Om Jai Gurudev!
In words of Gurudev H.H. Sri Swami
Chidanandaji Maharaj about late Sri Swami Yagnavalkyanandaji at Samadhi shrine
23th Oct ’98 night satsang in Sivanand Ashram, Rishikesh.
Dr
Bhanushankar Adhvaryoo (also known as Swami Yagnavalkyananda) a venerable senior
disciple of Gurudev and one of the foremost propagators of Gurudev ‘s Divine
Life message in Gujarat-Saurashtra, attained to the Feet of God Almighty at 7-20
p.m. on the 22nd October, 1998. He passed away due to a massive heart attack,
within a matter of less than an hour after he had been admitted into the I.C.C.
unit at the Sivananda Ashram’s hospital, D.L.S. Headquarters, on the bank of
sacred Ganga. He was 93 years of age at the time of his death, but his mental
and intellectual faculties were as keen as ever He was well known throughout
Gujarat for his great compassion and utter selflessness.
His
love for the Ashram of Sri Gurudev is indescribable. The Swamijis from the
Sivananda Ashram he welcomed to his place as though gods themselves have come.
Such was the veneration he had for the Swamijis of the Ashram whenever they went
to Virnagar for any reason. During the Birthdays of Sri Swami Chidanandaji
Maharaj, President of The Divine Life Society he used to conduct beautiful
programmes, with Poor Feeding, Cultural Programmes, etc., in the night. When Sri
Swami Krishnanandaji from the Ashram went there once, he was received with such
affection that he allotted a special car, a driver and a cook personally, to see
that the Swamiji from the Ashram has no inconvenience of any kind in freely
visiting wherever he wished to go and an exceptional love was poured on him. We
do not know whether he treated us as his Gurubhais or as our loving father or
grandfather Without doubt, Late Dr Adhvaryooji Maharaj was himself an embodiment
of love, service and compassion, Verily the lines of H W Longfellow apply to
this great soul: -
“Lives of great
men all remind us
We can make our
lives sublime,
And, departing,
leave behind us
Footprints on the
sands of time.”
This article is reproduced from Divine Life Magazine
Sant Adhvaryoo, an Embodiment of Indian Ideal
H. H. Swami Chidananda
Our
Matru bhumi, Bharatvarsha is unique among the numerous countries of our world.
The ancient past of our motherland has more predominantly spiritual rather than
political, social or otherwise. Even geographically speaking, the Hindu view of
our mother country considered all its forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, towns,
cities and villages as sacred spots, spiritual in their character and worthily
of reverence almost to the point of worshipfulness Much of this sanctity
attributed to them is because of their being associated with one or, other
Divine incarnations of God Himself This factor in itself namely, God incarnating
Himself as an Avatara, constitutes still another uniqueness of India Gurudev
Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj used to frequently say that India is a sacred land
where God realisation is the goal of life. He used to affirm that India is the
land where sages and seers abound. It is the land of Ganga and Himalayas,
Upanishads and the Gita.
In
this our mother country, in this present twentieth century, India had an
illustrious son in Dr Bhanubhai Adhvaryoo generally referred to by a large
number of people as Sant Adhvaryoo in Gujarat Saurashtra Territory. He was born
in a little village named Bandra, some eight miles away from the city of Gondal
which was the capital of a native princely state of the same name. Very many
times, I have visited and toured throughout Gujarat, Saurashtra area due to it
containing numerous branches of of Gurudev's Divine Life Society, thanks to the
devoted and dedicated efforts of Dr. Adhvaryoo Sahib. From these visits and my
close mingling with the pious people of this part of western India. I have come
to recognize that Sant Adhvaryoo is verily a “VibhutiPurusha “ God alone can
say what all blessed and auspicious “sat karmas “this soul accumulated in a
previous birth ! I wonder about this when I consider how from his very birth he
was endowed with such a wealth of good samskars and virtuous vasanas that from
his earliest of young age he manifested his noble nature in the form of spotless
character perfect good conduct, obedience to elders and teachers . selflessness,
friendliness towards all and innate urge to help others and benefit everyone.
