the discovery of tantric nyasa concentration and meditation techniques, which are explained in detail and presented in their basic form in the book, Meditations from the Tantras.

Swami Satyananda also brought forth the practices of kriya yoga from the yoga and tantra shastras which, as taught by the Satyananda Yoga System, are one of only two forms of kriya recognized the world over; the other being that of Paramahamsa Yogananda, of the Mahavatar Babaji tradition.

“Awareness is the alpha and omega of yoga” Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Throughout his life Sri Swami Satyananda taught that the expansion and cultivation of awareness should be the aim of life, and that the means is yoga. Awareness lies at the heart of all Satyananda Yoga practices and its entire approach. Sri Swamiji emphasized the importance of bringing awareness into all dimensions of every yoga practice: the physical, mental, emotional, energetic, subtle and spiritual. This allows the awareness to gradually expand so that over time awareness can be brought into all the activities and aspects of life.

“Yoga will emerge as a mighty world culture and change the course of world events.” Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Satyananda saw yoga as a process of continuous transformation of the total personality, which can be achieved in stages by regular and systematic practice, and by assimilating and making yoga a part of one’s daily life. He devised four stages in the aspirant’s development.

The yogic journey - The four levels of application

Despite initiating yoga training, Sri Swamiji was not a teacher of yoga; rather, he was the engineer of life and used yoga as a tool to enhance the qualities and faculties of life. In this context he also made it clear that yoga should be understood in the right perspective. Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Sri Swamiji explained that the journey of yoga begins with abhyasa (practice), and in time evolves into sadhana (continuous effort), which in time evolves into a lifestyle, and finally emerges as a sanskriti (culture). The four levels of yoga application are: yoga practice, yoga sadhana, yogic lifestyle, and yogic culture. This sequence of yoga which Sri Swami Satyananda defined as ‘progressive yoga’ was created keeping in mind the guidelines given by Sri Swami Sivananda that yoga should develop the human mind, the human heart, and the human creativity (i.e. head, heart and hands).

Through this process, Sri Swamiji showed that one can live as a yogi in the world without renouncing the world by developing awareness and connecting head-heart-hands; and ultimately creating a yogic world culture for the betterment of humanity.

Yoga Research Foundation

“The science of yoga has great physical and psychological potential. The effect of yoga techniques on human physiology is an inviting field for research for modern physiologists, and scientific investigations into yoga psychology are a challenge for modern psychologists.” Swami Satyananda Saraswati

In the late 1970s, Sri Swami Satyananda initiated and inspired a range of yogic research projects. This research has provided society with further understanding of how yogic practices affect the human body, mind and emotions, and how these practices can awaken the hidden inner potential and enhance the quality of a person’s life.

In 1984, the Yoga Research Foundation was established to conduct scientific investigation of yoga practices. This on-going scientific research and experimentation has demonstrated how the various yogic practices and techniques can be used therapeutically to prevent, manage and treat a wide range of conditions, including asthma, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and also pregnancy.

Sannyasa initiation

Sri Swami Satyananda also contributed to providing a different dimension to the concept of sannyasa . The Satyananda Yoga tradition incorporates aspects from the Vedic tradition in which sannyasa lifestyle is devoted to the study of the eternal principles governing life. The Vedic approach focuses more on providing the right samskaras, where one is free to follow their own vocation in life, but with a constructive samskara so there is no self-denial. Sri Swamiji revealed that the sannyasa lifestyle does not mean belonging to a particular denomination or sect, but preserving those human values through which it is possible to experience transformations leading to greater equilibrium and harmony.

Previously sannyasa initiation was confined to only the few who were inclined to follow the sannyasa path in life. For the first time, Sri Swami Satyananda himself accepted foreigners into sannyasa, and following in his guru’s footsteps, he also initiated women into sannyasa making sannyasa for women internationally acceptable. Despite the strong opposition at first, these changes rejuvenated the sannyasa tradition immensely. Karma sannyasa was given to all age groups, married and single people, and Sri Swamiji instructed his disciples to:

“Live life fully, participate in all events externally, but internally maintain an attitude of non-doership. Even while doing the actions natural to you, if you are unattached to those actions, you are truly the non-doer.”

