At the request of devotees all over the world who could not attend the Shodashi Puja for Swami Satyananda’s Mahasamadhi, we are starting a series in which each day we will present the talks given by the Kanyas of Rikhia , Swami Satyasangananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Suryaprakash.

As the first part of this series today we present the speech given by the kanyas as a tribute to Pujya Gurudev on the final day of the Shodashi puja, 22^nd December 2009.

Namo Narayan

We kanyas and batuks feel very honoured to offer this tribute today to the great yogi who lived amongst us as our beloved Swami Satyananda. On 6th December, when we heard the Bhagavad Gita being chanted early in the morning at the ashram, we knew that something very great had happened overnight.

Soon we learnt that Sri Swamiji had taken Samadhi and some of us could not hold back our tears, for that meant we would never see his radiant smile, his loving glance, his sparkling eyes again nor would we hear his kind words ever again. But then Swami Satsangi and Swami Niranjan appeared amidst us and told us that Sri Swamiji was forever in our hearts and that gave us the strength to smile again.

After all, that is how Sri Swamiji would like to see us. Strong, brave, confident and courageous. As the news spread, people started pouring into the ashram from all parts of the world. I think that day the entire world must have come to the ashram gates. We kanyas and batuks too came to bid our beloved Swamiji farewell. We attended the abhisheka of Sri Swamiji and had our final darshan amidst thousands of people. Sri Swamiji looked radiant as ever, so peaceful, calm and serene. Even in that moment when he had left his body he looked so regal like an emperor and so graceful and beautiful. We will always remember him in our hearts, for he has found a place there forever.

As the sixteen-day Shodashi Pooja began, we also joined in the ceremonies. What better tribute and honour could we offer Sri Swamiji! It is because of his grace that today we can stand before you with confidence, grace and poise and speak like this. It is because of him that we have learnt many other useful things like modern and classical dance, English, drama, chanting of Sanskrit text and computers, the list is endless. We never dreamt that we could do all this, but he had trust in us and we had faith in him, so it all happened naturally and easily. You can say that our whole lives are transformed. In fact, we kanyas and batuks truly reflect to the world the power of guru’s grace.

Before Sri Swamiji entered our lives we had nothing, we were nothing. He gave our lives meaning and awakened our innate and true potentials. He gave us self-confidence, self-worth and a goal and direction in life. He picked us kanyas up from nothing and he made us Devi – this is the true power of guru that we have witnessed in our lives.

We kanyas and batuks were all born after Sri Swamiji came to live here in Rikhia Panchayat and are indeed blessed to be adopted by Sri Swamiji. We feel proud to be his children.

Rikhia was once a remote and desolate panchayat. Our parents tell us of the times when there was no food, no clothes, and no jobs. Since Sri Swamiji came here, there has been a spectacular transformation here in Rikhia from being one of the poorest panchayats in India’s poorest state to what we see today – a dynamic and vibrant panchayat abundant in peace, plenty and prosperity. By grace of guru there is food to eat, schools to study at and a beautiful ashram to learn and grow under the peaceful influence of sannyasins, and above all, hope for a better and brighter future.

Sri Swamiji is always very close to us in our hearts and minds. But do you know this? Even for the kanyas and batuks who live here in Rikhiapeeth, the darshan of our beloved Sri Swamiji was always a rare and precious moment. On 2nd December 2009, when we were celebrating Swami Satyananda’s 87th birthday here at Rikhiapeeth, we were very lucky to have his final darshan. Do you know that on that day Sri Swamiji spoke only to us kanyas and batuks and our parents. He asked us who our father is and we kanyas and batuks replied with hearts overflowing with love, “You, You, You are our father, and you always will be.” Swamiji, how can we thank you enough for giving our lives meaning?

We are very proud to have known Swami Satyananda and feel very honoured that such a great man came to live in our unknown and remote village. And now Rikhia has become immortal because Sri Swamiji’s Samadhi sthal is established here. His whole life was dedicated to the upliftment of humanity.