He was pointed out as a model both at school and his own home as well. As
he grew up his keen desire to relieve human suffering and confer happiness upon
others made him choose medical profession as his career. in this field of
humanitarian work he laboured incessantly right till the very last days of his
Life. In this field of humanitarian work during his long period covering nearly
half a century that his divine qualities began to manifest them selves in
diverse ways his thought, speech and action. People beheld him as a veritable
embodiment of Bharat Varsha’s great
ideal of Dharmic Jivan and Paropakar Relieving human suffering other become the
main mission of his life, By his own personal example he inspired others to
follow such a way of life . During his long career he has changed the lives of
numerous people who came into contact with him.
Gurudev
Swami Sivanandaji admired Dr. Adhvaryoo's qualities of head and heart. He used
to refer to him as an ideal disciple . Gurudev pointed out to Dr Adhvaryoo and
told others, “you must follow him in your life and also emulate him in his
personal daily life. His life was such that it disproved the popular notion that
one cannot be vigourously engaged in the field of outer activity and
simultaneously lead an effective and progressive inner spiritual life. His life
was a combination of both dynamic action as well as continuous inner contact
with God. May his life become a perennial source of inspiration and guidance to
all people. His sublime memory will be cherished in the minds of all those who
have known him , for many years to come. His life proves that even in this Kali-
Yuga the divine vibhutis of god do manifest them selves if they can find a
worthy channel for their expression.
Jai
Sivananda!
Han
Om Tat Sat!
BAPUJI
- WHO NEVER LEFT VIRNAGAR
Tushar
Bhatt
(Former Senior Editor, The Times of India,
Ahmedabad.)
At
his age, most people would be bedridden, haunted by ailments and resigned to
depend on others to live. A few luckier ones would be a little better off they
could potter about. Some others would be physically in good shape, but their
mental faculties would begin to give in. Infirmity at an advanced age seems an
inexorable law of nature.
Dr.
Shivananda Adhvaryoo, who breathed his last in Rishikesh On 22nd October, 1998,
defied this law till his very last. At the ripe age of 92, he worked selflessly
in the cause of the ailing poor as if he were in a perpetual race against the
dock, determined to stay in front.
Heading
a 250 bed hospital at Virnagar a village of around 6,000 people, he seemed to
find rejuvenation in driving as hard as humanly possible. By the time he lefi
this world, more than three-and-a-half lakh eye operations had been performed by
the dedicated band of doctors, social workers and others, who seemed to blindly
follow Dr. Adhvaryoo, unmindful of little worldly rewards that would come their
way in walking in-the footsteps of this monk, unmindful of the physical
hardships, unmindful of an existence on the penumbra of the grab-all society of
today.
All
their sweat, sacrifices and hard work were inspired by Dr. Adhvaryoo, whose work
in eye care would remain a towering impossible to compete with in modern India.
Lakhs of people in Saurashtra, Gujarat and other parts of India owe their
eye-sight to his work, for which he charged not a penny. The service in the
cause of the needy eye patients had gone on for nearly half a century by the
time Bapuji, as Dr Adhvaryoo was universally known, chose to set sail for the
‘far shore” as he himself used to refer to man final departure from this
world.
The material details of what he did are themselves fascinating, but more so was the divine man who had become a living legend, and yet remained so unassuming that he had simply forgotten himself Only those who can attain that state of mind and soul are destined to be remembered for ever Bapuji, who had been holding Netra Yagna since mid-1940s, physically removed himself from our midst, but his spirit would always rejoice in every step taken for helping the needy.
Bapuji
was a monk, but he also had a modern mind. He would constantly update his own
medical knowledge, endeavor to obtain the latest equipment and ensure that the
patients at his no-cost hospital could be served as best as any wealthy man
would be.
