Golden Jubilee of Bihar School of Yoga & World Yoga Convention 2013

From time to time, a special kind of soul is born on earth who leaves society to gain greatness of spirit, and then returns to the world to aid others who are suffering, or who may wish to follow the spiritual life. The world has a great history of such spiritual benefactors, dating back to the vedic rishis, to the biblical prophets and seers, to Christ, Buddha, Mahavira, Mohammed, and more recently Paramahamsa Yogananda, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Swami Sivananda Saraswati. One of the greatest saints of recent times is Swami Satyananda Saraswati, who has successfully advocated the integration of yoga with society, and encouraged the spiritual evolution of all people, regardless of caste, creed or religion.

Right from birth, he showed extraordinary spiritual and practical qualities which would one day guide spiritual aspirants all over the globe. In the year 1943, his spiritual yearnings as a young boy propelled him to search for the guru who could guide him. The guru was discovered in the form of Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. There, the youth dedicated himself to the service of his guru with the utmost zeal, and was initiated into the holy order of sannyasa to become known as Swami Satyananda Saraswati. A scholar with sharp intellect and quick wit, he exhibited tremendous organizational, practical, spiritual and leadership qualities.

Recognizing the special God-given talents in him, his guru, Swami Sivananda, blessed him and said of him, “Swami Satyananda is full of the Nachiketa element. Few could have such vairagya at such a young age. He is an ideal sadhaka and nishkama sevak.” After attaining full spiritual maturity, Swami Satyananda left his guru’s ashram and became a paramahamsa parivrajaka sannyasin with a mandate from his guru to propagate the yogic vision ‘From Door to Door and from Shore to Shore’.

In 1963, twenty years after renouncing the world and perfecting his spiritual experiences, Swami Satyananda Saraswati established the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, which became the focal point of yogic experience for people from all over the world. From here, Swami Satyananda, with devotion to the ideals of his guru Swami Sivananda, matched by his untiring energy, dedicated himself to disseminating this evolutionary yogic culture to the world.

In order to fulfil his guru’s mandate, Swami Satyananda embarked on many world tours, inspiring countless aspirants to tread the yogic path. He also initiated thousands into sannyasa and karma sannyasa, providing them with yogic vision. Under his inspiration, innumerable yoga groups and many centres and ashrams developed in India and in different countries of the world. He became one of the first front line yogic masters to translate the ancient yogic principles and techniques into modern scientific language by inspiring research into the scientific and healing principles of yoga.

The Bihar School of Yoga became the seat of a global yogic renaissance. The Bihar School of Yoga trained and propagated a blend of yogic practices and principles for cultivating head, heart and hands. This system is called the Bihar Yoga or Satyananda Yoga tradition.

In 1983, after fulfilling the mandate of Swami Sivananda and creating a world of yoga, Swami Satyananda handed over all the responsibilities and obligations of a yoga master, guru and guide, to his disciple, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. He then left all that he had created, never to look back, and took up the life of a paramahamsa sadhaka in Rikhia.

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