His guru, Swami Sivananda himself had compared Swami Satyananda to Nachiketa when he said: “Few would have such vairagya at such a young age. Swami Satyananda is full of the Nachiketa element. Yet, any work he takes up he will complete in a perfect manner. He does the work of four people and yet never complains. He is a versatile genius, yet humble and simple.”

It is said that when great yogis such as Paramahamsa Satyananda abandon the gross body, they become ever powerful and their spiritual potential is magnified as they are not confined by the limitations of the body. Our beloved Sri Swamiji is now free from the shackles of the gross body and his divine presence pervades all creation. He is now omnipotent and omnipresent. We kanyas and batuks feel Sri Swamiji is still present amongst us to bless us all, as he lives in our hearts. We feel his presence everywhere, in the gentle breeze and in the warm sun, in the chirping of the birds and in the drifting clouds, wherever we look we see him.

Swamiji, whenever we need to feel your presence we will look up into the sky and we know that you will be there smiling down on us and showering your love and blessing upon us all. Swamiji, with your blessings there is nothing we cannot achieve and nothing we cannot overcome. Please Swamiji, shower your blessings on us forever.

We know that Sri Swami Satyananda loved Rikhia very, very much and always felt very happy when he saw us because his face always lit up with a beautiful smile. In 2007, during the sacred Sat Chandi pooja, Swami Satyananda declared that Rikhia would be known as Rikhiapeeth and appointing Swami Satyasangananda as the first Peethadishwari of Rikhiapeeth, gave her the sankalpa to ensure that the three fundamental teachings of Swami Sivananda, ‘serve, love, give’, are practised and lived here in Rikhiapeeth. He also said, “Rikhiapeeth has a very bright future because I am its foundation.”

Today, with guru as sakshi, we kanyas and batuks, who are the very lucky children of Rikhia panchayat, make our sankalpa to fulfil all the dreams that Sri Swamiji had for us and pledge ourselves to always be worthy of guru’s grace and treasure the two flowers he has left behind for us – Swami Niranjanji and Swami Satsangi.

Jai Gurudev

For the benefit and interest of devotees disciples well wishers and readers throughout the world todays blog carries the last two satsangs given by Swami Satyananda at Rikhiapeeth during Sat Chandi Mahayagna on 21^st November 2009 and during Yoga Purnima on 2^nd December 2009.

Sat Chandi Mahayajna 2009

Sri Swami Satyananda‘s Satsang on 21st November, 2009

Namo Narayana

All of us are very fortunate to be here this pleasant morning. The yajna is coming to a point of culmination. And the most important aspect of this yajna is worshipping the kanya.

The concept of the kanya is not alien to Christianity. In fact, it is an intrinsic part of it. Virgin Mary was a kanya. A kanya is one who becomes the channel of the Divine Mother. Just as a copper wire becomes the channel for electrical energy, in the same way the cosmic energy, the divine energy, the Mother, can be apprehended through a medium. And the medium is the kanya, the virgin.

In the Shakti tantra, the ultimate reality is conceived as Mother, and certainly the ultimate reality is the mother. The ultimate reality is the mother because progeny begins with the mother. Therefore, this morning we are here to witness this pooja. These kanyas are from Rikhia, all of them. We have kanyas, ex-kanyas, invited kanyas and senior kanyas. For the last twenty years, the kanya pooja has been going on here. Many of those kanyas have now gone out of Rikhia. In the course of time, the children you see here now will also go out. All these children are intrinsically related to the ashram. They only go back to their cottages or dwelling at night. The whole morning they are in the school which is next to the ashram. Thereafter, they are in the ashram. They only go home in the evening, at six or seven o’clock, and as soon as it is morning they get out. They are always with the ashram and in the ashram. So we will say they are ashram kanyas. And ashram feels it, understands it and responds to it.

We have already constructed Annapoorna Kshetram to feed all the kanyas and batuks. It was donated by a public sector company of India, Bokaro Steel Plant. Bokaro Steel constructed it on its own expenses, and it is now ready. In the coming years the children will not need to ask their mother for food; the ashram will provide it.

The ashram will provide because it is the duty of society to look after its children. It is the duty of society; it is not the duty of government or of NGOs. It is the duty of the entire society. And I am society.

