In the last four days the environment of this town and the land of Munger has been vibrant with yoga. This land has already been sanctified by the pious goddess Ganga, who constantly washes away our sins and purifies our minds. It is the pride of Munger to have the northward flowing mother Ganga as its deity. In the form of her blessings, the ‘Ganga of yoga’, has been flowing here for the last four days and will continue to flow in the future, to contribute continuously to the welfare of the masses. This is the aim of yoga because everybody wants peace, spiritual peace, internal peace. Man always searches for peace, but that search is externally oriented towards the attractions, to objects of sensory pleasure.
As our most our most respected Swami Vidyanandaji Giri Maharaj, Acharya of Brahma Vidya Peeth, put it yesterday, “If you want real peace and internal bliss in your life, then first of all conquer the mind.” This sentence of his can in fact become a guide for us all. Also our respected master Paramahamsa Satyananda used to say, “There is no peace in the caves of the Himalayas and no chaos in the main Munger market.” If you cannot control your mind, you will find no peace in those caves and forests of the Himalayas, and if you can keep your mind still, then you will maintain and feel peace even in the middle of the chaotic main market. The message of yoga is the same. In the last few days, so many saints, thinkers, intellectuals and scientists have come here to deliver only one message, which is that the objects of sensory pleasure will continue to exert their attraction in the world, that can never be eradicated. As long as we fail to develop control over the mental faculties, we shall continue to experience duality and as long as we experience duality we will have to face pleasure and pain, peace and chaos.
Engrossment in worldliness ultimately leads a man to physical sickness and makes him diseased. It also makes his mind sick and his thoughts shallow. As a result his behaviour is directed towards the fulfilment of selfish motives and not towards evolution. As long as he is desiring the fulfilment of selfish interests, he can never be healthy, contented, balanced and at peace, physically, mentally and spiritually. Therefore, for the alleviation of all kinds of sufferings, whether they are psychosomatic, physical, heaven sent dooms or even spiritual sufferings, we will have to adopt a singular path. That path is of awareness, of endeavour, purushartha and karma, the path of yoga.
If you study the Narada Bhakti Sutra you will find that bhakti has been mentioned as a part of yoga and yoga is mentioned, as part of bhakti. If you study the Gita, you will discover that karma is mentioned as a part of yoga and yoga is mentioned as a part of karma. If you study Patanjali Yoga Sutras, there also you will find meditation and sadhana. This denotes that yoga is not a practice which is separate from our life stream. It is intimately related to the human lifestyle.
This path is what is being taught throughout the whole world, and humanity will never forget the services of those dedicated to such a mission. This is a unique gift to humanity. This is an unparalleled system of thought, unmatched endeavour of purushartha and karma. These were the goals and teachings our paramguru, most respected Swami Sivanandaji, pointed towards when he instructed Paramahamsa Satyananda to spread the message of yoga from shore to shore and from door to door. He told him, “Remember, do not involve yourself in the job that you do and expect the fruits of your actions like worldly people do. Perform your actions, but renounce their fruits. Do the actions but renounce the actions also. Do not keep an attachment with them.” This message glowed brightly like a flame in the entire life of respected gurudev. The fruits of actions have to be renounced but also renounce any attachment to action itself. That is why, to remember this great resolution of renunciation, we are celebrating this Tyag Golden Jubilee Convention.