What
has set Bapuji and his colleagues’ work here apart is the quality of the
medical work, and the courtesy and affection extended to the needy as if each
penniless was a millionaire, the patient in the world to be cared for The bane
of charity organizations often is they treat rest of the world as if it were
being obliged by a few uplifted souls. At Virnagar, even a casual visitor would
feel that he was an honoured guest and the hosts felt gratified for the
opportunity of serving them.
One
of the invisible achievements of Bapuji is that although his is a superior
organisation, manned by superior people, it has resolutely shunned a superiority
complex. Bapuji’s own letter-head -
he was a compulsive letter writer - carried the unusual
slogan -Manav
Seva Ej Prabhu Seva - Service to Mankind is Service to God. It was not an empty slogan; every
word rang true, rings true and hopefully will ring true now that Bapuji is no
more.
Bapuji
faced innumerable hardships, but always made
light of it. When he first came to Virnagar it was a hand-to-mouth existence,
with inadequate facilities, poor water supply and harsh living conditions. Yet,
the Virnagar complex developed into a most modern eye care hospital, attracting
favourable response even from the normally fastidious Swiss.
Money
matters a lot for charity institutions, but never was it a cause for worry.
Bapuji used to say: “Given a worthy
cause, money always pours from somewhere or the other “Nor would he agree to
make compromise in services owing to money A special feature of the working at
Virnagar is that the hospital does not wait for the patients; it goes out to
them. Every month, at least 30 locations, some as far away as 200 km. are
visited by mobile units. The village level work is normally done in co-operation
with local workers and donors, but as Bapuji used to assert “we do not stop
from going to a place just because no donor comes forward.”
I met Bapuji in the autumn of his life I had never believed in Godmen and I was a sort of apprehensive. The picture is still very clearly itched in mind when I first saw him. It was beautiful day with the sun warm in a clear blue sky. He spoke to me as if we had known each other for ages. In the first visit, his work impressed me,
in
the second the man himself fascinated me. I must have paid him a number of
visits over the past few years, yet I cannot say I had seen all of his
multifaceted personality. My cynicism got wiped out completely at least as far
as Bapuji was concerned.
Some
years ago, he got interested in education. Having started a high school at
Virnagar earlier, he had realised that if society were to improve it first
needed an improvement in education. And, education could not improve, if the
standard of the school teachers were not bettered. It was imperative to do
something. The idea of holding camps for trainees at education colleges, where
students were training to become teachers sprang from this. He once explained
that “if we can interest ten pupils training to become teachers and helped
them become even a wee bit better teachers in years to come, thousands of
students will benefit in turn.” He was right. But, some like me, wondered if
it was not a drop in the ocean. It was, Bapuji readily conceded, but that did
not mean even that one drop should not be added to make the matters better This
perhaps was the corner stone of his karm yoga no matter how daunting was the
task, Bapuji would contribute his mite, regardless ofthe results. The gigantic
nature of the problem never deterred him; nor did
it ever undermine the quality of his effort, his zeal, his toiling.
I
have known many sadhus and mahatma, but Bapuji was the only person I have ever
known who could be called a real karm yogi. It was not his words that made you
think of him as a saint; it was his work Till the end, he never gave up hard
work, keeping as fit as a person 30 years younger would dream of being. His
recipe as simple; get up early do some yogabhyas, some exercise, work, work and
work, not for personal benefit but for the benefit of others. Set apart some
time for offering a soulful prayer to the Almighty. “If you learn to take care
of others with a full heart, God will take care of you.”
On
August 15, l998, I came to Virnagar unaware that this was to be my last meeting
with Bapuji. He took us -
me, my wife Hansa and my mother Manjula, -personally to
Ghela Somnath. In the morning, as the world lay bathed in tranquility, Bapuji
asked me to accompany him into his room in the old house where he had started
living when he came to Virnagar first.
