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Inspirers
Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati continued...
In 1990 he designated the sadhana sthal as Sri Panch Dashnam Paramahamsa
Alakh Bara, denoting it as a place where a sannyasin who has perfected
himself consolidates his learning and gives it momentum to attain greater
spiritual heights. The ishta devi, presiding goddess, of the akhara was
established as Tulsi Ma, the benevolent force presiding over all spheres.
 Now
Sri Swamiji undertook the vow of panchagni, the five-fire austerity, in
which he performed higher sadhanas sitting before five blazing fires outdoors
during the hottest months of the year. The vow culminated in 1998. The
fire lit by Sri Swamiji is still burning at Rikhiapeeth and is worshipped
daily at sunrise and sunset with aromatic herbs amidst the chanting of
vedic mantras.
In 1991, Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati received another divine mandate:
"Take care of your neighbours as I have taken care of you."
Seeking to strike a balance between the personal aspect of spiritual liberation
and the social aspect of helping others, he gave Swami Niranjanananda
a new task for Sivananda Math: service to and improvement of the living
conditions of the tribal people in the thousands of villages surrounding
Rikhiadham. Thus, from 1991 onwards, Sivananda Math undertook to finance
and construct homes for the homeless, provide for clean drinking water,
essential medical facilities, free clothing and household items. In the
second phase of assistance, means of sustainable livelihood were provided.
In 1994, in a month-long darshan, Sri Swamiji gave a new message, of
bhakti yoga. He said that the purpose of human life is to realize God
through love and to serve God by helping humanity. He prophesied that
while hatha yoga and raja yoga were the panacea of the twentieth century,
devotion to God and bhakti yoga would be the panacea of the twenty-first.
In
1995, Sri Swamiji held the first Sat Chandi Maha Yajna, invoking the Cosmic
Mother through a tantric ceremony hitherto not witnessed by common people.
During this event, Sri Swamiji also passed on his spiritual and sannyasa
sankalpa to Swami Niranjanananda. In 1996, the annual event included Rama
Naam  Aradhana
and Sita-Rama Vivaha, and in 1997, Sri Swamiji declared it as Sita Kalyanam.
In 2001, for the first time he revealed that the yajna was part of the
12-year Rajasooya Yajna, a ceremony that is traditionally performed by
a conqueror.
"I am performing the Rajasooya Yajna not as a conqueror of land,
wealth or people, but because I was able to establish an empire of yoga,
which is the need of today in our civilization," said Sri Swamiji.
"Yoga works at the spiritual, mental and physical levels to improve
the quality of life, and that is also the concept of prosperity in today's
society. We have wealth, but we lack quality of life and peace of mind.
I am performing the Rajasooya Yajna to re-establish peace of mind, to
re-equip people with the riches of contentment, happiness, joy and well-being."
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