The 128-year-long ascetic journey of Guru Shivanand Baba comes to an end

National News: An era came to an end. A tradition, which won yoga in breath, stopped. At the age of 128, Yoga Guru Padmashree Shivanand Baba breathed his last in Varanasi on Saturday night. He was not only a yoga teacher, but himself was a vibrant statue of yoga.

Last three days spent in hospital, bid farewell to calm

He was undergoing treatment at BHU Hospital for the last three days. According to doctors, he breathed peacefully at 8:30 pm. Like a saint, without any hurry, without any discomfort. Late in the night his body was brought to the ashram in Durgakund, where the disciples were stunned - without the Guru, but filled with his practice.

The funeral will be held at Harishchandra Ghat

According to his prominent disciple, the funeral will be performed on Sunday at Harishchandra Ghat in Varanasi. Due to the absence of Baba, the ashram in Kabir Nagar has been drowned in silence. There is still his mat, wooden pillow and the plate in which boiled food was served.Padma Shri was found in 2022, but he also took it as meditation
On 21 March 2022, when he was awarded the Padma Shri in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the whole country saw him. Sivanand Baba bowed into white dhoti, bowed into humility and bowed to Prime Minister Modi and in return the Prime Minister also bowed at his feet. This scene taught the whole country that true respect comes from tenacity, not from age.

Not yoga, life was the practice

Baba used to say, "Yoga is not a demonstration, it is a means to help life."Waking up at 3 o'clock every morning, recitation of Shrimad Bhagavadgita in Bangla, Shavasana after Sarvangasana - this was not just a verb, a disciplined life philosophy. He claimed - "I simplified life, the body supported long."

Neither fruit, nor milk - only boiled food and solid rules

Baba neither used to eat fruits nor drink milk. Their food was - barley porridge, boiled vegetable, without salt. Never run behind the taste, sometimes not bent towards convenience. He never used modern supports like AC, Blower.

Story of wooden pillow, mat and self -control

His goal was also a meditation - on the mat, on the pillow of a wooden slab. Not a single day in life is when he touched luxury. The age had crossed 128, but he used to climb 30-30 stairs twice a day. Nobody ever saw him tired. Shivanand Baba did not marry. He believed - "It is better to count the age of the body, measure the depth of spiritual practice."
His dedicated his whole life to society and humanity. He did not want anything for himself, but gave something to everyone - the message of yoga, restraint, peace and penance.

Shivanand Baba's departure, not only death - is the break line of a tradition

Today when Baba is not there, only one body has gone. But his discipline, his example and his thoughts - are giving direction to the lives of thousands of people.
His departure is not the departure of a saint, the deletion of a philosophy.