This world is not human centric and the world in which human beings live is the creation of their own thoughts and perceptions. Realization of this fact is not so easy but needs one’s continuous dedication and devotion. For this process to happen in life a person needs a master who has already realized and is capable to guide about the process of realization. Such human personality who guides his disciples without any selfish motive and intention is called “Guru”. This word itself has a distinct meaning “Gu”, means darkness or ignorance and “Ru” is the light or knowledge. Thus “Guru” is the process of acquiring knowledge or the realization.

Shree Neelkantha Gurupaad, who was a realized saint and embodiment of Guru in the human body. The divinity radiated from his vibrant personality though he adored only two pieces of ordinary clothes and lead an ordinary and simple life. Through his penance and spiritual practices of the highest order he had acquired “Ashtasiddhis” the great virtues and miraculous powers but never used them for showing off or for ordinary purposes. Whatever he uttered came true and used to solve the problems of visitors with such powers. There are numerous incidents to be told but not at this juncture. He told to his followers and disciples that the “World is one family” and every creature is its member. He was born in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala in 1897 and remained in the physical body in this world till 25th May 1965. For implementing the dictum of “The world is one family” in the whole world he entrusted the job to his beloved disciple Swami Sathyananda Saraswati Ji, who followed it through the utmost devotion and dedication and taught this philosophy to whosoever came in his contact. He travelled extensively in India and western world as well to spearhead the mission of his Guru. Swami Sathyananda Saraswati ji was also born in Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala in 1935 and attained Mahasamadhi in Nov 2006. He too was a great yogi and a realized saint.

His Holiness Swami Sathyananda Saraswati ji created a set up of his disciples all over the world to implement the principle of humanism given to him by his Guru Shree Neelkantha Gurupaad. The centres established by Swami ji are being looked after by his disciples at various places of India and abroad as per their perceptions and capabilities. One such set up has been established by Swami ji near Ayodhya, UP, India in the name of “Shree Neelkantha Yoga kendra”. The place is called “Surwari” which means the house of Gods. It is a village located in far flung rural area, surrounded by water and green trees, cultivation and mostly uneducated people living around. This place was selected by Swami ji with a view to help the people to develop spiritually, because the facilities comforts and conveniences amongst the city dwellers weaken them and they become slave to these affluences. For motivating the city dwellers towards the science of human life that is “Yoga”, a centre was also set up in the capital city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Thus these two centres located in entirely different surroundings and circumstances we are committed to propagate and implement the dictum of Guru “World is one family”. Our main focus is to establish the values of Yoga as per classical norms and standards without compromising with the negative attributes and tendencies rampant all over the world.

Psychosomatic stresses and strains, pain and penury, death and disease, seem to be the faith of the present age. Tranquillity, peace, goodwill, brotherly feelings, filial love, respect for elders, religious tendencies and similar positive mental attributes and attitudes are rapidly and surely disappearing from our modern metropolitan and cosmopolitan life. Their place is being usurped by hurry and flurry, lust and greed, hate and haste, animosity and anger and similar negative feelings and foibles. A positive mental attitude is of basic importance for health and longevity just as the negative one is apt to lead to ill health and disease. In fact they are the harbingers and harbourers of health and disease respectively. No chronic disease can linger on or even dare invade a sound mind housed in a sound body. The integral science of yoga treats human beings as a whole, without any compartmental specializations or divisions. Yogic Yama-Niyamas inculcate upon us a positive mental attitude towards our social and personal environments. To eliminate the present day psychosomatic tensions and the other ills enumerated above, the yogic way of life is the surest of remedies. It harmonises our life in toto, keeping an optimum balance between the five planes or five bodies which we human beings possess, namely Annamaya kosha (Physical Body), Pranmaya kosha (Pranic Body), Manomaya kosha (Psychic Body), Vigyanmaya kosha (Logical Body) and last but not the least Anandamaya kosha (Blissfulness). Harmony heralds in health and happiness while disharmony initiates and leads to ill health and disease. By taking to the yogic way of life, not only health and longevity are assured, but a sense of civic responsibility and cosmopolitan citizenship begins to dawn, leading to an all-round improvement in mental and physical conditions.

Now the therapeutic values of yoga have been globally recognised and it works in three modes viz Preventive Therapy, Curative Therapy and Rehabilitative Therapy.

I am not a yogi but a civil engineering graduate from University of Roorkee now IIT. Roorkee and or ardent follower of yoga since 1962 and my father a well known wrestler of my area, was my first Guru. While I was studying my engineering at Roorkee which is very close to Rishikesh in the foothills of Himalayas, where our ancient yogis have done their penance, I got in touch with Swami Vigyanananda Saraswaty ji of Yoga Niketan Trust. He gave me some advanced lessons of yoga (in Hath Yoga). After joining my job I came to know about a great saint and yogi of Kerala H.H. Swami Sathyananda Saraswati ji. Due to my devotion and dedication to him, Swami Ji accepted me as his spiritual child. I went through a very hard course of spiritual learning involving my own life with the guidance of Swami ji. I started teaching rather treating people through yoga from 1981 and since then have been doing it with people belonging to a very wide spectrum of society involving an ordinary person and also professionals like engineers, doctors, administrators, teachers, businessmen and householders, Degree or diploma or any other such courses in yoga have no meaning, it is a useless piece of paper until yoga is learnt from a realized Guru. I have learnt yoga from a great Guru, scholar, yogi and a saint. In fact a common man who nowadays comes forward to learn Yoga, is not having requisite qualifications to become an aspirant for yoga. Most of them come for their therapy of one or the other bodily disease. They are not ready to transform their lives and without transforming one simply can not learn Yoga, effects and virtues acquired through the practice of Yoga must radiate and emanate from his personality.

Thus our aim is to propagate and establish the real values of Yoga and it must come in a traditional way. For this we teach Yoga as provided in the classical texts and knowledge imparted to us by our Gurudeo. Ashtanga Yoga is our ideal model which is complete science of human life.