It is the duty of society to look after children up to the age of twelve, dwadash varshe bhavet Gauri. After twelve, the parents should look after them; after sixteen or eighteen, the husband should look after them; after fifty or sixty, their children should look after them. But up to twelve it is the duty of society to look after their education, their health and everything else.

I arrived here in 1989, on September the 23rd. Now it is 2009, so I have been in Rikhia for twenty years. Since then the ashram has been successfull in looking after the children of Rikhia panchayat.

Namo Narayana

Yoga Poornima 2009

Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s Last Darshan: Satsang on 2nd December, 2009

Namo Narayana

I have to tell you all something about yajna. All of you have come from far off countries, far off places, and you must understand very well that you are participating in a very important event. This event is not only historical, it is not only spiritual, it is also ecological. It has many dimensions. People from the West and people from Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi or Patna must remember that they have come here to participate in a very important event called yajna, in which the spiritual powers are invited and invoked – spiritual powers which you cannot see, which you cannot touch, just as you cannot see your thoughts, just as you cannot touch your thoughts. But you can feel them, if you are ready for it.

You have come here to be in touch with, in communication with those spiritual forces which are all around the cosmos, all around creation. Just as air is all-pervading, electromagnetic forces are all-pervading, oxygen and nitrogen are all-pervading, similarly the spiritual powers, the spiritual forces, the divinities, the devatas, are all-pervading. They are here. They are always around you – always. They are with you in France, they are with you in Italy, they are with you in Bulgaria, they are with you in Greece, they are with you in Delhi, they are with you in Bangalore, they are with you wherever you are. But you can’t feel them. Why can’t you feel them? Because the necessary atmosphere in the mind and in the environment is not created.

If everybody starts shouting now, you won’t be able to hear me. If everybody in this assembly starts crying and shouting and wailing, will you be able to listen to me? No. You will be able to listen to me only if everybody is quiet. In the same way, the divine powers, the spiritual powers, the devatas and the divinities can be felt only if the environment is peaceful, if everything is quiet. Quietness within, not outside. There has to be quietness, stillness, tranquillity, peace, relaxation, shanti. And in order to create such an atmosphere, the yajna will help you; it has helped you. You will be going back home with the blessings of these spiritual powers.

In the future, wherever there are yajnas, you should definitely spend some time there. And if you have any yoga program, whether in India, or in Bulgaria, China, Japan, France, South Korea or anywhere else, along with yoga there has to be a yajna program.

Yajna is the most ancient tradition of mankind. It was man who discovered fire and realized the utility of fire. Elephants did not, tigers did not, lions did not, birds did not. Only man realized the utility of fire and could make use of it. It was he who was the discoverer of fire, agni. When man realized agni, he took a very big leap in evolution. That was the beginning of a new era in man’s existence. Therefore, in India the first mantra in the Rig Veda, starts with Agnimide purohitam yajnasya devam ritvijam; hothavam ratna dhatamam. The first word was agni, not Om.

After fire, the next thing that man discovered was grain. And he was so thankful, so obliged, so grateful, that he offered the first grain in the fire. This is the history of yajna as far as man is concerned. So all of you are very fortunate to be present here at this yajna. You must feel it. Every time there is a yajna you should come here. We will have it every year.

Message to Rikhia Panchayat

The kanyas of Rikhia have successfully organized two yajnas. The first one was Sat Chandi yajna, the second one is Mahamrityunjaya yajna. Both these yajnas were successfully managed by the kanyas and batuks of Rikhia. You have all been a witness to this. Rikhia is not like Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata or Delhi; it is a very small village where I came twenty years ago. These children had not even been born then. Twenty years ago, at 12 noon on 23rd September I set up my tent in the adjoining pro­perty. None of the old men from that era survive today, maybe only a handful.

The feeling and attitude that has germinated in these children is one of sadhana and yoga. If you cannot see and appreciate the dexterity, pers­everance and selflessness with which these children have conducted the two yajnas, what can I do?