At
the back was a small cupboard full of books. “Pick up any books you want”,
he said. I took four He then spoke to me for nearly 45 minutes, on the meaning of
life on God, on everything under the sun. He had always shunned talking about
himself but on that day at my pestering, he made an exception, a rare gesture of
recalling his early years and struggles. In measured tones, not betraying any
emotions he spoke glowingly of how others had helped him. Never did he take
credit personally for anything. God guided him, he said, and his Guru provided
spiritual sustenance.. Good people gave their money Everybody chipped in and he
was a mere instrument only, he said. In my three decades of journalism, I have
never met a man who had done more than what Bapuji did, although I have met
countless who had done a tiny bit and claimed Himalayan credits. Bapuji was a
living example of an egoless person, something that separates mere mortals from
the divine.
he
said: “I would like to go for a last visit to Rishikesh, the abode of Swami
Shivananda. God willing, I will come back. I may not. Who knows? ”His eyes
twinkled, with what in retrospect I think was a celestial shine. I was leaving
for Ahmedabad in a few hours. He affectionately placed his right hand on my hand
by way of blessings. This again was, as I realised later, something he had never
done.
Bapuji never came back from Rishikesh. But, then, I fondly think he had never left Virnagar For, I think Bapuji was a man of God.
There
was no rancor or regret in his ancient voice. There neither was any tiredness.
His dream was to work harder now that he was getting on in age. “If I live up
to 2000 A.D. I would love to reduce blindness rate owing to cataract further in
Saurashtra. I would also like to hold more camps for the B .Ed students.”
Then, afar-away look came over his face. Slowly,
By Dr J. N. Kaihan (Dehradun)
Bapuji
used to say “you judge a person
life the way he dies”“.
It
was a beautiful day, slightly cloudy sky, along the banks of turbulent Ganges, a
back drop of giant Himalayan range and sun was just about to rise behind the
hills. The funeral fire was being lit by half a dozen saffron clad sadhus.
Flames were rising gently in to heavens, he lay on it, motionless going up in
thin air wishing us all goodbye. He was still alive in our heart, A perfect shot
right out of settings of mythological movie.
Evening
before, he had taken just sixty minutes to complete the process. Without a word
of complaint, no frown on his forehead, His pulses which had beaten incessantly
all of ninety three remarkable years gradually, gently faded away till he was
gone, smiling, surrounded by all family members with wet eyes.
Dr
Shivananda Adhvaryoo was a giant among men. All his life mission can be
summarised in one word. “SEVA". Service
to as many people possible, in as much ways as possible and for as long as a
time as he could possibly carry on. He would drive three hundred kilometers in a
day to attend the inauguration of an eye camp, travel another one twenty
kilometers to visit a boy ‘s hostel, drive back the same evening. While we who
had the privilege of accompanying him on a few of such jaunts would be exhausted
after so much hot travel. He would say “you go and rest. How many lakhs of
people are seeing today directly because he spared not a moment in doing all
that he was able to achieve in his half century of missionary zeal. Whether it
was an eye camp in such remote places as adivasis forest in Madhyapradesh
or Uttarkashi and of course length and breadth of Gujarat. Or he may be out fund
raising in USA. or meeting certain officials in bureaucracy for concessional
import of equipment, prevention of blindness though was his first love. He also
involved himself in de-addiction, education and Spirituality.
Great
men are mentors that consume themselves to light the earth. You could not tell
that he cannot see. The way he walked and carried himself.
But Jam least bit bothered about it were his words. He had no time for himself In fact his “self” had vanished decades ago. His was a human body whose soul had merged with the universe. An embodiment of compassion. Love for all nothing for himself Swami Yagnavalkyananda had attained saint hood in this very life.
By
Swami Gurudevananda
Divine Life Society Of Maryland U.S.A
With
great regret I received the news of the passing of Swami Yagavalkyananda
Maharaj, previously known as Dr B. G. Adhvryoo from Virnagar Gujarat. Swami
Adhyatmanandaji, who is presently touring the USA., informed me on Oct. 22nd
about the circumstances of Bapuji's death. It seems so significant how his earth
life came to an end. Visiting the Ashram during Diwali, surrounded by family and
friends, having had Darshan of Swami Chidanandaji, he passed away on that
evening at his beloved Ashram Hospital in silent cardiac arrest. His last rights
were performed by Mother Ganges at Sivananda Ashram in the holy presence of Sri
Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj.
