Sunday November 27, 2022 NYC

CELEBRATION: Report from Satguru Jayanti, 2022

Pranam at the feet of our Beloved Master,
Satguru Shri Mahayogi Paramahansa!

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude
for the existence of Shri Mahayogi,
Shri Mahayogi’s presence in this world,
right here right now,
and the supreme Truth
that ever emanates from Shri Mahayogi’s divine being.
Because of Shri Mahayogi,
and the preciousness of
his most pristine expression of Truth,
so many seekers are able to hear,
see and feel the Eternal Truth
that is the essence of one and all,
and this, indeed,
is the greatest blessing and gift to humanity.

And because of Shri Mahayogi, the most sacred occasion of Satguru Jayanti, which marks the holy birth of the Master, brings about each year the opportunity for Shri Mahayogi’s Sangha to gather together with Shri Mahayogi, express our sincere gratitude and devotion to Shri Mahayogi and his Mission, and to heighten our passion for aiming for, living in, and realizing the Truth.

This year, November 23^rd, as disciples and devotees across Japan, Taiwan and New York gathered together online with Shri Mahayogi to honor and celebrate the occasion of Satguru Jayanti, it felt as if a great wind kicked up and began to blow across time and space, stirring and uplifting our hearts more and more. With that divine wind blowing, and with Shri Mahayogi and the Eternal Truth he embodies at the very center, there was nothing but to tangibly feel tremendous inspiration in hearing and seeing all the concrete manifestations of heartfelt dedication and devotion to walk and live the path of Yoga.

Indeed, there were so many beautiful, unforgettable moments, starting right from the very beginning of the ceremony, with the offering of the two newly published books to Shri Mahayogi: Shri Mahayogi’s Words of Truth, which is the definitive volume containing teachings given to seekers over decades of Satsangha with the Master, and the Taiwanese-Mandarin edition of The Universal Gospel of Yoga, which is the beloved book that has played a crucial role in the spiritual awakening of so many aspirants over the years. Following that, there were various sincere and heartfelt messages and presentations offered by gurubai. And finally, Shri Mahayogi himself offered his words at the very end in response to the whole celebration. Surely, to gaze upon Shri Mahayogi and to hear his resounding voice and message, this is one of the strongest impressions that so many of us will hold dearly until the next opportunity.

Moksha, who is in Croatia and who is also a member of the Mission’s English editing team, offered one of the celebratory messages to Shri Mahayogi during Satguru Jayanti, and later expressed the following:

“ … How blessed I am to be a part of the work of Shri Mahayogi’s great Mission, and how much more I need to do to make my best contributions to this effort and help push the publication of Shri Mahayogi’s teachings forward in any way that I can.

As we heard in the Jayanti messages, Shri Mahayogi has given so much of his time and care into guiding many details of these publications, and all of that effort has been for the benefit of others, to ease the suffering of humanity. If Shri Mahayogi can give so much of himself for us, then I recognize that there is so much more that I can give, and so much more effort I need to apply to this work.

The Jayanti messages spoken by different disciples were also incredibly inspiring to me, and several of them were focused on the publications containing the words of Truth and what a precious and sacred experience it was for these disciples to be involved in working on the books.

Some of the words from the Jayanti messages deeply resonated with me and are echoing still in my mind.

The message of Amiti, for example, discussed the resolve and keen concentration that Shri Mahayogi must have brought to bear on his meditation on the nature of suffering and to unravel the contradiction he saw between his own experience and that of other human beings he came in contact with.

This idea of striving to sense Shri Mahayogi’s experience, or his Realization, for ourselves through our own meditation is something that really stuck with me and it has affected my approach to meditating on Shri Mahayogi’s perfectly pure heart. Before, I was doing this in a way that I was asking of Shri Mahayogi to help purify my heart, but in hearing Amiti’s message, I recognized that to experience something so pure one must become obsessed with the desire to know this feeling, to inquire into it and try to sense it during all of one’s waking moments. Rather than passively waiting for something to come to us, we must go and get it! This has been reverberating in my mind and in my heart constantly as a result of hearing this testimony.

The other statement that deeply affected me was the idea that, “We are one, and we have never been apart, not even once,” which serves as a powerful reminder of how we should act toward others. Although I have read these teachings related to Oneness, there is something so powerful in hearing from one of my gurubai who is trying to implement this lofty Truth and act on it. I struggle to even see God in my own family and friends and the people closest to me, but to think that we are called to actually see God in all people, at all times, this really shook me and helped me see clearly how I often fall short of this ideal, in large part because my ideal is not clear enough and not aligned enough with this Truth. Truly, this impression has stuck with me and I feel it revisiting me frequently during the day.

In Shri Mahayogi’s closing words, he said that, ‘Along with such pleasing events, there were many messages from various places that I received today, and these messages had such enthusiasm that they made me feel that the spirit of Yoga has taken root in all of your hearts [more and more] with each passing year. I am so delighted! I am so glad!’ This filled my entire body and soul with a warm sensation, almost like an intoxication, and the tears began to stream from my eyes. Indeed, the Truth is among us, and by the grace of the Guru it has begun to awaken within us. Now, it is up to us to actualize it ourselves and do all that we can to spread it by devoting ourselves to the work of Shri Mahayogi’s great Mission.”

It is a blessing beyond what words can express to be able to gather with Shri Mahayogi and the disciples and devotees who, though living in different parts of the world, are eternally united by the radiant light of Truth that has been ignited within each one by the existence of Shri Mahayogi.

Truly, the action that each makes towards Yoga, the action that each makes towards Truth, the yearning that each heart has to go ever-towards that pure essence of Shri Mahayogi, and the efforts made by each to bring about the realization of his Mission—these are precisely what amplify, make reverberate and make spread more and more and more, that ever-bright, ever-shining Eternal Truth that is never limited by time, by space, by name or by form.

“Around the Prema Ashrama in Kyoto, the autumn leaves are very beautiful right now. It is as if the bright red maple trees are singing the joy of the season. On such an auspicious day, two books were published: One is The Universal Gospel of Yoga in Taiwanese-Mandarin in Taiwan, which is its fourth language after English and Spanish. I think that the design is also quite beautiful. (laughs) The content is concise, yet I think you can fully feel the essence of Yoga. Moreover, in Japan, the definitive book that can be called a compilation of the words of Truth, has been published. It turned out to be a wonderful book that is large and very heavy. It is not difficult to imagine that in the future, the English version of this will also be produced by the New York Mission and the Taiwanese-Mandarin language version in Taiwan, and I am very much looking forward to that. 

Along with such pleasing events, there were many messages from various places that I received today, and these messages had such enthusiasm that they made me feel that the spirit of Yoga has taken root in all of your hearts [more and more] with each passing year. I am so delighted! I am so glad! This year was still a reunion through the screen, but I hope that I can see you in person again soon. Show me yet again your faces full of the brilliance of Brahman. I look forward to that!”

—The words of Satguru Shri Mahayogi Paramahansa at the end of Satguru Jayanti, 2022

May we continuously go towards That, ever following our beloved Guru!
Jai Satguru Shri Mahayogi Paramahansa Ki, Jai!!!
Victory to the Eternal Truth!!!
There is only That!!!