All our san­nyasins sit over there. No one ever need get up. I don’t even come here. Swami Niranjan just stands around. And Swami Satsangi just chitchats with you people. Food is cooked for tens of thousands of people, the serving of meals continues, the distribution of prasad continues, the kirtan-bhajan continues. And these children don’t just sing simple school prayers. They sing the classical prayers chanted in the monasteries of sannyasins, in the ashrams of jagadgurus. They chant the prayers, mantras and hymns sung in the assemblies of learned pandits and saints.

This means that there is genuine potential hidden within these children. There are hundreds of thousands of such villages together with such children throughout India. They are the future of this country, but there is no one to look after them. Their fathers drink, smoke, gamble, steal and womanize. They don’t care for their children. These children have been born by accident. Today all of you are gathered here, so I won’t mince words.

The duty of parents is to live like sannyasins and raise their children properly. These children are your future. After marriage, these girls will go to another home. Not as mere brides, but as ambassadors. They are ambassadors of refined culture. Whatever good or bad they’ve learnt here in the ashram they will take with them to their new homes.

I know how careless and irrespon­sible you parents are. Drinking liquor in the middle of the night! If drinking and gambling was all you wanted to do, why did you marry and beget children in the first place? You should have just stayed with the prostitutes you visit. You’ve ruined the life of a woman, a child, this society and this nation.

Children should be given the right samskaras. Until they can realize their potential, until proper arrangements are made for their food, clothing, recreation and education, your future can never be bright. You will never receive the grace of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. After all, what will Lakshmi do in your house? You don’t even have a proper toilet or bed to offer her!

Rectify your life from today itself. Today is Margashirsha Poornima. Margashirsha is considered the best among months and today is the best Poornima. Let go of all your vices and bad habits in the name of your children. Make a solemn resolve that you will not indulge in those vices again. And that you will never beat your wife again.

Just a few days ago, the daughter of a well-to-do family got married here. A kanya asked her, “What will you do if your husband beats you?” She replied, “Beats me? Does he have the guts to do that!”

Today, when you go back to your homes, ponder over what I have said. Visiting the temple and drinking liquor right after does not please God; for God is not pleased by such empty rituals. You will have to change your entire outlook on life. Today the whole of Rikhia is gathered here, which is why I am saying these things. I am not lecturing on religion, just talking about your own good. This was the first point.

The second point is that we will teach yoga to these children. The necessary arrangements will soon be made. A huge hall is ready in Rikhia, we will teach yoga there. By yoga, I mean asana and pranayama. Through the practice of asana and pranayama, the children will stay healthy and fit, their minds will become alert and sharp, and they will be able to think and decide about their own future. Not to mention beautiful, shining faces! The kanyas who were just dancing looked beautiful, didn’t they?

We will teach yoga to the children. But then don’t start complaining that through yoga Swamiji will make the children sannyasins. In fact, if I could do that, that would be the best thing for you. You wouldn’t have to worry about your daughters’ marriage or dowry. They would stay for free in the ashram. I would feed all of them. Why? Because they are my daughters. You have begotten them by accident. In reality they belong to me. Tell me, who gives all of you new clothes five-six times a year, your father or me?

Kanya-batuks: You!

And who is arranging for your daily meals here in the ashram, your father or me?

Kanya-batuks: You!

Who is giving all the books and notebooks for your schooling? Your father or me?

Kanya-batuks: You!

Did you hear your children’s answer? Therefore, deal with them in a proper manner from now on. Don’t slap them. These kids eat all the guavas and mangoes from our trees. But I have told everyone in the ashram, don’t even dare touch these children. If a child makes mischief, think that Kanhaiya has incarnated in your home! If children cannot be mischievous, who can? You? If you are mischievous, the police will catch you and you will go straight to jail. Let the children be naughty. After all, what harm can they do?

Let me tell you about Swami Niranjan himself. Once when he was six years old, he opened up my tape-recorder. In those days, a tape-recorder used to be a luxury. When I asked him why he had opened it up, he replied that he was trying to learn the tape-recorder’s mechanism! Now what should have I done? Slapped him? Would that have repaired my tape-recorder? No, but it would have definitely damaged his tape-recorder.

Never ever hit these children or abuse them, otherwise their tape-recorder will get damaged and the harmony of your entire family will be shattered. So stop beating your children, and always remember that they are the embodiments of love.

Namo Narayana