He explained that the change that takes place in sannyasa is internal, but one’s external life goes on as it is, living with the family, going to work, or socializing. In this way the karma sannyasin implements the qualities of sannyasa into their marriage, their family and into their daily relationships. Rishi sannyasa has also been given to committed and dedicated sannyasins who want to live together as husband and wife, and who have been able to maintain their balance, harmony and clear vision. In this way, there has been a wider social acceptance of sannyasa as an alternative way of life, in which one learns to balance the material with the spiritual, the inner world with the external world.

The focus

The focus of Sri Swami Satyananda’s teachings and lifestyle has always been on the development of spiritual awareness, the inner personality, the inner nature, leading to ananda , bliss, fulfillment and contentment, and the ability to see the one in all and the all in one.

Take yoga away from classroom learning, teaching and practice into your personal life as a moment to moment practice.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, is the manas putra of Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati - which means he is his mind-born son. He was born on 14th February in 1960, in Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), and at four years of age moved to the Bihar School of Yoga to live next to his guru. Here, he received all his spiritual samskaras and training in yogic and spiritual sciences through the practice of yoga nidra conducted by Sri Swami Satyananda.

At 11 years old, Swami Niranjanananda was initiated into Dashnami sannyasa, after which he moved abroad, living in different countries and helping to propagate yoga in Europe, Australia, North and South America. In 1983, he was called back to India to preside over the activities of the Bihar School of Yoga, Sivananda Math and the Yoga Research Foundation at Ganga Darshan.

In 1990 he was initiated as a paramahamsa sannyasin, and five years later appointed the spiritual preceptor to succeed Sri Swami Satyananda.

Swami Niranjanananda established Bihar Yoga Bharati in 1994, an Institute for Advanced Studies in Yogic Sciences, the first of its kind in the world wholly dedicated to the study of yoga in an ashram environment, thus providing a spiritual oasis in the material and technological desert of the 21st century. Four years later, he set up the Yoga Publications Trust in Munger, where thousands of research papers, text books and audio-visual material have been published. He also inspired a children’s yoga movement, the Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal in 1995. Along with the many institutions he founded and the duties he performed in India, he also travelled extensively to guide, instruct and disseminate yoga around the world.

In 2008 he handed over the presidency of the Bihar School of Yoga and all institutional responsibilities to the next generation of yoga sevaks . A year later, in 2009, before Sri Swami Satyananda’s Mahasamadhi, he was given the mandate by his guru to explore the sannyasa lifestyle as well as to revive, present and elucidate the classical yoga vidya.

Erudite in all aspects of yoga, yogic philosophy and lifestyle, he has authored a great number of classical books on yoga, tantra, spirituality, samkhya  and the Upanishads etc. Swami Niranjanananda is a true inspiration to spiritual aspirants all over the world. He radiates joy, and celebrates life to its fullest, and lives yoga from moment to moment.

Show Contribution

In 1983, Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati left Munger after having completed his guru’s mission to “spread yoga from door to door and from shore to shore”. He entrusted the responsibilities and obligations of the organizations and the yogic movement he had created over the years to his spiritual successor, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati.

Working relentlessly over the following years, Swami Niranjanananda ensured the continuation of both the yogic culture and the tradition of sannyasa. In 2010 Sannyasa Peeth was created to revive the sannyasa tradition and to train Sannyasins to meet the needs of modern times. In the same year, he entered into a higher sadhana and tirtha yatra.

In 2013, Swami Niranjanananda organised and supervised the World Yoga Convention to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Bihar School of Yoga with over 50,000 participants attending in person or through the internet. In the following year, the Bihar School of Yoga entered the second chapter, where Swami Niranjanananda revised and presented the Yoga Chakra, a profound and ground-breaking approach to understanding yoga and its purpose. A set of yogic yamas and niyamas was also introduced by Swami Niranjanananda to move the spiritual seeker towards positivity.

In 2018, at the Yoga Symposium for Teachers in Munger, he launched The Satyam Yoga Prasad for the Jnana Yajna whose prasad was yoga vidya. Here the momentous task of offering all the collected publications of Sri Swami Satyananda and Swami Niranjanananda in an online application to all was successfully accomplished.

