This honour has been received for the work in yoga, and the work in yoga and the propagation of yoga vidya, the knowledge and science of yoga, was commenced by our paramguru, Swami Sivananda, in the decade of the 1940s. At that time no one knew what yoga was, and Swami Sivananda ploughed and prepared a barren land for cultivation.
After that, our guru, Swami Satyananda, sowed the seeds of yoga vidya and spiritual awareness in the soil that had been prepared by Swami Sivananda, and nurtured the saplings as they grew. Thus, the important work was done by these two visionaries, and we in the third generation are merely distributing the harvest in society. It is not our hard work. We are only trying to continue the work of our paramguru Swami Sivananda and our guru Swami Satyananda. Therefore this honour has been bestowed upon them, and we are receiving it on their behalf, since they are not present here. The honour is theirs, the achievement is theirs, the recognition is theirs, and in humility we accept it on their behalf.
The Padma honour also brings the responsibility to continue the sacred work of yoga and spirituality in the best way possible, so the vidya continues to reach all. I pray that God and guru give us the strength to achieve this.
May 2017, Munger