Yoga will become tomorrow’s culture and will show a new way of life to mankind.
—Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati
The timeless traditions of Yoga and Tantra were set in motion by the ancient sages. Being a visionary with wisdom far beyond his times, Swami Satyananda, adapted their ancient techniques and modified them to serve the needs of modern living. Respecting the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of people, Bihar Yoga / Satyananda Yoga is a holistic science incorporating Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Kriya Yoga, and Tantra.
Yoga integrates the understanding of life at every level; beginning with the physical plane. It harmonizes the physical body, through the breath goes deeper to reach the mind. Over time, the practice leads to the realization that fulfilment lies within the body and not without.
Satyananda Yoga Tradition
The Satyanada Yoga tradition has at its core, the original teachings of the seers and yogis given over the ages to address modern lifestyles, as formulated by Swami Satyananda, the founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. This gentle, yet powerful system addresses the person as a whole, along with his environment and with yoga as the central theme – a way of life.
Many branches of yoga like Hatha yoga, Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga are incorporated into this, spanning a range of practices from asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, shatkarma, mantra, japa, ajapa japa, yama-niyama, practices of pratyahara and dharana such as yoga nidra, antar mouna, chidakasha dharana, hridayakasha dharana, and so on.
The first phase of Satyananda Yoga / Bihar Yoga from 1963 onwards focused on spreading the message of yoga from door to door and shore to shore. The second phase, which was launched in 2013 at the World Yoga Convention held in Munger, aims to make yoga a lifestyle. The focus has thus shifted from spreading yoga from door to door to practising yoga on a moment to moment basis – covering both aspects of space and time.
The Satyananda Yoga tradition is committed to integrating spiritual growth as an essential aspect of yoga. This is done in a contemporary way, giving a fresh and dynamic approach to the spiritual path, which resonates with modern-day living.
The guru-disciple relationship is not of today and tomorrow or of this life only – it goes on and on.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Swami Sivananda was born in 1887 in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and practised as a medical doctor in Malaya. When he received an inner calling to serve and uplift others through the spiritual life, he returned to India and travelled to Rishikesh. Here he was initiated into Dashanami Sannyasa by Swami Vishwananda Saraswati. After years of rigorous sadhana, he founded the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, from where he developed yoga as a practical, integrated subject that everyone could apply in their lives.
Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati
Swami Satyananda was not just spiritual guide to millions but was also a social reformer. He was responsible for inspiring people to live their lives productively and righteously in the outer world as much as in the inner world. He was given a mandate by his Guru Swami Sivananda Saraswati, ‘to spread yoga from door to door and shore to shore’. He systematized and brought into the public domain innumerable practices from ancient Yogic and Tantric scriptures making them accessible to the modern world. Swami Satyananda established the Bihar School of Yoga, Rikhiapeeth and numerous ashrams and institutions across the world. Atma Darshan Yogashram is one of these.
Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Saraswati
Swami Niranjanananda came to live at the Bihar School of Yoga at the age of four. At the age of 11, he was initiated into Dashanami Sannyasa. Thereafter, he lived and travelled overseas. He returned to India in 1983 to take up the role of heading the Bihar School of Yoga. In this period he worked to ensure the continuity of the classical traditions of yoga and sannyasa. In 2009, he established Sannyasa Peeth, where the ideals of sannyasa can be integrated into the fabric of life in a practical way.
Following his Guru’s mandate, Swami Niranjanananda relinquished all institutional responsibilities in 2008. He is now living as an independent sannyasin, engaged in the lifestyle of tyaga, higher vedic sadhanas and other disciplines of a paramahamsa sannyasin, and devotes his time to the development of yoga and sannyasa.
Bihar School of Yoga
The Bihar School of Yoga was set up in 1963 in Munger, Bihar, by Sri Swami Satyananda. Its aim was to provide yogic training to all who came there. It also aimed to revive the ancient yogic practices and to develop techniques that combined the ancient sciences with modern-day physical and mental health practices, to address the person as a whole. Currently, the Bihar School of Yoga continues to guide yoga research projects in different fields. Their training programs are used in educational institutions, the medical field, in prisons and in corporate houses. In keeping with the second phase and in tune with the concept of Yoga Chakra, the ashram offers courses in Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga and Kriya Yoga. Other courses such as Ashram Life and Health Management are offered separately throughout the year.
Envisioned by Sri Swami Satyananda, Sannyasa Peeth came into being in December 2010 on the first anniversary of his Mahasamadhi. Following the mandate of his Guru, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati set up Sannyasa Peeth on the banks of the river Ganga, to establish the spiritual teachings of sannyasa as a lifestyle.
Sannayasa as a lifestyle aims to expand the mind so as to develop human potential to its fullest extent. Under his inspiration and guidance, Sannyasa Peeth makes the teachings, values and ideals of sannyasa accessible to all.
Rikhiapeeth is where Swami Satyananda lived the life of a Paramahansa Yogi for twenty years performing long and arduous yogic sadhanas before taking Mahasamadhi here in 2009. In keeping with the yogic and spiritual legacy he left behind, the sprawling ashram has evolved into a vibrant epicentre where sincere spiritual seekers from all walks of life flock to experience the peace, harmony and joy of following an ashram lifestyle and working to uplift the lives of others.