I
met Dr Adhvaryoo (Bapuji as I endearingly called him) for the first time in 1957
when I was invited to witness the opening of an eye camp held at the Sivananda
Hospital. Gurudev Sivananda himself came to inaugurate the camp with prayers and
blessings and was to observe the first operation. The team of doctors and nurses
was impressive. Someone pointed out to me, that the very tall and slender doctor
was Dr B. G. Adhvaryoo from Virnagar, Gujarat, who came frequently to the Ashram
to conduct free eye clinics. I was in awe and watched the good doctor ‘s every
move. A nurse prepared the first patient and Dr Adhvaryoo himself administered
the anesthetic. As he proceeded with the needle to the eye of the patient I
fainted. Needless to say, I was greatly embarrassed about this event. It
certainly seemed clear to me that I was not capable to volunteer for any medical
work From that time on I stayed away from the hospital and engaged myself in my
spiritual studies.
It was only in 1970 in Valmorin, Canada that I met Bapuji again and this time under quite different circumstances. While visiting Swami Vishnudevananda's Yoga camp I heard Bapuji giving a spiritual discourse on Raja Yoga. His presentation was so natural, matter of fact and genuine that it left a great impression on me. When I asked to meet with him, he was very kind and accepted my invitation to visit us in Harriman, NY, which then was our residence and branch of the Divine Life Society. Bapuji loved Harriman. He often mentioned in his letters to me that he received energy and inspiration from that sanctuary. The natural and beautiful setting of Harriman reminded Bapuji of an ancient Indian hermitage.
He
felt completely at home sitting under the old maple tree instructing us in the
Yoga sutras. For the week Bapuji stayed with us he took a rare break from being
the “prominent eye surgeon” and revealed himself as the great Yogi and Rishi
he really was. We spent several days in study, satsang and meditation and
developed a strong spiritual bond. Bapuji truly became a father figure to our
family Before Bapuji left Harriman we were able to collect some funds for his
work and he was able to make some beneficial connections with the medical
community. He was totally dedicated to his cause. He mentioned once, “ my mind
is fully engrossed in doing the utmost in the best possible way for the blind in
India. But What can a creature like me alone do in this direction? It is just
like trying to empty the ocean with a small bowl. It only satisfies the bowl
that it is doing something. I am highly obliged to you and your friends for the
great help in the cause of the blind. Your help cannot be valued in coins “.
During
my second stay at Sivananda Ashram in late summer of 1971 had matured and was gratefully
able to be a helper in Bapuji's eye camp it was a rich experience for me to
learn about the working of a great man. We were all recruited at 5:00am for
morning prayers and proceeded to the operation room where long lines of patients
were waiting to receive surgery. Bapuji worked ceaselessly in total dedication
to his Gurudev Swami Sivananda and Gurudev's grace was ever flowing in whatever
direction Bapuji was moving What a joy it was to witness the smiling faces after
had received their sight again. At the completion of the camp, Bapuji invited me
to come to Virnagar to show me his hospital and the wider workings of the
Sivananda Mission On route he lovingly arranged for me to visit many historical
connected with the life of Lord Krishna.
In
the 1980, Bapuji visited the U.S.A. again to meet with some doctors who would
help his cause. and some friends and supporters. All of them joined us for a
spiritual retreat and we enjoyed once more Bapuji ‘s instruction and spiritual
guidance During this period I was privileged to serve as Bapuji's driver to
facilitate his meetings with his colleagues. It was a great honor and happy
occasion for me to be able to serve Bapuji rather than to be on the receiving
side.
prior
to the Centenary Celebrations in 1987 Bapuji organized a Yatra to Badrinath and
Gangotri and invited me to join his party ft was my first
pilgrimage to the sacred shrines in the Himalayas. His great
organizational skills and constant caring for the welfare of all made this
pilgrimage very special. Bapuji was a great provider Whenever he appeared things
somehow manifested. He inherited this blessing from Gurudev. Gurudev's grace
radiated through him.
