"一位真正偉大的人, 他從不知道自己是偉大的."

這句話是出自 簡單 內心充滿喜悅與無限智慧的 "Swami Satyananda Saraswati"

這人是誰呢?

他就是印度 “Bihar School” 的創辦人, 一輩子致力以實驗科學精神來研究與推廣瑜珈. 在年輕時後遊遍大江南北, 週遊列國推展與教導瑜珈. 他個人出版了許多專業的瑜珈書籍, 是現代許多瑜珈教學機構的教科參考用書. 敬稱他為瑜珈一代宗師, 應該是當之有過而無不及.  

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但是沒有想到才開始接觸他, 才搞清原來大師已走了好幾年了. 這些年來修習瑜珈所遵循與參考的教科書大部份都是大師的著作. 可以說在學習瑜珈的路上, 他是一直跟著我的, 一直活在我的生活裏與生命裏, 從沒有離開過. 可能是視他的存在如自己的一位親人, 這樣地理所當然. 沒想到正想要進一步了解他, 他竟然早已駕鶴西歸, 不禁心中無限嘆然與婉惜.

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承蒙德里老爹之於我的疼愛, 他為我訂了自己最喜愛Bihar School所出版的雜誌, 打算要與我討論其中文章的哲思與教學. 上個月我從台灣回來, 一進門就看到一大疊去年全年Bihar School 雜誌已經躺在我的床頭, 等待我的翻閱.

沒想到這一翻閱, 我就栽進去了. 活在Swami 的每個字, 每個句子之中. 每篇都是他用生命經驗去換來的寶貴知識. 有技術, 有方法, 有感想, 有智語, 有他的生活, 與生命. 以前讀地都是他的教科書, 而現在~~讀的卻是他的””生命””.  讓我覺得好似真正地接觸到了他, 走進了他, 感覺到了~他.   

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我遲緩的腦子, 真地無法清處地表達這位太”豐富”的Swamiji (對和尚的尊稱).  也不知道自己是否可以有這個資格來談論他(俗人一個) 或是可以清處地記述與表達他的教學, 因此遲遲好久不敢下筆. 但終究還是敵不住自個對Swamiji深深崇敬的愛戀, 同時也希望藉著我的筆能夠因應Swamiji最深的期盼~~ 將瑜珈擴展出去. 讓眾生的身心靈都有機會得到瑜珈如陽光般的滋潤.  

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Swami Satyananda 十八歲就出家, 一生追隨 Swami Sivananda 師父修習瑜珈. 見到年輕時的他與師父的合照, 不禁讓我動容. 在那麼年少就堅定了自己的信念, 拋棄家人, 遠離家鄉,  這是要怎樣大的決心? 我的眼中有淚. 　

下面是在Wikipedia百科全書中收尋到關於Swamiji Satyananda Saraswati 的一生大概記述 :

Life

Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born 1923 at Almora (Uttaranchal) in the foothills of the Himalayas, into a family of farmers and zamindars.^[3]

As a youth he was classically educated and studied Sanskrit, the Vedas and the Upanishads. Swami Satyananda began to have spiritual experiences at the age of six, when his awareness spontaneously left the body and he saw himself lying motionless on the floor. Many saints and sadhus blessed him and reassured his parents that he had a very developed awareness. This experience of disembodied awareness continued, which led him to many saints of that time such as Anandamayi Ma. Swami Satyanada also met a tantric bhairavi, Sukhman Giri, who gave him shaktipat and directed him to find a guru in order to stabilize his spiritual experiences.^[4]

At age eighteen, he left his home in order to seek a spiritual master. In 1943 at the age of nineteen, Swami Satyananda met his guru Swami Sivananda and came to live at Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh. Swami Sivananda gave him the name Satyananda and initiated him as a Paramahamsa sannyasin of the Dashnama sannyasa order, on the banks of the river Ganges on September 12, 1947. Swami Sivananda described him as a ‘versatile genius’ who ‘did the work of four people’. Swami Satyananda served in different departments at the ashram for over 12 years. He did physical labor, edited the ashram's Hindi journal, wrote various articles and composed poems in both Hindi and Sanskrit. He wrote a translation and commentary in the English language of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad by Swami Sivananda.

In 1956 after receiving the instruction from his Guru to spread yoga from door to door and shore to shore, Swami Satyananda he wandered throughout India as a mendicant parivrajaka traveling through Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma and Ceylon for the next 7 years, extending his knowledge of spiritual practices. He eventually found his way to Munger, in the province of Bihar. After establishing himself there, in 1963 he founded the International Yoga Fellowship and the Bihar School of Yoga a year later.^[5]

He lectured and taught globally for the next twenty years, including tours in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, North America, and Colombia and authored over thirty textbooks on yoga and spiritual life. By 1983 Bihar School of Yoga was well established and recognized throughout the world as a reputed and authentic center for learning yoga and the spiritual sciences.

 At the peak of his accomplishment, Swami Satyananda renounced all that he created. He handed the active work of his ashram and organization to his spiritual successor Swami Niranjanananda and in 1988 departed from Munger, never to return again.^[6] On 23 September 1989 he arrived at Rikhia, Deoghar, Jharkhand to live in seclusion ^[7] as a Paramahamsa Sannyasin, and perform Vedic sadhanas including panchagni, an austerity performed before five blazing fires outdoors during the hottest months of the year as described in the Satpatha Brahmanas and Kathopanishad.^[8] At Rikhia Swami Satyananda conducted a 12-year Rajasooya Yajna^[9] which began in 1995 with the first Sat Chandi Maha Yajna,^[10] invoking the Cosmic Mother through a tantric ceremony. During this event, Swami Satyananda passed on his spiritual and sannyasa sankalpa to Swami Niranjanananda.^[11] On 5 December 2009, he died at Rikhiapeeth, Jharkhand.^[9]

他在功成名就, 事業的最高峰的時後喧告影退. 將名下所有創辦的機構, 學校,與避靜所交給他的繼承者 Swami Niranjanananda. 在1988 離開 Munger之後, 就再也沒有回去過.

該盡的責任盡了, 該做的工作做了, 該是放下了放下了, 該走的時後走了…..

~~~圓滿的一生, 帶著上主的祝福, 喜悅的心,,,, 好好地活過每一天. 我似乎又看到Swamiji充滿喜悅的笑容, 揮揮手,,, 向我們告別.    

後記:

為了選一首適合這篇文的音樂 耗費了我一個晚上 也沒有選到自己心中中意的 最後才決定將這首輕柔的"Somewhere in time"作了此文的背景音樂 如今再度欣賞卻覺得這首音樂的所表達的柔美 與情境 正是適合 Swami Satyananda 那個已逝去的年代再也不過了

Somewhere in time:

那個時代之於我們就如一部老舊的黑白電影 彷彿中看到一位年輕英俊 臉上總帶著快樂笑容的Swamiji 在山林中的河邊挑水 在花園中鋤草 在印刷房作工 在師父的跟前 隨前隨後 .....