Among the many other contributions to yoga that Swami Niranjanananda has made are the yogic capsules. Being aware of the great demands that today’s modern lifestyle brings, he devised a complete series of sadhana practices for the busy person to implement easily and effectively into their daily routine, known as the yogic capsule sadhana.

The many and on-going accomplishments of Swami Niranjananada are reflected in the prestigious awards he has received. In 2017, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award by the government of India for exceptional and distinguished service to yoga. Two years later, the Ministry of AYUSH announced the Bihar School of Yoga as one of the recipients of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Award for the outstanding contribution in the Promotion and Development of Yoga.

Applications of Yoga in Society

Under the guidance of Swami Niranjanananda, the Bihar School of Yoga devised innovative and creative programmes of yogic practices which can be applied to a wide range of groups in society. Ranging from yoga classes in the remote villages of Bihar, yoga for people with addictions, yoga classes for prisoners, yoga for the management of cancer, as well as yoga courses for professionals such as medical students and doctors, athletes, corporations and government bodies, the police force and the army, are just a few examples of the fields covered. Yoga for children and the integration of yoga into classical education has also been warmly received by Europe and highly acclaimed by UNESCO, which invited Swami Niranjanananda to speak twice on this topic in France.

Contribution to Yoga Practices

Ultimately, yoga is a lifestyle. It is not a practice. For, once the yogic principles are imbibed and become part of life, the attitudes, perceptions, interactions, the mind, actions and behaviours will improve. To meet the challenge of the second chapter, the expressive and the behavioural components of yoga, the antaranga and bahiranga aspects, have to come together. When head, heart and hands unite, an ordinary moment can become divine. An ordinary life can become a divine life. Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Swami Niranjanananda has made a significant contribution to the practices of yoga, and in particular dharana and jnana . In his book Dharana Darshan , published in 1993, he clearly presents a collection of dharana practices from ancient yogic, tantric and Upanishadic texts whereby he systematizes these practices making them accessible for the first time to be practiced in stages for safe, stable and sequential progression. Amongst the numerous other significant books written by Swami Niranjanananda are Yoga Darshan, Sannyasa Darshan, Prana and Pranayama, Samkhya Darshan and Yoga Education for Children.

Yoga Capsule

‘The yoga capsule sadhana helps to incorporate yoga in our lifestyle and create a positive and uplifting environment at home. In this way we are able to live, we are able to love, we are able to laugh. Living, loving and laughing is the aim of yoga, not samadhi.’ Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

In 2006, Swami Niranjanananda devised a specific sequence of sadhana - a series of simple to perform practices that can be easily integrated into one’s busy modern lifestyle which take only 10-20 minutes to complete. He humorously called the series the yogic capsule, referring to a pill one can take in order to attain effective results for a relatively small effort. Practiced regularly, the yogic capsule promotes health, wellbeing and upliftment. The various yoga capsules are designed to suit a variety of needs including: 1. General well-being/ Total Well-being 2. Women’s health 3. Children from the age of 8-11 and 12-14 4. Teenagers from age 14 5. Senior citizens 6. Stress management 7. High blood pressure 8. Mucous, Bile and Wind 9. Obsessions and anxiety 10. Insomnia

Yoga drishti

In 2010, Swami Niranjanananda embarked on a series of Satsangs known as Yogadrishti where almost every month for three years he spoke on yoga, tantra, sannyasa, the philosophy and application of yoga, and practical spiritual life.

Sannyasa Peeth

On 6th December in 2010, Sannyasa Peeth was established in order to uphold the Sannyasa Parampara propounded by Sri Swami Sivananda and Sri Swami Satyananda. Swami Niranjananada was given the mandate to revive the eternal tradition of Sannyasa and make it applicable to the modern world by his guru in 2009. Sannyasa Peeth provides a unique opportunity for aspirants to experience an alternative spiritual lifestyle based on the principles and disciplines of sannyasa . There are numerous programmes, training sessions and events running throughout the year.

Yatra

In preparation for the 50-year jubilee celebrations of the Bihar School of Yoga in 2013, Swami Niranjanananda launched a six-month all-India yatra, (yoga tour), with a group of participants from the SannyasaTraining course. They conducted a great number of programmes reaching out to hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life.

