Steps to Yoga & Yoga Initiation Papers: Letters to Vishwaprem and Satyabrat

Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born in a small town near Almora in the foothills on the Himalayas. As a child he showed extraordinary qualities and had his first spiritual experience at the age of six. He was blessed by many sages and sadhus who passed by his home on their way to the higher Himalayan regions. They inspired in him an intense desire to reach the same spiritual heights and invoked in him a strong sense of vairagya which was remarkable for one so young. At the age of nineteen, he left his family and home to search for his guru. After some, he went to Rishikesh and their he met his spiritual master Swami Sivananda. During the twelve years he spent with karma yoga to such an extent that Swami Satynanda said he did the work of four people. Like an ideal disciple Swami Satyananda worked from dawn until late at night involving himself in every kind of work from cleaning to management of the ashram. Service to guru was his passion and his joy. Although he had a very keen intellect and his guru had described him as a 'Versatilegenius', Swami Satyananda's learning did not come from instruction or study in the ashram. He followed with faith his guru's one command "Work hard and you will be purified. You do not have to bring the light; the light will unfold from within you!" And this is what happened. He gained an enlightened understanding of the secrets of spiritual life and has since become a great authority onhatha yoga tantra and kundalini. After spending twelve years with his guru, Swami Satyananda took to parivrajaka life and wandered extensively for eight years traveling throughout India, to Afghnistan, Burma, Nepal and Ceylon. During this period he met many great saints and yogis, and he spent time in seclusion formulating and perfecting yogic techniques to alleviate the sufferings of humanity. In 1963 his mission became apparent and he founded the International Yoga Fellowship Movement and because his mission had been realized while he was staying in Munger, he settled there by the Ganga and founded the Bihar School of Yoga in order to help more people towards the spiritual Path. Before long students were coming from all over India and abroad and soon Swami Satyananda's teachings were rapidly spreading throughout the world. In 1968 he went on an extensive world tour popularizing the ancient yogic practices among the people of all castes creeds religions and nationalities. For the last twenty years he has been divinding his time between overseas tours Indian tours and residence at Munger. In 1984 Swami Satyananda founded two independent institutions to functions in coordination with the Bihar School, of Yoga namely 'Sivananda Math' and 'Yoga Research Foundation'. Sivananda Math, Which was founded in memory of his guru, Swami Sivananda, is a social and charitable institution, providing scholarships for higher education to the underprivileged sections of our society. Other projects of the Math include free medical aid an operating theatre and blood bank as well tube well digging rigs for providing water in rural areas. The Yoga research Foundation was established to conduct research into the ancient yogic and tantric techniques within the framework of modern science. The Foundation maintains an extensive research library and will be conducting investigations into various aspects of Yoga with the help of qualified scientists from with help of qualified scientists from all over the world.