Our guru Sri Swami Satyananda inspired three visions. The first vision is yoga, which indicates his devotion, dedication, obedience and surrender to the mandate of his guru. The yoga monument in Munger, which he established, developed and created, represents the spirit of yoga: devotion, dedication, surrender and conviction that 'I shall achieve, I shall overcome'.
The second vision of our guru has been realized in Rikhia. The monument which is visible and seen in Rikhia represents service, goodwill, love, compassion and giving. Rikhiapeeth is the monument of service and goodwill, of love, compassion and giving.
The third vision of our guru Sri Swami Satyananda is Sannyasa Peeth, which is taking birth. In the course of time, it will grow and manifest its sankalpa. This will be a monument dedicated to the transformation of the self, revival of the cultural and spiritual values in life, dedication and surrender to the Higher Will, and the zeal to be a part of human society and not isolate oneself under the guise and ambition of individual self-realization.
These are the three visions that have been inspired by our guru. You have been a part of the first vision for the past four or five days. You have been living the experience of the monument of yoga. You have been living the experience of the celebration of life. You have been living the experience of celebrating yoga in life. Today, I want to bring to your attention the second vision of our master, which at present is being carried forward by our own Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, who is sitting here beside me. This year, Swami Satsangi completes sixty years of her life. The Bihar School of Yoga is proud to offer its homage to Swami Satsangi as the carrier and the conductor of the shakti of our guru Sri Swami Satyananda, and also because she is his sankalpa putri. With great joy, I present this booklet dedicated to her, called Sankalpa Putri.
Do you know what is meant by sankalpa putri? Sankalpa is resolve, and putri is daughter. She is the daughter of Swami Satyananda's resolve, she is the daughter of Swami Satyananda's sankalpa. Swami Satyananda has given her three sankalpas which are the foundations of Rikhiapeeth. These three sankalpas are the teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda which Sri Swamiji lived all his life, and Sri Swamiji wants Swami Satsangi to be the inspiration behind their continuation in Rikhia. These sankalpas are: serve, love and give.
I have told you that Munger is the place where you become. Munger is the place where you practise and perfect the yoga of the rishis, and Rikhia is the place where you live and express the yoga of Swami Sivananda. Therefore, attaining and perfecting the disciplines of yoga, the vision of Patanjali, the vision of the rishis here in Munger; and expressing and being in Rikhia, where you live to express the best in you and connect with the higher mandate that God has given to each one of us through our guru.
Swami Satsangi is the inspiration of this vision, of this sankalpa. She has given thirty years of her life to the mission of Sri Swamiji. She is author of many books; all the bestseller books of our ashram are written by her, and she is my favourite authoress. She is also the hero of thousands and thousands of women, children and girls, not only in Rikhia, but also in the country and around the world.
It is a rare event when the male-dominated society recognizes a capable and qualified woman saint, a siddha. In the past there have been women of repute who have brought glory to the culture, to sadhana and to sannyasa. Such women include Gargi and Maitreyi of the vedic lore. Surprisingly enough, they lived in Bihar. Today, in the same line of tradition is Swami Satsangi, and surprisingly enough, she was also born in Bihar, born into sannyasa. Swami Satsangi has had three births. One at home, the second at the time of sannyasa, and the third when she was infused with the mandate of her guru and she became a paramahamsa.
This year we are celebrating her sixtieth birthday. What is the importance of the sixtieth birthday? Every sixty years, Jupiter, the ruling planet of the guru tattwa, and Saturn, the ruling planet of karma, come together in the same conjunction. This indicates that the two most important aspects of sannyasa life - connection with guru, and transcending karmas - reach a certain peak at this time. Today we are celebrating the shashtyabdapurti of our beloved Swami Satsangi.
- Felicitations and release of Sankalpa Putri, 27 October 2013, Polo Ground, Munger