Tags
mahamrityunjaya, mahasamadhi, Mantra, Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati, sankalpa, Swami Satyananda, Yoga
Thanks to Sevapuri (@yidl) for pointing me towards this stunningly beautiful sankalpa (see below), these photos sent out via the Mangrove Mountain Ashram in Australia, and this lovely post of the writer’s experience meeting Satyananda in person (a post that’s well worth reading).
And also, thanks to Linda-Sama for sharing this marvellous looking DVD with me: Yoga of the Heart, featuring Swami Satyananda (I’ve purchased it, and will do a review here some time!).
These are my guru’s words to his students on hearing the news of Swamiji’s passing:
When a great master leaves his body it is not a time to be sad but a time to rejoice. We can give up the fruits of our practice for his quick transition in the clear light. It is important to pray that he will be re-born quickly so that he may continue to be a blessing for all beings.
He also wanted to remind us:
…about feeling the immense gratitude for Swamiji’s presence in the parampara and that to show true gratitude is not to be sad of his passing but to realize the fruits of the practices that he has passed down to all of us so that we may too be a source of grace and inspiration for all beings.
Swamiji’s sankalpa
I am an invisible child of a thousand faces of love,
That floats over the swirling sea of life,
Surrounded by the meadows of the winged shepherds,
Where divine love and beauty,
The stillness of midnight summer’s warmth pervades.
Life often cuts at my body and mind
And though blood may be seen passing,
And a cry might be heard,
Do not be deceived that sorrow could dwell within my being
Or suffering within my soul.
There will never be a storm
That can wash the path from my feet,
The direction from my heart,
The light from my eyes,
Or the purpose from this life.
I know that I am untouchable to the forces
As long as I have a direction, an aim, a goal:
To serve, to love, and to give.
Strength lies in the magnification of the secret qualities
Of my own personality, my own character
And though I am only a messenger,
I am me.
Let me decorate many hearts
And paint a thousand faces with colours of inspiration
And soft, silent sounds of value.
Let me be like a child,
Run barefoot through the forest
Of laughing and crying people,
Giving flowers of imagination and wonder,
That God gives free.
Shall I fall on bended knees,
And wait for someone to bless me
With happiness and a life of golden dreams?
No, I shall run into the desert of life with my arms open,
Sometimes falling, sometimes stumbling,
But always picking myself up,
A thousand times if necessary,
Sometimes happy.
Often life will burn me,
Often life will caress me tenderly
And many of my days will be haunted
With complications and obstacles,
And there will be moments so beautiful
That my soul will weep in ecstasy.
I shall be a witness,
But never shall I run
Or turn from life, from me.
Never shall I forsake myself
Or the timeless lessons I have taught myself,
Nor shall I let the value
Of divine inspiration and being be lost.
My rainbow-covered bubble will carry me
Further than beyond the horizon’s settings,
Forever to serve, to love, and to live
As a sannyasin.
~Swami Satyananda Saraswati
There is something in that for all of us! Reading those words, I find myself melting and dropping all of my pretence and struggle. Even if only momentarily. So, I’ve decided I will create a poster of the sankalpa with photos of Swamiji – something to hang up in my home and re-read often, to be continually inspired!
For those who know the mahamrityunjaya and if you feel inclined, it would be good to do some rounds of this mantra and dedicate them to Swamiji.
~Svasti
Svasti. What a beautiful post! I encourage everyone to follow all the links for a full experience of all you’ve pulled together here.
It’s like you read my mind and wrote this blog. I was just about to write you a note asking what he was like in person and as a teacher, since I am familiar with him only though his scholarly works. This blog pretty much answers that question.
And this Sankalpa is one of the most beautiful and meaningful Yoga works I’ve ever read. In an earlier age it would have been declared another Upanishad. It covers the same ecstatic ground and is just as concise and poetic.
Thanks so much for putting this together for us all to enjoy.
Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com
@Bob – You are welcome. I felt the need for a follow up post to the earlier one, and I was surrounded by so many great things to link to, plus the Sankalpa. It is so powerful, isn’t it?
What strikes me most, is the last part, where he nails his resolve to the wall: …Forever to serve, to love, and to live…. Which is in effect, saying he plans to incarnate over and over to serve others as a sanyasin.
Now that is an impressive resolve!
As for Swamiji, I haven’t met him myself as I mentioned. But I’ve heard so many stories from my own guru about him. He actually had/s quite the wicked sense of humour. And, as much as he could fire up and be quick-minded and was a wise scholar, he also enjoyed playing with children. And playing as a child. And finding laughter in many things. Warmth and love, are two words I’d associate with Satyananda based on the stories I’ve heard.
There are so many things I’ve learned that I don’t feel okay about sharing here. Except to say that he was fierce and brave with his practices, and nothing stood in the way of his search for the truth.
He is absolutely an inspiration to me, and thousands of others!
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I am one of Satyananda’s children, eternally grateful for Swamiji’s amazing grace, guidance and love. Om Shantihi to all. Balance and Blessings Ema-Mudita
@Ema-Mudita – Well met. Thank you for your comment. Gratitude, love and continuing our practice is I’m sure, the best we can do.
Just beautiful Svasti – thank you.
@Karin – you are welcome. Continued best wishes to you!!
This is absolutely lovely and inspiring, Svasti. I will also copy it out and make it into a little poster. It calls out to be read and re-read; it’s a manifesto for living! Thank you.
@laughingyogini – It really is wasted if you only ever read it once, right? 🙂
Yes, I agree.
May I ask for some help please? I can do calligraphy and am presently working with writing Sanskrit, Seal script, Japanese and Chinese calligraphy works on paper for healing and meditation purposes.
I would love to write
my beloved guru’s Salkalpa in Sanskrit in this way. However, I am not sufficiently knowledgeable to do it properly without guidance.
If anyone could provide me with a written script that I can copy, I would appreciate it. I can send you back a calligraphic version in appreciation. I am also thinking that Paramahansa’s devotees may generally like this very much.
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