In
1997 when I visited the Ashram for the Christmas-New Year Retreat, Bapuji was to
arrive in early January for a visit. I had heard that Bapuji had become blind .
. . lost his sight! How cold this happen to a man who has given sight to
thousands? I was eagerly awaiting his arrival at the Ashram. A bad cold kept me
down and I was resting for several days. I did not know if Bapuji had arrived,
but was overcome by a strong urge to run down the mountain and to Gujarat Bhavan
to find out for myself if he had arrived. As I looked down the cliff I saw
Bapuji and his party walking slowly on the long road which leads to the upper
levels of the Ashram. I almost flew off the cliff trying to catch up with them
only to find out that they were on their way to visit me because they heard that
I was not keeping well. So deeply was I touched that tears rolled down my
cheeks. We all went back to Gujarat Bhavan to enjoy our reunion and caught up
with past events. Never once did Bapuji complain or have any regrets about his
blindness. He seemed perfectly adjusted to his circumstances. He felt my
presence, held my hand and spoke and acted as he always did. It was just
remarkable to me The next day he asked me to go with him to Rishikesh to attend
an eye camp. Heavy rains flooded the roads and we were delayed for two hours in
reaching the camp sight. This time Bapuji was not operating any more. His team
of doctors had taken over It was his presence now that brought relief to the
suffering. When Dr Sahib was present, everything was all right.
For
several years Bapuji had asked me to visit Virnagar again It was not possible
for me to fulfill this request When Swami Adhyatmanandaji was visiting in August
we were reminiscing about Bapuji and I was seriously considering visiting
Virnagar on Bapuji's 93rd birthday.
On
October 22nd I received Bapuji's letter.
“l
am so pleased that you are visiting us. It will be after several years that
Virnagar will be blessed by your presence. There is no limit of my pleasure from
within because Swami Gurudevananda (my dearest Sita Frenkel) will be visiting
our institution “.
On October 22nd evening I received the news that Bapuji had reached his divine abode.
Dr.
P. N. Nagpal
(Ahmedabad)
For me it is an honour and a feeling of pride to have known Bapujee -Dr S. Adhvaryoo. He was a walking saint on this earth with compassion for all. His contribution to alleviation of blindness is unmatched and has been an outstanding feature of his life . I have had the good luck to attend number of eye camp where he was operating. Most of the time I was deputed by government to attend them. It was a rule that a doctor from teaching institutions must attend the eye camps. It was a treat to see him doing surgery. In those days intra capsular surgery was in vogue. The ease with which he used to slide out the cataractous lens as a whole was a learning experience. He was first of the few who started suturing the wound after the large wound intra capsular surgery. He was not an eye surgeon alone, knew general surgery too. In one of the eye camps at Shishu Vihar, Bhavanagar an operated patient of cataract developed retention of Urine due to prostate enlargement. Bapujee operated him for that too and it was very well.
He
was the first to accept the change to extra-capsular surgery & implantation
of intra ocular lens. That reflected his major quality of “open to correction
“and change “He wanted to help the cause of training the young eye surgeons.
Through the kind help of the then vice chancellor of Saurashtra University (It
was Shri Dolor Bhai Mankad I think) he got a rotation of students to Virnagar He
helped many to learn.
In
Indian mythology there is a mention of three stages of achievement of a thing
First is to know about that thing. second is to have seen and experienced it and
thirdly to have become that thing Dr Adhvaryoo - “the Bapujee” had become
light himself. His presence, his work, his blessings enlightened others. he was
a living legend and adored by one and all around him.
Humanity as a whole & the people in the vicinity of our state of Gujarat in particular are indebted to him for the services rendered in the field of cataract surgery and making our state a cataract backlog free state of the country.
Shri
Ashok Mehta
(International Association of Lions Club)
Forty
years back, in a small tribal village on the Gujarat and Maharashtra, a place
called Dharampur which originally a princely state that I met an eye surgeon
whom I had never occasion to meet before but had heard a lot about.