Yoga Chakra

In 2014, a series of talks commenced presenting the new direction of yoga, its scope and intent. Here, Swami Niranjanananda took the essence of Sri Swami Satyananda and Sri Swami Sivananda’s teachings and developed the Yoga Chakra. This system combines both bahiranga yoga (hatha, raja and kriya yoga) and antaranga yoga (jnana, bhakti and karma yoga). The purpose of the Yoga Chakra is to allow the practitioner to experience the wholeness and completeness of yoga.

Yamas and Niyamas

Swami Niranjanananda presented a set six uplifting traits of yamas and niyamas to be practiced and cultivated in one’s daily life for positivity.

Yoga Lifestyle Yamas Yoga Lifestyle Niyamas Manahprasad (happiness) Japa (mantra repetition) Kshama (forgiveness) Namaskara (salutations to another) Danti (mental restraint) Indriya nigraha (sensorial restraint) Adweshta (be without separation and Maitri (friendliness) feeling of division) Bhava shuddhi (pure intention) Titiksha (patience and endurance) Shantata (serenity) Niyamitata (regularity expressed in lifestyle)

Courses

In 2015, Swami Niranjanananda began to create new courses in which he himself taught a great number of spiritual seekers. The Progressive Training Courses I, II and the Adhyatma Samskara Sadhana Satras to name but a few.

Yoga vidya

In 2015 Swami Niranjanananda revived the original teachings of Swami Satyananda by presenting the importance of yoga vidya or yogic knowledge. Throughout the Progressive Training Course, he expounded on how Sri Swami Satyananda first taught yoga in the 1960’s, and explained that his intention was not necessarily to train teachers, but rather to introduce participants to the subject of yoga through practice, and through deepening one’s experience of yoga, one would become most effective in transmitting the knowledge of yoga.

Swami Niranjanananda has travelled all over the world, following in his guru’s foot steps to help propagate yoga in Europe, Australia, North and South America since the age of 11. He has visited many tirthas (holy places) around India, and today is the spiritual guide of millions of devotees all around the world.

Sri Swamiji's mandate to 'Serve, Love, Give' continues to be fulfilled. Inspired and guided by him the sankalpa becomes stronger and brighter with each passing day.

Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati

Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, was born in Chandernagore, West Bengal, India, in 1953. She enjoyed a privileged upbringing and modern education, graduating from the Miranda House College in Delhi with English honours. Yet she chose the life of renunciation and the sannyasa path after experiencing a series of inner awakenings which led her to her guru, Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Swami Satyasangananda or as Sri Swami Satyananda would call her, Swami Satsangi, as she became known, was initiated into the Dashnami tradition of sannyasa on 6 July 1982 at Ganga Darshan, Munger. As a sannyasin, she accompanied her guru on his tours in India and around the world for many years. It was her one-pointed focus on Sri Swamiji, and her attentiveness to his needs and her intense desire to serve him that made her a remarkable disciple.

As a true scholar, Swami Satsangi, has great insight into the yogic and tantric traditions as well as modern sciences and philosophies. She is able to expound on a wide variety of ancient teachings from yogic, tantric and vedic texts and make them relevant to modern life.

As a talented writer, she has authored a great number of inspirational books, the most renowned being Tattwa Shuddhi: The Tantric Science of Inner Purification, which describes an essential practice for inner experience based on her own experiences. Other major texts include Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra: The Ascent, Karma Sannyasa, Light on the Guru and Disciple Relationship and her latest, The Descent, a commentary on Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s famous poem of divine ecstasy, Sri Saundarya Lahari.

On January 1st 2007, she was appointed as the Peethadhishwari of Rikhiapeeth by Sri Swami Satyananda.

Sri Swami Satyananda describes his disciple: “Swami Satsangi has a very strong personality. She calls a rose, a rose and a spade a spade. A person who shoulders responsibility should be very strong. Of course after me she will carry on the work of Sivananda Math in Rikhia very well.”

Since 1989 she has been living in Rikhia working tirelessly for the material and spiritual upliftment of the local community continuing her guru's mission which is the cardinal teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati, serve, love and give. Her devotion and commitment can be seen in the ongoing work which has occurred in this once remote, most neglected and poverty-stricken area of India. Today it is a bustling and thriving center of spirituality where visitors arrive in large numbers from all over the world to assist in the activities of Sivananda Math which are continuously expanding to assist more and more villages.