Celebrating Satguru Yogaswami's 50th Mahasamadhi
"You can go to the top by climbing up step by step. But exceptionally there are some who, with the help of Sruitis, the guru, and their own understanding and experience, can fly like birds." - Yogaswami
Jai Siva Yogaswami!
Today we celebrate Satguru Yogaswami's 50th Mahasamdhi Anniversary. At Kauai Aadheenam, an early morning puja was held to Yogaswami's Murti. The small shrine was beautifully decorated. Monks and local members came with offerings and the puja was performed with intermittent singing of Yogaswami's Natchintanai. All and all it was a beautiful and powerful celebration of this great sage.
On May 29, 1997, the monastery celebrated the 125th Birth Anniversary of Sri Lanka's Sage Yogaswami. After Guru Purnima, in late July, Gurudeva performed the final arati to a 20-inch-tall, gold-leafed, bronze statue of Yogaswami and sent it off on a tour tracing the diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils throughout the world. He instructed that no plans or schedules should be devised. Everything should unfold according to the inspiration of devotees along the way. In the past 17 years, the tour has traversed half the globe. Moving from Hawaii, through Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver in Canada; then on to Maryland, New York and Los Angeles in the USA before crossing the Atlantic for Europe, spending most of the ensuing decade in Germany. Wonderful pujas and cultural events have greeted the statue of the sage at every stop. Last December, Yogaswami arrived in Colombo to visit groups of devotees across Sri Lanka. Today, on his 50th mahasamadhi, Yogaswami has found his way back to Jaffna.
The following excerpt from The Guru Chronicles presents a glimpse into Yogaswami's teachings:
Whenever people were unduly hard on themselves, undertaking disciplines that were too severe, Swami would stop them. "The body is a temple, the mind is a sanctum. You must keep them pure and clear. You need them to do your work. Do not destroy them or harm them." Turning to a devotee sitting at his feet, he said:
"As you walked into the room, it felt cool and fresh because you are on the path and have begun to feel the presence of the atma. Some people come and I feel hot, and there is no air in the room. That is because they are here to trick me and think they can cheat me out of something. You are searching and have no selfish motives. You come just to sit here. You can feel the same peace from me. That is why you come. It is good for people on the path to sit with one another.
More often than not I feel I am in the presence of God. You must treat that feeling you have of the presence of God as you would a little child. Nurture it. Give it everything it needs. If you see it as a child, you become helpless. You must obey its every wish and do exactly as it bids you. Just as a mother knows in every instance what to do for her child, knows the meaning of its cries and gives it what it needs, so does the Presence make itself felt to the devotee. You must carefully nurture the awareness of God that is growing within you. If you do, it will grow and grow, and without your knowing it, you will have disappeared and only That will be."
Click here to watch a wonderful video Interview about Yogaswami, with Dr. James George, who met Yogaswami on several occasions.
35 Responses to “Celebrating Satguru Yogaswami's 50th Mahasamadhi”
From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
April 9th, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Nalini Ganapati liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Serephire Building-Brighter liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Marma Yogi liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 8:03 pm
Jai YOGASWAMI! how wonderful to read his words and have his darshan here. Thank you <3
April 9th, 2014 at 8:40 pm
Tharmar Ganesh liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 8:40 pm
Issen Bodhi liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Anmol Wayne Thapa liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Princess ShiniGal liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Rathi Thevy Jevanantham liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Jigisha Patel liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Victoria Hamilton liked this on Facebook.
April 9th, 2014 at 10:10 pm
Thank you so much for these photos. Such a blessed soul that continues to light the path for many. Jai Yogiswami! Wonderful darshan.
April 9th, 2014 at 11:54 pm
Aum ! Yogaswamihal THIRUVADDI SARANAM !
April 10th, 2014 at 12:08 am
Ganapathy Thunnai!
Aum Namasivaya!
Jai Yogaswami! Jai Gurudeva!
Yoga Guruparan Thiruvaddi Thunnai!
Aum! “Ellaam Sivame”! Yogaswami, is always THE LIGHT OF LIFE,
to ALL his SINCERE Devotees! Aum Shanthi!
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 am
Rishi Markandeya Nageshwar liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 am
Tejasinha Sivalingam liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 am
Ðęvā Kűmăř liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 am
Mangaleswary Vimalanathan liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 2:37 am
சத்குரு சிவ யோகசுவாமி – மகா வாக்கியங்கள்
தன்னை அறி
சர்வம் சிவமயம்
எல்லாம் சிவன் செய்யல்
சும்மா இரு
Satguru Siva Yogaswami – Great sayings
Know your Self by yourself
All is Siva
Siva’s Will be done
Be still
Aum Jai Satguru Siva Yogaswami
April 10th, 2014 at 4:10 am
Rudiren Carpanen Pillay liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 4:10 am
Kaivalya Sarasvati liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 4:10 am
Krishnamurthi CG liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 4:10 am
Janhvi Sivayah liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Amisha Patel liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Mat McDermott liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Lorraine Nichols liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Karthik Kumar R liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Mahesh War liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Ganesh Kumar liked this on Facebook.
April 10th, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Vanee Ratnakumar liked this on Facebook.
April 11th, 2014 at 12:10 am
Jenny Chase liked this on Facebook.
April 11th, 2014 at 12:11 am
Joselito Romualdo Hencotte liked this on Facebook.
April 11th, 2014 at 12:11 am
Amit Rana liked this on Facebook.
April 11th, 2014 at 12:11 am
Rajesh Ks liked this on Facebook.
April 11th, 2014 at 12:11 am
Dinesh Bachoo liked this on Facebook.