It was more to meet him rather than attend the camp that Dr Sunderlal Shroff Chairman, Charak Foundation took me there. I was never sure that in the month of December when it is cold the work stared 4 o’clock in the morning. Dr Shroff and I shared a small shanty room in the school building and he woke me up at 3.30 a.m. We hastily got ready and when we went near the theatre, the lamp was already lit and Dr Adhvaryoo was instructing his assistants for the arrangements. The surgery started and the patients slowly were going in like an assembly shop in a car manufacturing company It was certainly the first experience of mine and the way methodically and systematically the patients started coming in, carried out, patients taken out in a couple of minutes in a stretcher back to their bed.
The
dream still continues in my mind, the devotion and dedication, the team, the
system, the administration. Since then it became a religion for me and my family
to go, every year to one camp and later on I started addressing Dr Adhvaryoo as
Bapuji. To spend a few days in the camp was rewarding. When I used to come back
after working hard for the camp, there was never a fatigue overworks or burden.
I used to go back fresh even after the type of involvement and participation
that I used to watch during the camp.
I was
sure and I could make out from the faces of the patients and their relatives
that they were getting a touch of divinity.
Subsequently
whenever I met him during the camps along with his team, I always used to admire
his capacity to stand and operate for hours together Sometimes I used to wonder
from where he this extraordinary energy. To many of his admirers he was
certainly a great source of inspiration.
For me and some of my Lion friends such as Dr Pathak, Mr Vaman Mehta and Mr Suresh Mehta; it is certainly a personal loss. I wish and pray that we have many more Bapuji in the world to reverse the process of blindness.
Shri
Chandrakant Doshi
An
affectionate pat, a warm welcome, a purposeful discussion these no more will be
there for me to claim from Swami Yagnavalkyanandaji. Bapuji as we lovingly
called him is no more with us. His warmth of heart irresistibly drew you to him,
to share, to participate, to perform and above all to learn the joy of selfless
service as you rise above personal motivations. Bapuji has left behind a sense
of personal loss. An endearing presence is lost forever.
I
came in contact with him six years back when I visited Shivananda Mission in
1992 with my cousin Shri J. H Doshi who had taken deep interest in the
activities of the Mission. Saintly presence of Swamiji impressed me. Though
being simplicity itself there was a hidden strength that held your attention and
drew you to him.
As my association with him grew so did my admiration It turned into reverence. He reminded me of bygone Gandhian era when people were known for their character and claimed respect for something greater than themselves that they represented while serving the nation.
Three-four
years back, when I visited Shivananda Mission for the first time, as a Trustee,
Swamiji came to receive me at Rajkot Airport. When I saw him patiently waiting
for me in the lounge, I was taken aback I told him “Bapuji, why did you take
so much trouble to receive me here “. The
soft reply came “This is what I do when a new trustee visits for the first
time “. My deep regret now is that I
failed to know him more intimately I missed the opportunity to learn at his feet
the wisdom that he possessed. When you own such a man like him hope for the
future of the country is rekindled and you feel that all is not yet lost Anyway
I believe that goodness can prevail if sufficient
number of persons think and work for others, That cohesive strength of the
society arising out of innumerable small actions of ordinary persons which is
holding the society together and keeps the nation growing.
Bapuji indeed lived a full life. A sage in dedication informing us of the promise that life holds for all of us only we can overcome the demands of self, such a man like him needs not the usual prayer that “May his soul rest in peace “. He radiated peace while living. His soul will no doubt scale new heights in spirituality fusing together in universality of spirit of service for all living beings with worship of god in a cosmic vision of love that is all embracing.
Latest Additions.........
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Sivananda Yoga (Yoga DVD)
Atam Mahek (Gujarati) / Fragrance ( English) - Swami Adhyatmananda |
Yoga, A Way of Life - Sri Swami Adhyatmananda
"Yoga and Health" - a complete book with Question & Answer section by Sri Swami Adhyatmananda
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